Chapter 288 Arrive at the Hospital
Chapter 288 Arrive at the Hospital
In the video, James just lay there quietly, like a sleeping prince.
But once she stepped into the hospital corridor, the strong smell of disinfectant hit her face,
mixed with a faint trace of medicine,
making Emily feel as if all the blood in her body had dropped to freezing point. Her heart tightened in waves, and her steps unconsciously slowed down.
The ICU ward had extremely strict controls, limiting who could enter and exit.
There were even special guards stationed outside the door. Tyler went up and spoke quietly with the guards for a few moments, then walked into the lounge next to the ward to negotiate with Ruby.
Emily stood in the corridor, her palms sweating cold, her heart beating so fast it almost jumped out of her chest. She could hear the beeping sounds of machines coming from the ward, each beep feeling like a hammer striking her heart.
A full half hour passed before Tyler finally emerged from the lounge,
nodding at Emily. Right after, Ruby walked out of the ward wearing sterile clothing.
She stood tall and straight, and even though her eyes couldn't hide her exhaustion,
she still maintained a queenly dignity, radiating an aura that kept people at a distance.
She looked Emily up and down with sharp eyes, her expression neither sad nor happy,
as if examining an object. After a long while, she gave Emily a slight nod, said not a single word, then turned and left the hospital.
The sound of her high heels striking the floor was crisp and resolute, still carrying that naturally commanding queenly presence.
During Emily's time in Lumaria, she had met quite a few noble ladies and socialites. She had long since developed an unshakeable composure in the face of their arrogance and prejudice.
She pushed down the complicated emotions in her heart and, guided by the medical staff, entered the disinfection room for full-body sterilization, changed into clean protective clothing, put on a mask and face shield, and walked step by step toward the ward.
The moment she pushed open the ward door, Emily's breathing stopped instantly.
The light inside the ward was soft, various instruments neatly arranged, their beeping sounds weaving together like a cold and desperate symphony,
and at the end of this movement was life's final rest.
Emily's heart raced with panic as she walked heavily to the bedside. Looking at James lying in the bed, before she could even speak, tears uncontrollably slid down from behind her face shield,
pooling on her cheeks, then slowly flowing down along her jawline.
"Emily, please don't cry."
The nurse quickly stepped forward, her tone gentle but carrying a professional reminder,
"Tears are bodily waste and carry bacteria.
James cannot breathe on his own. We've already performed a tracheostomy on him. This environment needs to be completely sterile, without any contamination, or it will worsen his condition."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Emily apologized through her sobs, her voice full of guilt. She quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears, trying hard to calm her emotions.
Seeing this, Tyler silently stepped forward and gestured to the nurse, signaling her to leave first.
The nurse nodded and gently closed the door.
Only Emily and James remained in the ward, so quiet that only the beeping of machines could be heard.
Emily slowly sat by the bedside and reached out her hand, carefully grasping James's hand that had the heart rate sensor clipped to it.
His skin was unnaturally pale, almost completely bloodless.
His fingertips were slightly cool. Even though the room's air conditioning maintained a comfortable temperature, he looked like a doll that had lost both warmth and blood—his features delicate but lifeless, beautiful in an unreal way.
Emily's fingertips trembled slightly. She could clearly feel the weak pulse at his wrist—the only remaining trace of life.
"James, I... I'm back."
Emily said softly, her voice coming out muffled from behind the mask, with a slight echo, especially clear in the quiet ward.
But James still lay motionless in the bed, eyes tightly closed, brow slightly furrowed, giving her no response at all, as if he had fallen into an endless sleep and would never wake up again.
Emily listened to the beeping sounds from the monitor,
her gaze falling on that winding, weakly fluctuating heart rate line. She pulled her chair forward a bit, moving closer to James.
She reached out her other hand and slowly touched his cheek, her fingertips gently caressing his cool skin, whispering softly,
"James, it's me, Emily. I'm back.
Didn't you have a lot of things you wanted to explain to me? Wake up quickly and talk to me, okay?"
"Tyler told me that after I left, you were very sad.
Every day you locked yourself in your office, frantically calling me, searching every corner of Emerald City. Even if there was just a sliver of hope, you never gave up looking for me."
Emily's voice carried a sob, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"I didn't know any of this. I thought you didn't care about me at all, thought you just saw me as a game.
I ran off to Lumaria in anger, deliberately didn't answer your calls, even changed my phone number. I thought that way I could completely forget you.
But I was wrong. I went to Lumaria, and you didn't come looking for me. I was secretly relieved,
but I really never expected you'd get in a car accident, that you'd end up like this."
She paused, sniffled, and continued,
"How could you be so careless?
Didn't I always tell you to drive slower and be careful?
You used to make fun of me for driving like a turtle, saying I was timid, but that's what keeps you safe.
You're always like this, doing things without thinking, never considering that the people around you would worry."
"James, Grandma wanted to come see you too, but the hospital rules say only one visitor per day can enter the ward. When she saw me coming, she quietly went back."
Emily's voice became much gentler, carrying a trace of heartache.
"Grandma's getting old, and her health wasn't good to begin with. When she heard about your accident, she fainted on the spot.
After she woke up, she kept saying your name over and over.
She's starting to forget the people around her now, her memory getting worse and worse, but she recognized me right away.
She held my hand and made me promise to wake you up.
You don't want Grandma to worry, do you?"
"And there's your arrogant but beautiful Aunt Ruby.
When I arrived, she was in the ward watching over you, her eyes swollen like peaches.
You could tell she was really upset, but because of her position as a queen, she wouldn't easily show her emotions."
Emily smiled softly, her tone carrying a hint of understanding.
"But you never told me before that you had an aunt like her.
You always keep things to yourself, never willing to tell me anything. If we had been more honest with each other, maybe we wouldn't have had so many misunderstandings?"