Free Web NovelChapter 337: Chapter 335: Really Afraid I’d Poison You?
Their tender moment didn’t last long. A knock sounded at the door—it was Felix Sinclair.
Soon after, the others arrived one by one.
Mia Grant was pale, her lips colorless, which only made the rims of her eyes look redder.
Everyone assumed Mia had been frightened by the drunk who had deliberately attacked her last night.
In reality, Mia had been consumed all day by the terror her dream had caused.
The truth was, in the end, she hadn’t seen the person’s face completely.
Just a chin.
Given how well she knew them, she should have been able to recognize the person even from just that.
Perhaps the result was just too unexpected. She subconsciously resisted it, unwilling to admit it.
So she still clung to a sliver of wishful thinking.
Mia spent a week in the hospital in a daze.
It was as if they had all coordinated, taking turns to stay with her at the hospital.
On the last day, it was Yates Donovan’s turn.
Yes, he had just gotten off the plane.
When Mia saw him, her expression was blank. She silently pulled the covers up, turned over, and went back to sleep.
The man who was usually best at lightening the mood said nothing at all this time.
He sat down in the chair by the bed and glanced at the peonies on the nightstand, their white petals tinged with pink. They reminded him of her face.
She looked a little better than in the photos he’d received a few days ago, a hint of color returning to her fair skin.
’They didn’t do as bad a job of looking after her as I’d imagined.’
When Mia woke up again, it was already evening.
Outside, the sky had darkened.
Through the window, she could hear the bustle of traffic from the street below.
The rustle of paper sounded, very faint, but her sharp ears caught it.
Yates was sitting in the chair, looking through a file.
Suddenly, his hands stilled. He looked up and met her scrutinizing gaze.
He raised an eyebrow and casually closed the file. "Did I wake you?"
Mia stared at him as he stood up and nonchalantly placed the important-looking file on her nightstand, right next to the vase of peonies.
Then he walked over and turned on the light. The room was finally bright.
Mia snapped back to her senses and said in a hoarse voice, "You could have turned on the light just now. I wouldn’t have woken up."
Yates smiled as he poured her a glass of water. "It’s fine, my eyesight is pretty good. Besides, it wasn’t that dark."
Turning back, he supported her back with one hand, helping her sit up against the headboard. Then he put a straw in the glass and held it to her lips.
Mia glanced at him but didn’t drink.
Yates let out an unreadable laugh. "What’s wrong? Afraid I poisoned it?"
In the past, when he said things like that, she would either glare at him coquettishly or fire back with a sarcastic retort.
Today, however, she was unusually quiet.
She didn’t drink the water, just kept looking at him.
It was as if she was genuinely worried... that the water was poisoned.
Upon realizing this, the smile on Yates’s face nearly faltered, threatening to collapse.
He forced the corners of his mouth up. "You don’t think I was the one who hired that guy, do you?"
He was referring to the drunkard.
He paused, then added, "Or are you mad that I got here late?"
"Where I was..." He wanted to explain in detail, but then felt she didn’t need it. In the end, he just said, "I flew back the moment I was finished."
"You’re a top student, so you should know how much of a hassle it is to fly back from Valoria, right?"
He had been working nonstop for days, and had long since lost track of what time zone he was in.
First it was Afrion, then he flew to Lonton, Canopia, Venton, Iberis, and finally Valoria.
After finally finishing his work, he couldn’t sleep on the nearly 35-hour flight back because his mind was unsettled.
He had pushed through the entire journey.
"I was going to call you, but then I thought about how everyone was here, even Kian Keller was back, so you probably didn’t need me for the time being."
He finished his explanation in a calm tone, then moved the glass toward his own lips, intending to test it for poison.
Before it could touch them, a hand tightened around his wrist.
He looked up, his gaze dark and unreadable as he stared at her face.
She still said nothing, but silently pulled his wrist closer and took the straw between her lips.
After dutifully finishing the glass of water, she released his hand and gave his wrist a gentle push.
Yates smiled.
He put the glass on the table and asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner.
Mia had been eating nothing but nutritional meals for days, and now the sight of food held no appeal for her.
Fortunately, since she was just lying in bed all day, she wasn’t burning any extra calories.
Plus, the nutritional meals from the various families were quite substantial, so she didn’t feel hungry.
"I’m not hungry." She had no desire to try yet another family’s nutritional meal.
"Then you can at least eat a little with me, right? I’ve been starving since I got off the plane."
Mia didn’t believe him.
’A young master like him, starving?’
Yates shrugged. "They did bring food, but I was worried about the smell, so I didn’t eat."
As if sensing something, Mia turned her head and glanced at the food containers on the coffee table nearby, her brow furrowing slightly.
Mr. Payne had already prepared dinner. One phone call, and it was brought up in less than two minutes.
When Mia came out of the bathroom, she saw the overbed table had been raised, and Yates was busy arranging things on it.
Mia didn’t want to eat in bed. "Let’s eat over at the coffee table."
Yates glanced back at her, and without hesitation, nodded with a smile. "Sure. You go sit down, I’ll bring it over."
He closed the opened food containers one by one and carried them over.
It took him two or three trips to move everything.
Only after Mia sat down did she notice just how much food was on the table.
She frowned in surprise. "Did you... only skip eating today?"
Caught off guard by her deadpan joke, Yates burst out laughing.
After laughing for a long while, he handed her a clean spoon. "You can’t get authentic food like this abroad. Now that I’m finally back, I have to try a bit of everything, of course."
"Take a look. What do you want to eat?"
Mia looked at the spread and swallowed hard.
"Am I allowed to eat this?"
"Why not?" Yates asked, confused.
Mia’s uncertain gaze swept across the table again.
Lamb skewers, pan-fried buns, beef noodle soup, pizza, fried chicken, roast duck, barbecue, sushi, malatang...
’It’s pretty much confirmed now. This isn’t what *he* wanted to eat.’
"The doctor told me not to eat any of this."
"A little bit won’t hurt."
His words were as tempting as the junk food on the table.
Mia put down the spoon he’d given her. "I want chopsticks."
Yates’s shoulders shook with laughter as he handed her his own chopsticks.
It was the only meal in seven days that Mia had truly enjoyed.
But not long after she finished eating, she threw up.
It was because she saw the duck blood on the table.
Yates was stunned at first. Hearing the sounds from the bathroom, he realized what was happening and even knocked his leg as he shot up from his seat.
While Mia retched, he was by her side, pouring water for her to rinse her mouth and gently patting her back.
Seeing her in such distress, Yates was struck by a rare feeling of self-reproach.
He thought back, confused. "I asked the doctor. He said a little bit would be fine. How could this..."
