Chapter 15 All for Nadine
Honk, honk!
Max pressed the car horn.
The car had already stopped.
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Tess slowly opened her eyes, disoriented. She realized they had arrived at the small road leading to the employee dorms.
“Thank you.”
She weakly pushed herself up–one arm protectively holding Layla, the other struggling to open the door.
What used to be an effortless task now felt like she had a thousand–pound weight strapped to her wrist.
Tess staggered toward the dorm building.
Max pulled off his mask and cap, his striking eyes locked on her fading silhouette as his brows furrowed with worry.
A man stepped out of the vehicle that had been trailing them at a distance.
It was Max’s assistant. He had been following behind, keeping
O cars apart the whole time.
He respectfully approached Max’s window and lowered his head slightly.
“Mr. Hunt.”
The window rolled down.
“Send her some fever medicine.”
Max’s voice was hoarse, his thoughts tangled as he recalled the pale, exhausted look on Tess’s face. It made his chest ache with suffocating discomfort.
How could his once–glowing Tess end up like this?
Max took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
His assistant promptly made a call to arrange a medicine delivery.
Meanwhile, Tess had no energy to consider what was going on outside. She swayed as she pushed open her dorm door.
Her head was spinning) but the first thing she did was change Layla into dry clothes.
After warming some formula and feeding her, she cradled the baby close, her vision flickering in and out.
“Layla, be good… Mommy’s just … really tired. Just a little nap…
Her voice trailed off, her consciousness sinking into a swamp.
“Waaah!”
”
Layla’s sudden wailing jolted Tess awake. She hadn’t even realized she’d passed out.
Knock, knock.
“Ms. Ember, your delivery.”
A firm yet measured knock came from the door. Tess realized the sound must’ve startled Layla awake.
Holding her aching head, she got up to answer it. A delivery guy stood outside.
“You must have the wrong place. I didn’t order anything.”
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Chapter 15 All for Nadine
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“It was ordered by a rideshare driver. He said it’s for you–and here’s a hundred dollars that you apparently left in the car.”
He handed her the package and turned to leave.
Tess stood frozen at the door, a strange feeling welling in her chest.
It must’ve been that kind driver. He saw a sick mother and child and was willing to help.
She felt a deep, quiet gratitude toward the mute driver and quickly forced her aching body to prepare the medicine.
She couldn’t afford to be sick. Who would take care of Layla if she collapsed?
But something felt odd. How did he know her last name was Ember?
Maybe she had mumbled it while half–conscious.
After about two hours, her mind began to clear and the fever started to subside.
Tess let out a breath of relief and went to check on Layla. Almost immediately, her heart clenched.
It was already evening. Layla usually got fussy around this time, crying for milk. But today, she was too quiet.
Alarmed, Tess peeked into the blanket.
Layla’s usually rosy, chubby cheeks were flushed deep red, her tiny nose crinkled in discomfort.
Her breathing was labored. Tess touched her forehead, only to find it burning hot!
Tess jerked her hand back as panic seized her.
Layla had a fever!
Her breath caught. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone to book a ride, then dashed into the street to flag down a taxi.
Not far away, inside a luxury car, Max quietly watched Tess’s frantic movements. But he didn’t step forward.
After a long moment, his smoldering eyes narrowed, and the engine purred to life as he drove away.
He left behind a shivering mother clutching her feverish baby. Her tears were streaming down her face in the cold wind.
A while later, the taxi stopped at the nearest private hospital.
“Nurse! Pediatrics! It’s an emergency!”
Tess rushed to the reception, breathless and desperate.
Seeing her panic, the nurse didn’t delay and quickly registered her before directing her to the consultation room.
Tess barely managed a thank–you before sprinting down the hall with Layla in her arms.
Right after she left, a young nurse hurried to the reception, eyes wide with excitement and cheeks flushed.
“Did you hear? Mr. Lock is here! I heard Ms. Nadine hurt her ankle, and he came with her. His face was stone–cold when they walked in!”
“Oh my God, Ms. Nadine is his favorite. He probably freaks out if she loses a single hair. Imagine how he’d react if she actually got hurt!”
Several nurses gathered together, their eyes sparkling as they whispered and giggled.
Meanwhile, inside the hospital’s VIP suite…
Nadine lounged with her bare legs crossed, her delicate face twisted in a pout. She pointed to a shallow scrape on her ankle, blinking pitifully. “Finn, do you think it’s infected? It really hurts.”
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Chapter 15 All for Nadine
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Finn’s expression was frosty as he glanced at the minor wound. “Call the hospital director. I want every relevant specialist here to examine her.”
“Yes, Mr. Lock! Right away!”
The hospital director soon rushed in, smiling nervously. After understanding the situation, his mouth twitched slightly–but one look at Finn’s icy face reminded him who owned the hospital. He quickly scurried off to gather the doctors.
On the other side of the hospital, Tess noticed something was wrong. The pediatric department was in chaos. Doctors were being pulled from their stations and running in the same direction.
She stood up in confusion, grabbing the head nurse for help.
“I just got word that Ms. Nadine scraped her ankle. Mr. Lock personally brought her here. Who cares about the rest of you? Every doctor has been redirected to check on her.”
The head nurse sneered at Layła in Tess’s arms with detached indifference.
At this hour, they were the only pediatric patients. It was bad luck to need help on the same day as Nadine. Compared to her, they didn’t matter.
Maybe if the head nurse impressed Finn today, she’d get a promotion.
“Just wait here. Maybe it’ll take half an hour or a couple hours. Once Ms. Nadine’s done, the doctors will come back to see your kid.”
With that, she clipped her badge and ran toward the growing crowd.
Tess clutched Layla close, feeling her baby’s heat rise with every passing second–while her own heart grow colder.
But Layla was her life. No matter how hopeless it felt, she had to keep going–for her child.
She touched Layla’s forehead again. It was scorching hot, the heat stinging her fingers.
And yet Layla, despite the raging fever, looked up at Tess with tearful, trusting eyes. She was silent but clung with all her might.
Tess was a first–time mom. She had no idea how to handle a baby’s fever. She hated her helplessness, but there was no time to wallow.
She grabbed the last doctor she saw running. She pleaded with desperation, “Please! Where are the pediatricians? Adults don’t need pediatric doctors for a scraped ankle!”
Her eyes were bloodshot as she tried to hold back tears.
The doctor paused and glanced at the flushed infant, his expression softening in sympathy.
The baby clearly had a high fever. At that age, even a small fever could turn dangerous.
But…
He clenched his fists, looking conflicted, and finally explained, “They say Ms. Nadine is pregnant, so everyone’s extra cautious. Even the emergency pediatrician was reassigned.”
Tess nearly blacked out. Her knees gave way, and the world seemed to tilt.
scraped ankle required the entire pediatric staff?
What about her child? What about Layla?
She stood in the waiting room, utterly alone. Her face was hidden behind strands of damp hair, and her eyes were hollow, overflowing with heartbreak and fury.
“Try physical cooling methods. If you can, buy some fever medicine. As long as she doesn’t start seizing, it should be okay. Just wait for us to come back.”
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Chapter 15 All for Nadine
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“What cooling method? Which medicine brand? Can you write it down?”
She handed him her phone, but the doctor was already turning impatient..
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He wasn’t a saint–just an employee. Finn owned the entire hospital. If the director saw he wasn’t at Nadine’s side, his job would be at risk.
With that, he picked up his pace, quickly leaving Tess and Layla behind.
Tess stood there, stunned. Her heart clenched in agony.
She looked down at her daughter.
Layla’s soft cheeks were damp with tears–and sometime during all this, her tiny eyes had closed.
“Layla!”
A piercing, anguished scream echoed through the hallway.
