Rachel turned her head to look at Victor but for a brief moment only.
âIt may not be convenient for you to go upstairs because of your wounds. But you can use the small washroom over there so you can change your clothes and take a shower after Roger comes out,â
Rachel said in a bland tone as if she hadnât heard Victorâs question. Victor held the clothes tighter. His eyes darkened.
âIâm fine,â he said, his voice taut.
âI can go upstairs and change my clothes.â
âOkay.â Rachel replied frostily.
âIâll go now and see if Lila needs my help.â
âAre you inviting Roger to stay for dinner?â Victor couldnât help but ask.
âYes, I am. Didnât you hear my invitation?â
Victor noticed that Rachel had this habit of frowning when something displeased or annoyed her. He raised his hand instinctively. He wanted to smoothen the frown lines between her eyebrows.
Rachel saw Victorâs raise hand, and she turned her head away from him. Victor pulled back his hand but not before his cold fingertips touched Rachelâs face.
Looking forlorn at her, he said, âIâm hungry, too.â
âCarson just texted. He should be here soon,â Rachel said as she stepped backward to keep a distance from Victor.
âIf you are hungry, Iâll ask Lila to make some rice paste for you so you can eat some. When you get back to the hospital, you can eat some more.â
âIâm not going back to the hospital.â His eyebrows drawn together, Victor asked, âRachel, are you still mad at me?â
Rachel just shook her head.
âThen why would you want to live here? Why not in our home? Why are you driving me away?â The hurt in Victorâs voice was discernible.
âRachel, I am jealous.â Rachel was dumbstruck for a moment. She didnât expect to hear the word âjealousâ from Victor, and he was pertaining to himself.
âYou are jealous?â
âYes, Rachel, and for a good reason. You asked me to go back to the hospital but youâre letting Roger stay here. How do you that makes me feel? If youâre angry at me, let me know. Throw your temper at me if you have to. Just donât do this to me.â Rachel narrowed her eyes.
âVictor, I think I should tell you something. You know that the two of us have alreadyâ¦â
âAhem!â Victor suddenly coughed, interrupting Rachel. He put a hand on his chest and coughed again.
Rachel opened her mouth but words were stuck in her throat when she saw Victorâs face turning face.
âRachel, I feel so cold,â Victor said, his voice trembling a bit.
Rachel clenched her fists, still looking at Victor. He had coughed at a critical moment and it interrupted her as she was about to say they were divorced. And Victor had done that several times. He suddenly coughed when she and Roger were about to enter the house a while ago, and his back even hit the railing with a thumping sound. Was that a coincidence?
That was too much of a coincidence that Rachel even doubted if Victor did it on purpose. She wondered if Victor had regained his memories.
Rachel scanned Victorâs face to see if there was anything strange with him. His face was losing color.
She felt her temples throbbing. She thought that it would be more worrying if Victor fainted in front of her.
She looked at her watch and reckoned that Carson should be on his way here. Victor wouldnât be staying for long.
With this on her mind, Rachel softened her tone and said, âof course, youâll feel cold. You got wet in the rain. Now, go upstairs and change your clothes.â
Rachel then turned around and left the room.
Victor watched Rachel go. He stood in his place for some time before he walked to the second floor.
Carson had just finished a meeting. He had three meetings, one another after. There were some problems in the Baltimore project so they had to think of viable solutions. After everyone had left the meeting room, he took out his phone and saw the message sent from Rachel. There were also missed calls from Lukas. The message read, âVictorâs here with me. Take him back please.â
Carson frowned.
âIs Victor crazy? He could barely get out of bed, and yet, he left the hospital on a rainy day!â
As soon as Carson texted Rachel back, he picked up his coat on the armrest and walked to the door. In his haste, he bumped into Ivan who had some documents in his hands.
âMr. Scott, are you going out?â
âYes.â Carson put his phone in his pocket.
âGo and pick up your boss.â
Ivanâs eyes widened in confusion.
âMr. Sullivan?â he asked uncertainly.
âWhy, do you have other bosses?â
âBut Mr. Sullivan is in the hospital. Is the matter so serious that youâd want Mr. Sullivan to leave the hospital and personally solve it?â Ivan didnât think that whatever it was, it wouldnât warrant Victorâs attention.
After all, the Sullivan Group had gone through all kinds of ups and downs during these years.
âItâs not a big deal. I can handle it,â Carson said with a smirk. âThenâ¦â
Carson pursed his mouth and then said, âVictor is not in the hospital now.â
âNot in the hospital!â Ivan exclaimed.
âAre you sure?â
âYes. He is at Rachelâs home.â Carson took out his phone again and accessed Rachelâs message. He then threw his phone to Ivan so he could read the message himself.
âHeâs unbelievable! What was he thinking?â Ivan shook his head after reading the message. Just then, the phone rang. The two men looked at the caller ID. Victorâs name appeared on the screen.
âOf course, he could call at an opportune time, just when we are talking about him.â Carson took back his phone to answer the call. In an ingratiating tone, he said, âMr. Sullivan, what can I do for you?â
âWhere are you?â Victorâs voice was low and hoarse.
âWhere else would I be? Iâm on my way to pick you up and send you back to the hospital.â Victor was silent for a moment.
Standing in front of the washbasin in the bathroom, he felt dizzy for a moment. He held the edge, closed his eyes, and said in a deep voice, âYou donât have to come here.â
âDo you want to die?â
âI wonât die.â Victor could barely spoke. He felt blood in his mouth. He suppressed the sense of suffocation from his chest.
Then, he hung up the phone.
Carson could only stomp his feet in frustration. He wasnât able to tell Victor what was on his mind.
âMr. Scott, what did Mr. Sullivan say?â asked Ivan tentatively.
Carson showed Ivan his phone on which the screen showed that Victor had already hung up.
âYou want to know what Victor told me? He said that heâd rather die in Rachelâs home.â Carson angrily put his phone back in his pocket and threw his coat on the chair.
âMr. Scottâ¦â Ivan could tell that what Carson said was not the truth. He knew that Carson was just angry with Victor. From what he knew of Victor, he knew what Victor would say without asking.
âDonât worry. He wonât die.â Carson knew what Ivan was worried about.
âLook, Rachel doesnât want to be with Victor anymore. But for the sake of his life, she wonât be cruel to leave him.â
Carson looked at the rain outside the French windows.He didnât know if it was good for the two people to keep on pestering each other like this.