“I know. Stop talking and just take it easy.” Natalie closed her eyes, her lips curling into a bitter smile. She couldn’t believe she was on her way to the hospital yet again! How incredibly “lucky” of her. The pain took over shortly, and before she knew it, she had already fainted.
****
When Natalie opened her eyes again, she was already lying snug on a hospital bed. An infusion needle was attached to the back of her hand. Thankfully, she felt much better now.
She turned her head to find Draco sitting at her bedside and reading the day’s paper. A slight breeze blew in through the window, lifting the corner of the newspaper, distracting him for a moment. He flipped the paper down and saw Natalie staring at him.
“You’re awake,” Draco said lightly.
“How are you feeling?” Natalie blinked at him for a few seconds as she tried to process the situation.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in Milan, Sir?”
“I booked another flight,” Draco replied nonchalantly.
“It’s still early, anyway. We still have time. Don’t worry about anything else besides yourself for now. Are you hungry? I’ve asked my family chef to prepare something and send it over.”
“Oh, that’s too much trouble, Sir. You shouldn’t have bothered.” A smile lit up Draco’s face, stunning Natalie speechless.
She realized then that this man had what some would call an ethereal beauty. And he had the personality to match, too. Despite his strict side, he was always kind and courteous to everyone. Natalie briefly wondered if anyone would ever be able to peel back his layers and truly know him. Draco shifted his attention back to the newspaper. When he spoke again, his voice had turned an octave lower, and his words caught her off-guard.
“You should call your husband. He probably has no idea that you’ve been admitted to the hospital.”
“Oh,” Natalie exclaimed before scrambling for her phone and sending Sebastian a message. Sebastian came over as soon as he received it. He strode into the ward, only to be greeted by the sight of his wife in deep conversation with Draco.
Natalie had a bright smile on her face. Why was she smiling like that to another man?
Sebastian was not happy.
Draco noticed Sebastian’s presence, and to his credit, he got up from his seat and nodded politely.
“Mr. Larson.” Sebastian returned his nod with a short one of his own, though he had to stop himself from doing a double take. Draco Wesley was beautiful, and certainly not in a manly way. If anything, he looked like some fancy boy toy. But Sebastian chose to keep his thoughts to himself. Draco studied him as well.
In his opinion, Sebastian seemed to be the kind of man who was desperate to show off his wealth and accomplishments. His face was very attractive, yes, but that was all there was. Natalie smiled awkwardly as the air thrummed with a subtle tension. She could tell that the men didn’t like each other.
Just when she thought she couldn’t bear the heavy atmosphere any longer, Draco suddenly turned to her with another smile.
“Since your husband is here, I should take my leave.” Sebastian’s narrowed gaze followed the other man to the door. It wasn’t until Draco was gone that he plopped on the chair the man had vacated. He wasn’t planning to say anything initially, but he couldn’t help himself in the end.
“Don’t be fooled by his good looks,” Sebastian grumbled. “He might be batting for the other team. You know how it is in the world of fashion. Most male designers are gay.” Natalie pressed her fingers to her lips to hide her grin.
“What are you on about? If you’re so convinced that he’s gay, then why are you even jealous of him?” Sebastian’s face darkened.
With a growl of warning, he reached out and pinched her cheek. Then his eyes drifted to the infusion tube strapped to her hand.
“What happened? You just got out of the hospital a while ago.”
“Honestly, I’m not really sure either.Maybe it was something I ate? But I simply had some coffee and a sandwich this morning.I didn’t have anything else,”Natalie said, feeling something was a little off.
Sebastian held her wrist and said, “And you usually don’t have stomach problems.”
“Yes, I seldom get stomachaches.Why did I all of a sudden have one today?”
Natalie felt this was a bit strange and joked, “Maybe it’s the city’s way of saying to me it hasn’t accepted me yet.”
Sebastian smiled without saying anything, but his eyes noticeably darkened.
When Natalie’s colleagues heard what happened, they all came over to visit her.
As soon as Rosa arrived at the hospital ward, she filled the room with her cheerful tone.
“Girl! You were perfectly fine this morning.Why are you in the hospital right now? It appears you have a weak constitution.You should exercise more and eat healthier after you get out of here.”
Hearing her say that, Natalie said with a smile on her face, “I will, but don’t you guys have to get back to work? You’re all here, aren’t you worried Mr.Wesley might get mad and fire you?”
She turned to look at Elizabeth, who was standing at the door, and smiled at her.
Rosa poked her in the arm and said, “Of course, all of us asked for leave before we came here.”
After having said that, she whispered in Natalie’s ear, “You’re really popular, even Elizabeth has come here to see you.She never cared about anyone in the studio before, you know.”
Natalie was greatly amused by her words.
While laughing out loud, she snuck a glance over at Elizabeth.She was standing there with a quiet and cold look on her face.
“Hey! I was just talking to you! Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Rosa shook her finger in Natalie’s direction, interrupting her train of thought.
“What is it? What did you say just now?”
Natalie wasn’t listening earlier.
Rosa’s eyes opened wide and she said word by word, “I told you to not worry about Milan.You’ll have another chance to go there in the future.Your health is the most important thing now.”
Natalie didn’t mind it at all and she said, “Mr.Wesley has changed the flight tickets.That means I can still go.”
Rosa’s face paled slightly, but then, she defaulted to her normal expression.
“Well, that’s very good.”
The two chatted for a long time in the ward.
Rosa checked her watch and said, “I still have work to finish.I have to head back now, Natalie.”
Natalie waved her hand at her with a smile on her face.Now, there was only Natalie and Elizabeth left behind in the ward.
The air seemed to be frozen as the both of them kept quiet.
Clenching the quilt with her fingers, Natalie was trying to come up with something to say when Elizabeth handed her a glass of water before she made her way out of the room.
Natalie was startled as she blinked her eyes in a confused state.She couldn’t wrap her mind around what it meant.
After a while, Natalie caught sight of Elizabeth walking in again with some pills in her hand.
“The nurse outside asked me to give you this.”
Elizabeth handed the pills to Natalie and then left again.
– Watching her receding back, Natalie stared at the glass of water and the medicine she was holding in her hands.
“More pills?” Sebastian arrived with dinner right then.His face appeared to change when he saw the medication in Natalie’s hand.
“Don’t take them right now.”
