Chapter 67: Was Actually Real

Without wasting any time, the messages from Professor James were more than enough for Alex. They had already planted a seed of doubt in his mind, a doubt he had always pushed away, the feeling that Isabella could betray him. Now, it was giving him a much more open chance to believe that something could indeed be going on. He wasted no time and jumped out of the car, taking Isabella's phone with him as he hurried into the room, only to find that everyone had finished the second batch of dinner and were already chit-chatting among themselves. 

Meanwhile, Isabella had placed her head on the table and appeared to have fallen asleep. Maybe that was why Professor James thought she hadn’t responded to his messages. Alex rushed towards her and gently tapped her on the back. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy, like she was suffering from an allergy.

“Alex, please, I want to go home,” she said weakly, and Alex felt a surge of frustration. He wanted to confront her about the messages, but looking into her sad and heartbroken eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

He quickly pocketed her phone and helped her to her feet. Just then, his mom noticed and turned around. 

“Is anything wrong?” 

She asked Alex, who nodded solemnly. She rushed over and looked into Isabella's eyes, seeing the redness. 

“Oh my God. Oh no. Isabella, you have to go home. You need to go to the hospital. Are you allergic to something?” Alex’s mom asked, concern etched on her face. 

“I don’t know. I’ve never been allergic to anything in my life. I swear. Maybe something is wrong with the food, or maybe there’s just something my body doesn’t like in it. At first, I thought it was something minor and that it would go away, but it keeps getting worse,” Isabella said, tears welling in her eyes. This got the attention of everyone, including Alex's sister, who had previously claimed Isabella was just making excuses for not feeling well. 

As Alex’s aunt rushed over to check on Isabella, she exclaimed, “She is actually sick! She’s allergic to something. I’m so sorry that I had to give you something wrong. It’s not my fault. It must be the caterers. They must have used something or maybe a herb that your body doesn’t want, and that is why it’s reacting this way. If you continue like this, it might spread all around your body. You need to go to the hospital and get treated for this allergy!” 

Alex’s aunt said urgently. 

“Thank you all so much. Please, we’ll be leaving now. I’m so sorry for cutting this gathering short,” Alex explained as everyone nodded, including his aunt's husband. They all bid farewell, even Lily pretending to be concerned. 

Professor James, seeing the situation unfold, felt a pang of guilt. He had texted Isabella and realized that Alex had her phone, which meant she hadn’t seen his messages. He quickly deleted them, knowing that if she hadn’t seen them, he might be able to avoid any fallout. 

Meanwhile, Alex rushed to help Isabella into the car and quickly drove out of the compound while his mom was still bidding them farewell. Although John felt a bit concerned for Isabella, he was relieved that Alex had left without saying a word to her. He waved goodbye, muttering, “Don’t come back again, brother,” before rushing inside. At least now he could smoke peacefully, he thought to himself. 

As Alex drove towards the hospital, he made sure to keep a steady speed; he knew Isabella was scared whenever he sped. Isabella lay back, exhausted and unable to breathe well, feeling sicker by the minute. She had never thought that pretending to be unwell would actually manifest into something real. Now she knew she couldn’t wish bad things upon herself. 

As she lay there, she slowly sniffed back her tears, feeling pain mostly around her throat. 

“Please, Isabella, can I speed? If I continue to drive this slowly, we will never get to the hospital on time,” he asked her gently. She nodded without even looking at him. 

With that, he sped through the roads toward the hospital, pushing aside all doubts about Professor James and Isabella. Why had he even thought that? Of course, Professor James would inquire about her health because she was clearly not feeling well. 

With that thought, he accelerated, and soon they arrived at the hospital. Rushing to carry her out, he panicked when he saw that she had already lost consciousness. 

“Come out and get her, please! She has fainted!” he yelled to the doctors, hoping this was just a minor issue and that he wouldn’t have to stay in a perpetual state of panic, praying that Isabella would be alright. He couldn’t bear to see her in a critical condition.

Without wasting time, nurses rushed towards Isabella and helped her onto the emergency bed. They immediately began treating her, and it became clear that something was seriously wrong with the food she had eaten. A few minutes later, after Alex had paced back and forth, feeling increasingly worried and hoping that she would be alright, one of the nurses came out and looked at him before motioning for him to follow the doctor, who was hurriedly walking away. 

“Doctor, please,” Alex called out, racing behind him. “What is wrong with my girlfriend? Please tell me what’s wrong with her!” 

The doctor stopped and turned around, his expression serious. 

“How could you have allowed her to eat food without checking it first? How could you do something like that?” he scolded. “She was poisoned, okay? It was food poisoning. Had she been five minutes late in getting here, you would have lost her. And then you wouldn’t have that mouth to call her your girlfriend. Don’t you understand? She was poisoned with a slow and dangerous poison. Thankfully, we were able to drain it out of her blood, but you have to be careful. At this stage, she is very fragile. Anything can happen to her. You need to protect her.” 

The doctor’s words hit Alex like a ton of bricks, and he felt a mix of frustration and anger. But more than that, a feeling of suspicion began to creep in. His mind raced back to Lily. What if she had something to do with this?