Does Hamish love Elisa?
If he says he loves her, then why was he coldly watching from the sidelines when Elisa knelt down in the rain, humbling herself before everyone?
If he doesn’t love her, then why has he been keeping vigil by Elisa’s bedside for two days and nights without sleep?
The nurse shook her head and said she didn’t know.
Hamish didn’t speak, drifting off in thought again, as if the person who had just asked the question wasn’t him.
The nurse pushed the medicine cart away from the ICU. Around noon, Tobias came with a stack of documents to give Hamish a work update.
Hamish looked them over and signed several urgent files to give back to Tobias. Then he asked, “How are things going with Koby?”
“I’ve submitted the evidence as you instructed. Koby won’t die now. At worst he’ll pay some fines.” Tobias was confused and puzzled.
You went to such great lengths to get Koby sentenced to death. But now you’re handing over evidence to prove his innocence. Doesn’t this make all our previous efforts a waste of time and money?
Tobias didn’t understand. He had followed Hamish for many years and knew the CEO never did unprofitable business. He was ruthless, and people called him a bloodsucking capitalist. If he could skin and debone someone, he would leave them with nothing.
Hamish lowered his eyelids. “Alright, you can go back now.”
Tobias didn’t move. Hesitating, he said, “Miss Morris called you but couldn’t get through, so she called me. She asked when you’re coming back.”
“Don’t worry about her. Just stay on top of Koby’s case. And get all the online videos and news of Elisa kneeling deleted.”
“Yes, sir.” Tobias rubbed his nose and quietly left, not expecting his casual question to create so much extra work.
Hamish got up and took a cup of warm water, carefully dipping a cotton swab and applying it to Elisa’s cracked lips.
He gave a bitter smile. Not just Tobias, even he sometimes didn’t understand himself.
He had only promised to spare Koby’s life and let him spend the rest of his days in prison. But now he was planning to release Koby completely, overturning his previous scheme.
Why was he doing this?
Perhaps it was simply that he didn’t want to upset Elisa and see disappointment in her eyes.
Elisa couldn’t die now. She had to live on. They had signed an agreement that she and Lila had the same blood type. If anything happened to Lila, who else could he turn to for help?
Hamish threw away the cotton swab and walked to the window, pushing it open a crack. After days of rain, Bankshire was finally sunny today. Sunlight streamed in through the window, sprinkling her blanket like a thin layer of golden sand.
After being indoors so long, the sudden sunlight hurt his eyes. Hamish squinted, gazing into the distance, and surprisingly saw a rainbow in the sky.
He looked back at Elisa, still with closed eyes on the bed. “Elisa, the sunshine is so nice outside, and there’s even a rainbow. When you wake up, I’ll take you out in a wheelchair to see it.”
His voice was gentler than even he realized.
“None of the things you’re worried about will happen. Powell Enterprises won’t collapse, your dad won’t die or go to jail, and I won’t go back either. I’ll stay here with you the whole time.”
Elisa’s fingertips moved. The quiet machine next to the bed suddenly beeped to life.
Hamish’s heart skipped a beat. He hurried over to grab Elisa’s hand, leaning in close to watch her face and calling her name again.
Elisa’s long lashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes to a slit.
The instant Elisa lifted her eyelids, her vision was filled with a white ceiling.
Her mind was scrambled, unable to focus. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time before noticing Hamish standing by the bed.
She moved her lips but no sound came out. She watched as the man frantically pressed the call button, went to the door to shout for someone, then came back to her bedside, holding her hand and saying something.
Elisa found this Hamish very unfamiliar. For a moment, she thought she must be dreaming. She moved her hand, tugging on the IV in the back of it, feeling some pain. Only then did she know she wasn’t dreaming.
She frowned, looking down at the needle taped to the back of her hand, connected to a transparent tube leading to a bag of milky white fluid hanging above, dripping very slowly.
Soon Dr. Micah came rushing in with two nurses, shooing Hamish out of the room.
“Elisa, does your body still hurt? All your vital signs have recovered to normal levels. You’re not in danger anymore.”
Elisa looked at Micah, unable to speak. She could only shake her head to indicate she wasn’t in pain.
In truth, just after waking up, of course her body hurt. Her hands were cold, her body ached, the anesthesia had long worn off, and the surgical wounds throbbed. But she was used to suppressing these things, not wanting people who cared about her to worry.
Micah stroked her hair. “You were unconscious for 46 hours. It’s normal not to be able to speak yet. You can wet your throat with some water later.”
She had just had surgery and still couldn’t eat, relying solely on an IV drip to sustain her body.
Elisa nodded again.
Micah turned and took a cup of water, gently lifting Elisa’s head so she could take a couple sips.
“Better?”
“Better, much better.” Her voice was very hoarse, and it hurt to talk, as if there was a thorn stuck inside.
Elisa spoke very softly. Everyone else in the room quieted down to listen to her, and the room became very still.
It was so quiet that her slightly heavy breathing could be heard. She tilted her head, looking at the door, and asked hoarsely, “Does he know about my illness?”