Josephine grabbed some stuff from her old coworker and headed back to the ward. Barely exchanging a few words with Jeffery, her phone buzzed, and she picked it up. "Claudia!"
Claudia chuckled, "Hey Josephine, how's Jeffery doing? Is he feeling any better? When's he getting out of there?"
When Jeffery first got admitted, Josephine hadn't planned on telling Claudia. But Laura let it slip.
Josephine didn't want Claudia to stress out. Luckily, Jeffery was stable and pretty much fine now.
Josephine quickly replied, "He's getting out tomorrow. He's all good. What about you? When are you coming back?"
"I might be a few days late," Claudia said. "I'm at the hospital right now."
Josephine was taken aback. "You're at the hospital?"
She quickly put two and two together and asked, "Are you there to see Jair?"
Claudia hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I came to see him and found out a friend of his was looking after him. Since he's abroad and doesn't have family around, I figured I'd stay and help out for a few days."
Josephine laughed, "He's not seriously hurt, right?"
Claudia said, "Not really, just needed a few stitches. It's a bit hard for him to move around, so he needs to rest up for a few days."
"Well, guys aren't usually that great at taking care of themselves. It's good you're there," Josephine said. "Plus, you can get to know him better and see if he's boyfriend material."
Claudia blushed, "I haven't thought that far."
"Why not?" Josephine said. "I told you before, don't hold back. If you like him, go for it. Jair's a good guy."
Josephine hadn't always gotten along with Stuart and his crew. Not just because they were childhood rivals, but also because some of Stuart's friends swapped girlfriends like they were changing clothes. Even Robin had his fair share of flings.
Jair was different. He was not only upright but also didn't have messy relationships.
Although Josephine didn't interact with him much, she always had a good impression of him.
Claudia said, "I know."
"Make the most of it," Josephine teased. "When someone's sick, they're more vulnerable. Show him some extra care."
Claudia's face felt a bit warm, and she asked, "How about you? How are you holding up?"
"What can I say," Josephine said. "Same old, same old. I'll fill you in when you get back."
"Okay, then after Jeffery goes home, take good care of him and don't let him catch a cold."
"Got it."
After ending the call, Josephine genuinely felt happy for Claudia. Claudia wasn't one to make the first move and was quite traditional. Otherwise, she wouldn't have almost gotten engaged to her last boyfriend without having any substantial relationship.
Speaking of which, Jair seemed quite proper too, a relatively traditional guy.
Josephine wondered if there would be any friction if the two of them really got together. She shook her head, thinking it was best not to overthink it and let things take their natural course.
In the afternoon, she received a call from Stuart. He said, "Josephine, I might be a bit late tonight. Ask Jeffery what he wants to eat, and I'll have someone send it over."
Josephine quickly said, "If you're busy, you don't need to come. We'll just eat something simple. Don't worry about it."
Stuart immediately said, "No way, you can't just deprive me of my right to visit the sick. And we agreed before that I would take care of your meals."
Josephine laughed, "If you don't mind the hassle, then come on over."
"How could it be a hassle?" Stuart said. "You're my work motivation now."
Josephine rolled her eyes, "Stop with the cheesy lines."
"I'm serious."
Josephine didn't want to deal with his smooth talk anymore. Why had Stuart become so corny?
Stuart quickly added, "Actually, Isaac Hill, the guy with Melissa, is back. I need to ask him some questions. Once I get the answers, I'll go see my parents, so I'll be late."
Josephine, hearing this, quickly said, "Make sure you talk to your parents properly."
"Got it," Stuart said. "Wait for me."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Josephine's mind was still racing. This whole situation was just too crazy. If Elbert was really set up, then he'd been wronged for over twenty years.
Melissa and Isaac were beyond despicable. They used such dirty tricks to split up a loving couple for over two decades—how many such years does one have in a lifetime? They should be punished by law!
Moreover, if it weren't for them, Stuart wouldn't have lost his parents' love during his childhood. Maybe, on his path to growing up, he wouldn't have faced so many unsolvable problems. And she and Stuart might not have missed out on so many years. Thinking of this, Josephine felt even more disgusted with Isaac.
Stuart's hatred for Isaac was no less than Josephine's. Actually, his personality wasn't that great when he was a kid.
Andrew treated him well and gave him all his love, but that kind of love was different from that of parents.
Stuart also thought that if he had grown up in a normal family, then at the age when he liked Josephine, in that youthful age, he might have been braver and confessed to her. And he wouldn't have delayed until now, still not truly being with Josephine.
Letting his parents miss out on over twenty years, making him not know how to express love, all these mistakes were caused by Isaac!
Isaac was captured but still refused to tell the truth. But Stuart naturally had ways to make him talk.
Moreover, Stuart suddenly had Isaac's blood tested and discovered he had a rare blood type, confirming William was actually his son.
Despite this, he had always told William that Elbert had deceived Melissa and abandoned them.
So, William had hated Elbert and the Haustia Family since he was a child. That was why he targeted Josephine to harm Stuart.
Unable to withstand the torture from Stuart's men, Isaac confessed everything.
Back then, he had a crush on Carol, but she clearly rejected him and later got together with Elbert.
Driven mad with jealousy, Isaac repeatedly tried to create misunderstandings between them, but their strong relationship overcame his attempts.
Until he used Melissa to create the "caught in the act" tragedy. As a result, Elbert was labeled a cheater, Carol was heartbroken and never spoke to him again, and Stuart lost his parents' love from that point on. All of this stemmed from Isaac's jealousy!
After Andrew sent Melissa abroad, Isaac followed and deceived Melissa into being with him. At the same time, he made her cooperate in telling William those lies.
Later, when Melissa fell ill and passed away, Isaac continued to poison William's mind.
He single-handedly caused multiple tragedies and tore apart two families. Stuart grew up without parental love because of him, and William was consumed by hatred from a young age.