Vivian Quinn scrambled to her feet and backed away, staring at him, flustered.
Jett Sterling froze for a mont, then his lips slowly curled into a devastatingly charming smile. "Mrs. Sterling, you don’t have to be so secretive if you want to kiss ."
Vivian Quinn wished she could crawl into a hole and die. "Don’t get the wrong idea! I... I was just twitching!"
"The way you’re trying to cover it up just makes it seem more intentional."
Vivian Quinn: "..."
"The fact that you can lie here and tease ans you’re fine. I’m leaving."
"Vivian," Jett Sterling called out hastily. "I’m dizzy."
"Really?" Vivian Quinn imdiately pressed the call button. "I’ll have a doctor co check on you!"
The doctor ca and, after a quick examination and a few questions, confird it was just a symptom of his concussion and nothing serious.
Vivian Quinn finally breathed a sigh of relief, completely forgetting that she had been about to leave.
"Are you hungry? Do you want sothing to eat?"
"I’m not hungry."
Vivian Quinn sat down to rest in the chair by his bedside.
"Mrs. Sterling."
"Yes?" Vivian Quinn didn’t even notice how naturally she had responded to the title. "What is it?"
"Is your phone more interesting than I am?"
Vivian Quinn: "..."
"I’m doing sothing important."
"What’s so important?"
"I’ll be done in a minute."
A mont later, Vivian Quinn put down her phone. She propped her elbows on the edge of the bed and rested her chin in her hands as she looked at him. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was today? Even for the baby’s sake, you shouldn’t have been so reckless."
A shadow flickered in the man’s deep, dark eyes. "It wasn’t for the baby. It was because you’re my wife. I will always protect you, no matter what."
’He must have done it partly for the baby, no matter what he says.’ But she was still deeply touched.
"Jett Sterling, thank you."
"Vivian, I’ll protect you for the rest of our lives." The man gazed at her intently. "Because we’re destined to be entangled forever."
Vivian Quinn’s heart raced, and she didn’t know what to do.
The man raised his hand, cupped the back of her head, and gently guided her downward.
Vivian Quinn swallowed nervously. She knew he wanted her to kiss him, and she knew she should push him away, but her hands refused to obey.
As the handso face before her grew closer, Vivian Quinn slowly closed her eyes.
Just as their lips were about to touch, the door to the room burst open. Easton Rivers’s voice rang out, "Quinnie... I’m so sorry, please, continue!"
The romantic atmosphere vanished in an instant. Vivian Quinn shot upright and cleared her throat awkwardly. "What is it?"
Easton Rivers gulped nervously. "Your food delivery is here."
"That was fast." Vivian Quinn got up to take it. "Thank you."
"You’re welco." Easton Rivers felt a piercing glare from the bed land on him. A shiver ran down his spine, and he scrambled to close the door and flee.
Vivian Quinn opened the takeout bag, and the aroma of crawfish wafted out, making her mouth water.
Jett Sterling’s face was dark. He had half a mind to transfer Easton Rivers to Zafara. Seeing Vivian Quinn eating so happily only made him gloomier. "Is it really that good?"
"Of course it is! This place is famous for its crawfish, and it’s right near the hospital. It’d be a sha not to get so."
"Then what about ?"
"Didn’t you say you weren’t hungry?"
Jett Sterling: "..."
After finishing a large portion of crawfish, Vivian Quinn was completely satisfied. "Jett Sterling, you should get so sleep. I’ll stay here with you. Just call if you need anything."
"The bed in the adjacent lounge is more comfortable. You should sleep there. I’ll call a nurse if I need anything."
"Okay, then. I’m off."
"Good night."
"Mhm!"
The lounge was fully equipped. After washing up, Vivian Quinn lay down on the bed.
Just as Jett Sterling had said, the bed was quite comfortable.
But Vivian Quinn wasn’t sleepy at all. Thinking back on what happened today, she was still shaken with lingering fear.
’I was on my guard, but who could have predicted the Grant Family would dare to move against so brazenly?’
’If Jett Sterling hadn’t been there today, I definitely would have been hurt.’
’It wouldn’t matter if I got hurt, but if anything happened to the baby in my womb, the consequences would be unthinkable.’
Vivian Quinn raised a hand to gently stroke her belly. "My little baby, I’m sorry. Mommy miscalculated today. From now on, I’ll be extra careful to protect you. Don’t be scared..."
...
After three days in the hospital, Jett Sterling was finally discharged.
Easton Rivers entered the hospital room to report, "Master Sterling, Ethan Grant didn’t make a personal appearance, so we couldn’t get any concrete evidence."
The man’s long, slender fingers buttoned his shirt as he said coolly, "If there’s no evidence, then we don’t need to be direct."
Easton Rivers nodded. "Understood. I’ll make the arrangents at once."
Vivian Quinn walked in. "Easton Rivers, what are you arranging?"
"Nothing, just work matters," Easton Rivers replied, then asked, "Mrs. Sterling, have you picked up the dication?"
"I have. We can go now."
"Alright."
Back at the villa, Jett Sterling went to his study to work.
Vivian Quinn was about to take her afternoon nap when her phone rang.
"What did you say? I’m on my way!"
Vivian Quinn rushed to the hospital. Looking at the young woman on the bed, who was hooked up to a ventilator, she asked, "How could my sister’s condition suddenly worsen like this?"
"Miss Quinn, the blood bank was running low today, so we couldn’t give her a tily transfusion. Fortunately, we were able to stabilize her, and she’s out of imdiate danger for now."
Vivian Quinn nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Doctor."
"Miss Quinn, given Joy Chase’s current condition, she needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. We can’t keep relying on transfusions."
"I know. Please do your best to find a match. As soon as a suitable donor is found, please schedule the surgery imdiately."
"I’ve been keeping a close watch, but there’s been no news. All we can do is continue to wait."
Vivian Quinn nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Of course. When you have a mont, please take care of the bill."
"Okay."
Vivian Quinn went to the billing office to pay, but the clerk quickly handed her card back. "It was declined. Do you have another card?"
"How could it be declined?"
"I’m not sure, it just won’t process."
Vivian Quinn was still in school and had no inco of her own; she was using a supplentary card from Silas Quinn.
She called the bank and learned the card had been suspended.
Vivian Quinn imdiately called Rachel Quinn.
"Vivian," Rachel Quinn said with a laugh on the other end of the line, "what’s up?"
"Rachel Quinn, don’t play dumb! Joy is your biological sister. It’s bad enough you won’t donate your bone marrow, but now you’ve suspended my card to stop her treatnt? Aren’t you afraid of karmic retribution?"
Joy Chase was two years her junior. The sa year Vivian was brought back to the Quinn Family, Joy was diagnosed with leukemia.
She couldn’t just let Joy Chase fend for herself, so she brought her from the countryside to Aethelgard. Because Joy was Rachel Quinn’s biological sister, the Quinn Family tacitly approved. After all, Joy was always in the hospital, not living in their ho, and her dical expenses were a drop in the bucket for the Quinns—they treated it as simple charity.
But in five years, Rachel Quinn had never once set foot in the hospital to visit her own sister, let alone consider donating her bone marrow.
Rachel Quinn feigned surprise. "Dad suspended your card?"
"Stop playing innocent! You’re telling you didn’t know he suspended my card? You’re the one who put him up to it! The card was canceled a while ago, but you never told . You wanted Joy’s dical funding to be cut off suddenly so she couldn’t be treated. You’re so desperate for revenge against that you don’t even care about your own sister’s life!"
"Vivian, you misunderstand so deeply," Rachel Quinn said, her voice full of sorrow. "Dad did ntion he wanted to teach you a lesson, but I never thought he’d actually suspend your card."
"But Dad wasn’t wrong. Look at the state you’re in now. How can you have the nerve to keep spending the Quinn Family’s money?"
"Rachel Quinn, Joy has the sa blood as you running through her veins! How can you be so heartless?"
Rachel Quinn’s tone was breezy. "Vivian, blood ties don’t an anything. In my heart, Mom and Dad are the only people I love. Everyone else is irrelevant to ."
"Oh, and by the way, Vivian, congratulations on your marriage. Does your old husband know you were fooling around with that cripple last night? I already had Dad tell him."
Vivian Quinn hung up.
’Talking to soone like Rachel Quinn is a complete waste of ti.’
Vivian Quinn stayed by Joy Chase’s side at the hospital all day. As evening fell and the city lights began to glow, she received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, who is this?"
A deep, pleasant male voice ca through the line. "Your husband."
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