Chapter 277 Tristan Has a High Fever
Harriet opened the door and asked the bodyguard in the hallway, "Where's Tristan?"
"Mr. Lancaster came back after you this morning but left shortly afterward," the bodyguard reported. "He looked pretty upset when he left."
Harriet suddenly thought of something.
She composed herself and said, "Call him and tell him Della's already on painkillers and that they're working well."
"Mrs. Lancaster, shouldn't you tell Mr. Lancaster this yourself?"
"Just make the call."
The bodyguard nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
The next morning, after breakfast with Della, Harriet needed to go to Cloud Bay to treat Mason.
She picked up her medical kit and said to the bodyguard at the door, "Come with me to Cloud Bay. I have a house call."
"Yes, Mrs. Lancaster."
After getting in the car, the bodyguard said while driving, "Mrs. Lancaster, I called Mr. Lancaster yesterday as you asked, but he didn't pick up."
Only then did Harriet realize that Tristan hadn't come to the hospital the night before either.
Since Della got hurt, he'd been staying at the hospital every night.
Even though Della rejected him and he couldn't stay in her room all the time, he still stayed overnight at the hospital.
Last night was the first time he hadn't stayed there.
Harriet knew he must have seen her hugging Nolan and had felt hurt.
But she had no intention of explaining.
It was fine if he misunderstood her.
Maybe if he misunderstood, he could finally let go.
Harriet arrived at Cloud Bay, finished treating Mason successfully, and then got back in the car to head to the hospital.
"Mrs. Lancaster," the bodyguard asked, "we're at Cloud Bay. Wouldn't you like to check on Mr. Lancaster?"
Harriet paused for a moment, then quickly said, "No, let's go back to the hospital."
The bodyguard persisted, "But Mr. Lancaster hasn't been to the hospital in almost 24 hours. What if something has happened to him?"
"What could possibly happen to him?" Harriet said calmly. "He probably heard that Della isn't in as much pain now that she's on medication and feels more at ease, so he didn't come to the hospital. Let's go."
The bodyguard sighed inwardly.
He'd really tried his best.
Tristan didn't set foot in the hospital for three days straight.
Even Della was curious. "Why hasn't Wilder's dad come? Did I scare him away by being too mean?"
Harriet laughed and said, "Yes, Della can be a bit scary when you get angry."
"But he's Wilder's dad. I hate Wilder, so I hate him too!"
Harriet hugged Della. "It's okay. If nothing unexpected happens, he probably won't come looking for Della again."
"That's perfect! I just want to spend every day with Dad, Mom, Godmother, and Chase."
"Okay."
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Ryder rushed in. "Mrs. Lancaster."
"What happened?"
"Mr. Lancaster hasn't shown up for three days and won't answer his phone. The servants at his house say he's at Cloud Bay, but he kicked them all out three days ago and hasn't let anyone in since."
Harriet frowned. "He's not a child anymore. Why is he being so childish? Go find Finnegan and have him check on Cloud Bay."
"I already contacted Mr. Savoy yesterday. He went to Cloud Bay as well, but Mr. Lancaster locked himself in his room and won't come out. Mr. Savoy is very worried too."
"Mrs. Lancaster, I had no choice but to come to you. Please go home and check on him. If something really happened to Mr. Lancaster, the consequences would be disastrous."
Harriet lowered her eyes, hesitated for a moment, and finally gave in.
"I understand."
Harriet left Della in Niamh's care and departed with Ryder.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into Griffin.
"Harriet, are you going out?"
"Yes."
"I need to talk to you."
"Let's talk about it another day."
"Harriet!" Griffin looked at her seriously. "What I need to say is very important."
Harriet nodded. "Okay, come with me then."
Harriet drove while Griffin sat in the passenger seat beside her.
As the sports car left the hospital, Harriet spoke up, "What is it? Tell me."
Griffin said calmly, "Are you really that worried about Tristan? Are you so eager to go find him?"
Harriet smiled. "Looks like you're well informed about Tristan's whereabouts."
Griffin neither confirmed nor denied her words. "After you left Emberfall three years ago, Tristan stopped pressuring the Lancaster Group. Even I thought he'd really lost his memory. I didn't expect that, to keep up the act, he'd even temporarily let me go."
Harriet kept her eyes on the road, concentrating on her driving. "His style has always been to never give up until he reaches his goal, so naturally he wouldn't overlook these details."
"What about you?" Griffin turned to look at her. "Harriet, do you hate me so much that you pretended not to remember me and never asked about me for three years?"
"Since I was pretending to have amnesia, the fewer people who knew, the better."
"That’s fine for me, but you even kept it from Mr. Jones?"
Harriet glanced at him. "Since when did you and Mr. Jones become so close?"
"All these years, when I couldn't see you, I naturally had to ask him how you were doing."
Harriet smiled and said, "If you wanted to ask, shouldn't you have gone to Niamh instead?"
"Harriet, what are you trying to imply?" Griffin frowned. "Is there a problem with me being close to Mr. Jones?"
"I didn't say there was a problem," Harriet said calmly. "Mr. Jones is my family. I have my reasons for not telling him the truth. I just want to tell you that no matter how you and Tristan fight, don't involve the people around me, especially those I care about."
"Harriet, do you really think I would hurt people you care about?"
"Wouldn't you?" Harriet shot back. "When it comes to deep hatred, who could possibly compare to you and the Lancaster family? And you know very well how much Tristan cares about me."
Griffin frowned. "So you're saying I would hurt you and the people around you to get revenge on the Lancaster family and Tristan?"
"Griffin, I don't want to think this way, but I really can't figure you out," Harriet said, her lips curving slightly. "Sometimes I really wish we could stay in our childhood forever and never grow up."
"I wish for that too." Griffin smiled. "To stay in the happiest times forever, not having to face the cruelty of the adult world."
"You said you had something important to tell me. Was it just to question why I kept the truth about my memory from you?"
"No, I wanted to tell you not to go find Tristan."
"Give me a reason."
"Hasn't he hurt you enough already?" Griffin asked. "If he hadn't completely broken your heart, why would you have left Emberfall and secretly given birth to Della?"
"Harriet, Nolan is dying and not right for you, but compared to him, Tristan is even more dangerous."
"I admit, I went to Nolan's side because he's sick," Harriet said. "As for Tristan, I don't plan to have anything to do with him."
"Can you really do that?" Griffin smiled. "You're soft-hearted, and Tristan is best at manipulating people's hearts. In front of him, you're completely transparent."
Harriet pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to face Griffin. "He is Della's biological father, after all. It's only right that I check on him to make sure nothing has happened. Ryder's car is behind us. Have him take you back."
"Harriet, are you sure you want to go?" Griffin's face was full of pain. "Getting tangled up with him again, facing unknown dangers and being hurt again—is that really what you want?"
Harriet lowered her eyes and said, "Griffin, get out."
"Harriet, I really don't want to see you get hurt again."
"How do you know I'll definitely get hurt if I'm with Tristan?" Harriet frowned at him. "Or are you saying you're going to make a move against him and are afraid that I'll get caught in the crossfire?"
Griffin closed his eyes. "Harriet, do what you think is best."
Harriet watched him get out of the car before slowly looking away.
She lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
After a moment, Harriet drove toward Cloud Bay.
The villa's main gate was tightly shut. Harriet rang the doorbell, but no one answered.
Harriet used her fingerprint to unlock the door and went inside. The living room was empty.
Harriet went to the master bedroom on the second floor and knocked on the door, but no one responded.
She tried the doorknob to go in, but found the door was locked from the inside.
Harriet went straight to the study next door, took out the spare key, and unlocked the door.
Tristan was lying on the bed, apparently sleeping.
Harriet walked forward, just about to call out to him, when she suddenly noticed that Tristan's complexion didn't look right.
She reached out and touched Tristan's forehead. His temperature was burning hot.
"Tristan, you have a fever!" Harriet tried to wake him. "Tristan, can you hear me?"
Tristan, lying on the bed, didn't move at all and showed no signs of waking up.
Harriet quickly went to get her medical kit. She checked his temperature—it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
Harriet found some fever medicine and helped him take it, then got a towel to help bring down his fever.
Half an hour later, the fever came down a bit.
Harriet breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing I don't have to call an ambulance."
She replaced the towel on his forehead, then went downstairs to the kitchen.
Tristan woke up feeling extremely thirsty.
He opened his eyes with difficulty. The discomfort had eased somewhat.
As soon as he sat up, the towel on his forehead fell onto the blanket.
The medical kit sat on the nightstand, with a glass of water beside it.
Tristan picked up the glass and took a few sips before throwing off the covers and heading downstairs.
It was already dark outside, but the villa was brightly lit.
Faint sounds came from the kitchen.