After about forty minutes, Micah walked out.
Elisa followed closely behind him and called out hoarsely, “Micah.”
Micah stopped and turned to look at her. “Louis is temporarily safe. I need to study the virus in his body, but you don’t need to worry. I saw the virus in his body long ago while I was abroad. With some research, the medicine can be made quickly.”
This wasn’t meant to reassure Elisa because it was an infectious virus, so Micah had a strong memory of it.
Meeting Micah’s gaze, Elisa knew he wasn’t lying.
She had always believed in Micah. The words he spoke always came true. Just like when she had stomach cancer, Micah said he would save her, and he really went abroad and researched cancer drugs.
The things he had promised her never changed, even though she had caused him harm and made him leave home in the past.
“Thank you.” She owed Micah a thank you for the things he had done for her, and for fulfilling her last wish after her death by scattering her ashes into the sea.
Micah met her gaze, feeling the familiar, penetrating pain, which took him a while to dispel.
“It’s okay.” Micah had just finished the surgery, feeling a bit weak. He hadn’t taken off his protective suit and still needed to go to the disinfection room.
“Can I go in to see him?”
“You can go in, but you must wear protective clothing and not have too much contact. After coming out, you need to disinfect,” Micah said.
Old friends for many years, unexpectedly meeting in such a place, Elisa saw how tired he looked, but she didn’t dare say much to him.
Micah turned and left. After a few steps, he suddenly remembered, why did she know his name? He didn’t dwell on it, as he respected science as a medical student, assuming that this “Elisa” had seen him somewhere else and that’s how she recognized him.
…
Entering to see Louis required wearing protective clothing and strict time control.
Elisa stood outside the glass window, watching him, waiting for him to wake up before she went in.
Although she saw him every day, she felt like it had been a long time since she had seen him. Elisa held Louis’s hand, trying to feel his warmth.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Not really.” After confirming with the doctors and nurses that he wouldn’t infect Elisa, Louis let her come close. He held her hand. “It’s just like having a fever and a cold. Apart from feeling a bit weak, there’s nothing uncomfortable. If you don’t believe me, I can get up and show you.”
As he said this, he really tried to get up, but the needles in his hand held him back. It wasn’t very painful, but the movement was hindered. He had been lying in bed for too long, and when he tried to sit up, his head sank, making him feel dizzy and unsteady.
Elisa hurried over to support him, but before she could touch him, Louis instinctively recoiled, as if he were a frightened bird. His quick movement was entirely subconscious.
Elisa’s hand froze in mid-air, feeling the blood in her body turn cold, making her limbs numb.
“If your illness isn’t cured, does that mean I can’t touch you at all?”
Louis looked up, his usually bright eyes now clouded over, becoming dull and dim.
“Elisa, I’m doing this for your own good.”
Elisa tried to keep her emotions in check, but she felt a pang in her nose, making her feel uncomfortable. When she opened her mouth, it was with a hint of tears, “What do you mean, for my good? Louis, I don’t want this. Doctors can touch you, so why can’t I?”
“Don’t cry, Elisa.” He always felt helpless when he saw tears in Elisa’s eyes. Now, he didn’t even dare to wipe her tears.
Elisa turned her head. “Do you still mean what you said to me that day?”
“As long as I’ve said something to you, it’s true. I won’t lie to you.”
“Then you have to get better. I’ll wait for you to marry me, don’t break your promise. I’ll wait for you forever.” She was accustomed to this word. She wasn’t afraid of waiting. No matter how long it took, she wasn’t afraid. She was just afraid that he wouldn’t want her.
She had a time limit when she came in, but she was called away after only twenty minutes by the medical staff to go to the disinfection room, ensuring there were no issues before letting her leave.
The nurses would reassure her every day, “Don’t worry, he’ll definitely be fine. Our hospital’s Professor Qin is especially skilled. He researched the cancer drugs and even cured Elisa’s stomach cancer, so a mere virus won’t defeat him. You need to take care of yourself, eat and sleep on time. Don’t collapse after Mr. White wakes up.”
Such reassurances had no effect; they were just empty words.
Elisa heard them, but she always forgot to eat on time every day and suffered from insomnia at night.
She set alarms on her phone to remind her to eat, and the melatonin she took at night had turned into sleeping pills, from one to two pills.
At noon, when she went to pick up takeout, she ran into Tobias. He was also standing at the hospital gate with takeout and seemed surprised to see Elisa.
“Madam,” he instinctively called out, only realizing later that Elisa had already separated from Hamish, blaming his recent high-strung behavior.
When taking care of Hamish, he often talked about the past with Elisa.
Not getting enough rest had led to mental instability, and every time he saw Elisa, he would call her “Madam.”
“Sorry, Miss Powell,” he said, shaking his head.
She was at the hospital and knew about Hamish’s condition. He had been in a coma for several days after the bullet was removed, and he had only recently awakened. The nurses had told her that Hamish had passed the critical period and was fine.