Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20 One More Step Toward the Light
Rose had no idea how Ariel had figured it out.
She considered herself quite good at putting on a brave face, yet Ariel had somehow picked up on it.
She wasn’t unhappy, and she certainly wasn’t sad or heartbroken.
It was just that, with so many things piling up, she could only keep bottling them up inside, unable to find any relief.
“No, of course not.” Rose clasped her hands together, her smile growing gentler. “Did you finish your bath, sweetie?”
Ariel nodded, pressing her little face against the phone screen as if trying to comfort her silently.
“Mommy, don’t be sad. I know you’re changing the subject, but it’s okay. Once I’m back with you, you’ll be happy again.”
Rose hurriedly covered the phone’s camera with her hand.
She tilted her head back, trying to force the tears from her eyes.
But she realized it was no use.
So much had happened recently. Even though she seemed decisive and strong, in reality, she was still just enduring it.
She had no choice but to endure.
If her emotions had no outlet, pretending nothing had happened was the only way she could protect herself.
Rose roughly wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve and smiled again.
“Okay, baby. Just wait a little longer. Mommy will have you standing in the light very soon.”
*****
Last night, she had been left by the roadside and waited more than half an hour for a ride.
Rose inevitably caught a cold.
She absolutely hated taking medicine. As a child, Dr. Nathan Hale had often taught her to identify medicinal plants, study drug compounds, and memorize pharmacological properties, leaving her with a deep aversion to bitter medicines.
She planned to tough it out for a few days and let the cold run its course.
Before the New Year, most of her work at Grand Sage centered on finalizing several research proposals.
After the holiday, she intended to devote herself fully to the next phase of her medical research.
As the sole successor of Dr. Nathan Hale, Rose had inherited not only his expertise in pharmacology and drug development but also his lifelong belief that medicine should never stop evolving.
After the New Year, Rose planned to devote herself fully to advancing medical innovation.
Years ago, when she first began studying pharmacology and drug research under Dr. Nathan Hale, she was astonished by the complexity of medicine. Every breakthrough seemed to uncover ten new questions. From drug discovery and medicinal chemistry to biotechnology and clinical therapeutics, each field offered a different piece of the puzzle.
Back then, she realized something important: no single discipline held all the answers. Every field had its strengths. Every area of research had its limitations. And every generation of scientists carried the responsibility of pushing medicine forward.
Her Pharmaceutical Intelligence Platform had already demonstrated how vast amounts of research data could be standardized, integrated, and analyzed through advanced technology, accelerating the path from scientific discovery to real-world treatment.
But that was only the beginning.
This time, Rose’s ambitions were even greater.
She wanted to combine global pharmaceutical research, clinical medicine, biotechnology, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence into a single intelligent healthcare platform. Her goal was to create a system capable of analyzing symptoms, identifying potential health risks, assisting with early screening, and providing accessible preliminary health guidance to ordinary people.
If successful, the project could dramatically improve access to reliable healthcare information while helping researchers and medical professionals make better use of the world’s growing body of medical knowledge.
Rather than allowing valuable research data to remain scattered across institutions and databases, Rose wanted to build a platform that could integrate, organize, and continuously learn from new discoveries, accelerating medical innovation on a global scale.
Caleb was the heir to New York’s Peace Hospital, which possessed extensive clinical resources and one of the country’s most comprehensive medical databases.
Rose planned to spend the next several days collecting and organizing large-scale clinical data at Peace before returning to Grand Sage to oversee the integration process.
The proposed AI platform would eventually incorporate research from multiple medical disciplines, including pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, biotechnology, preventive medicine, genomics, and modern clinical diagnostics. By integrating knowledge across these fields, Rose hoped to create a tool that would benefit both healthcare professionals and the public on an unprecedented scale.
By her third day in Peace Hospital’s Global Medical Innovation Center, Rose had already become quite familiar with the specialists, researchers, and nurses working there.
She had just stepped out of her office when an excited young intern nurse ran over.
“Dr. Rose, a super-hot guy just walked in! I thought he was a celebrity. He’s carrying a kid and brought his wife in for an appointment. How is a guy that handsome already taken?”
Rose’s voice was hoarse from her cold. She raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“How handsome?”
The young nurse pointed toward the pediatric department.
“Right there. I’m not exaggerating, am I?”
Rose lifted her gaze from the folder in her hands.
Ryan was tall and broad-shouldered, standing out immediately in the crowd. Combined with the calm confidence and effortless authority that came with wealth and status, he was impossible to ignore.
He was holding a listless Mike in his arms.
Samantha walked beside him, reviewing the payment receipt.
The sight of this “family of three” was truly heartwarming.
The saying love me, love my dog seemed perfectly embodied by Ryan.
Because he loved Samantha, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to her younger brother, personally staying by Mike’s side when he fell ill.
Perhaps her gaze lingered a little too long.
Before carrying Mike into the pediatric department, Ryan glanced in her direction.
Their eyes met for two brief seconds.
Then he casually looked away, acting as if she weren’t there at all.
Samantha noticed it too.
She wasn’t worried that Rose would lose control, grab Ryan, and announce that he was her husband. Rose simply wasn’t the type to humiliate herself like that.
With that in mind, Samantha naturally slipped her arm through Ryan’s free one.
The two of them walked through the doors together.
The young nurse continued chattering excitedly.
“My goodness, seeing a couple like that makes me believe in marriage again. I’ve really learned something today.”
Rose had already returned to reviewing her data.
“Tell me more.”
“The more handsome they are, the more devoted they are!”
“...”
Rose glanced at the girl, who was three or four years younger than her, and found herself at a loss for words.
“A man’s charm exists entirely in a woman’s imagination.”
“But that can’t be true,” the young nurse protested. “At least that couple looked completely in love!”
“...”
Rose couldn’t deny that.
Even she, the wife in this marriage, had to applaud this passionate extramarital affair.
“Dr. Rose, tell me—why aren’t there more good men like that? Handsome and devoted?”
The young nurse looked genuinely dejected.
Rose closed her data book and patted her on the shoulder.
“They’re out there, I promise. If you can’t find one, try two, three, four, five, or even six. No problem. A man’s lifelong ambition is to move from one bed to the next, selling his body at clearance prices while his character is practically worthless.”
The young nurse: “...”
What was wrong with secondhand? Why jump straight to third-, fourth-, and fifth hand?
Rose had no intention of continuing the conversation.
But the young nurse looked at her with concern.
“Dr. Rose, you look terrible. Are you sure you don’t want to take some medicine?”
Rose smiled and shook her head.
“I’m fine. I’m almost better.”
The young nurse didn’t press the issue.
Throughout the morning, Rose worked on mapping out the operational model for Peace’s TCM Department.
During a break, Diana sent her a series of chat screenshots.
They were all about Samantha.
Diana: [Ryan bought Samantha a house? The news is already spreading!]
Rose’s eyes flickered.
Ryan had negotiated with her to give up that apartment and had even offered her two hundred million dollars. She should have seen it coming.
If he was willing to spend that much for Samantha, why would he let her buy property with her own money?
Rose glanced through the screenshots.
[Have you heard? Mr. Knight spent a fortune buying Samantha a house. What a lucky woman. That’s Ryan Knight we’re talking about.]
[Wait, isn’t Mr. Knight already married? What does that make Samantha—his mistress?]
[Hahaha. She’s a public figure now. If this gets out, how is she supposed to save face?]
[Wasn’t Samantha engaged to Ethan Knight before? She’s really playing both sides. Doesn’t she feel embarrassed?]
Plenty of people had harsh opinions.
Among wealthy families, gossip traveled fast, and jealousy was never in short supply.
Rose replied: [We signed a prenup. I have no say in how he spends his money.]
The former chairman had always been wary of her and had made it clear that Ryan’s post-marriage assets had nothing to do with her.
Even if she wanted a share of the marital assets, she wouldn’t get one.
Diana immediately replied: [I’m going to make paper effigies of that couple right now!!! I’ll have an entire truckload made!!!]
Rose simply laughed.
Around noon, she decided to try the hospital cafeteria.
She stepped toward the elevator.
The doors opened.
Rose stopped short.
Ryan was standing inside.
Hearing movement, he looked up.
Rose hesitated briefly before stepping in.
She saw no reason to avoid him.
At this hour, the elevator was nearly empty.
Only the two of them remained, standing on opposite sides as though separated by an invisible line.
Rose’s nose was stuffed up, and her head felt foggy. She kept reaching for tissues and blowing her nose.
“Caught a cold?”
Ryan lowered his gaze, studying Rose’s profile thoughtfully.
