Chapter 224 A Quarrel


    The pain was alleviated somehow, but only the slightest bit.


    Maria was alone inside the ward. She closed her eyes tightly and rolled from side to side on the


    bed.


    She felt like she was about to die. Just then, Alina walked into the ward and came to her bedside.


    She looked down at Maria as thetter writhed in pain.


    Maria nced at her visitor and said nothing. She gritted her teeth and moved her hand beside the


    pillow.


    Recognizing the anger in her eyes, Alina smirked and asked, "Oh, dear. What seems to be the


    problem, Maria?"


    Meanwhile, down at the parking lot, James sat inside his car without turning on the engine. Instead,


    he took out a cigarette and lit it.


    He blew the smoke at his windshield, wondering why he had resorted to arguing with a patient just


    now. Besides, why did he have to listen to her anyway? Sure, she didn''t want him to look into her


    affairs, but that didn''t meant that he would justply willingly.


    He finished a single stick, found himself walking back into the hospital.


    As James approached the ward, the first thing that caught his attention was the fact that the door


    was open. He stepped inside and saw Maria, who had beenfortably settled on the bed only a


    few moments ago, crumpled on the floor.


    His breath caught in his throat and he hurriedly strode over to her. "Maria!"


    She was pitifully curled into herself, her face white as a sheet, her body trembling slightly. There


    was blood at the back of her hand, probably caused by her fall, since the needle of her IV drip had


    been yanked out in the process.


    He moved to pick her up, but Maria pped his hand away as soon as he touched her. "Don''t touch


    me!"


    "Stop being so willful," he said.


    Those words again! Maria clenched her fists, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. "No! I will


    make you all restless and uneasy. I will haunt you..."


    Why did hee back? Did he and his future wifee to mock her?


    James dismissed her harsh words, thinking how much she must be suffering at the moment.


    Without another word, he took her in his arms and lifted her to the bed.


    When she finally raised her face, he saw traces of blood on her lips, making him wonder if she had


    identally bitten her tongue. Or did she bite her arm or something?


    With thatst thought, he pinched her chin and forced her to open her mouth. "What did you bite


    just now?"


    Maria couldn''t shake him off this time. She just didn''t have the strength. "It''s none of your business!"


    she retorted, panting.


    Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    James didn''t ask again. He let her go and pulled back the sleeves of her hospital gown. He found


    teeth marks on both of her arms, but her skin had luckily not been broken by the bites.


    He pressed the bell for the nurse. "Check her. Did she bite her tongue?"


    The nurse nced at him nervously, looking like she had something she wanted to say, but fearing


    the consequences.


    James was quick to pick up on her hesitation, and his instincts screamed at him that something had


    undoubtedly happened here while he was gone. "Tell me!" he said, scowling.


    The nurse took onest nce at the patient, who was grimacing in pain on the hospital bed. She


    was no match against James'' intimidating aura, and she finally opened her mouth. "A woman came


    in here just now, and Ms. Song bit her."


    "Who?"


    The nurse answered honestly, "She wrote her name on the file record-Alina Tang."


    Alina Tang? What an unexpected visitor indeed. James spected on the possible reasons the


    woman might have foring here, his scowl only growing deeper the longer he pondered.


    Then he came to his senses and asked the nurse to administer the infusion to Maria once more.


    The girl did as he asked, and when she was done, she took a cotton swab to wipe the dried blood


    from the patient''s lips.


    When they were alone again, James fetched a basin of warm water and a towel. He sat by the bed


    and wiped Maria''s face. She seemed to have recovered from the pain, but she was still trembling


    ever so slightly.


    Soon, color returned to her cheeks, and she settled against the pillows. He tossed the towel back


    into the basin with a sigh.


    Maria''s eyes were closed, but James knew that she was still awake.


    "What did Alina say to you?"


    They must have had another quarrel. Why else would Maria end up on the floor?


    Shey still and silent on the bed, pretending to have not heard.


    James obliged and didn''t press her any further. Just then, his phone began to vibrate inside his


    pocket. He pulled it out and saw Lorenzo''s name shing on the screen.


    He nced at her before walking to the window to answer the call. "What is it?"


    Maria was still very weak, and she fell asleep before James even hung up.


    The sound of her steady breathing drifted over to him, and James lowered his voice. "Let''s talk


    about this tomorrow. That''s all."


    "Okay, Mr. Xi."


    He picked up the basin and went to the bathroom to pour out the used water. Then he dialed


    Summer''s number before returning outside. "What is the working schedule of the caregivers?"


    "Mr. Xi, they are supposed to work on different shifts so that someone is with Maria at all hours of


    the day. But Maria said that she was not used to being stared at 24/7 and asked that they be


    present only in the daytime."


    "Arrange several armed bodyguards to be on duty 24 hours a day. No one is allowed to enter the


    ward without my permission. If someone persists on breaking in, tell them to just do what they are


    hired to do. I''ll take care of the consequences."


    "Understood, Mr. Xi."


    Summer was quite efficient; within half an hour, two burly bodyguards in ck suits entered the


    ward and reported to James.


    James nodded, "You don''t need me to repeat my instructions, do you?" "No, Mr. Xi. Summer has


    been clear with your orders and we have taken them to heart."


    "Okay then." Then, without saying anything more, James left the hospital.


    The night rolled by quietly.


    When Maria woke up the next day, the doctor had already finished with his rounds. The caregiver


    was sitting patiently beside her bed, waiting for her to wake up.


    It wasn''t until after breakfast when she learned that two bodyguards had been stationed at her door,


    and by the order of James, no less.


    She realized then that Alina''s surprise visitst night had nothing to do with James.


    Three days passed in continuous infusion until the poison was finally cleared out of Maria''s system.


    The poison did not rpse again.


    It was getting colder and colder in H City. Maria hadn''t seen James for several days now.


    Still, she did nothing to contact him and stayed quietly in the ward to recuperate.


    During this period, Lawrence expressly made time to visit her. He kept apologizing and thanking her


    again and again. And when he had tried to breach the topic of her unexpected appearance in the


    vi that night, Maria drove him away by saying she was tired and sleepy.


    He understood what she was doing, of course. Lawrence just smiled, said nothing more, and left


    her to rest.


    There was still half a month left before the Spring Festival. Maria was standing in front of the


    window, looking at the dark sky outside.


    She was thinking that it would be a good idea that Jonathan would spend his holidays behind bars.


    Less than two dayster, she saw the news reports regarding Jonathan.


    His name was stered on the headlines. A whistleblower had revealed his dark secrets and


    provided evidence showing that he was the mastermind of thergest Ponzi scheme in H City.


    The report said that he had managed to extort billions of dors from investors in just five years,


    conning many officials and enterprise executives in his schemes.


    The matter was such a huge deal, and was so far-reaching with its implications, that many citizens


    found themselves unable to sleep or eat well in the face of such news.


    Even HL Bank was involved in the case, with a hefty amount of money getting dragged into


    question. It was said even the president of HL Group himself had been taken away for further


    investigation.


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