Chapter 383 In the Hospital Late at Night…

Chapter 383 In the Hospital Late at Night…

Emily and James stayed in the car for three hours, waiting for the rainstorm to gradually subside before the belated rescue finally arrived.

Damon arranged for his crew to move the fallen tree aside, then clear away the weeds and dead branches from the road, carving out a path the car could drive through.

Lon and Lavinia rushed over with the rescue team. When they approached the car, they were shocked to find that even though James was burning up with fever and delirious, his guard was still completely up.

He held Emily tightly in his arms, his fever-reddened eyes coldly watching everyone outside the car. The veins in his arms bulged as if he might lash out at any moment.

Emily had no choice. Right there in front of everyone, face flushed crimson, she pressed kisses to the corner of James's mouth while murmuring soft reassurances.

After finally getting James's emotions under control, everyone scrambled to escort James and Emily back to the hospital in Oceancrest City.

Oceancrest City Central Hospital.

"The fever is quite severe, accompanied by serious dehydration."

The doctor looked at the chart with an expressionless face. "The patient needs proper rest for the next few days. No anger or extreme emotional fluctuations. Keep the diet light, and make sure to stay hydrated."

After a moment, the doctor looked up at the woman before him. "Are you this patient's family member?"

"...I am."

Emily hesitated briefly before answering with a soft sigh.

The doctor raised an eyebrow slightly. He'd caught the hesitation in Emily's voice, which made him wonder about their relationship.

But he was just a regular doctor with no interest in his patients' private lives.

He handed the chart to Emily. "I'll give the patient a fever reducer injection and saline drip shortly, then we'll see how his condition improves. If you have no questions, I'll go prepare the medication. Please take good care of the patient."

"No problem. Thank you, doctor."

Emily watched the doctor leave, then turned back to look at James lying in the hospital bed.

Because of his illness, James's normally stern face showed an unhealthy flush. His closed eyes trembled, his brow slightly furrowed—a picture of vulnerable beauty.

Honestly, Emily rarely saw James look so fragile.

Even when he'd been paralyzed and blind, James had wrapped his wounded heart in a shell of irritability and coldness, never letting anyone glimpse the vulnerability inside.

But now, this usually arrogant and self-assured man lay there so defenseless, his typically mocking lips pressed tightly together.

Emily sat by the bed, staring at James's stern yet vulnerable sleeping face in a daze.

After a while, a nurse came in to run some routine checks on James, set up his IV, then left.

Only a sleeping patient and a dazed family member remained in the quiet room.

Damon had dropped James and Emily off at the hospital before rushing off to handle other matters.

He had too much on his plate lately—the aftermath of The Ramos Family estate, the multi-car pileup on the highway, storm damage to the town, road clearing...

All of it had him running in circles.

Lon had stopped by earlier to visit James, but James had been burning up so badly that he'd already lost consciousness. So Lon had simply left a basket of fresh fruit and departed.

...

That night, James's fever finally broke.

He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and the slightly acrid smell of medicine.

I'm in a hospital?

James tried to move his numb arm but found he couldn't.

He turned his head and saw Emily sitting beside the bed, her upper body draped across his arm as she slept.

Is Emily using my arm as a pillow?

If he weren't so weak and exhausted, he'd almost laugh at the absurdity.

Just days ago, this woman couldn't get far enough away from him. Now she was fast asleep on his arm.

Did she really think he was that desperate for her?

James pulled at the corner of his mouth with haughty amusement. If it weren't for the baby, he...

He absolutely needed Emily and no one else!

"You're only this spoiled because you know I'm crazy about you."

James looked down at the sleeping Emily, his words almost grinding through clenched teeth.

Emily hadn't been sleeping deeply. Her instincts, honed over years, could sense when someone's burning gaze fell upon her.

Her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened to reveal bright eyes that met James's fever-tinged gaze.

James seemed surprised she'd woken so quickly. The affection and love in his eyes hadn't had time to retreat—they lay bare before Emily.

What's it like to wake up and find a man looking at you with such devotion?

Emily didn't know about others.

But meeting those devoted eyes, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.

James really does care about me.

For the first time, Emily had a visceral sense of James's feelings for her.

Before, James had said over and over that he loved her, that he liked her—but his words were infuriating and his actions even more so. She couldn't see the affection in any of it.

But last night, being held in his protective embrace had felt so safe and warm that her long-frozen heart couldn't help but melt just a little for James.

"Do you want some water?"

After they'd stared at each other in silence for a while, Emily looked away first, the tips of her ears flushing pink.

"Yes."

James's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes never leaving Emily.

Emily helped James sit up, then poured a glass of warm water and handed it to him.

James lowered his head slightly, drinking from the glass in Emily's hand in small sips.

No one could say who started it, but suddenly they were kissing, and that half-empty glass fell to the floor, spilling water that neither of them noticed.

James bit hard at Emily's lips, as if trying to make up for all the longing and emotion from their days of cold war.

Emily frowned at the discomfort, kissing back just as fiercely in retaliation.

After a long moment, they finally released each other, both gasping for breath, their lips swollen and glistening, traces of blood at the corners of their mouths.

"Still planning to stay away from me?"

James's eyes darkened, his voice gravelly.

His rough fingertips gently brushed the dark circles under Emily's eyes and her damp, reddened lips.

"Depends on how you behave."

Emily cupped James's face in both hands, desire still lingering in her bright eyes.

"Does this mean we've made up?"

James couldn't help but lean down to kiss Emily's flushed lips again.

"What do you think?"

Emily smiled slyly.