Leah Sterling’s emotions gradually steadied, but her ability to speak seemed not to have fully returned.
Listening to Robert Rhodes’s explanation, she remained silent, merely shaking her head gently.
Her fingers loosened their tight grip on the curtain she had been clinging to as if it were a lifeline.
The moment she let go, her legs gave out slightly, and she swayed.
Adrian Hawthorne furrowed his brow and immediately moved to stand up.
A nurse beat him to it, steadying Leah.
“Are you alright?
Do you need some glucose?”
Leah grabbed the bedrail to stabilize herself, her voice hoarse.
“N-no, I don’t need any.
Thank you.”
Adrian scowled at Robert.
“You were on the phone for so long, and not a single call was to her?”
Robert’s expression filled with guilt.
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Hawthorne.
I’m sorry, Mrs.
Hawthorne.”
He couldn’t be entirely blamed for the oversight, given Adrian’s previous indifference toward Leah.
Even if an actual tragedy had occurred—let alone a close call like this—Adrian’s historical attitude toward his wife had subconsciously influenced his subordinates to ignore her as well.
It simply wouldn’t occur to them to notify her in a timely manner.
Leah was well aware of this fact.
Looking at Robert’s apologetic expression, she felt his guilt was unnecessary.
“It’s fine,” she said.
To make up for his dereliction of duty, Robert repeated the explanation he had already given several times over the phone.
“Mrs.
Hawthorne, the situation just now was truly perilous.
Perhaps because Mr.
Hawthorne made a spur-of-the-moment decision to inspect the site, the factory staff didn’t have time to perform maintenance on the machinery beforehand.
Unfortunately, that was exactly when the accident happened.
“Mr.
Hawthorne was standing right next to the man when it occurred.
We don’t know what went wrong with the machine, but the cutter head suddenly flew out while it was running.
Given the circumstances, absolutely anyone could have been injured.
“The cutter head struck the factory manager right next to Mr.
Hawthorne.
His carotid artery was severed on the spot…” Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if recalling the horrific scene.
“Saying it was just his carotid artery is putting it lightly; his head was nearly…” Robert trailed off.
“Mr.
Hawthorne was standing right there.
The man’s blood splashed all over him.”
No wonder Adrian looked like he was bathed in blood in that photo.
It was terrifying.
Because of the sheer amount of blood, no one could be certain that Adrian had escaped completely unscathed, so they naturally rushed him to the hospital for a check-up.
That was how the image of a blood-soaked Adrian being loaded into an ambulance came to be.
Leah still remembered the sheer panic she felt when she first saw that photo, thinking it was the most horrifying thing imaginable.
But now, listening to Robert’s description and picturing the actual scene, a chill ran down her spine.
She pursed her dry lips, her voice still raspy.
“Is he injured?”
“No obvious physical trauma, but he needs a full panel of tests for infectious diseases since he came into close contact with someone else’s blood,” Robert explained.
Only then did Leah let out a long sigh of relief.
Adrian sat on the bed, narrowing his deep eyes as he watched her.
The corners of his mouth curled into a lazy, almost affectionate smile.
“Were you really scared I’d die?” he asked.
The residual fear in Leah’s heart slowly gave way to a surge of delayed irritation.
She frowned at him.
Was she supposed to hope for his death?
What a stupid question!
Seeing her expression, Adrian simply raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?
I don’t have a will.
If I die, Leah, you’d become a very wealthy widow.”
Leah shot him an annoyed glare.
He was talking absolute nonsense!
Not wanting to entertain his banter, she reached for her phone, only to realize that in her rush to get out of the car, she hadn’t brought it with her.
“I came in such a hurry that I left my phone in the car,” she told Robert.
“I’ll go get it.”
“Of course.
Take your time, Mrs.
Hawthorne.
As long as the test results come back clear, Mr.
Hawthorne will be discharged,” Robert said.
Leah nodded and turned to leave the observation room without sparing Adrian another glance.
As she walked out, a figure lurking by the door quickly ducked into the adjacent observation room, the recording interface on their phone screen flashing by in a blur.
But hospitals were always full of people rushing about, and given the massive shock she had endured today, Leah didn’t notice a thing.
She returned to the car to retrieve her phone just as Charlotte Quinn called.
“Leah!
Are you alright?
Try not to worry too much.
I heard Adrian is fine,” Charlotte said rapidly.
“Yeah, I know.
I just saw him at the hospital,” Leah replied.
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief.
After ending the call, Leah walked back into the hospital, feeling her throat grow even drier.
She decided to buy a few bottles of water from a vending machine and carried them inside.
She reached the door of the observation room but paused before walking in.
A pitiful, sobbing voice drifted out from inside.
“Adrian, you scared me to death!”
Leah stopped in her tracks, suddenly losing any desire to go inside.
She turned and walked away, bumping straight into Robert as he approached.
Robert froze when he saw her leaving.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Leah shoved the bottles of water into his hands.
“Something came up.
I won’t be going back in.”
He parted his lips to say something else, but Leah had already sidestepped him and hurried away.
Robert watched her retreating figure for a moment, pondered the situation, and then carried the water into the observation room.
As soon as he stepped inside, he heard Wendy Scott’s delicate sobs.
“My heart practically stopped when I saw those photos!
I was absolutely terrified!”
Robert paused, instantly understanding why Mrs.
Hawthorne had turned around and left.
Adrian sat on the hospital bed, his posture somewhat distracted and lazy.
When Robert reached the door, Adrian’s peripheral vision immediately darted in his direction.
Seeing that it was only his assistant, he lazily averted his gaze.
“I’m not dying,” Adrian said.
The remark carried a double meaning; it was hard to tell if he was referring to his own survival or implying that Wendy wouldn’t be scared to death so easily.
Hearing this, Wendy bit her lip and froze.
Robert walked in and placed the water bottles on the bedside cabinet.
“Mrs.
Hawthorne bought these.”
Adrian, who had been absentmindedly staring down, finally looked up.
“Where is she?”
“She just left.” Robert hesitated.
“Uh, she…
handed me the water at the door and said she was leaving.” As he spoke, Robert shot a discreet glance in Wendy’s direction.
Adrian raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding the implication.
He let out a soft scoff and murmured, “…How spineless.”
Over the phone, Charlotte was saying the exact same thing.
“…Leah, you’re so spineless!
You’re his legitimate, lawfully wedded wife!
Why are you hiding from that little bitch, Wendy Scott?”
Just listening to her voice, Leah could perfectly picture Charlotte stomping her feet in frustration on the other end of the line.
Leah chuckled softly.
“I’m just a little tired and don’t have the energy to argue with her.
Besides, it’s only a matter of time before Adrian and I get divorced.
As long as he’s alright today, that’s all that matters.”
Even if they were going to separate, Leah harbored no malicious desires to see him suffer or wish him ill.
If he had actually ended up in danger because he came to Lantheon to find her, Leah would never have been able to forgive herself.