Chapter 142: Joel Smith Is Cracking
Justin’s eyes widened in shock. He hastily went over and picked up his daughter, who broke into a frown. In her dazed state, she saw Justin and said, “Daddy, Cherry’s stomach hurts so much…”
A stomachache…
Justin hastily carried her downstairs, but Cherry instead cried out, “I want Mommy… Mommy…”
Mommy…
On the way to the hospital, Justin took out his cell phone and called Nora in the end.
The phone rang for a very long time before it was finally picked up. The recipient also sounded displeased as she said, “You’d best have something important to say.”
Justin said, “… Pete’s having a stomachache. I’m taking him to the hospital now.”
There was only a one-second pause before her voice became much clearer—obviously, she had woken up.. She said, “I’ll come over right away.”
At the VIP ward in Hospital Finest.
Justin sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the tiny little child lying down. IV fluid was flowing into her body through the needle on her hand. Cherry, who finally wasn’t hurting anymore, had fallen asleep.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open and a figure rushed over in front of him like the wind.
Justin saw Nora come up to Cherry slickly but anxiously. She reached out her hand and checked her pupils. Then, she held her other hand as if she was checking her pulse. After that, she stood up and took a look at the IV fluid prescribed to Cherry. After checking all these, the woman, who had a chilly look on her face, finally said, “It’s normal stomach flu.”
However, she didn’t relax much even after saying that.
Cherry was born prematurely. She might look stronger and sturdier than Pete, but that was only because Nora had spent a lot of hard work and effort nursing her back then.
Compared to most people, things were more troublesome when she fell sick.
Nora took out a bag of pills from her pocket, took one out, and stuffed it into Cherry’s mouth.
The action woke Cherry up, and she opened her eyes in a daze. When she saw Nora, she let out a soft mew of ‘Mommy’ like a kitten. After that, she swallowed the pill, which had melted in her mouth the moment it entered, and fell asleep again.
This time, however, she looked much better.
After Cherry’s condition stabilized, Nora, who was dressed completely in black, suddenly stood up, hooked her finger at Justin, and walked out.
Justin stood up slowly. The corners of his lips curled upward slightly and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye exuded an alluring charm.
He followed Nora out of the ward and saw her turning into the stairway at the side. Before she went in, she even specially looked back at him.
Her almond-shaped eyes were warm and inviting.
Justin walked over again. He had only just turned the corner when someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him toward the wall. By the time he was held against the wall, the woman had already come right up to him.
She gripped his collar with one hand and held him down forcefully while also holding his hands down with her other hand, thereby trapping him in place.
Justin didn’t resist. He leaned against the wall docilely and looked at the woman in front of him with a smile. Although she was half a head shorter than him, the look in her eyes was wild and untamed as she lifted her head and stared at him. She asked, “Mr. Hunt, why did you come to me when your son fell sick?”
The mirth in Justin’s eyes intensified.
Was she suspecting that he knew the truth?
He asked calmly, “Aren’t you a doctor?”
Nora was dubious of his claim, but not only did the man look calm, but his eyes were also dark and unreadable. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. She went on and asked, “There are many good doctors in the hospital.”
Justin’s voice was low and deep. Nora could even feel the vibrations in his chest when he spoke.
“But none of them are you…”
So, it was because he knew she was Anti?
That was obviously what he meant, yet he made it sound as if he was whispering sweet nothings to her. That man really was trying to flirt with her every moment of the day.
The look on Nora’s countenance flickered a little. It was only then that she noticed that the domineering vanilla scent on the man had filled her nose as they were in such close proximity to each other.
Her grip on his collar loosened slightly and she pulled away from him. However, there was still some resentment in her eyes as she asked, “What did Pete eat in the evening?”
Justin didn’t dare to be careless about this, so he listed the dishes one by one.
“Ice cream, French fries, mousse cake, iced watermelon juice, and…”
As she listened to the menu that he was casually relaying, Nora’s lip corners spasmed and she said sharply, “Children have weak digestive systems, so they can’t eat too much at night, especially when there’s both hot and cold food agitating the stomach. Even adults wouldn’t be able to take it, let alone children? How exactly did you raise your son to his current age, Mr. Hunt?”
As Pete was staying with her lately, she had taken the opportunity to conduct a full-body check-up on him.
Apart from being a little thinner than most, there was nothing really wrong with him.
However, at the sight of how casual Justin was about this, she really couldn’t help doubting whether he was qualified as a father or not!
The lectured Justin touched his nose awkwardly.
“…”
Of course, he was strict about that little brat’s diet, but whenever he was facing Cherry, the moment she called out ‘Daddy’ in that soft and tender voice of hers, he simply couldn’t bring himself to harden his heart, alright?
However, this was indeed his fault.
The usually domineering man backed down and said sincerely, “It’s my fault.”
Only then did Nora return to a straight posture. However, the next moment, Justin let out a soft chuckle and added, “We originally ordered those dishes for Ms. Smith though. Since you didn’t come, Pete and I could only eat them ourselves. After all, it’s not good to waste food.”
Nora, “?”
Was that guy blaming her for bailing on him?
—
At the other end of the hallway connecting the hospital’s VIP wards.
Joel, who was in the hallway, was talking to the doctor. He asked, “My third uncle’s condition had already been brought under control recently. Why did he suddenly faint?”
The doctor touched his glasses and sighed. He replied, “We did a CT scan on Mr. Smith and found a tumor in his neck.
The concrete details remain to be seen, but we will expedite the process and check if it’s malignant or benign.”
Joel nodded. There was a bit of anxiety on his usually gentle countenance. He asked, “What happens if it’s malignant? And what happens if it’s benign?”
The doctor heaved a sigh and replied, “Mr. Smith’s tumor is located too close to the arteries and is very dangerous. Most hemangiomas are benign. As long as the patient is nursed well, there usually aren’t any major problems. However, if it’s malignant, there’ll be some difficulties removing it via surgery.”
As the tumor was very close to the arteries, the moment one showed even the slightest bit of carelessness, even an unsteady hand could lead to the patient’s death.
Anti was probably the only one in the world who would dare to take on an operation like that.
The doctor didn’t dare to voice that out loud though. He could only hope that the tumor would turn out to be benign and have the patient undergo conservative treatment.
After the doctor finished talking to Joel about Ian’s condition, he left for consultation.
A frowning Joel walked toward the ward. His frown deepened when he saw the lights in the other VIP ward on the same floor.
Someone immediately explained, “It’s the Hunts’ little mister. He’s down with stomach flu, so they brought him here to put him on the drip.”
The Hunts’ little mister… In other words, Tanya’s son?
It was already so late. Tanya would probably also be there, right?
Joel, who wanted to see her, walked toward the other ward impulsively. However, when he passed by the stairs, he suddenly sensed something and quickly turned his head. Through the glass window on the door to the stairway, he could see a man and a woman sharing a passionate kiss inside…
The man was Justin Hunt.
As for the woman, she was… Nora Smith from the Andersons?
As though he had been petrified, Joel froze where he was!