Chapter 177 Came Down with a Fever
Luca's mouth curved up just a tiny bit.
Soon, Olivia couldn't hold on anymore. Her eyelids got heavier and heavier.
Days of tension, scares, and staying up late had pushed her body to the limit.
Her head tilted slightly to the side, and she slowly fell asleep.
Luca heard her breathing deepen and gradually lightened his movements.
After some time, Olivia was woken by a faint grunt.
She snapped her eyes open. Her first thought was to check on Leo.
The kid was still sleeping soundly, no movement.
She turned her head and immediately saw Luca's face pale white, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
One hand was gently pressing his waist. His lips were almost colorless.
He was clearly in bad pain but still toughing it out, afraid to wake them.
Olivia's heart jumped up. All her sleepiness was gone.
"What's wrong?" she whispered, unable to hide her worry. "Is the wound hurting? Did it split open?"
Luca barely lifted his eyes and forced a small smile. "It's nothing, just pulled it a bit. It'll pass if I tough it out. No big deal."
"No big deal?" Olivia's voice rose a little, then she quickly lowered it. "You're hurting this bad, and you say it's nothing?"
She reached out to touch his forehead but stopped halfway. "Are you running a fever?"
Luca didn't pull away. He softly hummed. "Just a little low fever."
Olivia felt frustrated and heartbroken at the same time.
"I'm getting the doctor!" She started to get up.
Luca grabbed her wrist. His grip was light but firm.
"Don't go," his voice hoarse. "Leo just fell into a deep sleep. If the doctor comes and makes noise, the kid will wake up. He can't take another scare."
Olivia looked at his pale face, then at Leo on the bed. She was stuck.
"You can't just tough it out like this." Her eyes stung with worry. "I'll cool you down first to bring the fever down. What about the wound? Let me check if it's bleeding."
Luca watched her panic and felt a warm ache in his heart.
"Okay, whatever you say." He nodded obediently, like a good patient.
Right then, he didn't want to act like any tough CEO. He just wanted to be the one she took care of.
Olivia turned to the bathroom to wring out a towel. Her hands shook a little.
She folded the cool towel and gently laid it on his forehead, moving very carefully.
"Tell me if it hurts. Don't hold back."
"Doesn't hurt." Luca looked at her, eyes so gentle. "When you touch it, it stops hurting."
Olivia paused. Her cheeks warmed up. She put on a stern face on purpose. "What time is it, and you're still talking nonsense."
But the corner of her mouth curved up slightly anyway.
She kept changing the towel, totally focused on his temperature.
Luca sat quietly, letting her take care of him.
Right then, he felt all the pain and tiredness were worth it.
"Lie down. The chair's uncomfortable," Olivia said softly. "The bed's big. Lie on the other side. Don't press on your wound or bump Leo."
Luca's eyes lit up a little. His heart started racing.
"Can I... really?" He could hardly believe it.
"Don't overthink it," Olivia said, looking away with a flat tone. "You're a patient now and need rest. I have to watch your temperature, so I can't leave."
"Okay." Luca agreed fast, scared she'd change her mind.
He lay down on the other side super carefully, keeping his distance from her and the kid.
His body was stiff, but his heart was full of joy.
Olivia lay on the outside, with Leo in between. Not too close, not too far.
But she could clearly smell his faint cedar scent, mixed with a bit of antiseptic.
Her heart beat funny. Her mind was a mess.
Luca was even more nervous and hardly breathed.
This was the closest and calmest he'd been to her in a long time.
He didn't dare move or turn over. He even breathed lighter.
In the middle of the night, Luca's fever spiked suddenly.
Olivia slept lightly and felt him burning up right away.
She touched him and got scared. It was way worse than before.
"Luca?" she whispered. "Wake up. Your fever's really bad."
Luca mumbled groggily. He wasn't fully awake.
Olivia panicked. She stopped worrying about waking Leo.
She got up, turned on the light, grabbed the thermometer, found medicine, and wrung a cool towel.
102 degrees. Her stomach dropped.
"I told you to rest properly, but you wouldn't listen." She fussed around while grumbling softly.
Half-asleep, Luca felt a soft hand wiping his forehead and neck.
The cool touch made him feel a lot better.
He reached out on instinct, grabbed that hand, and held it tight in his palm.
Olivia froze in place.
His palm was scorching hot, but his grip wasn't strong.
She wanted to pull away but was afraid to move too much and hurt him, or make his fever worse.
Held like that, she barely slept all night.
Every so often, she'd change the towel, give him water, check his temperature.
It wasn't until dawn that his fever finally went back to normal.
As soon as it got light, Olivia called the doctor.
The doctor checked him over, frowned, and gave Luca an earful. "The wound has slight bleeding. Infection caused the fever. If you'd waited longer, it'd have been serious."
Olivia stood by, heart tight. "Doctor, please take care of it properly. Make sure it's fully healed. Use the best medicine. Don't worry about the cost."
Luca lay in bed, feeling guilty seeing how worried she was. "Sorry. I made you worry again."
Seeing Olivia so tense actually made Luca pretty happy.
The doctor cleaned up the bleeding wound again, put on fresh bandages, and left oral meds with instructions. "No straining the wound at all. No getting too emotional. Take meds on time. Check temperature three times a day. Call me right away if anything's off."
"Got it. Thank you." Olivia wrote it all down and walked the doctor to the door herself.
When she turned back, Luca's eyes were still glued to her. He couldn't look away.
The room was quiet, just Leo's steady breathing rising and falling softly.
Olivia went to the bedside, set the meds and warm water on the nightstand. Her tone sounded natural, like she'd practiced it a lot. "You heard the doctor. No being tough these next few days. No running around. I'll give you the meds on time. Just be good and listen."
Luca nodded, a gentle look in his eyes. "I'll do whatever you say."
Seeing the faint dark circles under her eyes made his heart ache again. "You didn't sleep all night. Want to lean back for a bit? I promise I won't move or bother you."
Olivia was tired, eyelids heavy, but she gently shook her head. "I'm fine. We'll see once you're stable."
Luca didn't push it. He paused, then spoke extra seriously. "Olivia, there's something I need to tell you."
Olivia looked up at him calmly. "Go ahead."
"I told my parents about you and Leo."
The words landed, and the air went quiet for a few seconds.
Olivia's fingertips paused just a tiny bit. A complicated look flashed in her eyes.
Luca watched her face closely, scared she'd get mad or push back. "I don't mean to pressure you or make you meet them right away. They asked about it, and I didn't want to lie to them."
Olivia didn't say anything. Luca thought she was upset and quickly added, "They don't want to take the kid from you. They just want to see you both."