Free Web NovelChapter 338: Chapter 336: A Lover Who Can’t Be Driven Away
Mia Grant hadn’t eaten much. She was probably still recovering from a serious illness, so her appetite was quite small. At most, she had only taken a single bite of each dish.
’It shouldn’t be like this, right?’
His expression soured. He had thought those bastards were taking good care of her...
But looking at her now, everything seemed wrong.
Another dry heave sounded by his ear.
She had already thrown up until there was nothing left.
Yet she still felt nauseous.
Suddenly, the hand resting on her back froze.
A ridiculous thought surfaced, making Yates Donovan forget to move for a long moment.
Mia Grant quickly cleaned herself up, then looked up and met a pair of deep eyes in the mirror.
The man’s pupils were dark, staring straight at her reflection, his indifferent gaze holding a bone-chilling coldness.
Mia’s hand trembled. She suddenly remembered the man from her dream, the one who had silently and relentlessly plunged a knife into her stomach.
Her pupils quaked. She shoved the man in front of her and practically bolted out the door.
Yates, lost in thought, stumbled from the force of the push. By the time he ran after her, there was no sign of her in the hospital room.
The window was cracked open; she had said she wanted to air out the smell of the food.
Now, the wind rustled the sheer curtains, making the room feel empty and desolate.
Mia Grant had escaped from the hospital.
But she didn’t get far. She was stopped on the first floor of the inpatient building.
Bodyguards from several families, usually disguised as passersby, now stood together in a line, their presence utterly oppressive.
From a distance, an uninformed passerby might have thought it was a crime scene.
A group of large men cornering a young girl, barefoot and in a hospital gown...
One of the patients’ family members bravely stepped forward, though not too close, and called out from a distance, "What are you all doing? Break it up! Or I’m calling security!"
The men before her acted as if they hadn’t heard a thing, single-mindedly blocking Mia’s path.
Mia was already shaken, and now, terrified by their intimidating presence, her legs gave out. She collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
This was the scene that greeted Yates when he rushed downstairs.
He swore under his breath and ran over to help her up.
"Are you all blind? Don’t you know to help someone who’s fallen?!"
The man’s voice was grim, clearly infuriated.
But he didn’t realize that his harsh tone made Mia flinch again.
Before she was even steady on her feet, she forcefully wrenched her arm out of his grasp.
"Don’t touch me!"
Her hoarse voice sounded as if she had screamed with all her might, almost to the point of tearing.
Yates froze on the spot, his hand hovering in mid-air, unsure whether to move it or not.
He stared at her, stunned, and asked hesitantly, "Did they just hurt you?"
He took a step forward, his voice barely a whisper as he called to her, "Baby?"
He had never called her that before.
Even at their most intimate moments, it was only ever "babe."
He had a distinct accent, and with his lazy drawl and magnetic voice, that casual "babe" coming from his lips sounded more like pillow talk.
But this time, there was no playfulness, no teasing.
It was filled with uncertainty and a desire to soothe, as well as a trace of sadness he himself hadn’t even noticed.
Before his foot could even land, Mia stopped him from coming any closer.
She clutched her chest, trying to calm herself. "You... just stay back for now."
Yates’s eyelashes trembled. A flicker of sorrow crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a smile. "I won’t come closer. I’ll call a doctor to take you back, okay?"
"You’re not wearing shoes or a coat. We’re right by the entrance; you’ll catch a cold."
He did his best to keep his voice steady, mustering all his patience. His tone was so gentle that his nearby subordinates couldn’t help but stare in disbelief.
"I’ll have them escort you upstairs, and I won’t follow. Okay?"
Mia didn’t say a word.
Yates pressed his lips together briefly, feeling helpless for the first time.
But he still tried to persuade her with a smile. "I won’t hurt you. I’ll leave as soon as you go upstairs. Then I’ll have the others come see you. If you don’t want all of them, I can just get Hayes Hughes to..."
"You... just stop talking for a minute," Mia cut him off, her voice raised.
Yates froze.
He had no idea what had just happened.
The last time they parted, everything had been fine between them.
He finally understood how Kian Keller must have felt during his last misunderstanding with her.
This was truly awful.
Even worse than what happened with Kian.
Because not only was he helpless, but he had no idea what had caused it.
At least Kian knew which line he had crossed.
But Yates was like a chicken with its head cut off.
Facing this reality, Yates couldn’t accept it.
’But I’m the one who understands her best.’
’I’m the one who’s closest to her.’
’Why?’
An indescribable emotion wound around his nerves like an invisible thread.
His head ached terribly.
He felt the urge to lash out.
But when he met her tear-filled eyes, all he felt was heartache and self-blame.
Even though he had no idea what mistake he had made to cause her... to treat him like this.
It had never been like this, not even when their relationship was at its most strained.
’Is it just because I didn’t come back sooner?’
He quickly dismissed the thought. ’No.’
She was occasionally spoiled and could be unreasonably dramatic.
But that was all part of their dynamic.
It never bothered him in the slightest; in fact, he found it comforting.
He liked it when she acted spoiled with him, liked teasing her until she got angry, then watching her chide him with a pout, calling him a bastard or a son of a bitch.
Anything was fine... it was all just normal communication between a husband and wife.
She knew where to draw the line and never tried to manipulate him with these little tricks when it came to serious matters.
So, even if she were angry that he had arrived late, she wouldn’t cause a scene of this magnitude.
Besides, judging by her reaction, this wasn’t just her throwing a tantrum.
She didn’t want him to come near, didn’t even want him to speak.
She wanted no contact with him—not a brief touch, not even the sound of his voice.
He hadn’t rested in a very long time. He had watched over her at the hospital for a full day, and even while she slept, he never closed his eyes, only using the time to handle some work.
These last few days, he had truly been spread too thin.
Rushing back for Valentine’s Day had already consumed all of his free time.
He even felt a pang of regret.
’If only I hadn’t come back to stop Silas Grant’s proposal.’
’So what if the proposal had succeeded?’
’It would have been better than this.’
’Then I could have gotten here sooner.’
But none of that was the point right now!
Yates desperately wanted to pound his own ringing head.
But he was afraid of frightening her, so he endured the sharp pain and gestured with his eyes for a nearby subordinate to call for medical staff.
Before the medical staff arrived, Mia swallowed hard and finally lifted her eyes to look at him.
Seeing this, Yates quickly forced a smile, gazing at her with the gentlest expression he could muster.
"..."
Mia was moved by his gaze and hesitantly raised her hand, which was still trembling uncontrollably.
Yates knew she was in a terrible state.
Heartache unconsciously surfaced in his eyes.
He wanted to call out to her, to move closer, but he didn’t dare.
Mia coughed twice as soon as she tried to speak, then held out her trembling hands. "I-I’m okay."
"Ya... Ya..."
She struggled to part her lips, as if her ability to speak had been scrambled and she couldn’t manage to say his name.
But fortunately, standing before this struggling soul was a lover who could never be driven away.
Just one syllable was enough.
"I’m here!"
It was probably a complication from her condition. Mia’s vision blurred, and before she could see anything clearly, she was pulled into a warm embrace.
