Exhausted, Elisa went upstairs and turned the key to her apartment halfway. As she opened the door, her foggy mind sensed something different about the atmosphere inside, instantly becoming alert.
She could hear someone talking on the phone from behind the door. Hamish was back.
Should she tell him about her gastric cancer diagnosis? Would he show some concern after hearing about it?
Elisa repeatedly asked herself these questions, but her body seemed to move on its own - the door was already pushed open before she made up her mind. That was when she saw Hamish's ashen face glare at her the moment she entered.
"Where have you been fooling around? Do you know how many calls I made to you?"
Fooling around? If going to the hospital for a blood test and gastroscopy was considered fooling around, then she supposed she was. After all, death could come knocking anytime for her now.
As she thought about this, her eyes welled up again. But Hamish did not notice Elisa's reddened eyes at all, still furiously accusing her with his gaze for not answering his calls.
Elisa took out her phone from her bag and shook the black screen. "It's out of battery," she said.
She had two phones - one for work and one specifically for waiting for Hamish's calls. The past two days, her stomach issues had consumed her so much that she had forgotten to charge it, which led to missing his calls on her way home.
"What was so urgent?" For Hamish to call her repeatedly, she could guess without thinking who it was about.
Just as she was about to continue that train of thought, Hamish grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. "Lila is injured and lost too much blood. Come with me to the hospital."
Of course, all his panic was because of Lila Morris.
Her heart instantly filled with sourness.
Lila had a severe blood clotting disorder and a very rare blood type. As it happened, Elisa's blood type matched hers.
Soaked from head to toe by the rain, Elisa's long seaweed-like hair clung dripping wet to her back. Her lips were sickly pale, her hands like ice, but Hamish did not notice any of this. The hospital Lila was in was just nearby, a ten minute walk, but Hamish was too anxious - he forcibly shoved Elisa into the backseat.
Eyes fixed ahead as he drove, Hamish's gaze inadvertently glanced at the rearview mirror, and when he saw Elisa's ghostly pale face, he couldn't help but furrow his brows tightly. "Your face is as white as a ghost."
So he finally noticed, huh.
Elisa smiled mockingly, feeling a bitter obstruction in her throat. She opened the window and watched the rain coming down harder and harder outside, her body freezing up, breath turning into mist. Her eyelashes fluttered lightly.
Hamish gave her an indifferent glance, then felt an inexplicable irritation when she didn't respond.
He felt like there was something off about Elisa today.
But then he thought, what did it matter to him what happened to Elisa? He should be focused on Lila's condition right now. With this thought, his right foot pressed down slightly harder on the accelerator, speeding the car up.
At the hospital, Hamish dragged Elisa out of the car before she even got her footing, pulling her stumbling and struggling to keep up behind him.
Hamish brought Elisa directly into the blood draw room, his cold eyes telling a nurse, "Draw her blood, no need to check, hurry."
A bitter taste rose in Elisa's mouth. Hamish trusted her blood more than her as a person, even finding checks a hassle. Wasn't he worried that the cancer cells in her body might enter Lila's?
Elisa's expression struggled for a bit before she said, "Hamish, I'm not feeling well today, could we not..."
Hamish's eyes narrowed dangerously, a threatening glint shooting out. He gripped Elisa's chin in his hand and said coldly, "What right do you have to refuse? We signed a contract four years ago, black and white, clear as day. Elisa, please fulfill your duties properly."
That's right, the contract they signed four years ago - she would provide blood to Lila unconditionally if Lila ever lost too much blood again.
This was the deal she had struck back then. Even if Elisa were dying, she still had to donate blood to Lila.
This was what she owed Hamish.
That year, Lila had gotten into a car accident in Heise resulting in massive blood loss that urgently required Rh-negative blood.
After hearing about Lila's accident, Hamish had anxiously begged Elisa for help. At that time, in a moment of madness, Elisa had proposed an exchange - "Be my man, marry me, and I'll save Lila."
She still remembered the shock in Hamish's eyes that day, and the disgust for her as a person that had slowly risen in his eyes afterwards.
From that moment, Elisa had known they could never get along peacefully again.
She had taken advantage of Hamish's most difficult time of need to force him to concede.
Born into the prestigious Burns family, Hamish was superior from birth. With the temperament of one high above others, enjoying the best of everything, surrounded by people who looked to him as leader, he had never even heard a harsh word before. This was the first time he had been threatened and coerced by someone.
Elisa knew what Hamish detested most was being forced to do something against his will. So when she saw him sign the agreement without the slightest hesitation, she knew she had lost.
Seeing how much he was willing to do for Lila's sake, her heart ached bitterly, but she later consoled herself that over time and marriage, feelings would blossom and Hamish would come to care for her like he did for Lila.
But sadly, God is fair. Elisa never imagined she would be abandoned by God so quickly.
Accidentally contracting a terminal illness, she really deserved it!
As the needle pierced her skin and the dark red plasma was slowly drawn out, the pain made Elisa's face even more ghastly pale. It hurt terribly, even more than the gastroscopy.
The nurse drawing her blood had never seen such a frail and weak woman before. Staring at that slim white wrist, she softly asked, "Can you still endure?"
Dizzy, Elisa shook her head hoarsely, "Go on, I'm fine."
The nurse drew a total of 600 cc before she dared not continue. The woman's hands were just too icy cold, no longer normal body temperature.
Right before losing consciousness, the last thing Elisa heard was Hamish asking the nurse, "Is that enough? Keep drawing if it's not."
How did Hamish become so ruthless over the years?