Chapter 91 Three Months

As soon as she lay down, Matthew leaned over the edge of the bed.

"Mr. Moore, what are you doing? There are better places to sleep, you know."

No response. Calliope got a bad feeling and slowly turned her head.

What she saw shocked her. Matthew was lying on the bed, eyes shut tight.

His face was pale, and he had cold sweat on his forehead.

He looked seriously ill!

Calliope knew Matthew wouldn't joke about something like this, so she quickly pressed the emergency button by her bed.

She was so grateful she could call a doctor anytime.

A nurse rushed in.

"What's wrong, Ms. Bishop? Do you need help?"

Calliope tried to lift Matthew, but she was weak from just waking up and not eating, so she had to rely on the nurse.

"Please, check on him."

The nurse touched Matthew's forehead and quickly pulled her hand back.

"Oh my God, he's burning up!"

"Is his forehead really hot?"

Calliope hadn't noticed because Matthew's hand had felt cold earlier when he patted her head.

"He's got a high fever! I'll get help right away."

When the hospital found out Matthew had fainted from a high fever, things got chaotic. Even Gerald, an orthopedic doctor, was running around.

James, sitting on a bench in front of the emergency room, pulled him down.

"Can you calm down? You're making me dizzy with all that pacing! Besides, what can you do to help?"

"You don't get it!"

Gerald glared at him. "What if he gets brain damage? What about his two brothers?"

James ignored him and turned to Amelia. "See? He's an actor too. If you ever want to learn how to fake an injury, ask him."

Amelia didn't know how to respond, so she changed the subject.

"Mr. Moore looks pretty strong. How did he suddenly get a fever?"

"Suddenly?"

Gerald thought about it and sat down on the other side of Amelia.

The sudden closeness made Amelia lean towards James, who put his arm around her shoulder and pushed Gerald away.

"Back off. Don't get handsy."

Gerald felt wronged. "I just wanted to explain why Matthew got a fever."

"No need. I already know."

Amelia's expression was awkward.

Matthew had jumped into the sea to save Calliope!

In such cold weather and seawater, he had brought Calliope to the surface and held on until rescuers got them both ashore.

Gerald explained, "After Matthew brought Calliope to the hospital, he fainted once but quickly woke up and stayed by her side. When you got here this morning, he hadn't slept for over forty hours, hadn't taken any medicine, and refused to get checked out."

The sudden fainting was just Matthew finally relaxing, with no strength left to keep going.

Amelia said, "I didn't expect Mr. Moore to go to such lengths for Callie. I thought they'd never see each other again."

The news of Matthew's illness quickly brought members of the Moore family to visit. And guess who showed up? Owen!

Even though Owen sat in a wheelchair looking harmless, Calliope knew he was behind everything she had gone through.

Calliope finally understood that appearances can be deceiving.

"Owen, what are you doing here?"

Calliope stood by Matthew's bed, not letting anyone get close.

Owen suddenly laughed.

She was confused. "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing because you're naive. Matthew is just playing with you. Do you really think he jumped into the sea to save you because he cares about you?"

"Could there be any other reason?"

"Of course, he saved you because Matthew refused to admit defeat to me. Only if you and he are both alive and the culprit is brought to justice can he claim a complete victory. Matthew, a perfectionist, would never tolerate being outsmarted by me from start to finish. Rather than saying he jumped to save you, it's more accurate to say he was saving his own dignity."

Calliope suddenly fell silent because she couldn't find any evidence to refute the ruthless Owen.

Objectively, Matthew might indeed think this way.

Moreover, unlike her, Matthew still refused to reveal any feelings for her.

Thinking about this made Calliope feel even more stifled.

Matthew had never opened up to her.

Although they had shared a bed, Calliope suddenly realized she didn't understand Matthew at all.

She left the ward in a daze. In her own room, she collapsed on the bed, and her thoughts surged like a tide.

So it was all fake!

Calliope fell asleep in pain and disappointment. When she woke up, she found Matthew sitting by her bed again.

Matthew's face was still somewhat pale, but his eyes had regained their usual calm and indifference, as if the illness hadn't caused him any real harm.

"Matthew, let's not meet again, okay?"

"No." Matthew refused without a second thought, his voice emotionless. "What makes you think I would easily let go of you, whom I risked my life to save?"

Calliope bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

Why did Matthew have to be so tormenting?

"What do you want?"

Matthew took a deep breath and said slowly, "Three months."

Calliope looked up at him. "What?"

"Stay with me and be my woman for three months. If after that you still want to leave, I won't stop you."

But if by then she didn't want to leave, what promise could Matthew give her?