?Chapter 147:


    “What do you mean?” Denzel shook his head, a puzzled frown on his face. “But I do feel like something is off.”


    “It’s Mr. Dawson. Will he let someone he barely knows give him a ride home?” Ryann said. “And I’m betting Dawson is at tonight’s dinner for Ms. Curtis. Those two have a rather unique rtionship!”


    Denzel paused, uncertainty clouding his features, then asked, “Why’s that?”


    “Didn’t you notice how Mr. Dawson took his eyes off Ms. Curtis? It was like he was glued to her,” Ryann said as she ushered Denzel inside.


    Denzel took the towel offered by a servant and gently dried Ryann’s face. “What are you getting at?”


    “I bet it was Ms. Curtis who left that mark on Mr. Dawson’s wrist!” Ryann’s tone grew impatient yet exnatory. “Ms. Curtis is Mr. Dawson’s woman, Denzel. Don’t try to get close to her.”


    “So, sending that invite wasn’t a mix-up? You meant to bring Mr. Dawson and Ms. Curtis together tonight?” Denzel’s voice carried a hint of realization.


    Ryann nodded, her impatience evident as she reiterated her point to Denzel, who finally seemed to grasp the full picture.


    The soft patter of misty rain drummed against the car windows. There was only silence inside the car.


    Eileen drove as quickly as she could, eager to get Bryan and Milford home.


    Upon reaching the gates of the vi, she opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as Milford flung open the car door and dashed out. Her eyes widened in surprise, following Milford’s retreat. Then, she turned to look at Bryan, who remained seated beside her.


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    Eileen started to say something, then turned to watch Milford.


    Milford hurried to the door, leaving her alone in the car with Bryan.


    Eileen wondered why Bryan hadn’t exited the car yet.


    She stole a nce at him, then quickly averted her eyes.


    “Mr. Dawson, we’ve arrived,” she said.


    “So? Are you trying to avoid me or something?” Bryan turned and leaned casually against the door, adjusting his posture to face her.


    Eileen offered an awkward smile and shook her head.


    “Of course not, I just—”


    “That’s good. Because avoiding me isn’t an option,” Bryan interjected, smirking as he adjusted his tie.


    Yet, he made no move to leave the car.


    Eileen had been waiting for a long time, and yet Bryan remained seated in the car. “It’s still drizzling. There’s an umbre in the trunk. I’ll grab it for you,” she eventually said.


    It seemed worthwhile to hand him the umbre and send him on his way.


    “You’re lying,” Bryan countered abruptly.


    At his words, Eileen stopped her move to unbuckle her seatbelt.


    She turned to face him and retorted, “I’m not lying. I did this for your sake; I wanted to give you the umbre because I didn’t want you to get soaked, Mr. Dawson.”


    “You im you want to keep your distance, yet you want to hand me your umbre, perhaps hoping I’d have to return it to meet you again,” Bryan said.


    No sooner had Bryan spoken than Eileen, irritated, grabbed a pack of tissues and threw it at him. “You’re shameless! I’m not going to hand you the umbre! You might as well get drenched!”


    She hurled whatever she couldy her hands on at him, but he was already stepping out of the car, moving so swiftly that everything she threw only struck the car door.


    The headlights illuminated his tall form momentarily before dimming, the rain enveloping himpletely.


    As he walked away, his posture radiated sheer arrogance. Eileen could imagine the smug smile stered across his face.


    She was so angry that she just started the car and left. The rain was pouring by the time she got home. Coming from the driver’s seat to the back, she popped the trunk open and grabbed an umbre, managing to shield herself from gettingpletely soaked.


    She had lingered at the Vance family’s ce longer than intended, and, to be courteous, had silenced her phone.


    Upon arriving home, she noticed her phone was flooded with missed calls. Some were from Phoebe, and others were from numbers she didn’t recognize.


    Emmett had left a few texts telling her that he was at the coffee shop near the education agency, waiting for her.


    He told her that if she didn’t go see him, he wouldn’t leave.


    Phoebe wasn’t answering. When Eileen finally reached her, Phoebe’s voice sounded strange.


    “What’s going on? Where are you?” Eileen didn’t beat around the bush.


    “I’m out. I won’t be back tonight. Try to get some rest early, okay? Bye…” Phoebe rushed through her words and ended the call before Eileen could respond.


    Worried, Eileen tried calling back several times, but Phoebe didn’t pick up.


    Then, out of the blue, a voice message from Phoebe arrived: “Don’t worry; I’m fine. I was just bitten by a dog!”


    Eileen knew Phoebe was telling her that she was okay.


    Since her arrival in Wist Land, Phoebe had rarely ventured outside, and Eileen was confident that Phoebe had no enemies here.


    Eileen texted Phoebe, telling her that she would alert the police if she didn’t hear from her by morning. Then, she opened the chatbox with Emmett.


    She had received the messages from Emmett five hours ago, but after some thought, she decided to ignore him.


    She believed Emmett had probably left the coffee shop by now.


    At midnight, the rain started pouring down again.


    As soon as Eileeny in bed, weariness swept over her, and she quickly fell asleep.


    When the rm sounded, she shut it off and checked her phone, discovering two new messages from Phoebe.


    Phoebe reassured her that she was okay and mentioned she had some matters to handle over the next two days, so she wouldn’t be returning home.


    Eileen knew it wasn’t her ce to pry into Phoebe’s private matters. She simply cautioned Phoebe to stay safe.


    Then, she got up, refreshed herself, and headed directly to the education agency.


    Upon arriving, she noticed a crowd gathered around the entrance. She hastily parked her car, exited, and approached the scene.


    “Is he—?”


    “I think he’s still breathing. I think he needs help!”


    “Maybe it’s time to call an ambnce!”


    Someone in the crowd recognized Eileen and cleared a path for her. “Curtis, look! Someone’s copsed at the gate of your education agency!”


    Eileen nced over and spotted Emmett on the ground, soaked to the skin and looking ghostly pale.


    His lips had lost all color, and his eyes were shut tight.


    “Emmett!” Eileen hurried over, setting her bag down without caring about the wet ground.


    After gently tapping Emmett’s cheek twice, Eileen looked up at the crowd and called out, “Could someone please dial 411?”


    An ambnce was called immediately, and it arrived within ten minutes. Eileen apanied Emmett to the hospital.


    After an initial examination, the doctor informed Eileen, “He’s very weak. He caught a cold and fever. Looks like he was in the rain all night. Why did he do that?”


    Eileen opened her mouth, at a loss for words. Had Emmett been waiting for her the entire night?


    “Are you his family?” the doctor asked. “We need to do aprehensive check-up. If you agree, pleasee and sign here.”


    Eileen shook her head. “I’m not his rtive.”


    “Then you must inform his rtives immediately!” the doctor replied.


    Then, the doctor left.


    The sound of footsteps resonated through the hallway. asionally, nurses or other patients’ family members hurried past Eileen.


    Eileen suddenly recalled having Emmett’s mother’s WhatsApp on her phone and decided to reach out.


    However, she quickly discovered she had been removed as a contact.


    “Miss, you need to settle the fees first, or we can’t even start the basic tests.” A nurse approached Eileen and spoke, presenting a bill.


    “Okay!” Eileen pocketed her phone and proceeded to pay for Emmett’s hospital stay.


    After settling the bill, Eileen was informed by the doctor that Emmett had regained consciousness but was refusing a thorough check-up. They had moved him to a ward.


    Upon entering the ward, Eileen saw Emmett trying to rise from his bed, the nurse struggling to restrain him.


    “Stop that. Your girlfriend’s here!” the nurse eximed. She gestured to Eileen and added, “Can you help with your boyfriend? He’s feverish and stubborn about leaving.”


    As soon as Emmett caught sight of Eileen, he fell silent and sat back on the bed.


    His gaze flickered, unable to look Eileen in the eye.


    “Thanks for your help,” Eileen expressed her gratitude to the nurse, who quickly exited the room.


    She then approached Emmett’s bed, hands buried in the pockets of her windbreaker.


    She had brought him to the hospital. Her usually neat long hair was now tousled.


    She ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to smooth it out. “You can’t think about leaving until your fever’s gone.”


    “I’m sorry,” Emmett blurted out, his voice tinged with urgency.


    “I don’t need an apology,” Eileen responded calmly. “You’ve done nothing wrong to me!”


    “Last time, my mother overstepped,” Emmett said, his head bowed like a child admitting to a fault.


    The sun bathed him in early morning light, revealing his weary appearance.


    After a long silence, Eileen said, “There’s no use rehashing the fights and wrongs of that incident now. The best course is not to strain our rtionship further, so an apology isn’t necessary.”


    Emmett looked up, meeting her gaze for a brief moment.


    His words were stuck in his throat.


    “Call your parents and have theme get you. I need to return to work,” Eileen said.


    ncing at her watch, Eileen realized it was past ten now.


    “I understand. You can leave now,” Emmett responded, his eyes flickering as he lowered his head, concealing his emotions.


    He was clearly in poor shape. Eileen talked to the nurse for a while before leaving.


    Following a hectic morning, Eileen visited Milford in thete afternoon, papers in hand.


    To her surprise, Milford awaited her in the study, ready to be tutored as promised.


    Though his demeanor was still less than ideal, he caused no issues.


    Eileen was pleased to discover Milford’s brilliance; he grasped concepts quickly without needing extensive exnation.


    He managed to master the basics of the first-grade and second-grade materials instantly. The challengey in the new third-grade subjects he had yet to study.


    Eileen hesitated momentarily, then turned to Milford with a tentative offer. “How about joining Adalina’s sses? We could schedule your sessions on Fridays. It would save us a lot of time.”


    “Will you refund my tuition?” Milford inquired with a serious tone.


    “Absolutely,” Eileen replied simply. “No one is getting their money back from me.”


    Milford shrugged nonchntly. “I’m fine with it as long as Adalina is on board.”


    “Alright, I’ll take care of it,” Eileen assured him. She finished packing and descended the stairs. As she passed by Bryan’s room, she paused briefly; he wasn’t there.


    Despite theteness of the hour, she hurried toward the hospital, unable to dy any longer.


    Stepping out of her car, Eileen walked toward the inpatient department, clutching her bag. Suddenly, a furious voice came from the distance.


    It was Ka’s voice. “You’re out of your mind! Why on earth did you do thatst night? Look at the state you’re in now!”


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