At this moment in the emergency room of the hospital, Lily Bennett looked at William Edsel, who was being treated with stitches by the doctor, her face filled with guilt. She spoke softly, "Dr. Edsel, thank you for saving me tonight. Your wound is quite deep... it must hurt!"
Before stitching, the doctor had administered enough anesthetic, so William felt no pain. Smiling, he shook his head. "I'm fine, but I must say, you really impressed me tonight. You look so petite and delicate, but I didn’t expect you to be able to fight off four strong men all by yourself. If it weren't for me, you would have caught those kidnappers by now."
Lily immediately waved her hand, laughing. "If you hadn't arrived in time, I’d still have a sack over my head and would’ve been taken to who knows where!"
"Since you’re not working now, you can just call me William," he said with a warm smile, his bright eyes and gleaming teeth making those around him feel relaxed and comfortable.
Lily smiled. "William." Then she looked at him curiously and asked, "But how did you end up at Angus Thornton’s birthday party?"
Those invited to the event at the Thornton family mansion were either business moguls or close, wealthy friends. William, a chief surgeon, surely wouldn’t have been invited based on his professional status. Just as William was about to respond, the door to the treatment room suddenly swung open. Even the doctor stitching him frowned in displeasure at the intruder’s rude behavior. But when they saw who it was, everyone fell silent.
As soon as Lily saw Maxwell Thornton appear, she remembered she had left him alone at the birthday party earlier. The emergency situation had been so intense that she hadn’t had the chance to inform him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t extend her contract out of anger!
Maxwell's expression was far from pleasant. His gaze fell on Lily’s hand, which was holding William’s tightly. After seeing William bleeding profusely, she had clasped his hand, as if to lend him strength and ease the pain as he was transported to the ambulance.
Lily hadn’t thought her gesture inappropriate, but now, seeing Maxwell's grim face, it dawned on her that it might have seemed like she had committed some great offense. His expression was akin to that of a husband catching his wife in the act of infidelity.
Embarrassed, Lily quickly let go of William and stood up. William’s face remained calm, but the sight of Maxwell here caused a flicker of displeasure. He wasn’t thrilled with how Lily responded to Maxwell’s presence.
Lily stood stunned for a moment before asking Maxwell, "Why are you here?"
"To find my girlfriend, who got lost while using the restroom," Maxwell responded. Though fully aware of the night's events, including how William was injured while saving Lily, his comment made it clear he wasn’t happy. He turned to William with a concerned look and asked, "Are you alright?"
William nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Thornton. I’m fine, but Lily was quite shaken. You should take her home. I’ll be able to leave once the bleeding is controlled."
Lily? Such familiarity! Maxwell narrowed his eyes at William.
"How can I do that?" Lily exclaimed, "You were hurt because of me! I can't leave you here alone. Your arm's injured, and you won’t be able to move easily. I’ll stay to help you tonight."
William smiled kindly, "That’s not necessary. I still have my other arm. I’m not disabled and don’t need anyone to look after me."
Maxwell clenched his jaw and gave Lily a sharp look. Is serving others your passion and responsibility, Lily Bennett?
His face darkened. Without saying much, Maxwell turned and left the room, finding a nurse to take care of William. Then, he grabbed Lily’s hand and led her toward the door. Faced with Maxwell's domineering attitude, there wasn’t much Lily could do. She turned and called out to William as she was being pulled away.
"Make sure you get plenty of rest! I’ll come see you tomorrow morning."
Maxwell dragged her out of the room. After walking a while, Lily looked at him and asked, "How did you know I was at the hospital?"
Maxwell released her hand, his dark eyes filled with a hint of frustration. "Why didn’t you call me before leaving?" Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how scared I was? I was scared... scared of losing you.
"Dr. Edsel was badly hurt, and the situation was urgent. I didn’t have my phone with me, so... But how did you know I wasn’t still in the restroom?"
You could have borrowed someone’s phone to call me, Maxwell thought, his frustration evident.
"I checked the security cameras. How else do you think I knew to come here?" Maxwell pulled Lily's phone from his pocket and, placing it into her hand, muttered, "Here’s your phone."
During the scuffle with the kidnappers earlier, Lily had also been injured. As Maxwell took her arm, she winced from the pain and immediately withdrew her hand. She had been wearing a formal evening gown, so William had given her his jacket, which happened to cover the wound on her arm. Until now, no one had noticed, but when Maxwell saw it, he frowned with concern. "You’re hurt!"
Maxwell quickly pulled up the sleeve of William’s jacket, revealing Lily’s injury. His heart ached as he looked at the woman, who was gritting her teeth and furrowing her brow in pain.
"Are you okay?"
"Don’t be so rough. You really don’t know how to handle delicate things, do you?" Though in pain, Lily still tried to joke with Maxwell.
"I'm sorry." Maxwell stared at the jacket she was wearing—William's jacket—looking quite out of place on her. Taking a deep breath, he said, half pouting, "So tell me, are you a delicate flower or a precious gem?"
Lily didn’t want to argue and simply muttered under her breath, "Well, it wasn’t you who saved me. For all I know, you might’ve been the one who arranged for those kidnappers to scare me!"
Maxwell shot her a stern look. "If I had arranged this, do you think you’d still be standing here?"
Maxwell was a straightforward man. Lily knew that, despite any desire to tease or scare her, he wouldn’t resort to such tactics. Her earlier words were just an offhand comment.
Maxwell lowered his voice and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Lily shook her head. "No, I’m fine. I just need to get some ointment for the bruises."
Before she could finish her sentence, Maxwell bent down, slinging her arm over his shoulder and lifting her onto his back. He carried her toward the nearest doctor’s office without a second thought.
The two doctors on duty tonight were both male. Without hesitation, Maxwell knocked on the door and asked, "Is there a female doctor available?"
All the doctors in the hospital were colleagues of Lily’s, as she was familiar with nearly everyone. Embarrassed, she waved her hand at them and tugged on Maxwell’s shirt. "Stop making a scene. I’m really fine."
Then, smiling at the doctor on duty, she said, "Dr. Aylmer, could you please get me some ointment for the bruises? Thank you."
The sight of Lily being carried on Maxwell’s back and asking for ointment left Dr. Vương utterly bewildered. His hand moved mechanically as he retrieved the medication and handed it to her, still in a state of disbelief.