Chapter 232
Mia said, “That’s fine, too! But at least freshen up and grab something to eat at the cafeteria! You’ll need your strength if you want to look
Elia!”
Zoe nodded. Then, she lowered her head and ran her fingers over Ella’s hand, feeling reluctant to leave her.
Turning around, Mia was beside herself with sorrow.
Zoe freshened up and went to the cafeteria on the second floor. was in front of the elevator when she heard someone calling her
name.
She
Turning to look, she saw Cecil. Wearing a lab coat, he leaned on the window in the hallway. It was opened, allowing the winds to tousle his hair and bring out the melancholy air about him.
It looked like he hadn’t slept the entire night.
Cecil was the medical director of the hospital. He could pull some weight around here. She was well aware that he helped a lot in Ella’s case. So, she decided to go over and thank him.
He stared at her intensely.
She was a lot slimmer now. He could see her shoulders shaking slightly, but she was still trying to appear tough. She knew he didn’t understand why she was doing so much for Ella.
Looking out the window, she said softly, “I was kidnapped once when I was sixteen years old. Ella was with me, so they nabbed her as well. I was a fragile kid back then. I was so afraid that I cried the whole time and I wouldn’t eat anything the kidnappers threw at us. So, they
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took it all back.
She was sobbing a little now. “On the other hand, Ella hid away the bread she got from them in her clothes. She said she disliked it and that it was hard as a rock! After that, we didn’t eat anything for an entire day.
nat t was when she took out the bread and asked if I wanted it. I was starving by then and offered to split the bread. Then, she went ahead and lied to me. She claimed that the bread was nasty and that she’d much rather eat platefuls of meat when we were free.”
Her voice started trembling. “We hadn’t eaten anything for two days and she gave me the only food she had! After that, we were rescued. She starved herself for so long that she slipped into a coma. It took her a month to recover!
“Ella isn’t just a friend to me, Cecil. I love her as much as I love myself!”
Cecil decided he wouldn’t say anything. Walking toward her, he held her shaking shoulders. Then, he froze. He was wondering if he should hold the back of her neck and pull her into his arms, so she could rest on his shoulders.
Gripping his lab coat, Zoe cried quietly.
“She doesn’t have anything or anyone!”
He said with a sad voice, “I understand that, but she has you! She’s going to wake up because she knows you need her.”
Feeling sorry for her, he couldn’t resist but to kiss her on her forehead.
Shocked, she leaned back instinctively, but she couldn’t duck out of the way in time.
The kiss was much like his feelings for her, warm but restrained. He didn’t confess to her. However, how was Zoe not supposed to know
what he was thinking?
She
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needed some warmth now that she was at her most vulnerable. Cecil gave her that. He made her pain less intense and provided her with some comfort.
A black Rolls-Royce was parked outside the hospital. Its car window was lowered, revealing Mason, who wore a classic suit of black and white. He leaned back on the car seat, smoking.
He saw it when Cecil and Zoe hugged each other upstairs. He also saw Cecil’s restrained kiss and how Zoe didn’t exactly push him away.
Their embrace looked so warm. Aside from him comforting her pain, he was sure that there was an exchange of unexpressed complicated feelings.
It was obvious that Zoe was starting to have feelings for Cecil! They were both single. Given enough time, they’d surely become a couple and start a family of their own.
Then, before he knew it, she was going to forget about him and his passionate love for her. She’d move on from the pain their marriage had brought her. Eventually, there’d only be enough room in her heart for Cecil.
He gulped and winced from a sudden pain in his fingers. Lowering his head, he realized he had singed himself with the cigarette. Then, he stared at his reddened finger in a daze.
His fingers twitched lightly…
