Chapter 161
The surgery lasted around half an hour. My leg was carefully wrapped in layers of gauze, and once I was settled into the hospital room, Michael arrived as well.
Oscar was peeling an apple for me. When he saw Michael come in, he asked, "How did it go? Is everything done?"
Michael nodded and walked over to look at me. "How's your injury? Where are you hurt? Is it serious?"
I shook my head at him. "I'm fine. I got shot in the leg, but the bullet's out now. My bone is intact. I just need to rest for a while."
"Your face..." He seemed to hesitate.
I reached up toward my face. Even without looking in a mirror, I could feel how bad the wound was.
He quickly added, "It's okay, it's just a scar. I'll call Samuel later and have him fix it for you."
Oscar also looked at my face, came over, grabbed my hand and said, "They already put medicine on it. Don't touch it with your hands. The doctor said if you apply the medicine on time, it'll heal faster."
I smiled and agreed, then asked, "How did you all get here?"
Oscar said seriously, "When I first got that location you suddenly sent, I immediately tracked it down. I found out the villa was owned by some nobody, but when I checked his connections, I discovered he was Aubrey's brother-in-law. That's when I knew you might be in trouble."
He took a deep breath, as if still shaken. "I contacted Otha while driving and sending people to rescue you, and then I got through on that phone call."
I looked at him and smiled. "Didn't I tell you not to come? Don't you know how dangerous it was?"
Oscar gripped my hand tightly, his expression emotional. "Those people were already backed into a corner. All I knew was that if I didn't find a way to save you, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. Even if I had to trade my life for yours, I would do it to keep you safe."
Michael coughed beside us. "When you two talk sweet, can you do it in private?"
I awkwardly withdrew my hand, cleared my throat, and continued, “You were clever to anticipate them and intercept them here."
Oscar went on, "They've been working with drug dealers at the border, so if they were going to escape, they'd definitely cross illegally into Solstice through this route. Mr. Johnson happened to be here, so I told him about it and flew over."
I was also curious. "You haven't gone back yet? Why are you here?"
I don't know if it was my imagination, but Michael's ears seemed to turn red. He mumbled vaguely, "I have personal business here. Quite convenient I’ve had this contact of his under watch for some time. Now’s the perfect chance to cut ties and prevent future problems.
Oscar's tone carried the relief of surviving a disaster. "Really lucky you had arrangements in advance, otherwise today might not have gone so smoothly."
He said to Michael solemnly, "Thank you so much this time."
Michael replied coolly, "She's my person to begin with. You don't need to thank me for her."
Oscar's expression changed immediately, and he quickly corrected him. “Let me make this clear, she’s only your "former" employee. Your relationship was purely professional. She belongs to me, not you. Choose your words carefully.”
I found it a bit funny that Oscar was still hung up on this at a time like this.
Michael's face darkened. "We worked together for three years. How long have you two been together?"
"We're about to get married. Once we're married, we'll be family. Your partnership with her is over. That needs to be clear." Oscar reasserted his position.
"You're 'about to' get married, which means you're not married yet..." Michael was getting childish too.
Before he finished speaking, his phone rang. After just one ring, he answered it, and the gloom on his face immediately lifted. His expression softened. "Hello? Yes, she's at the hospital now. She's fine."
I looked at him with some confusion. Was the person on the phone asking about me?
Seeing him quickly glance in my direction, I was sure they were talking about me. But who would care about me through him?
And this was the first time I'd seen this expression on his face—joy mixed with shyness. A grown man being shy—for whom?
Or was I seeing things?
Soon he held his phone out to me. This time, I clearly saw that his ears were very red, and his voice carried an awkwardness. "Um... someone wants to talk to you."
Damn it, I wasn't wrong. He was embarrassed.
I looked at him suspiciously and curiously took the phone. "Hello? Who is this..."
Before I could finish asking, I heard Nina crying on the other end. "Emma, I'm so glad you're okay. How's your injury? You don't know how scared I was. How could this happen to you? It's all Oscar's fault. How useless is he? Someone actually kidnapped you."
I could hardly believe my ears. "Nina?"
Nina sniffled, controlling her emotions. "Wait for me. I'm coming to see you right now."
After she finished, she hung up.
I looked at the phone in my hand with a confused expression. This was definitely Michael's phone, but why was Nina's voice coming from it?
My gaze followed the phone to Michael's face, and I asked with a questioning look, "When did you start being in contact with Nina?"
This time, not just his ears but his cheeks were as red as if he'd just gotten drunk. He awkwardly avoided eye contact with me, quickly took back his phone, cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "We... we've been in touch occasionally..."
"Where is Nina?" My leg suddenly didn't hurt anymore, because my head hurt more.
Looking at Michael's red face, I didn't believe for a second they were just "occasionally in touch"!
Michael reached up to touch the back of his head. I rarely saw him this flustered, and his words came out a bit stuttered. "She... she... she's at the hotel, not far from here. She should be able to get here in twenty minutes."
"You two came here together?" My volume increased, and my body straightened up with it, pulling at the wound on my leg. The pain made me wince.
Oscar quickly came over to check. "Is your wound hurting? Don't get worked up. Whatever it is, talk it through slowly. Don't rush. Michael, explain yourself clearly so Emily doesn't worry."
Michael nodded, looking guilty. "We came together. She said she wanted to gather inspiration. I... I was supposed to go back, and I was planning to leave in a few days."
I took a deep breath, silently telling myself not to get angry, not to get angry. I had to save my good friend myself. The Michael in front of me could be my boss, could be a friend, could even be someone else's boyfriend, but he couldn't be Nina's.
He wasn't good enough for her.