Chapter 131 Starting to Miss My Husband
"Should I help handle Olivia's hospital transfer?" Steven asked her.
The two walked toward the elevator as they talked.
Nora's emotions had mostly calmed down.
She turned to look at him. "Is it expensive? I'm worried it'll cost too much, and then you'll call me a 'gold digger' again."
Before she could finish, Steven pressed her against the corridor wall and kissed her dominantly.
Nora's eyes widened as she patted his shoulder. "What are you doing? This is a hospital corridor!"
"If you ever say 'gold digger' again, I'll kiss you." Steven never wanted to hear those words from her mouth again, and he wouldn't say them either.
Tonight's events at the hospital made him understand that Nora wasn't that kind of girl.
She treated Olivia with such loyalty and devotion.
Her character was precious.
Besides, even if she did like money, he was willing to indulge her now.
After being apart for several days, the pain of missing her made Steven realize he didn't care about that anymore—he just wanted her by his side.
Nora looked helpless and said huffily, "You're the one who said it..."
Seeing Steven about to kiss her again, she got scared and didn't dare bring it up anymore. Shyly, she said, "Okay, okay, I get it! Stop taking advantage of me."
"This counts as taking advantage of you?" Steven glanced at her sideways.
Nora felt uncomfortable under his heated gaze. Biting her lip, she said, "If you want to handle it, then handle it. It's your idea anyway. You can't blame me later."
"I won't." Steven answered decisively. "I'll arrange for someone to come over tomorrow morning and take you both to the hospital in Alton."
He'd have people guard the hospital entrance so that even if the Reed family members showed up, they wouldn't be allowed in.
"Okay." She walked with him to the elevator.
Steven had to leave. He looked at her deeply. "I'm going."
"Okay." She responded softly, watching the elevator doors close and waving at him reluctantly.
After he left, she withdrew her gaze, feeling pretty good.
She realized she still liked being with Steven.
Maybe that's just how women are—when angry, they say things they don't mean, but when they're not angry anymore, they start missing their husband.
And after every fight, she actually missed him more and felt things were sweeter.
Especially thinking about his good qualities made her not want to separate.
She felt that if she lost him, she'd never find such a good husband again.
Nora returned to the hospital room.
Olivia was already awake. After crying and releasing all her pent-up bitterness, she was now very calm.
Olivia asked her, "Steven left?"
"Yes." Nora unfolded the caregiver's cot. "Olivia, I'll stay here with you tonight."
She lay on the small bed, facing Olivia.
Olivia said, "You don't really need to stay with me. I don't have a baby, and my body has mostly recovered. I can handle going to the bathroom and everything myself. You should have gone back with Steven."
The only inconvenience was meals—the hospital didn't have cooking facilities, and food delivered from outside might not be healthy.
"I want to stay with you." Nora felt the most important thing was to keep Olivia company and comfort her, to prevent her mood from staying low. "I don't have much going on lately anyway."
"You and Steven made up, right?" Olivia could clearly tell Nora's mood had improved.
Nora smiled. "Olivia, you could tell?"
"I'm your sister. I could see it right away." Olivia smiled slightly and said to her, "Steven is a good man, not like Willie. Nora, you need to cherish him. Couples fight—it's normal. Out of 30 days in a month, you might want a divorce for 28 of them. You see each other every day and get annoyed, but if you really separate or have a conflict, you still feel terrible."
Olivia made sense.
Nora nodded, pulling up the blanket. "Olivia, do all couples fight?"
"Pretty much all of them." Olivia said, "Actually, fighting isn't a bad thing. Fighting means expressing all the dissatisfaction between two people. In relationship psychology, this is actually a sign of growing together."
Nora listened with interest, looking at Olivia. "Olivia, why do you say that?"
"Fighting means you and I are different people, and after the fight, we're both willing to solve the problem and get back together. That's called adjustment, also called emotional growth. If after every fight you still don't want to separate, that proves it's love."
So this is what love is.
Nora's expression was quiet. So she had fallen for Steven?
Olivia said, "People who can't fight are the ones with problems. Between couples, the worst thing is not communicating. Not communicating means not solving problems, so the problems never get resolved. It's like a time bomb—either it explodes terribly in the end, or you end up with nothing to say to each other. Either way, it's not a good ending."
"That does seem right." Nora had read about this in marriage studies.
Olivia turned on her side for a late-night heart-to-heart with Nora. "When people are angry, they say harsh things. Don't take it too seriously—fighting is impulsive by nature."
"Even though we don't want to say the harshest words to the people we love most, when fighting, attacking the other person is actually a way of protecting yourself. It's a method our brain subconsciously chooses, so when angry, people can say anything."
Nora felt she had learned something. She fell silent, thinking about her situation with Steven.
Although he said harsh things during their fight, in the end, he still came to make up with her.
Just like Olivia said, he was still willing to solve the problem.
The next day.
Nora had just gone out to buy breakfast and returned when she ran into Steven in the corridor. He had brought two medical staff with him.
Nora was surprised. "You came so early?"
It was only after 8 o'clock.
"I came to handle Olivia's transfer," Steven answered gently, his handsome face glancing at her.
Nora's face inexplicably heated up. She said softly, "Are we leaving now?"
"Yes, go pack up."
"Okay." Nora went back to pack Olivia's things, and the two medical staff came in to help.
Olivia was already awake. Her spirits were good, though her face was still somewhat pale.
Halfway through packing, a nurse brought in a bill. "Ms. Adams, the credit card you used for payment has been canceled. The card can't be used anymore. If you want to continue staying in the hospital, you need to pay the fees."
Nora paused in her packing and glanced at Olivia, whose face showed a mocking smile.
Willow was truly heartless—he had directly canceled his credit card!
She wouldn't let Olivia go. Willie stopped the hospital medical fees to force her to comply.
"We won't pay. We're checking out today." Nora answered the nurse.
The nurse asked, "You're leaving today? Did Dr. Green approve it?"
You couldn't just leave without a doctor's approval.
"Yes, we're transferring hospitals. He signed off on it." Steven answered. He had Chris sign it last night.
The nurse nodded and left.
Steven made a phone call, having James handle Olivia's discharge procedures on the first floor.
After packing everything, they all headed out. Steven borrowed a wheelchair and had Olivia sit in it, pushing her downstairs.
Nora pushed Olivia while Steven helped carry the luggage.
Nora handed him her phone. "I don't have pockets. Can you hold this for me?"
Steven took it and noticed her phone screen had a crack. He asked, "You didn't get your phone fixed?"
It was from the day he scared her and she dropped it.
"I'm not fixing it. I heard repair shops secretly swap out parts. My phone is fine except for the cracked screen. I'll just make do with it." Nora didn't plan to fix it.
Steven looked at it. "You've had this phone for many years, right?"
Based on the model, it was from five years ago.
Nora said, "I've had it for over three years."
As they talked, the group reached the first floor of the hospital.
Outside the hospital, a Grace Private Hospital ambulance was parked.
The two medical staff were from the ambulance. They helped Olivia onto it.
"You guys got an ambulance?" Nora glanced at Steven, thinking it seemed a bit excessive.
Steven said calmly, "You can't think of it that way. Olivia almost had her uterus removed. She's a fairly serious patient—otherwise, she wouldn't need to stay in the hospital for over ten days. Besides, she's still in recovery period now. It's best to keep her warm and protected from drafts."
"You actually know about recovery periods?"
"Chris told me." Steven's face looked a bit uncomfortable.
But Nora was moved.
He had thought things through more thoroughly than she had. If she had arranged Olivia's transfer, she probably would have skipped the ambulance to save on the fee.
Just then, Giselle and Bianca showed up again.
They figured that now that Olivia's medical fees had been stopped, she wouldn't dare be so stubborn anymore. They came specifically to see her in a miserable state!
Then they'd persuade her a bit more, get her to drop the case. When she was doing poorly, she should agree obediently!
That's why you should compromise when you need to compromise.
No need to make things so unpleasant!
But when they reached the hospital entrance, they saw Olivia being helped onto an ambulance by medical staff.
"What's going on?" Bianca could hardly believe it. Why was Olivia being taken away?
Giselle also looked confused. "That's... isn't that Nora? Who's that man next to her?"
Bianca looked over and saw a man's back. He was so tall, and just from his silhouette, you could tell he had an extraordinary bearing.
He looked kind of familiar.
But she couldn't see his face, only his back. He stood with Nora, the two of them talking, seeming very close.
Could this be Nora's sugar daddy?
They'd said before that she'd become someone's sugar baby—it must be true!
Willie hadn't told his family that Nora was married, so Bianca didn't know.
Bianca walked faster, wanting to get a clear look at the man's face, but two bodyguards blocked their way.
"Please stop." The two bodyguards blocked them.
The bodyguards had been following Steven all along, but they didn't appear unless he gave orders.
"Who are you?" Bianca anxiously looked toward the man, afraid he'd leave before she could see his face.
But Steven had already walked toward a black Audi, bending down to get into the driver's seat.
Nora followed and got into the passenger seat.
Olivia and James would take the ambulance. They'd meet them in Alton.
Steven would take Nora home first so she could pack some luggage before going over.
"Don't leave!" Bianca was afraid they'd just drive away and shouted.
Nora turned her head and met Bianca's gaze, glaring at her coldly. She said to Steven, "Honey, drive."