Chapter 282

Chapter 282

When Edward woke up again, it had been half a month. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar back. He didn't say anything, just quietly watched Adeline. She was changing the flowers in the vase on the nightstand. The old ones had been there for two days and were starting to wilt. The new ones brought a fresh burst of life.

After arranging the flowers, Adeline looked down and met Edward's eyes. She froze. "You… you're awake?"

"Yes, I'm awake."

Hearing his voice after so long, Adeline couldn't believe it. She had dreamed of this for so long.

"Doctor, doctor!"Edward watched as she rushed out. He hadn't even had a chance to say another word. He sighed helplessly. Soon, the doctor came back with Adeline and gave Edward a thorough examination.

"Don't worry." the doctor said finally. "The patient is fine. He just needs to rest. We can keep him under observation for a while."

After the doctor left, Adeline sat by the bed and suddenly hit Edward. He was about to speak, but she hit him again.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately, seeing the anger in her eyes. "I shouldn't have done this without telling you. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"So you knew I would be worried." The thought of the past half month's fear and anxiety made her anger flare up. "Do you know how high that cliff was? Do you know how many of us went down to look for you, and for how long? It was raining, and there was no trace of you. If it had rained any longer, we would have never found you!" They didn't know the mountain well, and the rain would have washed away all the tracks. They would have had to search inch by inch. And Edward was already seriously injured. Would he have survived long enough for them to find him? Probably not. That was why Adeline was so angry. "Before you do anything, can you please talk to me? Can you not just do things on your own? Have you ever thought about me, about Lily?"

Edward lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I was wrong."

Adeline glared at him, her anger like a fist hitting cotton. It was useless. "You can stay here by yourself." She turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. He had forgotten about the cast on his arm and winced in pain.

"Can you just be still?" Adeline glared at him. She had deliberately hit his good arm.

Edward smiled placatingly. "Okay, I'll listen to you. It's all my fault. Can you not be angry anymore? I promise, from now on, I'll never act on my own. I'll report everything to you first."

His words were sweet, but Adeline hadn't forgotten the fear of the past half month. "What's the use of telling me? Your daughter is still angry with you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lily burst in. "Mommy, I'm here to see Daddy!" She saw that Edward was awake and smiling at her. She immediately ran to the bed and looked at him with wide eyes. "Daddy, you're finally awake!"

Edward patted her head with his good hand. "Yes. I made Lily worry."

Lily pouted. "If you know I was worried, then don't do things like this again. Do you know how scared Mommy and I were that you were going to die?"

"Don't say that word. It's bad luck." Lily then slapped her own mouth.

Edward laughed. "Okay, I'll listen to you and Mommy from now on."

"Pinky promise, no take-backs."

A big finger and a small finger linked together, sealing the promise. Adeline watched, speechless. Lily had changed her tune so quickly. She had said she was going to be really angry with him when he woke up. Lily probably felt a little embarrassed and snuggled into Adeline's arms.

Faced with such a cute daughter, Adeline couldn't be angry anymore. She coaxed Lily, "Even though your daddy is awake, he's not fully recovered yet. He needs to rest. We can't bother him for too long. Can you go home first?"

Lily nodded obediently.

Adeline handed Lily over to the nanny and went back to the room, looking at Edward very seriously. He felt a little uneasy under her gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Why did you have a conflict with Mr. Thomas?"

Edward lowered his eyes. "It was some company business."

"You're lying." Adeline said. "You and Mr. Thomas didn't just meet. You've never had any business disputes." Rupert had been grooming Edward as his successor. He was going to give him all his companies and assets. Why would they argue over business? And even if they did, Rupert wouldn't have pushed him off a cliff. That was clearly an attempt to kill him.

But Edward didn't answer. "You've been taking care of me all this time. You must be tired. Now that I'm awake, you can just call a nurse. You go home and get some rest, and spend some time with Lily."

"Fine, don't tell me." Adeline said, annoyed. They were in this together, for better or for worse, but he still wouldn't tell her the truth. She left without looking back, clearly angry. Edward sighed and called Aaron.

Before he could say anything, Aaron said he was coming to the hospital. Less than twenty minutes later, he rushed into the room. "Edward, you're something else. I told you this wouldn't work, but you still went ahead with it."

"Then what do you suggest would have worked?" Edward asked calmly.

"There are many ways. We could have figured something out. Even if we didn't have a plan right away, we could have taken our time. You didn't have to put yourself on the line!" When Aaron had first heard Edward's plan, he had thought he was crazy. "Even if you were worried about Adeline and wanted to deal with Mr. Thomas, there were many ways. I would have helped you. Why did you have to put yourself in danger? Look at how injured you are now!" A broken arm and a broken leg, unconscious for half a month, and now he couldn't even get out of bed.

Edward smiled. "I'm fine. These are just minor injuries. Did you take care of what I asked you to do?"

"Don't worry, he's at the police station." The case was a lock. Adeline was a witness, and Aaron had even taken a hidden camera from Edward when he had rescued him. There was a witness and physical evidence. Rupert had indeed tried to kill Edward. He had pushed him off the cliff with the intention of killing him. But he hadn't known it was all a trap.

Edward closed his eyes, remembering that night. The image was seared into his memory. He had asked Rupert to meet him at the cliff and had confronted him directly. Including what he had found out. His father's bankruptcy had been caused by the same kind of project trap. The method was so familiar that he couldn't help but be suspicious. And he had been right.

Rupert was a formidable opponent. Even though he was old, he was no weaker than Edward. He had caught Edward completely off guard.

"Anyway, it's a good result." Edward said, relieved.

Aaron looked at him and suddenly asked, "You don't seem to be afraid of white anymore."

Edward smiled faintly. "Maybe I just don't find it so glaring anymore."

"I think it's because you found the source of your fear." Aaron said. Edward's fear was Adeline leaving.

Edward didn't say anything, just said, "If you're done, you can go."

Aaron raised his eyebrows. "What?"

But Edward was already ignoring him.

Aaron turned to leave. At the door, he suddenly turned back. "Aren't you going to see him?" He didn't say the name, but they both knew who he was talking about.

Edward looked out the window.

Aaron gave him one last look and left.

When Adeline came back, she had a pile of food. Seeing Edward out of bed and sitting by the window, she frowned. "What are you doing?"

Edward turned around. "I was feeling a little stuffy. I wanted to get some air."

"You're not fully recovered yet. You can't sit by the window. What if you catch a cold? Besides, your leg is not good."

Edward listened to her nagging and let her help him back to bed.

Adeline put the food she had bought on the table. "You've been unconscious for days. The doctor said you can only have nutrients. You can't eat anything hard to digest right now, only liquid food…"

Edward looked at her. "Why did you come back?"

"Can't I come back?"

"You can," Edward said in a low voice, "but I want you to go home and get some rest. You don't have to worry about me. I'm awake now, and I'm much better. Aaron was just here. He can take care of me."

Adeline stared at him.

He rambled on, "Your comic career is taking off. You shouldn't waste your time on me. Go and develop your career. Don't worry about Lily, I'll take care of her. But if you miss her, you can always come back and see her."

Adeline frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

Edward fell silent.

Adeline moved closer, her eyes fixed on him. "Are you trying to kick me out?"

Edward smiled bitterly. "How could I?" And he wouldn't dare.

"I'm telling you, whether I stay or leave is my choice. You don't get to decide." Adeline put the spoon in his hand.

Edward had no choice but to eat.

After he finished, Adeline got some water to wash him. He was a little awkward. "Let the nurse do it."

"What nurse? I've been taking care of you for the past half month. You think a new nurse can just step in now?"

Edward was silent.

Adeline didn't hesitate. She pulled open his shirt and started washing his chest. After half a month of this, she was completely unfazed by his body. But Edward was different. He had been unconscious for half a month, with no reaction to the outside world. But now he could feel her hands, the towel, gliding over his skin, as light as a feather. He swallowed hard. "Okay, that's enough." Any more and something was going to happen.

Adeline pulled back her hand and took the basin to the bathroom. When she came out, he was facing away from her. She realized. He was avoiding her.

She lay down behind him. "Are you trying to get rid of me now that you're better? I've been taking care of you for half a month, and you don't want to talk to me the moment you wake up. That's a little much, don't you think?"

Edward hadn't expected her to get so close. His back stiffened. After a long silence, he said in the dark, "The deadline is almost here, isn't it?" When the deadline came, they would have to separate. She wouldn't be with him. It was better to separate now than then.

"Didn't you used to be so against breaking up?"

"That was before." Edward's voice was muffled.

Adeline slapped the back of his head. "Idiot."

Edward was confused. He turned to look at her. Adeline burst out laughing. "You're such a fool!"

"What do you mean?" Edward wasn't really a fool. He just couldn't believe it.

"I've decided. Let's get to know each other again." Adeline sat up and held out her hand. "Hello, my name is Adeline."

Edward tried to sit up, but his body gave out and he fell back. He didn't know if it was excitement or nervousness, but his hands were trembling, and he had no strength.

"Okay, just lie down and don't move." He had just taken a sedative. It was no wonder he had no strength. Adeline pressed his shoulder, easily pushing him back onto the bed. "But let me make this clear. I just want to get to know you again. I didn't say I wanted to start dating you again."

That was enough.

Edward smiled. "That's fine. I want to get to know you again too. Hello, my name is Edward."

In that moment, Adeline felt like she was back in college. The first time she had seen Edward at her house. He had been poor then, wearing a white shirt and black jeans. He had looked so clean and pure, but his face was expressionless, as if he was keeping everyone at arm's length. But he had caught her when she had missed a step on the stairs. And now, he was willing to put himself in danger to protect her. He hadn't changed at all.

Lily noticed that her parents were acting a little strange lately. She went to Olivia, troubled. "Olivia, I think Mommy and Daddy don't like me anymore."

"Why do you say that?" Olivia was surprised. As far as she knew, Adeline doted on Lily.

Lily rested her chin on her hand, her face full of worry. "I feel like when Mommy and Daddy are together, there's a circle around them, and I can't get in."

Olivia laughed and picked her up. "That's because your mommy and daddy are communicating."

"Communicating?"

"Yes. They're communicating about how to be good parents, how to raise you safely."

Lily nodded, as if she understood. After thinking for a long time, she came to a conclusion. "Then I won't bother Mommy and Daddy anymore. I'll let them communicate!"

Olivia had to bite her tongue to keep from saying, 'Maybe you'll have a little sister soon.'

After finally coaxing Lily, Olivia went to see Edward. She happened to see Adeline sitting by the bed, peeling an apple, while Edward lay in bed.

"Can I come in?"

Adeline glared at her. "What do you think?"

Olivia pushed open the door and put the fruit she had bought on the nightstand. "Well, Mr. Thomas, you're finally experiencing the happiness of being taken care of by your wife."

Edward's lips curved up. "Yes." Though it was just one word, it was full of pride.

Olivia was speechless. "I'm here to see your wife. Can I borrow her for a minute?" She took Adeline out of the room. "Tell me, how far have you two gone?"

Adeline didn't say anything, just subconsciously scratched her ear. Olivia saw the ring on her finger. "A ring? Didn't you take it off? Why are you wearing it again?"

"He said it looks good on me and insisted on putting it on." Adeline said, annoyed. "He put it on me last night while I was sleeping."

Olivia suppressed a laugh. "Well, the ring is on. When's the wedding?"

Adeline rolled her eyes. "What are you thinking? I haven't even thought about that. Whether I marry him or not depends on his behavior. I'm not going to agree so easily."

Suddenly, there was a crash from the room. Adeline immediately turned and went back in.

"What are you doing? Don't move!"

"I want some water."

"You have a cast on your arm. Can't you just call me if you want water?"

"I was wrong."

"Idiot."

Outside the door, Olivia heard every word and couldn't help but smile. When she was young, she had made a wish. She had wished for her best friend to be rich, healthy, and happy, and to be with the person she loved forever. It seemed that wish had finally come true.