Love's Change of Heart

Chapter 777 Only 01 Percent

After she said that, the dining table slipped into an eerie silence, and Brandon's expression fell and turned stiff at a speed visible to the eyes. Then, the woman glanced at Zoe, her smile and eyes tinged with provocation before she twirled and left. When she was gone, Brandon stammered, "Zoe—"

Zoe had a smile on her face as she asked, "Is she your friend?"

Brandon picked up the glass and took a sip of water to ease his nervousness and awkwardness. "Don't get the wrong idea. Yesterday, I merely went to her place to pass something to her and dropped the pen there without realizing it. Nothing happened between us," he explained.

She picked up her cutlery and said, "It's fine. I understand. Let's eat."

His mouth opened, and he wanted to say something, but when he saw that she didn't seem interested, he shut his mouth and didn't bother explaining himself further. As a result, the atmosphere between them turned rather stifling. Suddenly, his phone started ringing just as they had left the establishment. When he checked the incoming number, he furrowed his brows together tightly and tossed his cell phone into his pocket. "Zoe, let me drop you home," he offered.

Right after he said that, the woman appeared in a spot not far off from them with her cell phone in her hand, as though she was making a call, and the phone in Brandon's pocket continued to vibrate.

Zoe glanced at him. "You seem rather busy, so I won't hold you up any longer. I'm leaving now. Bye."

"Zoe." She had just taken a step when Brandon grabbed her arm and said, "I'm sorry about what happened today. I…"

She turned to him, catching sight of his visibly hesitant face, and said gently, "Don't worry, I won't tell your parents about this."

Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief at her promise and released her arm. "I'll take care of this and give you an answer."

She merely smiled and waved at him before stopping a cab and leaving. When she was in the cab, she saw him walking toward that woman, who had a gleeful smile on her face. Then, she rolled her eyes and sighed, looking away.

Although she had an idea that Brandon didn't make a clean break with his ex-girlfriend, her own relationship was also an utter mess. Frankly, they were in the same boat, getting together to please their parents. So, she truly couldn’t be bothered about Brandon’s affairs. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Unfortunately, based on the situation today, it was clear that his ex-girlfriend wanted to eat in this restaurant, and—whether it was to commemorate their deceased relationship or to make up for his regret—he actually brought her here. Honestly, his actions had crossed a line. Even though she could accept that they were slowly getting to know each other and had no feelings for one another, she couldn't accept that he was treating her as a substitute while keeping her in the dark. The bottom line here was that she found his actions repulsive and offensive.

Back at home, she bought a big bucket of spicy buffalo wings from a street vendor to let off some steam. She initially wanted to invite Leanna for supper and drinks, but just before knocking on Leanna’s door, she recalled Aidan's expressionless face and decided not to disrupt their alone time.

Alas, the consequence of eating wings and drinking alone was contracting gastroenteritis in the middle

of the night—diarrhea and vomiting. As she didn't want to delay the shooting tomorrow, she forced herself to get up and called a cab to the hospital.

When the driver asked which hospital she would like to go to, she was already in such agony that she could barely speak, and her mind was hardly functioning. "Whatever. Just get to the nearest hospital…"

Soon after, the cab stopped in front of a hospital. Zoe raised her head and took a look. Regrettably, the moment she did, she felt more sweat breaking out on her forehead. Then, she said with a pale-stricken face, "Sir, please drop me at a different hospital."

"You shouldn't be so picky, miss," the driver argued. "Just look at how serious your condition is. You better hurry and go in now."

"I—"

Before she could say anything else, the driver helped her out of the car and into the hospital. Then, he passed her over to a nurse and left like an anonymous hero.

After the nurse asked Zoe about her situation, she hurriedly put her on the drip and advised, "It's way past midnight now. You should call your family over to accompany you."

Alas, Zoe simply waved her hand dismissively. "I'm okay. It's not that serious and I already feel a lot better after the drip." While the nurse was speechless by her careless attitude, she asked, "When will I be done? I still have to go to work tomorrow…"

"It will take about four to five hours. I think you should be all done in the morning. But judging from your current condition, it would be better to ask for a day's leave," the nurse suggested.

"Never mind. The details of my job have been in the works for quite some time, and I can’t back out on this due to poor health. If I—" As she spoke, regret overwhelmed her, and she trailed off mid-sentence. "Thank you, miss. Please go on with your work. I'll be fine by myself here."

The nurse nodded. "Just call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

After the nurse left, Zoe let out a long, weary sigh while leaning into the chair. If the shooting tomorrow was delayed because of her, she would really try her best to turn back time just to kick herself in the face.

She looked around the hospital and saw that several patients had already left the treatment ward. She also quickly noticed that the inpatient department wasn't nearby. Hence, the chance of running into Daniel was only 0.1 percent. But in reality, the possibility is zero, she thought and composed her racing heart.

After she allowed her mind to wander for a bit, she stared at the IV bag above her head, tolerated the numbing pain, and slowly closed her eyes to rest. A few minutes later, the effects of the drug started to spread, and she felt her whole body relaxing. Still, before she dozed off, she did some quick math, estimating the time needed in order she could return to her apartment on time, whisked out her phone, and set an alarm for every half an hour before shutting her eyes.

Zoe gradually felt herself becoming drowsy due to the drug administered to treat her ailment. Although she wasn’t all there, she could still vaguely sense someone sitting next to her and something covering her body a moment later. She furrowed her brow slightly, snuggled into the blanket, and tilted her head

to one side.

However, a hand caught her head and gently shifted it to another side. Then, she leaned against a man’s broad shoulder. Perhaps it was because she had been tormented by her illness the entire night, she fell into a deep slumber this time and was only awakened by the nurse instead of her alarm.

Her eyes flew open, and she looked around sleepily as the nurse's voice echoed into her ears, "You’re all done. If you don't feel unwell anywhere else, you can go home now."

Zoe finally gathered her thoughts together and yawned. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Keep your meals light for the next couple of days. Avoid spicy and oily food as well as alcohol. This is your medicine, and you should take one pill whenever your stomach feels uneasy," the nurse said sternly.

Zoe nodded. "Got it."

By the time she walked outside the hospital, she stretched out her limbs and sore neck as she admired the sun that was rising in the distance. After she walked a few steps, it suddenly dawned upon her that her alarm hadn't gone off during her stay in the hospital. Thus, she hastily fished out her phone and was even more confused to find that her alarm had been turned off.