Chapter 266: If Only Time Could Freeze

Chapter 266: If Only Time Could Freeze

William had been moved to a private VIP room, his face still covered with an oxygen mask.

Isabella had never seen William this fragile before. His deathly pale complexion made it seem as though he might not make it through the next second.

"Since he's out of danger, can I leave now?" Isabella asked.

Sophia shot her a sideways glance. "He's only just out of the emergency room. He's not completely in the clear yet. Do you have something more urgent to take care of?"

When it came to tormenting Isabella, Sophia never held back.

If William was suffering, Isabella shouldn't get off scot-free either.

Isabella couldn't wait any longer. "I'll go find a professional caregiver."

She'd consider it money well spent to escape this situation. She had no intention of wasting her time here.

"When William threw himself in front of that pitchfork to save you, he didn't hesitate for a second. If he knew he'd saved such an ungrateful wretch, who knows how heartbroken he'd be!"

Sophia pulled out the old "life debt" card once again.

"I have zero experience caring for hospital patients. If I make even one mistake, William could die from infection. Are you absolutely sure you want me to stay?"

The challenge had the opposite effect on Sophia, triggering her contrary nature.

"Can't even take care of a sick person—I have no idea how you manage with Olivia and Nathan!"

The corner of Isabella's mouth curved upward. "Children aren't bedridden patients who can't do anything for themselves."

William lying unconscious in a hospital bed, requiring regular medication changes from nurses, was far more complicated than caring for kids.

"Either way, you're not leaving until William wakes up!"

To keep Isabella under surveillance, Sophia crossed her arms and planted herself in a chair, watching her like a hawk.

Isabella wasn't in any rush. She was young and had energy to spare. After all those late nights in the lab, she could easily outlast anyone in a waiting game.

After the two women faced off for over an hour, Sophia was clearly exhausted, yawning continuously.

There was something heartbreaking about watching an elderly person struggle like this. The sight almost made Isabella feel as though she were mistreating an old woman.

"You two should go home and rest. Laura and I will keep watch here—there's no need to worry."

Laura stood and stretched, eager to score points with Sophia and Henry by volunteering to stay.

Sophia jumped to her feet immediately.

Then, noticing Isabella watching, she slowed her movements to appear more composed.

"If you're not here when I arrive tomorrow morning, don't blame me for what happens!"

With Laura escorting them out, the couple left the hospital room with their heads held high.

Now Isabella was alone on watch duty. She shifted her chair to face William directly.

Honestly, she hadn't expected his condition to deteriorate so suddenly into septic shock.

The doctors in Luminous City had been proactive enough to administer a tetanus shot. Who could have predicted they'd prevent one infection only to miss another?

"Poor bastard," Isabella muttered under her breath.

Laura had claimed she'd stay to care for William, but she'd vanished without a trace.

After waiting over two hours with no sign of Laura's return, Isabella shook her head.

"Even when you're sick, nobody sticks around?" She tugged William's blanket up slightly, her tone tinged with disdain. "She claims to be so in love with you, but the second she got the chance, she bolted without looking back."

William, deep in his medicated sleep, offered no response. Only the steady beeping of the oxygen monitor answered her.

"If it weren't for the fact that you took that pitchfork for me, I wouldn't be here at all." Isabella's voice was quiet.

She sighed in resignation, propped her head on her arms, and leaned against the edge of the hospital bed, preparing to sleep the night away in that uncomfortable position.

Before drifting off, Isabella suddenly remembered she hadn't updated Olivia.

She fired off a brief text to Mary, asking her to explain the situation to her daughter.

Isabella yawned and closed her eyes, ready to rest for a while.

Then she heard William making sounds through the oxygen mask.

The plastic barrier muffled his words, making them impossible to understand.

Isabella leaned closer, her ear nearly pressed to his lips.

"Isabella... Isabella, I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry..."

Over and over, just those two phrases. The endless apologies tugged at something in Isabella's chest.

They say people only speak their truth when their consciousness is compromised.

It was hard for Isabella not to be moved by William's current state.

At the same time, the hatred buried in her heart grew even stronger.

William's apology didn't mean Isabella had to forgive him.

It only made everything that had happened between them sharper and clearer. And it confirmed that William knew perfectly well he'd been in the wrong.

He just refused to admit it.

That made it all the more unforgivable.

Isabella silently tucked a pillow under her arm to make the position more comfortable.

In that awkward posture, collapsed against William's bedside, Isabella fell asleep within minutes.

She didn't wake until the following morning, when she felt something tickling her fingers—as though someone were touching them.

Her eyelids fluttered heavily before finally opening.

The moment her mind cleared, Isabella heard a thread-thin voice.

"If only time could freeze at this moment."

Her first thought: William had finally woken up.

Her second realization: someone was holding her left hand—fingers intertwined with hers.

Isabella shot upright and yanked her hand away from William's grasp.

William studied her face, searching out the exhaustion written there.

"Thank you. That must have been difficult."

Isabella hadn't expected to hear words of consideration from William's mouth.

She kept her expression neutral. "It's nothing. Just a small thing."

Getting tangled up with William's family was like stepping on gum you could never scrape off. Being trapped by the whole clan of them made Isabella feel truly cursed.

After sleeping hunched over all night, every inch of her body ached. Even standing up from the chair was a struggle.

Her bones felt rusted, creaking and popping with every movement.

"I'll get a nurse to change your dressing," Isabella said, moving stiffly toward the door.

She'd just returned with the nurse when she heard a commotion inside the hospital room.

Pushing the door open, she found Laura and the entire Montagu's family had returned.

"Isabella, why are you only just getting here? I waited for you all night long! I was starting to think you weren't coming at all."

Laura's face instantly transformed into a mask of grievance, as though she were the victim in all this.

Hearing Laura's words, Isabella couldn't help but laugh bitterly.