Chapter 779: Effortlessly at Hand

Chapter 779: Effortlessly at Hand

"Juniper, how are you? Are you okay?"

Before Juniper could recover from her shock, Samuel rushed to her bedside with a worried look on his face, took her hand, and started asking how she was doing.

Their eyes met, and Samuel's gaze was full of concern and worry.

Looking at his face, Juniper felt nothing. Her expression was calm and blank, like she was looking at a stranger.

Samuel was still worked up. He kept asking about Juniper over and over, explaining that filming had run late the night before and that he had spent almost the entire night looking for her.

After a moment, he noticed that no matter what he said, Juniper showed no reaction at all.

Samuel quieted down and asked, puzzled, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you mad at me?"

Hearing that, Juniper smiled.

He looked so innocent. If it weren't for that phone call, she probably would have been foolish enough to believe him.

"I'm not mad," Juniper said calmly, her tone flat and detached, as if none of this had anything to do with her. "You came all the way to the hospital to see me — does Rainey know about that?"

Since the two of them were close enough that Rainey could just answer his phone for him, surely Samuel would need her approval before rushing to the hospital.

Samuel still didn't get it. The confusion on his face deepened.

"What do you mean? Why would it matter what she thinks?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

Seeing that Samuel was still keeping up the act, Juniper smiled.

She pushed herself up, her heavy belly weighing on her, and said with a cold, mocking smile, "Acting really is your profession. Even in real life, you can put on a show without even thinking about it."

Samuel frowned, wanting to calm Juniper down but not sure how.

"I..." He started to speak, then stopped. He watched as Juniper pulled her hand away, making it clear she didn't want any physical contact with him.

The room felt even quieter now with both of them in it.

Neither of them spoke. Juniper stared blankly at the white wall, while Samuel was completely lost.

After a long silence, Samuel couldn't hold it together anymore.

He realized Juniper had the wrong idea, so he forced himself to stay patient and explain. "Trust me, I'm not lying and I'm not hiding anything. When I got home last night, Mom told me you'd gone out, and I've been looking for you everywhere..."

Samuel repeated everything he'd already said, hoping to ease Juniper's troubled mind.

"Forget it," Juniper said, only half listening to his explanation. She suddenly cut him off, her voice cold. "If you care about me so much, then why did you let Rainey answer my call yesterday?"

Rainey again. Samuel was completely lost now.

But when he caught the serious look on Juniper's face, he realized this misunderstanding was a serious one.

He quickly pulled out his phone and went through his call history carefully.

Other than two calls from Dione in the early hours of the morning, there were no other incoming calls from anyone else that day.

Samuel felt like he was lost in a fog. He had no idea what had happened while he was on set.

But he knew Juniper wouldn't lie. The only explanation was that Rainey had shown up at the set yesterday.

With that in mind, Samuel took Juniper's hand again and said gently and patiently, "I'll look into this. Just focus on resting and taking care of yourself — don't let this stress affect the baby."

"Don't bother," Juniper said, her voice still cold and steady. "Just go. I can take care of myself."

Any so-called investigation would just be a cover-up.

Juniper didn't want to keep getting fooled. All she wanted was to rest at the hospital for a couple of days and figure out what to do next.

Faced with Juniper's indifference, Samuel felt helpless.

He let out a sigh and glanced out the window, where the sky was slowly getting brighter. The whole night had passed.

"Alright, I won't upset you anymore."

Samuel stood up.

"I still have scenes to shoot today. If you need anything, call me. I'll keep my phone on me this time."

He lingered by the bed, wanting to leave but unable to stop worrying about Juniper.

Hearing the strain in Samuel's voice, Juniper could only smile bitterly.

She didn't want to push him, and there was no point in calling out his guilt.

The two of them sat in silence until Samuel reached out, about to gently touch her cheek.

Juniper was on edge. Before his hand could get close, she simply turned away from him.

Half a minute later, the door to the room quietly clicked shut.

Juniper turned to look. Samuel was already gone.

After leaving the room, Samuel didn't go straight to the exit.

He found the doctor on duty and the nurses and asked them to keep a close eye on Juniper.

On top of that, he arranged for her to be moved to a better private room.

As for Rainey secretly answering his phone, Samuel was still completely baffled.

He planned to ask around at the set that morning. If Rainey had been there the day before, someone on the crew would have seen her.

After Samuel left, Juniper couldn't sleep.

After lying in the hospital bed all night, her back was aching. She threw on a coat and got up to walk around.

Just then, a nurse came in. Seeing Juniper's very pregnant belly, she hurried over to help her.

"Ms. Hayes, Mr. Hall has arranged a new room for you. Let me take you there."

Juniper paused for a moment.

"It's fine, I'm comfortable here," she said, politely declining.

She didn't want to accept the gesture. Right now, beyond keeping her baby safe, she was still trying to figure out what to do about her relationship with Samuel.

That morning, after finishing breakfast, the doctor came by on rounds and checked her over again.

Because of the shock she'd had the night before, the doctor recommended she stay a few more days for observation.

Juniper agreed. Besides, she and Samuel were still not on speaking terms.

With that settled, Juniper looked out at the clear sky and decided to go downstairs for a walk.

She left her room and waited for the elevator in the hallway. But when the elevator doors opened, a familiar face stepped out.

"Margaret?"

Juniper was stunned to see Margaret holding a bouquet of flowers and a basket of fruit.

Margaret had planned to go straight to the room, but the two of them ended up running into each other right at the elevator.

She paused for a second, then smiled warmly. "I heard you were in the hospital, so I came to check on you."

"Let's go sit in my room then," Juniper said politely, though she was quietly wondering who had told her.

Was it Samuel?

She couldn't think of anyone else.

The two of them walked back to the room. Margaret looked at Juniper's tired face and felt a pang of sympathy.

That morning, she'd gotten a call from Samuel telling her that not only had there been a misunderstanding, but the two of them were in the middle of a fight. That was what had brought her here.

"The baby's okay, right?" Margaret said, trying to start the conversation.

She was here partly to check on Juniper, and partly because Samuel had asked her to come.

After asking around with the crew, Samuel had confirmed that Rainey had indeed shown up at the set the previous afternoon — but she had come and gone quickly, without even saying hello to Samuel.

Juniper gave a small smile and said calmly, "The baby's fine. Just a little less active because of how I've been feeling."

"As long as Mom is okay, the baby will be too," Margaret said with a smile, getting ready to bring up the misunderstanding between Juniper and Samuel.

"Actually, Juniper, about you and Samuel..."