Chapter 476

Madelyn was still just a student, but what she was going through now far exceeded what others her age experienced. At this age, she should have been focused on her studies and worrying about her grades, but instead, she had to comfort an adult who was three or four years older than her.

‘I always seem to be the one who has to worry about everyone else’s problems,‘ Madelyn thought. She went to the upstairs room and knocked on the door.

Thud!

Something had been thrown at the door. Madelyn was startled and almost dropped what she was holding.

“Go away!” Ethan shouted.

Madelyn asked, “Are you really not letting me in?”

Ethan remained silent in the room for a few seconds. Madelyn opened the door and was about to walk in. Suddenly, she saw Ethan on the bed throw off the blanket and rush towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug. She took a few steps back to regain her balance. Ethan’s voice was soft and pitiful as he held her tight. “I thought you wouldn’t be back.”

“I’m running out of breath.”

Ethan let go of her, and Madelyn took several breaths before recovering. After a few days of absence, he appeared disheveled. A stubbly, bluish beard covered his chin with bloodshot eyes. Dark circles beneath them indicated he had not rested well for quite some time.

Madelyn looked into his eyes and reached out with trembling hands to touch his wound. “Does it hurt?”

Ethan gazed at her with a long–suppressed mix of aggression and restraint in his eyes. He held her hand against his chest and said, “It doesn’t hurt when you’re here.”

The pitiful tone he used was the same as Forrest’s.

“Let me apply the ointment for you.”

“Okay,” Ethan replied hoarsely.

Madelyn took out the necessary medications and began to tend to his wounds. “Let me know if it hurts.

I’ll be as gentle as possible.”

“Okay.” Ethan’s gaze remained fixed on her. Whenever Madelyn looked up, she could see his longing gaze.

Madelyn did not say anything, just silently tended to his wounds. Applying ointment to his upper body alone took her over half an hour. Then, she bandaged his wounds to prevent them from getting infected.

“Where are the oral antibiotics the doctor prescribed for you?”

Ethan replied, “On the bedside table.”

Madelyn tied a pretty bow on the bandages around his waist and smoothed it out. She opened the bedside table and found a bag of unopened medications.

‘He hasn’t taken any medication for so many days?‘

She looked at the instructions and cut off the portion of medicine he needed to take. She poured him a glass of warm water. “If you don’t take your meds and ruin your own body, no one will feel sorry for you.

Take your medicine now.”

“I can’t move. It hurts.”

Madelyn had never seen him in such an embarrassed and vulnerable state. She looked at his dazed eyes, then silently handed him the medicine and said, “Drink the water.”

Ethan swallowed the medicine and took a sip of water.

“Come back, please?”