Chapter 16 Chapter 16
However, the whispers were still going on in the background.
People had started murmuring among themselves, and this time, they were no longer whispering with admiration for Kai. No. Their voices carried confusion, disbelief, and quiet mockery.
“It was just dehydration?”
“Then why was he talking about surgery?”
“What the hell was that?”
“He said ten minutes and started talking like the woman was about to die on the spot.”
“And all she needed was water?”
Their murmurs spread across the room like smoke, low but sharp enough to cut.
At that moment, Dr. Kai knew the humiliation had already landed on him heavily. It hit him hard, straight in his pride. He still lay there, stiff with pain, but the pain in his body was nothing compared to what was burning in his chest now.
He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought about dehydration immediately.
That was what kept punching his mind.
How did Megan know so fast?
How did she look at the woman once and understand what he, Dr. Kai, with all his title, all his pride, all his noise, all his knowledge failed to see?
But that was not even the issue now.
No.
The issue now was how he was going to save his face. That was the issue.
At that moment, Dr. Kai cleared his throat.
The sound alone pulled some eyes back to him.
Even with the pain sitting hard on his face, he still tried to gather himself. He pushed past the embarrassment, straightened a little from where he was, and forced that familiar proud look back into place, the one he always wore when he wanted people to trust him without question.
“I’m sure all of you are jumping to conclusions too fast,” he said, his tone sharp, controlled, but carrying heat underneath. “Do you really think a man like me, with the kind of reputation I have built over the years, would not know the difference between ordinary dehydration and a serious medical emergency?”
He paused and looked around at the crowd one after the other, like he was dragging them back to his side.
“Do you think I cannot tell the difference?” he asked again, more firmly this time. “Do you think I would stand here and speak carelessly without knowing what I am saying?”
His jaw tightened.
“This is an insult,” he said coldly. “A complete insult. For all of you to suddenly conclude that all she needed was water. Water?” He gave a short, mocking laugh, full of disbelief. “What exactly do you think water can do in a condition like this?”
The room grew quieter.
Dr. Kai saw that silence and quickly stepped into it to his advantage.
“When I said she needed emergency support, I said it because I saw something serious,” he continued. “You may not understand it, but that does not mean it is not there. Some conditions calm down for a moment before they get worse again. That is basic medicine.”
At that moment, some of the bystanders began murmuring again.
“Could it be true?”
“Come to think of it… what can only water really do?”
“Maybe Dr. Kai actually saw something deeper.”
“He’s too experienced to make that kind of mistake.”
“Maybe the water only helped her for now.”
“Maybe it was just a lucky guess from the woman.”
The whispers began to shift. Not fully, but enough.
And hearing that, hearing the doubt slowly return, Dr. Kai couldn’t help the small smile that touched the corner of his lips.
It was not a warm smile.
It was the kind of smile a man gives when he feels himself slipping, then suddenly finds something to hold on to.
He knew that was the only opening he had right now, the only way to crawl back into control of the moment.
Because no matter how this looked, no matter how badly the scene had turned against him, he still believed he was right.
To him, this was not over.
Not at all.
As far as he was concerned, the woman still needed emergency care. What happened here was only temporary, just enough to hold her up for a moment, just enough to delay what was already going on inside her body.
That was how he chose to see it.
That was what he held on to.
At that moment, Megan looked at the woman once more, then at the husband, then slowly at the crowd.
She could already see where the whole thing was going.
She could see the confusion on their faces, the uncertainty, the way fear made people cling to titles even when truth had already shown itself before their eyes.
And truthfully, she did not have the strength to start dragging words with anybody, not tonight.
Not after everything.
So Megan gave a small nod, her face unreadable, and said, “Well, I’ve done my part and I’ve told you what you need to do. If you don’t believe me, that is up to you.”