Nearby, Paige sat on a slightly worn single-seater sofa, gazing out at the light snow falling outside. She was receiving an IV drip. Two bottles in, her fever had dropped rapidly, and she felt much better, no longer dazed like she had been in the mountains.
After all, she hadn’t pushed herself at all during the entire ordeal, so being on an IV was naturally much more comfortable.
Suddenly, there was a faint sound next to her.
Paige instinctively straightened up to look but then thought better of it. She leaned back and kept a cold expression, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.
Enrico opened his eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar room. He turned his head and saw Paige’s back, relaxing instantly.
“Paige?” he called out to her hoarsely, his voice sounding raspy, as if he had been the one burning up with fever.
Paige remained still on the sofa.
Asleep?
Why was she sitting there with an IV…
Enrico frowned and propped himself up, ready to sit up when there was a sudden knock on the door. Paige turned her head, not looking at him, but beyond him toward the door, saying, “Come in.”
“…”
Enrico raised an eyebrow as he observed her weary face.
So she wasn’t asleep?
The door opened, and a bodyguard walked in, not noticing that Enrico was already awake. His first glance went to Paige. “Madam, more and more people are gathering outside. Even Jasper is standing out there now.”
Paige could already see this without the bodyguard saying so. The hospital was small, just a few flat buildings, and from the window in front of her, she could see a crowd standing in the snow outside, each person holding a black umbrella, standing perfectly still, with the line stretching far into the distance.
It looked like they were planning to blow up the little hospital.
“What are they saying?” Paige asked coolly.
Enrico glanced at her, then toward the window, a trace of displeasure flashing in his eyes. “They look like they’re at a funeral.”
Standing out there with black umbrellas, were they cursing someone’s luck?
Paige’s face remained unchanged, her eyes unblinking, while the bodyguard froze momentarily. He quickly turned to Enrico, respectfully saying, “Mr. Gustin, you’re awake.”
Enrico looked at Paige, responding with a casual “Mm.”
Though Paige was facing in the bodyguard’s direction, it was as if she acted like Enrico didn’t exist.
What was going on?
Enrico’s face darkened. “Tell them to leave.”
“The madam already told us to ask the Folsom family to leave, but they won’t go. Just now, they passed a message that Miss Brangelina and Miss Kelsey wish to see the madam.”
Brangelina and Kelsey were the only two people Paige had gotten close to during this trip to D Country. The Folsom family was now trying to play the emotional card.
The Folsom family’s unity by blood was indeed terrifying. Before knowing her identity, they were debating whether to kill her. But now that they knew, from the eldest to the youngest, they were all standing in the snow, launching a full-scale emotional assault.
“They think they deserve to meet her?” Enrico sneered. “Tell them that if they keep standing out there like they’re at a funeral, I won’t be so polite.”
He had long wanted to deal with the Folsom family.
“Understood, Mr. Gustin.”
The bodyguard nodded and then looked at Paige. “By the way, madam, that little girl Kelsey also asked me to ask if you remembered the red ribbon.”
The red ribbon.
A wish.
Was Kelsey really planning to use that ribbon to convince her to return to the Folsom family?
Paige, sitting on the sofa, narrowed her eyes slightly before responding calmly, “Tell her that there’s only one wish. She should think carefully. Once it’s fulfilled, the bond between us may be gone.”
“Yes, madam. I’ll head out now.” The bodyguard nodded and turned to leave.
The snow outside reflected softly through the clear window.
“Paige, has your fever gone down?” Enrico asked, lying in bed and looking at her. His head was wrapped in bandages, and his face was pale and tired, softening his usually sharp features.
Paige’s expression remained indifferent. She turned her gaze back to the falling snow outside.
Enrico quickly realized-Paige was upset with him.
Ha.
After all the trouble he went through to carry her out of the mountains, this was how she repaid him?
“I’m thirsty,” he said, staring intently at the back of her head.
Paige calmly glanced up at the IV bag above her, completely unbothered.
Enrico shifted his body slightly, and as he moved, sharp pain tore through him, making his shoulder feel as though it had been shattered. His face turned pale, and he inhaled sharply.
Paige still showed no reaction.
Was she really going to ignore him?
“What’s wrong with my shoulder? Why does it hurt so much?” Enrico asked, gasping as his gaze remained fixed on her.
“…”
Paige didn’t even turn her head. Instead, she reached for a book beside her, calmly placing it on her lap and opening it, her expression serene as she began reading.
Seeing her reaction, Enrico grew furious.
Forcing himself up in bed, the pain worsened, cold sweat beading on his forehead, but still, Paige gave him no response.
“Paige, come check on me. I think my wound is bleeding again,” he said, desperately seeking her attention.
Paige’s hand paused as she gripped the page. Enrico’s eyes darkened with hope, but the next second, she leisurely turned the page and continued reading.
“…”
Alright.
This time, he really had offended her.
…
Outside the hospital, the Folsom family stood in the snow, a thin layer of snow accumulating on their black umbrellas.
Brangelina, Beinice, and Blanca stood at the front. Behind them were nearly all the Folsom family members that could be mobilized in Eastdown, waiting outside.
Jasper, whose health was poor, sat in the car, watching the hospital direction, his wrinkled eyes bloodshot and his back hunched.
Brangelina squatted on the ground, wearing gloves, and kept scooping up snow to make small snowmen. “Blanca, this one is little Blanca, and this one is also little Blanca.”
Blanca stood nearby. She had rushed here straight from the mountains after seeing the Folsom family’s signal, her clothes still unchanged. Her once radiant face was now scarred and exhausted.
She looked down at Brangelina making the snowmen, her eyes void of light.
Even the eldest sister had recognized Paige.
And yet, she could not…
The hospital door opened, and a bodyguard stepped out. Everyone looked up, Kelsey jumping to her feet and rushing over, speaking sweetly, “Brother bodyguard, what did my sister say?”
The bodyguard glanced at her and repeated Paige’s words, “Miss Kelsey, our madam said you should think carefully. Once a wish is fulfilled, the bond between you two may be gone.”
Kelsey’s smile disappeared.
She mulled over the words, growing more anxious the more she thought.
Blanca and Beinice watched nervously, while even Jasper rolled down the car window to look toward Kelsey. A moment later, Kelsey drooped her head and walked over.
“What did she say?” Beinice rushed forward.
Blanca stood rooted in place, clenching her fists, wanting to ask but feeling an uncharacteristic sense of fear.
Kelsey looked up at Blanca, took a deep breath, and made a difficult decision. “I’m sorry, Aunt Blanca, but I don’t want to help you anymore.”