At the same time, Andrew was entertaining clients at a high-end club.
Today’s client was a bit demanding, drinking like it was water. His stomach wasn’t great, and he usually didn’t overindulge in alcohol. But if he didn’t drink, the other party would think he was disrespectful.
It was the first time Andrew couldn’t handle himself at the drinking table.
By the time the socializing was over, it was almost dawn, and the sky was beginning to brighten.
He walked out of the club’s gate, leaning against the corridor’s pillars. Waves of abdominal pain radiated subtly. He lit a cigarette, quickly calming down. His handsome face displayed an unaffected calmness.
He had a habit of not displaying emotions on his face.
“Mr. Andrew, you don’t look too good. Shall I take you home?” the driver respectfully said.
He nodded, just as he took a step forward, the pain in his abdomen surged again. His tall figure wobbled down the steps. If it wasn’t for the quick reflexes of the driver catching him, he would have fallen embarrassingly.
“Are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the hospital?” the driver asked with concern.
Enduring the pain, Andrew nodded. There was no need to force himself in such a situation.
Arriving at the hospital, after a series of examinations, the doctor ordered him to be hospitalized.
Samuel, examining his stomach X-ray and diagnosis report, couldn’t help but show a cold expression. “You have a stomach ulcer and yet you still drink? It seems like you don’t care about your life.”
He remained emotionally composed, his face slightly pale, as he calmly inquired, “Do I need surgery?”
“Conservative treatment for now. If you continue to neglect your health like this, I can’t guarantee I won’t operate next time you suffer,” Samuel honestly replied.
He listened, nodded indifferently, devoid of any emotion.
He kept his head tilted, his gaze fixed on the vast night scenery outside the window, making it hard to guess what he was thinking.
Samuel shook his head helplessly and left the ward.
Andrew’s hospitalization attracted quite a few people, and Ryan rushed over that night.
The corporate conglomerate he took over was simply a mess, various interests were intertwined within it, and there were very few who truly dedicated themselves to the company. Fortunately, the conglomerate had a strong foundation and substantial strength; otherwise, it would have been worn down by Thomas long ago.
Since assuming the position of the Turner family conglomerate’s CEO, alpha had been working overloaded, and Ryan constantly complained.
Moreover, besides work and social engagements, alpha’s mood had been notably poor these days; he fired an executive and two secretaries.
The executive was a mole left in the company by Thomas, so expelling him was not surprising. However, those two secretaries, one mistakenly brought the wrong document, and the other put an extra sugar cube in his coffee, which angered alpha.
Initially, their mistakes were minor, but their luck wasn’t on their side; they became his outlet and were directly fired.
Ryan sat on a chair beside the hospital bed, his legs crossed, holding an apple in his left hand and a fruit knife in his right, peeling the fruit while incessantly chatting.
“Alpha, even if you’re not feeling happy, don’t disregard your health. It’s just a fight with your human mate, men and women argue, and then make up. Show some dominance, drag her directly to bed, and after a sleep, I guarantee she won’t hold any grudges.”
Ryan had just finished speaking when he met Andrew’s indifferent gaze, and his hand trembled, almost cutting his finger.
“Fine, count me out for being nosy. You’re a gentleman and won’t force a woman. If you can’t bear to act on your woman, let’s take it out on James. Playing him to death is almost like squishing an ant.”
Ryan finished speaking, yet Andrew remained indifferent, his gaze still cold.
Ryan dared not say anything more; he had a big mouth. What if he ended up angering Alpha?
The empty ward fell into a brief silence. Just when Ryan thought Andrew wouldn’t respond to him, Andrew spoke up.
Probably due to his illness, his voice sounded hoarse, rarely revealing a hint of melancholy. “I don’t have that lack of decency.”
If he wanted to exert his power, Isabella would have been entirely under his control. But he didn’t want that; perhaps it was because he cared, wanting her to willingly stay.
As for James, in his eyes, he was an unrelated person, not worth his time or thoughts.
The room lapsed into silence again. Ryan had peeled off a thick layer of apple skin. He handed the peeled apple to Andrew, raising an eyebrow, hesitating to speak.
Without even looking at Ryan, Andrew said, “What’s the matter? Speak.”
Ryan withdrew his hand awkwardly, took a bite of the apple, and then couldn’t help but frown.
Damn, it’s sour.
Then, he cautiously and curiously spoke, “Alpha, did you mark that human? I caught your scent on her.”
This time, Andrew finally looked at him, his gaze incredibly intimidating. “Put away your gossiping tendencies, or else I wouldn’t mind giving you more…”
Quickly interrupting Alpha, Ryan said, “Alright, I’ll shut up. Calm down, and I’ll disappear from your sight immediately.”
Leaving the ward, Ryan contemplated and decided that he should inform Isabella about Alpha being hospitalized.
He attributed Alpha’s current state to Isabella, the main culprit. Her acting like a spoiled princess, leaving home in the middle of the night, led Alpha to search everywhere, almost without sleeping the entire night. The next day, he still had to get up early for work, handle company matters, entertain clients in the evening-no iron man could endure that.
He had said before, men shouldn’t put too much emphasis on women, or else it would be themselves suffering.
Ryan had Nathan check Isabella’s location and then drove over.
Ryan’s Jaguar swaggered at the entrance of the shooting scene. He saw her coming out from inside, chatting and laughing with others, which irritated him.
This heartless woman, Alpha was lying in the hospital, and she appeared in front of the camera enjoying herself, all dolled up.
“Isabella.” he walked over and stopped her.
She looked at him slightly surprised. She recognized Ryan; he was Andrew’s friend.
But besides that, this was their second encounter. The first time was on her birthday when he came to deliver a cake. In reality, they were hardly acquainted.
She couldn’t figure out why Ryan was approaching her.
“What’s the matter? Don’t remember? Do I need to introduce myself again?”
“Mr. Ryan,” she politely said, “Do you need anything from me?”
“Well, nothing major. Just to let you know, Andrew is hospitalized. In case one day you receive news of his untimely demise, don’t be surprised. With your conditions, finding a new dad for your son won’t be difficult,” Ryan said nonchalantly.
“What?” Isabella was shocked, her mind buzzing.
Andrew hospitalized? How could he, who was perfectly fine, end up in the hospital, and it might even be life-threatening! Her meticulously made-up face almost lost its color; her voice trembled as she asked, “Why is he hospitalized? Is he sick? Injured?”
Ryan snorted, his hand in his pocket, continuing, “You left home in the middle of the night, causing Andrew to search for you everywhere…”
“Where is Andrew?” She was not in the mood to listen to Ryan’s. She urgently wanted to see Andrew now.