Lillian wasn’t surprised to see Evelyn. Conrad had never said he wasn’t involved with her anymore. She knew that much. But seeing Evelyn still made her feel a rush of disgust and annoyance.
Andrew noticed Lillian was holding the food tray, and immediately opened the door for her.
Lillian, who had been about to head back to her ward, thought, What’s your problem, man?
Sure enough, Evelyn’s face went pale, and her delicate frame looked like it was about to crumble.
“Is it true? Conrad doesn’t want to see me?” Evelyn had begged Andrew to let her in, but he refused. Then, the moment Lillian showed up, he opened the door. Was it really because of Booth that Conrad didn’t want to see her anymore?
The door to the ward was wide open now. The sounds of people smoking and playing mahjong came from inside.
As expected, Conrad was there.
Hogan, seeing someone at the door, joked, “Oh, it must be the little caged bird.” He quickly stopped playing.
“Hey, you’re cheating, you shameless bastard!”
“You can’t handle losing, man.” Hogan chuckled and leaned against the door, ready to tease Lillian. But when he saw Evelyn standing there, on the verge of tears, he froze. What was this?
Hogan scratched his nose, turning to Conrad.
Conrad shot him a glance. “What are you looking at? If your hip’s out of place, go see a doctor.”
“Fine, fine,” Hogan said. “But there are two girls outside. Which one do you want?”
Lillian didn’t care for this game. She wasn’t interested. She slid the warm food tray into the room by the door, intending to leave. But just as she was about to go, Conrad’s voice came from inside.
“Did I say you could leave just like that?”
Once Conrad spoke, the room fell even quieter.
Andrew followed Conrad’s orders without question, only watching Lillian closely.
If she was going in, then she was going in.
As Lillian stepped inside, Evelyn followed closely behind.
No one felt like playing mahjong now.
Earlier, people had said Evelyn resembled Lillian, but now that they were standing together, the difference was obvious. Sure, there were some similarities, but Lillian was in a whole different league.
“Did something happen?” Conrad asked, his tone calm as always.
Lillian glanced around the room at the setup, then her gaze landed on a tattoo artist standing off to the side, wearing a black hoodie and a black mask.
What was going on here? He was in the hospital, and yet still had time to get a tattoo?
Before she could respond, Evelyn’s voice cracked as she spoke. “Conrad, your wounds aren’t even healed yet. Did you get this tattoo for me? Is it to remember the first time I bumped into your chest and left a mark?”
Lillian stayed silent. Oh, so leaving a mark right on his chest was Mr. Conrad’s latest kink? She’d really underestimated the guy’s tastes.
“Nancy said it’s just some home-style cooking, nothing that’ll cause any problems,” Lillian replied, then turned to leave. She didn’t feel like sticking around to watch him get all lovey-dovey with Evelyn.
Conrad furrowed his brows. “Did I say you could leave?”
He’d saved her once, and now she was causing trouble again? Giving him attitude in front of all these people?
Lillian turned her head, offering him a fake smile. “Didn’t you tell me to rest and heal? I’m still feeling dizzy.”
Evelyn bit her lip. “Conrad, she doesn’t care about you, but I’m not like her. You should pay more attention to me. I’m just as good as she is. Why keep caring about someone who’s so heartless? I’ll do better than Lillian. I’ll be perfect for you. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Oh really? If you’re dizzy, just rest here,” he said coolly.
“Mr. Conrad, I don’t belong here,” Lillian shot back with a cold smile.
“Really? I think you fit in just fine here. You think about it-either stay or leave.” Conrad said as he turned his attention back to Evelyn, who had opened the food box.
“Conrad, this is that black-bone chicken I told you about from my family. It’s the most authentic. I made some soup; do you want to try it?” Evelyn said lightly.
She quickly lifted the lid, and a wave of fragrance filled the air.
But Conrad was still only looking at Lillian.
Hogan quickly gave her a look, silently telling her to get a move on.
Evelyn’s body stiffened, and tears started to well up in her eyes. She turned to Lillian. “Lillian, if you have something to do, I can take care of Conrad for you.”
“What are you begging her for? It’s her legs, she can stay or go. What’s it to you?” Conrad suddenly spoke up.
Lillian locked eyes with Conrad. Fine, he wanted her to stay, huh?
Lillian opened her food box too, glanced at Evelyn’s soup, then scooped some of the meal into the rice, stirred it all up, and grabbed a big spoonful. Without missing a beat, she plopped herself down on Conrad’s lap.
Conrad raised an eyebrow as the spoonful of food was placed next to his face.
Lillian grinned slyly. “Conrad, you want to eat my food, or drink her soup?”
Looks like he enjoyed these kinds of scenes. Well, she’d play along.
At that moment, Lionel dropped his mahjong tiles and muttered, “Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps. I’m going to check on Gordon. Be back soon.”
The others immediately followed. “I’ll go too.”
Hogan was speechless. “You’re all leaving now? Aren’t you interested in the show?”
Conrad noticed the food was practically shoved into his mouth and said, “What? Am I only good enough for mixed-up cat food?”
“Yep. I poisoned it. You going to eat it?” Lillian said with a playful smile.
To her surprise, Conrad actually ate it in one bite. Then, without warning, he grabbed her head and pulled her in for a kiss.
“Smack!”-Evelyn’s spoon hit the floor.
Lillian had no interest in putting on a show in front of everyone. But no matter how hard she struggled, Conrad just held her tighter, and it was useless.
When she finally got a breath, Conrad licked his lips and smirked. “Not bad. Nancy’s cooking’s getting better.”
Lillian shot him a deadly glare, but Conrad just saw it as flirting.
He then turned his attention to Evelyn, still standing there, all flustered. “Why are you still here? If you’re fine now, go home. Ford’s already taken care of what you wanted. I paid to get you in here, so you’d better focus. Otherwise, my money’s just down the drain.”
“And seriously, why are you crying over this? I told you not to shed a single tear. Didn’t you get that?”
After Conrad spoke, Evelyn quickly smiled and wiped away her tears. “I won’t cry. Conrad, don’t be mad. I’ll be good.”
Conrad still cared about her. He was still afraid of her crying.
Evelyn looked at the water droplets on his lips, his bare chest, and the red lip tattoo forming. Then she thought about Lillian and Conrad kissing. It was a massive blow to her.
She quickly gathered her things and went to leave. But when her hand brushed against the hot chicken soup, she yelped and looked at Conrad.
But Conrad just urged Lillian to hurry up and feed him, like he couldn’t eat fast enough.
Evelyn lowered her gaze, feeling a wave of embarrassment that spread through the room.
Why did Conrad seem so indifferent to Lillian before, always pampering her, and now everything was different?
Even after she left the room, Evelyn couldn’t stop replaying the visual impact of seeing the man and woman so close together. It was raw, open desire, laid out right in front of her.
The woman’s sweetness, the man’s domineering force-Evelyn even thought to herself, If only I were Lillian…
Why… didn’t Conrad ever treat her that way?