Chapter 482
“Ms. Tanner, Mr. Tristan’s someone important. We can’t take any risks,” the others reminded Sophie.
“I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility if anything. Nothing will happen to you guys,” she assured.
Just like that, the surgery began.
Sophie tried to calm down and told herself to treat Tristan like a regular patient instead of her boyfriend.
He’s just like all other patients. I just need to do my part as usual.
The other head physicians dared not breathe a word as the operation began.
“Scalpel,” Sophie uttered.
Seeing the determination on her face, a surgeon quickly stepped up and passed her the scalpel like an assistant.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Tanner. I’ll assist you,” he said. Everyone there was a doctor, so they knew they should not shirk responsibility at a time like that.
They had mentally prepared themselves to bear the responsibility if anything went wrong during Tristan’s surgery.
Sophie nodded at the surgeon, who passed her the scalpel, and started removing the bullet.
Compared to the operation she performed on Tristan when they first met, the part where the bullet lodged was trickier to access, so the surgery progressed rather slowly.
Still, the surgeon was relieved when Sophie made the first incision, for he had never witnessed such skilled hands in his life.
The girl before him did not look experienced, but her skills were much better than Arius’.
It was as if that pair of hands were made to hold a scalpel.
Sophie continued the operation with full concentration. Every cut was precise, but her movement was slow and careful because the surgery was complicated.
It was not until two hours later that Sophie finally removed the bullet. After that, she stitched and dressed the wound.
“Well done, Ms. Tanner!”
The surgery took a good four hours, and the nurses kept wiping the sweat off Sophie’s forehead, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that Sophie had finally removed the bullet.
They were impressed by the girl.
“Good job, Ms. Tanner!” the surgeon exclaimed. Although he had more than twenty years of experience himself, he was not confident that the surgery would be successful, but Sophie did it anyway.
Sophie kept quiet, receiving the compliments.
She knew that was just the beginning, for the next twenty-four hours would be the most defining moment.
She held Tristan’s hand, hoping that he would regain consciousness within that time.
“Tristan, you promised me you would spend the rest of your life with me. I won’t let you go. Not even death can take you away from me.”
That was the first time she had attempted such a complicated surgery, but she did not waver for one bit, for she loved Tristan and wanted to do her best to save him.
After the operating room’s door opened, Sophie took down her mask.
“Sophie? Why are you in there? How’s Tristan?” Sarah was surprised to see her there.
“The surgery went well. The next twenty-four hours will be the most critical period.” Sophie was spent after a complex surgery.
It so happened that Arius had just arrived as well.
“Did you do it all on your own?”
“Yes. Where were you? We were trying to contact you,” Sophie asked, wondering why Arius was unreachable when he was in Jipsdale itself.
“Something came up. How’s Tristan?” Arius asked anxiously. He knew how tiring conducting a surgery was—let alone one that took four hours.
“I’m good. I just hope Tristan can recover.”
As for Lincoln, he walked past Sophie and went straight over to Tristan when he saw the latter being wheeled to the intensive care unit. All he could think of at that moment was Tristan’s safety.
Lincoln and Sarah did not leave an inch. They stayed beside Tristan while Sean went out to get everyone some water.
“You should go rest, Sophie. We can take care of him,” Arius said when he saw how exhausted Sophie was.
“I’m okay. I want to stay with him.”
Sophie could not rest a wink given how things were.
All she wanted to do was be beside Tristan.
“What about you lean on my shoulder and rest a little?” Arius suggested. It pained his heart to see Sophie exerting herself. She had always been like a sister to him.
“Don’t worry about me, Arius. I’m really okay.” Sophie could even go without sleep for three nights, so staying up to wait for Tristan was not a problem.
Arius shook his head, seeing Sophie was adamant.
“How I wish you and Tristan never met. You’d still be the same old Sophie I knew if you didn’t meet him,” Arius commented.
She was already so drained, yet all she could think about was Tristan.
“But it’s only until I met him that I understood what love is.”
Never once did she regret meeting that man.
It fact, she was more than grateful that Tristan loved her.
Meanwhile, Sarah walked over and sat beside Sophie when she saw how tired the latter was.
“You should get some rest. We will stay by his side. Nothing will happen to him.” Since they were all Tristan’s family, it went without saying that they would take good care of him, given how worried they were.
Although Sarah knew Sophie loved her brother deeply and was worried as well, Sophie looked too worn out to be staying up.
“It will break his heart to see you like that when he wakes up,” Sarah added, trying to persuade Sophie.
“How’s Felix, by the way?” Sophie asked. She had just heard from Arius that Felix was injured as well.
“He’s fine. His injury isn’t that serious. Ysabelle and Charles are there. His family just arrived, too, so don’t worry.”
“I see. Tristan will be fine, right, Sarah? Why does he keep running into danger like this?” Sophie asked, recalling how Tristan was caught in the same situation when they first met.
“I guess it can’t be helped. He has had a few similar encounters growing up. His success in Jipsdale comes at a cost. Many people out there want him dead.”
“I see…”
Sophie felt miserable.
Everyone is envious of Tristan for his success, but no one can understand how it feels like to have one’s enemies breathing down their neck.
Sophie’s heart wrenched at the realization. She could not believe that was how Tristan had always felt since he was young.
“All right, Sophie. It’s time for you to rest. We still have twenty-four hours to go, so you should get some sleep. You need the energy to care for him when he wakes up.”
“Okay, then.”
The last thing Sophie wanted was to be a burden to Tristan, so she went to the ward next door for a nap. When she woke up, it was already three thirty in the morning.
She tried going back to sleep but could not, so she went to Tristan’s room to check on him.
“Why are you here, Sophie? It’s not even morning yet. I’ll be here the whole night. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m a doctor too. I can handle him,” Arius said when he saw her.
“I’m feeling a lot better after some sleep. I’m really okay now. Don’t worry.”
“You never listen to me.”
Since Sophie would not listen to him, he let her stay.
“Are you hungry? What don’t I get you some food?”
It suddenly occurred to Arius that Sophie had not eaten anything.
