Chapter 180
When Ella arrived at the destination, the villagers told her that someone had jumped into the river the day before, but fortunately had been rescued.
She didn't know why she felt so anxious about it.
Following the villagers' guidance, she walked into a local home and saw Joshua lying in bed. Only after confirming he was still alive did her racing heart finally settle.
Joshua didn't actually have any serious problems.
It was just that his leg injury hadn't fully healed, and his recent ordeal had made it worse.
He absolutely couldn't put weight on it for the next couple of days, or it would be permanently damaged.
Leaning against the headboard, he watched Ella's sudden appearance without much surprise, never expecting that she would care about him or worry for him.
Seeing her walk toward him, Joshua remained silent.
He knew all too well that no matter what he did now, it would always be wrong in Ella's eyes.
He might as well keep his mouth shut.
Ella was furious. After confirming he was alive, she walked up and slapped Joshua across the face.
The slap left him completely stunned.
Finding it utterly baffling, Joshua covered his stinging cheek, anger rising in him.
"What was that for? Or are you disappointed that I didn't die? If you really want me dead, I can make it happen for you."
Ella glared at him, still seething. "Joshua, you're nearly forty years old. Can you stop acting so immature? Don't you realize how much Aurora needs you?"
He'd dropped some cryptic words on her and then disappeared.
She honestly didn't know if he'd actually tried to drown himself and was now too embarrassed to admit it, claiming he'd been rescuing someone instead.
What the hell was going through his head?
Joshua felt utterly wronged.
True, he'd said some depressing things to Ella before leaving, but he'd never had any suicidal thoughts.
Passing by the river, he'd seen someone drowning and jumped in without hesitation to save them.
Fortunately, he'd made it back to shore. Aside from his legs being too weak to stand, nothing else was seriously wrong.
For Ella to show up and slap him without asking any questions made him deeply uncomfortable.
"Do you even care what I do? If you can't stand the sight of me, then stay out of my business. Just leave!" Joshua turned away, refusing to look at her, his own anger flaring.
Ella wasn't about to coddle him.
After confirming he was fine, she threw her parting words at him: "Call Aurora back. I honestly don't want to deal with your drama. Do whatever you want."
She turned and walked out without hesitation, her departure resolute.
Joshua instantly regretted it, turning to call her back, but Ella was already out the door.
He wanted to speak but couldn't, wishing he could slap himself twice.
He'd finally had a chance to play the sympathy card, to make Ella feel some compassion for him.
But his damn pride had gotten in the way, and he'd pushed her away again.
Joshua cursed himself for being useless.
Thinking of Aurora, he quickly grabbed his phone to call her.
Ella went to investigate what had actually happened and learned that Joshua really had saved someone—he hadn't been trying to end his own life.
Though she felt somewhat guilty for wrongly accusing him, especially for slapping him, Ella couldn't bring herself to face him again or apologize.
She returned to the guesthouse.
The next day, she continued working as usual, carrying on with the site inspection.
On the third and fourth days, she worked alone with the project manager.
She had no idea what Joshua's situation was, and she didn't want to know.
Today was the last day of the inspection.
They were heading into the mountains again. Ella was accompanied by a group of people, including Megan and Chris.
The mountain air was cool and refreshing in the summer heat, and the scenery and atmosphere were both spectacular.
A group of seven or eight people walked along a mountain path. Everyone ahead of her seemed fine.
But Ella still got hurt.
She felt a sudden sharp pain on the top of her foot. Looking down, she saw two bloody puncture marks, and nearby, a small snake was slithering away.
Megan shrieked, "Snake!"
Then, noticing the wound on Ella's foot, her face filled with concern. "Ms. Garcia, did it bite you?"
Hearing this, everyone gathered around to check the situation.
Ella was fairly certain she'd been bitten by the snake. She lifted her skirt and stood there, not daring to move.
"That snake looked really unusual—probably venomous. Does anyone here know how to treat this kind of venom?"
Everyone just looked at her with concern, indicating they didn't know how to handle this situation.
Chris said urgently, "We'll get you to the hospital."
Ella figured that was the only option.
But she couldn't walk. Her foot hurt terribly, and if she moved, the venom would spread quickly through her system.
Megan, with impeccable timing, gestured to Chris. "Hurry up and carry Ms. Garcia back to the car."
Chris rushed to Ella's side and hoisted her onto his back, heading back the way they'd come.
By sheer coincidence, they ran into Joshua.
Joshua's leg had healed. After returning to the guesthouse and finding no one there, he'd asked around and learned the whole group was doing site inspections in the mountains. Thinking the project was partly his responsibility too, he'd decided to follow and take a look.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Chris carrying Ella back.
And Ella's complexion looked rather poor.
Joshua stopped them. "What's going on? Did Ms. Garcia sprain her ankle?"
Chris told him honestly, "Ms. Garcia was bitten by a snake. We don't know what kind it was. I'm taking her to the hospital first."
Joshua's gaze fell on Ella. Seeing that half of her exposed foot had turned blue, and her face looked terribly pale, he could tell immediately.
This was clearly the bite of a highly venomous snake.
If they didn't treat it first and just rushed to the hospital, she'd probably lose the leg.
He quickly signaled to Chris, "Put her down."
Chris was reluctant. "Mr. Thomas, Ms. Garcia really was bitten by a snake. We need to get to the hospital as fast as possible, or it'll be too late."
Ella was gradually losing strength, saying weakly, "Joshua, can you please stop making trouble? Move aside."
Wasn't he supposed to be recuperating at that villager's house?
How had he recovered so quickly?
Seeing that his legs could support him now, Ella felt relieved.
Joshua ignored them both, forcefully taking Ella from Chris's back and setting her on the ground. Without hesitation, he bent down and began sucking the blood from where the snake had bitten her.
Watching his actions, Ella was very unwilling, trying to refuse.
"Joshua, what are you doing? You'll get poisoned too if you do this."
Joshua ignored her, holding her leg steady as he continued to suck, spitting out blood, then sucking again.
After countless mouthfuls, when no more dark blood appeared, he immediately pulled the belt from his waist and tied it around Ella's calf. Then he scooped her up in his arms and rushed toward the car.
Megan and Chris stood there somewhat helplessly.
Snapping back to reality, they hurried to start the car.
After Joshua got Ella into the vehicle, she looked at her calf bound with his belt, then at the traces of blood from her foot still visible at the corner of his lips.
For a moment, her heartbeat seemed to skip two beats.
She didn't understand why Joshua had been so impulsive.
Anyone with common sense knew that when bitten by a snake, you shouldn't use your mouth to suck out the blood—the person doing the sucking could get poisoned too.
But Joshua had done it anyway.
Ella didn't know how to face him. She turned her head to look out the window.
Upon reaching the nearest hospital, the doctor quickly examined Ella and remarked with admiration, "Your emergency first aid was excellent. If you hadn't treated it first to prevent the venom from spreading, and had arrived late, this leg would have been lost."
Especially since this was a highly toxic bite.
Hearing the doctor's words, Ella felt quite grateful to Joshua.
Seeing his poor complexion, she asked the doctor to give Joshua some antivenom too.
Joshua had also been poisoned and was feeling dizzy and disoriented.
He leaned against the bed nearby, too weak to get up.
When the doctor learned he'd sucked out the blood with his mouth, he couldn't help but scold him.
Fortunately, after the antivenom injection, both of them would be fine. After resting for a day, they could go home tomorrow.
Soon, only Ella and Joshua remained in the hospital room.
Chris went back to the village to pack their things—they'd head straight back to Emerald City from here tomorrow. Megan went to handle the payment.
Ella glanced at Joshua in the bed next to hers. She really wanted to thank him but didn't know how to begin, so in the end, she said nothing and just lay there peacefully.
Joshua remained silent too.
In front of Ella, no matter what he did, it was always wrong.
Helping Ella suck out the snake venom today wasn't about wanting her to say something nice to him.
Some things, especially things concerning Ella—whatever he could do, he'd do with everything he had, never needing any reward from her in return.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was a video call from Aurora.
Joshua answered, and her soft voice came through. "Daddy, when are you and Mommy coming home?"
"Daddy, why does it look like you're in a hospital? Are you okay?"
"Daddy, where's Mommy?"
Aurora fired off three questions in a row, and Joshua didn't know which to answer first.
He pretended everything was fine and smiled. "We're okay. Your mommy's right here with me. Does Aurora want to see her?"
"Daddy, just turn the camera around. If I can see you two together, I'll feel better."
Joshua did as Aurora asked, turning the camera toward Ella.
Ella couldn't avoid it, so she waved at Aurora through the screen.
"Aurora, how come you're video calling him and not me? Don't you like Mommy anymore?"
She was genuinely a bit jealous.
Aurora had always been by her side and hadn't spent much time with Joshua.
But ever since she'd met Joshua, she'd liked him immediately.
Even before knowing he was her father, she'd adored him.
Now that she knew he really was her dad, she wanted to be with Joshua every single day.
Look at this—now she only called Daddy, not Mommy anymore.
Aurora quickly explained with a laugh, "Mommy, how could I not like you? I love you the most! It's just that I'm with you every day, but I'm rarely with Daddy, so I need to check on Daddy."
"Mommy, why are you and Daddy both in the hospital? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Ella smiled. "We're fine. We'll be home tomorrow. Don't worry."
Only then did Aurora relax, smiling. "Seeing Daddy and Mommy together makes me so happy! Daddy, Mommy, you two need to get along well and not fight, okay? If there's anything, just talk it out nicely."
Ella remained silent, unconsciously glancing at Joshua beside her.
He looked somewhat uncomfortable, his face still very pale, and he'd already closed his eyes.
Ella agreed to Aurora's words, chatted a bit more, and then—seeing Joshua's condition was really poor—hung up first.
"Are you okay? Should I call the doctor?"
He'd better not have some kind of emergency from sucking out her snake venom.
She couldn't afford to owe him that kind of debt.
Joshua opened his eyes, speaking weakly. "I'm fine. I just need to rest for a bit. Put the phone on the side table."
He lay down and quickly lost consciousness.
Seeing something was seriously wrong, Ella immediately pressed the call button for the doctor.
The doctor rushed over and examined him. The venom had invaded his internal organs, causing cardiac arrest and resulting in shock.
Earlier, the doctor had thought he was fine and had only given him antivenom.
He hadn't expected it to be this serious.
Fortunately, they'd discovered it in time and performed emergency treatment quickly, so Joshua escaped mortal danger.
Sitting on the bed beside him, Ella watched the still-unconscious Joshua, her emotions incredibly complicated.
Sometimes she couldn't even figure out what kind of feelings she had for Joshua.
Did she hate him? She'd already gotten her revenge—Joshua still bore several scars she'd inflicted on him.
Did she resent him? Looking back at many things from the past, she'd been at fault too.
Thinking about how he'd completely disregarded his own body this time to suck out the snake venom for her, she decided that from now on, she should try to get along with him properly.
Being friends wouldn't hurt anyone.
Ella's heart began to soften slightly.
The two of them rested in the hospital overnight. By the next day, they were mostly recovered.
After Joshua woke up, he seemed much more alert.
Megan and Chris came to pick them up.
The two of them rode in the same car.
On the drive back to Emerald City, Joshua never spoke, terrified that one wrong word would upset Ella and she'd kick him out of the car.
Right now, he needed to watch his words carefully. As long as Ella let him stay by her side, he'd be willing to play mute for the rest of his life.
"Are you feeling better? Is there anywhere on your body that's uncomfortable?" Ella couldn't help but ask.
Before they left, the doctor had reminded them to rest well these next few days, remember to take their medication, and seek medical attention immediately if anything felt wrong.
Seeing that Joshua wasn't being as attentive and flattering as he usually was, Ella worried he might still be feeling unwell.
Joshua responded with a nasal sound but still didn't speak, turning his head to look out the window.
Ella found his cold attitude somewhat amusing and exasperating.
She didn't want to say more. After they returned to Emerald City, remembering Aurora's reminder, she had to ask, "Do you want to go to my place or back to yours? I need to tell them where to drop you off."
Only then did Joshua look at her. "Can I go see the kids?"
This time, Ella didn't refuse. She agreed generously, "Sure."
"Then I'll go home with you."
"Okay."
Ella had Chris drive straight to the Lewis family residence.
The children probably knew they were coming home and had been waiting at the entrance early.
When the car pulled into the villa's courtyard, Aurora couldn't wait and stood right by the car door, cheering, "Daddy and Mommy really came back together!"
"Daddy, Mommy, you're both so amazing! I'm giving you a thumbs up! Looks like you listened to what I said. That's wonderful!"
"Daddy, give me a hug!"
Seeing Joshua get out of the car, Aurora threw herself at him.
Joshua scooped up Aurora and planted a big kiss on her cheek, his gaze shifting to Dorian nearby.
But Dorian wouldn't look at him. He walked over, took Ella's hand, and began checking her pulse. "Mom, I heard you got sick and were hospitalized. What happened? Let me take a look."
Seeing Dorian's movements were quite professional, Ella let him examine the wound, smiling as she explained, "Nothing serious. I just got bitten by a snake. I'm already better."
After inspecting the wound, Dorian's expression grew somewhat grave.
"There's no major problem, but you still need to rest properly. Let's go inside quickly—Grandma had them prepare lots of delicious food."
He still didn't glance at Joshua, leading Ella into the house by the hand.