Chapter 757
After ensuring everything was in order, the lovebirds set off for their return journey to Elmsworth.
資式
On the way, Thaddeus wrapped his arms around his lady, his lips grazing against her earlobe, which was flushed as if stained with blood, and pecked at her plump, rosy lips.
“Evadne, thank you. How can I ever repay you, huh?”
“Why the formalities?” With her left arm encircling his neck, Evadne’s fingertips traced his straight nose, as gentle as a spring breeze, stirring his heart into ripples, “Then you can cook for me for a month.”
“A month? Underestimating me?”
His eyes wed with indulgence, “Being a lifetime chef for my lady is a delight I’d willingly embrace.”
Evadne shook her head repeatedly, “That’s sweet, Thaddeus, but your sentiment is enough. A meal now and then is charming, but a lifetime is a burden.”
“Actually, I feel quite guilty doing this to Aaron.”
Evadne pursed her lips helplessly, “But putting pressure on the Bartley family to abandon the engagement seemed like the best win–win solution I could come up with. Once they back off, it would buy Jareth more time to sort out his family affairs. That way, he and Marilla could have a chance together.”
“There are other ways I can deal with the Bartley family.”
Evadne shook her head gently, “I know you’re prepared, but don’t stir up trouble with the Elmsworth political scene too lightly.”
His lips tensed, “For Marilla and Jareth, I’m not afraid of offending anyone.”
“But you can’t afford to offend Frederic right now. You can’t hand him the ammunition to think you’re harming. or influencing the Group’s interests. Isn’t that just giving him a reason to blow up?”
Sitting upright in his embrace, Evadne soothed him gently, “Don’t worry. Suri isn’t one to be trifled with. She’s been managing part of Emeric’s business and assets for years. With her stepping in, she’ll surely squelch the Bartley family’s ambitions to cling to power.”
A smile crept uncontrollably across Thaddeus‘ lips, and just as he leaned in for a kiss, the phone rang.
Seeing it was Jason calling, Evadne answered immediately, “Jason.”
“Ms. Ashbourne, there’s an update on Glynnis.” Jason reported urgently, “Our people just sent word; Glynnis went to the hospital for a checkup, and she looks in bad shape.“.
“That’s good.” Evadne’s voice was low, her eyes cold, “Keep a close watch on her. As soon as she leaves the hospital, get her blood sample by any means necessary.”
“Understood, Ms. Ashbourne!”
Across the ocean.
For nearly a week, Glynnis suffered from an unrelenting fever that no medication could subdue. Reluctant to face the exorbitant medical costs by going to the hospital there, she bemoaned every penny of her meager living allowance, wishing she could split a dollar three ways.
She remembered a time when, as the daughter of the Abernathy family, even a pinprick on her finger would cause a flurry of concern. Now, her circumstances were starkly different, and the sorrow hit her hard.
But recently, with the addition of weakness and persistent coughing, she dared not delay and rushed to the hospital overnight.
After undergoing various tests, Glynnis, wrapped in her dingy sweater coat, slumped onto a bench in the hallway and drifted into a fitful sleep.
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She was awakened by a nurse who summoned her to see the doctor for her test results. The doctor hesitated, looking at the lab report, and then spoke softly, “Madam, I regret to inform you. The results indicate that you’ve been infected with the HIV virus.”
“HIV?” Glynnis’s face turned ghostly pale, staring blankly at the doctor’s serious expression. She understood enough English to recognize the gravity of those three letters but was in utter disbelief, thinking she had misheard.
ex EFFE
The doctor, mistaking her shock for a language barrier, repeated, “It’s AIDS.”
This time, the diagnosis was spelled out, unmistakable and clear. With a clatter, Glynnis crumpled to the floor, her body shaking uncontrollably, unable to stand even with the doctor’s assistance.
At the moment, she was in shock, unable to process the doctor’s words, deaf to all but her own despair. Oh right, she was deaf in the first place.
Staggering and disoriented, Glynnis stumbled forward, replaying in her mind how she could have contracted AIDS. Then, she remembered a night in a club’s bathroom with a male model, a night of reckless passion. He hadn’t used protection and had released the liquid of his sexual indulgence on her twice, one inside her, the other on her chest. Could he have been the one to infect her?
She had been cooping herself up at home all the time, indulging just that once! If not him, who else could it be? “Ah!” In the dim, deserted alley, Glynnis tore her lab report to shreds, curled up in a corner, clutching her head, and let out a harrowing scream.
“Why has it come to this, why?!”
Cast out of the Abernathy family, stripped of a life of luxury, deaf, and now stricken with this vile disease, she thought death might be a merciful escape.
At the peak of her despair, a series of footsteps echoed down the alley, drawing closer until they halted before her.