Chapter 171 Ava is Missing Again
"Did you find out?"
"The people who kidnapped Ms. Davis were sent by Will. The whip marks on Ms. Davis were done by Mia. Ryan caused a huge scene at the Howard Villa. Will is still in the hospital now, heard he's badly injured. When Mia was thrown out of the Howard Villa, she was barely alive. A passerby saved her, she's in the ICU and not out of danger yet."
Joshua's furrowed brow radiated coldness. "They don't need to wake up."
"Understood."
......
Ava lifted her hand to wipe away the tear stains on Finn and Cleo's faces. "Okay, no more crying, be good."
"Hmph, bad daddy, mommy got hurt and he deliberately didn't tell us." Finn looked at Ava with such heartache.
Ava blinked. Obviously Joshua hadn't told Finn and Cleo about her previous condition.
Because just last night she was still in critical condition.
So he didn't dare tell Finn and Cleo. He was afraid he couldn't handle the outcome, and afraid they would be heartbroken, so he didn't tell anyone.
Joshua did nothing wrong.
"Finn, Cleo, don't blame Joshua. He thought it through very carefully. He just didn't want you to worry, understand?" Ava gently rubbed Finn and Cleo's little heads.
Finn and Cleo blinked. "Don't believe it. He just wanted to keep mommy all to himself and not let us come see her."
Not counting today, Ava had been missing for eight days total. During those eight days, Finn and Cleo were worried sick.
"Finn!" Ava's tone became more serious, and she couldn't help but feel more sympathy for Joshua. "You really misunderstood him. Joshua isn't that childish. He was afraid you'd worry about me. He had his own struggles too."
These past days he had shouldered all the anxiety and stress alone.
Until she woke up, he notified them as quickly as possible.
He did nothing wrong. If it were Ava, she would have done the same.
He loved her and loved the children. When she was hurt, he was upset, and he didn't want the children to be upset too.
Maybe Finn and Cleo couldn't understand Joshua yet, but Ava knew. She understood everything.
In the evening, Ava had someone send Finn and Cleo back. In her current condition, she couldn't take care of them. She didn't ask Joshua to come, insisting he get proper rest.
The attending doctor came in to check Ava's injuries. Seeing no one in Ava's room, he found it strange and couldn't help asking, "Dr. Davis, your husband isn't here today?"
"Yes, I made him go back and rest."
The doctor hung the medicine bottle for Ava. "He really should rest. During the days you were unconscious, every time we doctors came in, we could see him sitting by your side, never leaving for a moment.
The way he looked at you, so devoted yet filled with extreme worry - I've lived most of my life and never seen that in any other man's eyes. The nurses in our department were moved to tears every time they saw it."
"During those seven days I was unconscious, he never left once?" Ava knew Joshua should have been with her most of the time, but she never imagined he'd been there the entire time.
But his company was so busy...
"Yes, every time we finished examining you, he would always ask, 'Is she going to wake up soon?' We couldn't bear to tell him that you might..."
Might never wake up.
After the doctor left, Ava sat in the quiet hospital room, her thoughts surging wildly in her heart.
Her heart felt like it had been pricked, tingling and aching.
Seven days, one hundred and sixty-eight hours, one critical condition notice after another, one irregular heartbeat after another - for him, every minute and second must have been torture.
He told no one, stayed with her alone, and endured it all.
Ava's lips trembled, her nose couldn't help turning red. She lifted her hand and pulled out her phone from under the pillow, video calling Joshua.
The moment Joshua answered, just as Ava expected, he was at the office.
His handsome face appeared on the phone screen, his gentle voice sounding, "What's wrong?"
"Joshua..."
"Hold on." Joshua looked up and waved his hand, apparently signaling the person in front of him to leave. "Okay, what's wrong? Why are your eyes red? Missing me? I'll come back to be with you right now."
"Joshua..." Ava called his name softly.
Sensing something was really off with Ava's emotions, Joshua's eyes darkened, his voice becoming softer and softer, as if afraid to scare her. "What's wrong?"
Joshua's carefulness made Ava's chest feel tight. "Nothing, I just missed you."
"I'll come over right now."
"No need to come. I just wanted to see you, do a surprise check. Didn't you promise me you'd go back and rest? How are you working again?" Ava complained, "Do you think you're a robot? You stayed with me at the hospital for so many days, and now what time is it and you're still working overtime? Are you deliberately trying to make me feel bad for you?"
Though Ava was scolding him, her words were full of concern.
Joshua obediently listened to Ava's long lecture, his heart instantly melting completely. His low, husky voice chuckled softly, "You feel bad for me?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Ava asked matter-of-factly.
Joshua froze.
"So are you going to rest now?" Ava looked at Joshua's slightly tired handsome face, urging him repeatedly.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Your office has a rest room, right?"
Joshua got up and walked to the rest room. "Yes."
"Sleep well."
"Don't hang up." Joshua lay down on the bed in the rest room. "Stay with me for a while."
"Okay, I'll stay with you. You sleep."
"Okay."
Joshua slowly closed his eyes. Ava didn't hang up the phone, lying down and watching Joshua's handsome face.
Ava yawned. Without realizing it, her eyelids grew heavy and she slowly fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, a tall figure quietly entered the silent hospital room.
The next day.
When Ava woke up, there was no one beside her. There was no familiar smell of disinfectant around her. She was suddenly startled, only to find herself in an unfamiliar environment.
"You're awake."
Hearing the voice, Ava only then noticed a man walking by the floor-to-ceiling window. The sunlight outside shone through the huge glass, falling on his hair and creating a silvery glow.
"Ryan?" Ava looked at him with complete surprise.
Ryan stubbed out his cigarette and walked over, looking down at her. "It's me."
"How did I end up here?"
She had clearly been at the hospital on the phone with Joshua. While talking, she fell asleep, and when she woke up it was a completely unfamiliar environment. If she hadn't seen Ryan, she really would have wondered if she'd been kidnapped again.
"What do you think?" Ryan looked at her with a smile. "Did you get hit so hard your brain got damaged?"
"You're the one who's damaged." Ava retorted irritably. "Why did you bring me out here? Send me back quickly."
What if Joshua thought she'd been kidnapped again?
Ava's worry was justified.
At this moment, the hospital was already in chaos.
Ava was missing again...