Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Chapter 196
"I'm being mean? Are you serious right now, Abigail?" Greg wanted to throttle the woman in front of him. He didn't think he was being mean, not when she was the one who had stormed out of the burrito shack and nearly put him in an awkward position with the waiter who thought he would not pay the bill. She even threatened to beat me up, yet I'm the mean one?
He knew she was putting on an act, but he still couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at her now that she was on the verge of crying.
"Don't cry!" he growled, even though he was aware that she wasn't actually going to cry.
At that moment, Abigail felt that it was only by sheer luck—or by some divine intervention—that he had managed to snag her as a girlfriend. Seeing how Greg was so dim-witted when it came to love, surely he couldn't keep a relationship to save himself.
"Can't you be a little more romantic, Greg? Don't you know now's the time for you to tell me you love me, and that I don't have to be afraid because you'll be here for me—all that stuff?"
"Hell no!" he cussed very unromantically, which made the corner of Abigail's mouth twitch in disbelief.
She ought to have known better than to try and needle sympathy out of him while he was jealous; indeed, that was a bad call. After reflecting on this, she took a deep breath and said, "I think I twisted my ankle."
"What?" Greg was not convinced by this. She did not look like someone who had just twisted their ankle when she was batting her eyelashes at him earlier. That said, he did notice that she had not so much as moved since he saved her from getting hit by the van. He frowned and snapped, "Don't move!"
He crouched down hastily. Not at all concerned about how others might look at him, he rolled up her trouser leg. When he saw that her left ankle was swollen, he turned grim. "You must be a couple cards short of a full deck, Abigail. Why did you prattle on about nonsense when you should have told me you twisted your ankle immediately?"
With that, he scooped her up into his arms and began to run.
Abigail pouted when he scolded her, but soon, her lips tipped up in a small smile. She had only twisted her ankle; there was no torn ligament or fractured bone, and yet, it was so worth it to play up the pain just to see Greg panic over her very minor injury.
At the thought of this, she wound her arms around his neck and pressed her ear to his chest. As she listened to the strong and steady beating of his heart, the pain in her ankle seemed to wane.
Meanwhile, Greg wasted no time in bringing her to the hospital.
She was a little frustrated as she pointed out, "It's just a sprain, Greg. I can treat it myself. Have you forgotten that I'm a doctor?"
"That doesn't mean you can treat yourself. What if you slip up and give yourself life-long side effects or something? I think it's safer for you to go to the hospital."
With that, he drove over to the hospital in Northern Harrion. They could have gone to the hospital downtown since it was a much shorter drive, but when he decided to head north, she knew instantly that it was a deliberate choice on his part.
Hugh was still at Allie's Garden waiting for her to tend to his wounds, whereas the hospital at Northern Harrion was all the way on the other side of the city. It was the opposite end of where Allie's Garden was, and the distance between both places was very, very far.
It's obvious that Greg wants Hugh to bleed to death, Abigail thought wryly as she sighed. Indeed, a jealous Greg was a terrifying Greg.
While she was worried about Hugh, she couldn't risk making Greg more upset by suggesting they go back home. As such, she waited until Greg had gone up to the front desk to register herself as a patient before she called up a familiar number.
"Hey, Violet. I have a mafia-type friend who got injured in an ambush, and he's lying at my place now. I'm tied up at the moment, so I was wondering if you could do me a favor and go over and tend to his wounds?"
She had no choice but to call Violet, who was her senior in medical school five years ago. They used to be close friends, but because they had parted so hastily, she never got to keep in touch with Violet. They met again at an international symposium after that, and it was only then did they exchange contact numbers. However, they were both so tied up at work that they couldn't even meet up over coffee even though Violet was based in Harrion.
Abigail knew that if she were to ask Violet for this favor, the latter would agree to it without asking any questions.
Sure enough, Violet replied, "I just got out of the operation theater and was planning to take a break, but since you're the one asking, drop me the address. I should be able to get into your house, right?"
"Yeah, I'll give you the password for the door."
Both women wrapped up their exchange quickly and hung up the call.
Now that Abigail didn't have to worry about Hugh, she could focus on getting pampered by Greg.
When Greg finished registering at the front desk and returned to see Abigail sitting in the waiting area like a perfect angel, he visibly relaxed.
"Just hold on a little bit longer. I've asked to see a specialist, and it should be our turn soon."
Abigail glanced at the dozens of people waiting in line before them. He told her that it would be their turn soon, which obviously meant he had pulled some strings. However, the fact that he had asked for a specialist amused her greatly. Imagine how the other patients might feel if they find out that I'm seeing a specialist for a sprained ankle.
However, Abigail was not stupid enough to point this out to Greg, and she allowed him to carry her into the doctor's office instead.
"Hurry up and see if my girlfriend is seriously injured; she sprained her ankle," he said rather brusquely to the doctor.
She turned her head to look at the doctor, only to be surprised when she saw that it was none other than Cody. "Aren't you supposed to be in Army Hospital?"
"Yeah, but I'm here on Friday mornings as a specialist-on-circuit," he explained with a smile, though there was a humorous glint in his eyes.
It was rare to see a specialist sit in as a doctor in other hospitals, and the only exception was if that doctor was highly capable and showed incredible prowess.
Abigail knew Cody and his capabilities, but she was just taken aback to see him here. Nevertheless, she nodded as a form of acknowledgement.
"Alright, let me take a look at that ankle," he said.
"Okay."
She cooperated with the examination. After assessing her swollen ankle, Cody glanced up at the nervous wreck that was Greg. Then, he put on a somber expression as he said, "It doesn't look good. In fact, she might have a fracture."
Greg panicked at once. "What? Does that mean she has to use a cast or something?"
Abigail shot Cody a pointed look and whispered, "Don't frighten him like that. He's easily spooked."
"Yeah, right—as if the dark emperor who rules from the shadow world could be easily spooked! Dr. Kain, are you sure you're talking about this guy right here?" Cody asked mischievously.
It was only then that Greg realized he had just been made fun of by Cody. "Are you crazy? She's injured! Do you really think now's the time for you to be joking? You'd better watch yourself, or I'll have Gillian move back to her mom's place."
Cody straightened up in his seat when he heard this. In an instant, he looked solemn as he said, "Your girlfriend is fine. She just sprained her ankle, and some pain relief ointment and a gentle massage will do the trick. In fact, she'd probably be able to walk by this afternoon. Now, scram!" He feigned annoyance as he eyed Greg with mock disdain.
"Is that all? Aren't you going to give her antibiotics or something? How about an X-ray? What if she does have a fracture in her bones and you didn't diagnose it because of your lousy skills?" Greg pressed on.
Cody had half the mind to throw the guy out. He swallowed his anger and said through gritted teeth, "Your girlfriend's a doctor too, so why don't you ask her if I'm telling the truth?" A man in love had no intelligence, and he decided that the best way to deal with Greg was to be patient with him.
Upon hearing this, Greg turned to look at Abigail for affirmation.
Although she nodded to confirm what Cody had said, Greg was still unconvinced.
"I don't care. Write a note for an X-ray to be carried out for us to really determine that she's fine," he said stubbornly.
"Greg, are you an idiot? I just told you that she's fine. Get out of here and stop wasting my time!" If Cody allowed this guy to stay here any longer, he might just lose his cool.
When Abigail saw that Greg was about to protest, she quickly tugged on his arm and said, "I'm really fine, and I just need some pain relief ointment to feel better. I can always go and get the ointment myself if you're so unwilling."
Having said this, she made to stand up, but Greg hurriedly stopped her. "Don't get up! I'll go and get the ointment, okay? I'll go get it right now." It was only after he had asked Cody to keep an eye on her that he walked out.
When Greg was well out of sight, Cody turned to ask Abigail in a low voice, "What did you do to him? It's just a sprain, but he's acting like you broke a bone and cannot walk or something."
She flashed him a smile and replied, "There's a guy waiting for me to treat him."
"Oh, I got it," Cody said knowingly. Turns out that Greg's jealous. To think I was wondering why he had come by the hospital in Northern Harrion. He shook his head before eyeing Abigail seriously as he added, "My cousin-in-law is loyal to whoever he loves, and if you're the one he chooses, he'll stick by you forever. If you have no plans on spending the rest of your life with him, you should tell him now instead of stringing him along. Otherwise, you'll break his heart."
She was stunned to hear this. "Cousin-in-law?"
"Yes. Everyone knows that he and I are two of the four young masters in Harrion, but only a handful of people know that he's actually Gillian's cousin—this makes him my cousin-in-law. We're actually related by virtue because of my marriage to Gillian. Now that you know this, be sure to treat him right, Abigail."
Abigail frowned at this. "Why do you think I'd hurt him anyway?" She was very invested in this relationship, and she was pretty serious about it too. She wondered why Cody sounded as if he was insinuating otherwise.
Cody knew he shouldn't blab, but having seen how much Greg cared for Abigail and how anxious he had been earlier, he couldn't help but continue, "Look, I don't know the full details myself, but Greg came to see me not too long ago and we went to grab a drink together. He never goes day-drinking, but on that particular day, he asked me to go boxing with him before we swung by Straqium Embankment for a drink; keep in mind that it has never happened before. I didn't look into it because I respected his privacy, but I was sure that his erratic behavior had something to do with you. I know it's inappropriate for me to say these things now, but I still have to say it—if you are going to be together, then you have to be honest with each other. Sometimes, a secret is all it takes to break you apart, leaving room for others to swoop in."
When she heard this, Genevieve's face flashed across her mind. Indeed, we let that tramp swoop in that time, but I don't think Greg and I are keeping any secrets from each other. She wondered if there was anything in Cody's words that she had missed out on.
"Did he say what it was about me that prompted him to day-drink that time? I know I was with a man who liked me when he presumably hung out with you, but I did tell him about it beforehand." She didn't like having to explain herself to others, but Cody was Greg's best friend. She didn't know if she had done anything wrong, and if Greg wouldn't tell her, Cody was the only one who could give her an answer.
However, he shook his head and said, "No, I don't think it was because of that. I know Greg can come off as a little petty at times, but he knows right from wrong. He wouldn't be so unreasonable as to get upset over something as small as a meet-up. You should have seen him then; he was drained of energy, and there was no light in his eyes. He looked like a defeated man, and I'm guessing it was because he found out about something major." Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
"Something major?" Abigail frowned. Nothing major had ever happened between her and Greg so far, at least not that she knew of. What in the world happened back then?