Chapter 273 It Is Her Room
When Lina first laid eyes on Alexander, she had to admit she was shocked.
The man who used to be so sharp and imposing had clearly aged considerably. Even without knowing his actual age, it would be hard for anyone to believe he was only in his early thirties.
Alexander parted his lips, seeming to need a while to summon his words. "I... didn't have anywhere else to turn."
"If you don't know where to go, you shouldn't have come here." Lina's tone was cold.
Alexander's lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
Lina showed no sign of relenting. She merely shot him an icy look, then turned to secure the door and drove off.
Alexander remained standing at the entrance, silent.
Following a lengthy silence, he gradually made his way to the entrance and sat on the stairs, pulling his knees close to his chest.
On both sides of the clinic entrance, the planters were filled with gardenias. Most of the blooming season had passed, but the breeze still carried a faint trace of their fragrance.
The scent was too familiar—it was just like the smell she used to have.
Alexander had often wondered what fragrance Caroline used. She consistently carried a gentle, floral note with her. but it wasn't sharp like perfume, and it didn't seem deliberately applied.
So the scent came from here.
Alexander gradually shut his eyes as a wave of tiredness washed over him. He nearly imagined that he was once again held in her embrace.
He was so tired—too tired to remember how long it had been since he'd had a proper night's sleep.
Now, finally, he could rely on this familiar scent to sleep peacefully for a while.
When Lina came to work the following morning, she discovered Alexander still seated on the front steps, sleeping.
His car was still parked in the same spot, and he was wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
As she got closer, she noticed morning dew clinging to the ends of his hair.
Had he been sitting here all night?
Her astonishment was brief, quickly giving way to a more profound and unfiltered emotion—revulsion.
Lina walked up to him and called out coldly, "Mr. Hamilton."
Alexander didn't respond.
She called again, but he remained sound asleep.
A sense that something was off instantly took over her feelings. Lina extended her hand and gave his shoulder a shove.—not hard, but Alexander's entire body fell toward the ground.
Her chest constricted. She lowered herself and at last got a clear look—his face was unnaturally flushed.
Lina touched his forehead. It was burning hot. He had a fever.
When Alexander opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a soft bed.
The blankets emitted a delicate fragrance—reminiscent of flowers blended with antiseptic, and a subtle trace of medication beneath.
In that instant, his consciousness seemed pulled back to long ago. The smell was too much like Caroline's scent during the final period of her life. He almost believed Caroline was lying beside him.
His hand reached out almost instinctively, but grasped only empty air.
The bed beside him was ice cold, so cold it made his chest tighten.
"You're awake?"
Lina's voice came from the doorway.
Alexander fought to raise his head and caught sight of her resting by the doorframe, her face showing a mix of emotions.
"Where... am I?" He tried to sit up, his voice hoarse.
He glanced about him. The setting was unknown to him, yet the design carried an odd sense of recognition.
"Caroline's clinic." Lina didn't elaborate.
Alexander's heart jolted.
She had actually let him in.
Joy surged up almost like a reflex, mixed with a desperate eagerness. "Thank you. Really, thank you."
Lina averted her gaze. "Don't thank me. I simply didn't want you to get more ill out there with that fever and have to handle the consequences myself." I had no choice but to bring you inside."
Her words were cold and hard, but Alexander still couldn't suppress that almost uncontrollable delight.
He was now standing in the very location where Caroline had once been employed. Just being there for a short while brought him a small sense of connection to her.
But his brief joy was quickly swallowed by a deeper chill.
Reminders of her were all around. Each time Alexander glanced away, he could nearly picture her active form going about the area.
He even felt that if he just reached out his hand, he could embrace that slender silhouette.
But each time he blinked, that blurry figure would vanish completely like a hallucination.
A sour feeling rushed up his nose, and tears fell without warning.
"There's food over there." Lina's voice remained cold.
She gestured toward the side. "Have something to eat. After you've gotten some rest, phone someone to come get you."
She turned to leave.
At the doorway, Lina stopped again, her tone more like a warning. "Don't break anything in here. This used to be Dr. Caroline's rest room. Everything inside belonged to her. I come clean every day, but I never move anything. If you break something, this place will never be the same again."
She closed the door, and the room fell quiet.
Although Lina's tone remained chilly the whole time, Alexander sensed that she had still preserved this place for him.
Maybe she just couldn't stand seeing him like this and reluctantly let him stay here for one night.
Alexander's eyes burned even more intensely. Recalling what Lina had said and fearing his tears might mark the bedding, he could only lean his head back and suppress that overwhelming feeling.
He thought to himself, 'Caroline, you were too kind. The people around you are all just as kind.'
Last time, it was Daniel who pulled him back from the edge of the abyss.
This time, it was Lina who gave him a place to catch his breath.
If only... if only he could have seen all this sooner.
After a long while, Alexander finally managed to calm down somewhat.
He slowly got out of bed and began to look around the room.
The room was plain, furnished with pale wood. It contained a bed, a desk, and a closet—no unnecessary items.
But the details were so abundant they made his chest ache.
On the desk sat a lamp shaped like Winnie the Pooh.
He stepped nearer and observed that the lampshade was completely clean, and even the light bulb gleamed from being polished.
Lina hadn't exaggerated. She must clean carefully every day.
Alexander stood by the desk, his mind uncontrollably conjuring images—late at night, Caroline bent over the desk writing medical records, occasionally looking up to see that little lamp glowing. The chubby bear shape looked a bit clumsy in the light, yet so gentle.
So Caroline had always kept this soft side hidden in her heart.
He looked up and saw a painting hanging on the wall behind the desk.
Almost immediately, he recognized it as something Caroline had painted herself.
It was a landscape, the style somewhat abstract. If you didn't look carefully, you'd think it was just random brushstrokes.
But when Alexander looked closely, he could see it depicted the backyard of the Neville family's old estate. In the background was the flower wall that Caroline had carefully tended.