Chapter 158 She is a Substitute
That day, Matilda was in the treatment room when her eyelid wouldn't stop twitching. She had a bad feeling about something.
She forced herself to stay calm and focused on her patients. Several people were waiting for acupuncture procedures. By the last one, she felt like someone had punched her hard in the chest. The pain was intense. But at least all the procedures were done.
When she came out of the treatment room, her colleague Tim asked, "Dr. Spencer, have you been sleeping okay? You look kind of rough."
"I'm about to go rest now," Matilda said.
She took off her mask, hung up her white coat, and headed to the cafeteria. But once she got her food, she realized she had no appetite.
She pulled out her phone to check her morning messages and noticed several missed calls from different area codes—clearly spam. But one call stood out. It was from a landline, and the number looked strange.
Matilda tried calling back, but it wouldn't go through. She shrugged it off.
...
Meanwhile, at the Gonzaga family estate, Amelia was beside herself with worry.
The military district had called her directly. Wentworth had been injured!
She'd asked how badly, but they wouldn't say. They just told her the family needed to come right away and asked her to notify Wentworth's wife—they hadn't been able to reach Matilda on her cell.
Amelia panicked. The fact that they were being so vague meant Wentworth's injuries had to be serious.
She hung up and started packing. At the same time, she cursed Matilda in her head. That woman didn't even care enough about Wentworth to answer a call from the military!
When Wentworth was injured and needed family there, the logical thing would be to notify Matilda. But for some reason, Amelia had a sudden thought—why bother telling Matilda at all? She didn't know anyway. What was the point?
She'd thought about telling Charles too, but then decided against it.
Instead, she called Juliana, her voice breaking. "Juliana, something's happened to Wentworth!"
"What happened? Mom, don't panic. Take your time and tell me."
"I don't know exactly. The military district called and said he was injured. They wouldn't notify the family unless it was serious. Juliana, will you come with me to the military hospital?"
"Of course. Does Charles know about this?"
"He doesn't. Don't tell him."
"Why not?" Juliana didn't understand.
"Just the two of us are going," Amelia said.
"Just us?" Juliana sounded confused.
"We're enough. Anyone else would just get in the way!"
Juliana suddenly understood Amelia's thinking. Amelia had an ulterior motive. Even after accepting Matilda as a daughter-in-law, Amelia had never been satisfied with her. She still wanted to push Wentworth and Juliana together.
Juliana's mind drifted to Wentworth—tall, handsome, well-spoken, charismatic. Almost without thinking, she agreed. "Let me go request time off first."
...
A day later, Amelia and Juliana arrived at the military hospital.
Wentworth had just come out of emergency surgery and the ICU. His body was covered in tubes. His leg was broken, his internal organs damaged. He wore an oxygen mask, and his eyes were bandaged.
Amelia broke down in tears at the sight.
Juliana stood there in shock. This strong, vibrant man was now lying here so helpless. Her heart ached.
In that instant, she saw her own feelings clearly. The real reason she'd stayed in the country to work, the reason she'd asked Amelia to be her mom—it was all to get closer to him. He had some kind of magnetic pull. The moment she saw him, she was drawn in.
She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but she couldn't help it.
"He was chasing a group of international mercenaries at the border. They'd planted explosives, but he spotted them. Right before they detonated, he jumped off a cliff. Our men found him at the bottom..." Brian explained, his face full of guilt.
Amelia couldn't speak. She just covered her face and sobbed.
Seeing her like this, Brian didn't dare say more. He just told the doctors and nurses to keep a close watch.
...
That night, Wentworth woke up.
His hand moved slightly. His mouth was moving, like he was calling someone's name.
"Wentworth, Mom's here! It's okay, Wentworth!" Amelia gripped Wentworth's hand, comforting him like she had when he was a child.
Wentworth squeezed Amelia's hand back, as if trying to reassure her. But his mouth kept moving, saying something.
Amelia leaned in closer to listen. It sounded like he was calling for Matty.
"Wentworth, are you thinking about her? She's here." As soon as Amelia said this, she placed Juliana's hand in Wentworth's.
Juliana looked startled and was about to refuse, but Amelia made a shushing gesture. Juliana stayed quiet.
Wentworth held her hand. It was about the same size as Matilda's—smooth, soft, delicate. In his weakened state, Wentworth didn't examine it closely. Just holding a hand gave him comfort.
He fell back asleep. But two hours later, he woke again—this time from the pain. It must have been excruciating, because his body curled up from it.
Amelia and Juliana were still keeping watch in the room. Neither dared to sleep. Seeing Wentworth in agony, Juliana instinctively reached out her hand.
Wentworth grasped it, and gradually calmed down.
Juliana's heartbeat quickened involuntarily. Even if she was just a substitute. Even though she knew that once he regained full consciousness, he'd realize she wasn't Matilda. Still, she felt almost possessed by the desire to stay by his side.
...
That weekend, Charles and Zoey went back to the Gonzaga family estate. Zoey asked Matilda to come along too. Matilda wasn't thrilled about it, but she picked up a bag of fruit and went anyway. Amelia was her mother-in-law in name, so she had to keep up appearances.
But when they arrived, Amelia wasn't home.
Charles called her. Amelia said she and Juliana had gone out to relax, told him not to worry, and reminded him to treat Zoey well. She didn't mention Matilda at all.
Charles found it odd. "Juliana just started her job. She hasn't fully established her authority yet. Don't let her lose credibility in front of her staff."