The nurse was still the young nurse from before. She was worried about Elisa, so as soon as the bell rang, she voluntarily pushed the medicine cart and went over. She imagined all sorts of scenarios in her head, but she didn’t expect to push open the door and see Elisa’s bloody hands.
The previously neat and clean hospital room was a mess, with papers scattered on the floor. The IV tubes were tangled up on the bed and medication bags had been thrown on the ground, their contents spilling everywhere.
But the most striking thing was Elisa’s injured hands. The entire back of her hands were stained red with blood, even the sheets too.
“Wha-what happened? Did he bully you?” The young nurse looked at Elisa’s hands, then glanced at her slightly reddened eyes. She spoke very carefully, as if to accommodate her emotions.
Elisa shook her head, her voice hoarse from crying: “I did it to myself.”
The nurse didn’t quite believe her.
She took some cotton swabs and disinfectant from the cart and gently lifted Elisa’s left hand. The blood had coagulated somewhat and needed to be cleaned.
The needle holes were still oozing blood. The wounds weren’t big, but the needle had been in too long, leaving the holes unable to stop bleeding for a while.
“It might hurt a bit, bear with it.”
“Mm,” Elisa softly responded, raising her eyes and staring blankly at the ceiling. The most painful part was already over, this little bit was nothing.
The nurse removed the IV needle. Looking at her scarred left hand, she knew this hand could not be stuck with needles anymore.
The nurse asked, “Is it okay to use your right hand?”
Elisa asked, “How many more days of IV fluids do I need?”
The young nurse flipped through the thick medical chart, roughly estimating: “I’m afraid ten days to two weeks.”
It would take that long? Elisa’s brows furrowed. She didn’t know if she could make it to Koby’s retrial hearing next week. She sighed, “Go ahead.”
The nurse was skilled and it didn’t hurt much when she inserted the IV needle. It was still an IV catheter, just now in her right hand, making things a little inconvenient.
After changing Elisa’s bandages, the thoughtful nurse also changed her sheets and tidied up the papers on the floor. She stared at the fake medical records and asked Elisa, “Your husband went back?”
Elisa pressed her dry, chapped lips together and nodded.
The nurse didn’t know what to say for a moment that wouldn’t come across as pity. Elisa was the princess of the Powell family. Just three days ago, she was still the pride of Bankshire’s social circles.
But now the news was reporting that she stole someone else’s fiancé and kneeled in the streets to try to save her marriage, disregarding Powell Group’s bankruptcy and her father becoming a convicted murderer.
The online coverage had demonized her. The nurse didn’t understand the feuds between elite families, but she sincerely felt heartache for Elisa.
Back then, the public had glorified her, packaging her as an invincible powerful woman. Who could have thought she was suffering from late-stage stomach cancer and had less than two years to live.
Any words of comfort now would seem like pity. The nurse’s lips moved wordlessly for a long time before she finally said, “Take good care of your health.”
“Don’t worry, something like this won’t happen again today. Thank you for the trouble today.” Elisa’s lips curved into a faint smile. When she smiled, there were very shallow dimples on her cheeks. It’s said that people with dimples have especially sweet smiles, but her smile contained only bitterness.
“No trouble, no trouble at all.” The nurse quickly shook her head and quietly pushed the cart out.
The rumbling sound of the wheels faded from loud to soft, then disappeared. The room suddenly became very quiet, so quiet she could hear the IV drops falling overhead.
When someone is quiet, thoughts naturally wander, and once her thoughts wandered, Hamish’s shadow would swiftly take over and she couldn’t shake it off. This had also become a habit.
Hamish had really gone back.
He would never come again. She heard that Hamish had kept vigil by her side during the 46 hours she was unconscious. She thought she was dreaming, not even daring to believe it.
Koby’s retrial was in five days. During those five days, Hamish really never appeared again.
The person Elisa saw most every day was either her caregiver or Micah.
Micah worked at the hospital and was often very busy, but he would come to her room whenever he had time, while also persuading her to do chemotherapy.
Elisa was a delicate person who feared pain. She was so delicate that just hearing about injections made her scream. Let alone chemotherapy.
Sure enough, when Elisa heard chemotherapy, she shook her head.
“I won’t do chemo.” Although chemotherapy could prolong life and was more beneficial for treatment, she had already given up. Seeing that Micah still wanted to persuade her, Elisa bluntly said, “Chemo makes you lose a lot of hair. I don’t want to go bald before I’m dead. That’s worse than dying.”
“You’re still thinking about hair at a time like this?” Micah helplessly shook his head. His expression was still conflicted but not as gloomy as before.
“You know I love makeup and dressing up usually.” Elisa laughed lightly, her attitude dismissive. “And you know I’m someone who’s afraid of pain.”