Although the doctor had told him not to worry about Elisa, he couldn’t let go of her. He would occasionally touch her forehead to check her temperature, give her water, and use a damp towel to cool her body.
After an hour of fussing, her temperature finally went down. Hamish breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the time. It was already two o’clock in the morning.
He got into bed, turned to face Elisa, and closed his eyes.
…
The next day at eight o’clock, the doctor came in to check on Elisa. Her temperature had returned to normal. “There’s no major problem. She only has some external injuries. If applying medicine is troublesome, she can stay in the hospital for a few more days.”
The most severe cut was the one on her wrist, which had severed a blood vessel but luckily didn’t damage any tendons or nerves.
However, the wound was stitched up, and she would have a flesh-red scar on her wrist for the rest of her life.
Tobias came over in the morning. On his way, he bought a bouquet of flowers and some fruits. He didn’t know what Elisa liked to eat, so he chose expensive items and also selected some nutritious snacks.
Carrying bags of greetings, Tobias entered the room. Hamish was sitting by the window, having breakfast. His complexion had improved compared to yesterday, but there were faint dark circles under his eyes, probably from staying up late to take care of Elisa.
This wasn’t the first time Tobias had seen Elisa in the hospital. Overall, in the past year, Elisa had been very unlucky, frequently ending up in the hospital, and each time with life-threatening injuries.
Tobias noticed a clear change in Hamish’s attitude towards taking care of Elisa. It started with indifference and cold observation, but later he couldn’t sleep at night.
Tobias used to think that Hamish was emotionally cold. Regardless of what happened around him, his expression would always remain indifferent. With Elisa, he treated her as if she were a dog he had been feeding for years.
Dogs are so loyal. They won’t even leave when their owner dies.
Hamish appeared nonchalant about Elisa’s seemingly guaranteed victory. He was blindly confident, thinking that Elisa would stay by his side for a lifetime.
But now, seeing Hamish, it seemed that he had lost. Perhaps he himself didn’t even know how deep his feelings for Elisa were.
…
Elisa woke up in a daze. The surroundings were dim, and her mind was blank for a moment, unable to figure out where she was.
She moved her sore arm and accidentally touched the wound on her back, causing a sharp pain that made her gasp. A terrifying memory rushed into her brain.
Lukas. She remembered being beaten by Lukas, and when she cut her wrist while being pinned down on the bed, Hamish came just when she thought she was about to die.
Now, she was in the hospital. Elisa quickly sorted out her situation. The curtains were drawn, and there was no clock around. She couldn’t tell what time it was or how long she had been unconscious.
There was some activity in the bathroom, and Elisa looked over. Hamish came out and when he saw that she was awake, his expressionless face finally showed a hint of softening.
His eyes sparkled, and he strode over to Elisa. The first thing he asked her was, “Are you still in pain? Do you want water? Where does it hurt?”
With a head still dizzy from just waking up and feeling exhausted, Elisa struggled to say, “It hurts.”
Unexpectedly, Hamish’s expression changed, and his tone turned cold. “So, you know what pain is! Do you dare to go to the underground gambling den alone? Is that where you should be?”