The scene she’d witnessed yesterday flashed through Rory Linden’s mind.
She completely ignored Lucy Shaw, turning to Miles Harrison with a sincere, "Congratulations, Young Master Harrison."
"Thank you."
"Well, I won’t disturb you two. I have to get back to work."
Rory Linden gave a slight nod and left.
She had been by Miles Harrison’s side for twenty years and had been his girlfriend for four.
She had cared for him ticulously. She’d stayed up all night to bring his fever down with cold compresses. She’d changed his clothes and sheets in the middle of the night after he’d gotten drunk and thrown up all over the bed.
Beyond her gratitude to the Harrington Family, she had also developed genuine feelings for Miles Harrison himself.
And yet, she had also watched him lie to her face.
Now, the man was engaged, and his fiancée was pregnant.
The funniest part? The child wasn’t even his.
She wondered if this counted as ’what goes around, cos around.’
Rory Linden had lunch in the cafeteria.
As she took the elevator up to the 6th floor, she coincidentally ran into Miles Harrison again inside the car.
The man was holding a stack of receipts and carrying a few bags.
"Rory..."
"Young Master Harrison, you should call Rory Linden or Dr. Linden."
Rory Linden corrected him in a calm tone.
"...Alright, Rory Linden." Miles Harrison finally changed his address. "Lucy needs to be hospitalized for two weeks to ensure a stable pregnancy. My mother will probably co by during this ti."
"Yes, Elysian Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology departnt is ranked number one among all private hospitals in Celestria. They’ll take good care of Mrs. Harrison. I’m in cardiology and know nothing about OB-GYN, so I won’t be going over."
Rory Linden wasn’t sure what Miles Harrison was thinking.
’But there’s no way I’m going over there.’
’Lucy’s baby isn’t even Miles’s to begin with. If anything were to go wrong, he would definitely find so twisted way to bla it on .’
’I’ve been by his side for twenty years. I know this young master all too well.’
’When problems arise, it’s always soone else’s fault, never his.’
’Even that year he went to Europea, broke his leg while skiing, and managed to bla her for it—all the way back in Celestria. He said the accident only happened because she wasn’t there to check his ski equipnt for him.`
Miles Harrison pressed his lips together. "Right, Rory Linden, I did a lot of things to hurt you in the past, and I’m very sorry. I’m about to beco a father now, and I’m going to take on my paternal responsibilities."
"Let’s not talk about the past. I wish you and Mrs. Harrison a long and happy life together."
The elevator reached the 6th floor, and Rory Linden got out.
Everyone has a thirst for gossip.
Back in her office, Rory Linden considered finding ti to ask the doctors and nurses in the OB-GYN departnt about the tiline of Lucy Shaw’s pregnancy.
’But today probably won’t work. I have a surgery this afternoon, and I’m on the night shift tonight.’
That night, Rory Linden perford two ergency surgeries.
She didn’t get out of the operating room until after eight the next morning.
After the departnt head finished their rounds.
The director of the dical Affairs departnt ca to her office and asked, "Dr. Linden, the list of doctors for the rural dical aid trip is out. Would you like to see it?"
"Mm... okay."
Rory Linden hadn’t really been concerned about the list for the rural dical aid trip.
But since the director was asking, of course she would take a look.
The director sent her the file. It listed the nas and basic information of the personnel participating in the trip.
The rural dical aid trips always included one attending physician; the rest were younger doctors and nurses.
Rory Linden gave it a quick scan.
The attending physician was a departnt head from internal dicine. As for the other dical staff, besides herself...
"Evan Hollis from Anesthesiology?" Rory Linden was a bit surprised. "Is there soone by that na in the departnt? I thought they said an anesthesiologist wasn’t needed for the rural aid trip."
The trips were to remote mountain villages. It was mostly just check-ups, so anesthesiologists rarely went.
"He’s a new anesthesiologist, quite young. He should be joining you in the operating room in a few days," the director continued. "He was at a hospital abroad. The hospital president recruited him with a high salary."
A colleague nearby joked, "Recruiting him with a high salary only to send him out to the countryside? Aren’t you afraid he won’t be able to handle the hardship and quit overnight?"
The rural dical aid trip was indeed a tough assignnt.
Even though Elysian was a well-funded private hospital, the conditions it could provide were still very limited.
In so remote mountain areas, they even had to sleep in tents, and bathing was a challenge.
"He requested it himself. He said that after so many years abroad, he wanted to start by using his skills to help in whatever small way he could."
As the director said this, his face bead with obvious pride.
Rory Linden hadn’t even t this Evan Hollis yet, but she already had a good impression of him.
After the director left, Rory Linden changed her clothes, ready to head ho.
As she passed through the outpatient hall, she couldn’t resist her curiosity. She went upstairs and looked up Lucy Shaw’s test results in the system.
According to the doctor’s findings, the fetus was indeed large for its gestational age and even had a heartbeat.
But not by much.
Curious, Rory Linden asked, "For a gestational sac this size, how many weeks would be normal?"
The doctor replied, "It varies from person to person, but a fetal heartbeat normally appears at six weeks. She has one, but she’s not even five weeks pregnant yet."
’In other words...’
’Lucy Shaw got pregnant about a week before she slept with Miles Harrison.’
’From the looks of it, all she had to do was lie about the timing of her period.’
Rory Linden thanked the doctor and left.
She had just reached the entrance of the outpatient clinic when she saw two people walking together a few ters away.
Rory Linden instantly recognized one of them—it was the biological father of the child in Lucy Shaw’s belly!
And the person with him was, shockingly...
Evelyn Irving.
’How could those two be together?!’
A myriad of possibilities instantly flooded Rory Linden’s mind.
But she quickly dismissed them.
’Impossible.’
Rembering the fervor with which the man had slapped himself yesterday while declaring his love, she hesitated for a mont before walking forward.
"Auntie Irving." Rory Linden’s gaze swept over Andre Jennings’s face.
"Oh, Rory! Lucy is in the hospital to ensure a stable pregnancy, so I brought so things to see her." Evelyn Irving noticed her clothes and asked, "Are you just starting your shift?"
"No, I just got off the night shift and was about to go ho and sleep." Rory Linden asked casually, "And this is...?"
Her gaze fell on Andre Jennings’s face.
It had to be said, while Andre Jennings wasn’t tall, his face was absolutely stunning. It was the height of sumr, and he was wearing a T-shirt layered under a short-sleeved button-up. His exposed forearms were lean but showed clear muscle definition.
He had the air of a campus heartthrob from a novel.
"Just a young man I t on the way. He saw I was carrying a lot and offered to help." Evelyn Irving glanced at Andre Jennings. "I refused, but the young man insisted, so I let him."
Andre Jennings nodded lightly. "Yeah, I just saw you were carrying too much, and I had nothing better to do, so I thought I’d help out."
The man appeared sunny and cultured, but Rory Linden had seen what he was like yesterday and felt a little uneasy.
Rory Linden offered to walk them up.
Evelyn Irving didn’t refuse.
Surprisingly, Andre Jennings showed no sign of leaving either and simply followed the two of them into the inpatient building.
Rory Linden didn’t enter the hospital room.
Evelyn Irving and Andre Jennings went in together.
When Lucy Shaw first saw Evelyn Irving, she quickly got out of bed to greet her. "Mom, you’re here."
But when she looked up and saw Andre Jennings behind Evelyn Irving, the expression on her face instantly froze...
Andre Jennings placed the things he was carrying on the floor, glanced at Lucy Shaw, and then said, "Ma’am, I’ve put the things down. I’ll be going now."
"Alright, alright. Thank you, young man."
Evelyn Irving watched Andre Jennings, her eyes filled with an unconcealable fondness.
Rory Linden stood just outside the door. Seeing Andre Jennings leave, she turned to head downstairs.
Just as she reached the elevators, she got a call from Evelyn Irving asking where she was.
Five minutes later, she t Evelyn Irving again in the lobby of the inpatient building.
"Oh, Rory... you know, for so many years, my biggest dream was for you to marry Miles. But now Lucy is pregnant, and I know nothing can be changed."
Evelyn Irving sighed and looked at Rory Linden. "But I’ve watched you grow up all these years, and I want you to be happy. So, I found a very promising young man. You’re off today, right? Should I arrange for you two to et?"
’Rory Linden understood imdiately. Isn’t this just setting up on a blind date?’
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