Chapter 117
“Stop. You want to grab a bite, right? Let’s go.” Pearl yanked Hugo’s sleeve to break the awkward situation.
“Alright, Rick. We’ll go first,” Hugo said to Richard.
Richard watched them leave the hospital, hand in hand.
But as soon as they stepped outside, Pearl withdrew her hand from Hugo’s grasp.
“Why? Are you mad?” Hugo kept his smile even when she was angry. “I know you like Rick, but you’re my girlfriend now. You can’t be mad at me because of another man.”
Pearl regretted asking for Hugo’s help. “Are you enjoying this, Hugo?”
“Yes, I am,” he replied, clearly pleased with his progress.
“What’s the point of all this? There’s no future for us.”
However, Hugo remained undeterred. “I can make you fall in love with me in three months.”
“That will never happen.”
Did Hugo take Pearl as a love-struck fool? She was certain that it wouldn’t happen.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Stepping back, Pearl continued, “It’s impossible between us, so you better give up. I won’t have dinner with you. I’m not hungry.”
“Come with me. You know what will happen if I get mad.” Hugo would not take no for an answer.
“I’m a patient, and I’ve been feeling unwell lately. Even the doctor advised that I stay in bed, So, I can’t go. with you.”
Raising his brows, Hugo refuted, “I’m a doctor.”
“Hugo, stop pushing your luck.”
Hugo, realizing that he wouldn’t get his way by pushing too hard, raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, go rest. I’ll go by myself.”
Pearl felt a sense of relief and made her way back to her ward to rest. However, before she could reach the in- patient department’s door, a figure in the corridor startled her.
Suppressing her emotions, she approached the figure and was left speechless by what she saw.
It was… Richard?
The glow of the cigarette he held was conspicuous in the darkness.
“Richard, what are you doing…” Pearl was taken aback as she couldn’t recall Richard being a smoker.
“I’m smoking. I’ll go home later.”
A strange restlessness hit Pearl. She blurted out, “Are you feeling blue?”
“No, I think it’s pretty good that you’re dating Hugo.”
Those words sent a dull ache through Pearl’s heart.
“So, you think it’s a good thing that I’m dating Hugo?” Pearl forced a smile. “Very well. As you wish.”
As she turned to enter the department, Richard suddenly pinned her against the wall, his eyes blazing with anger. His grip on her waist conveyed his fiery fury, which seemed to burn her alive.
“You don’t understand irony, do you?” he growled.
Pearl’s heart raced, and indescribable emotions surged within her as she witnessed Richard, who was usually calm, losing control.
“I have my reasons.”
“What’s the reason for you to be with him? You aren’t easily threatened, are you?” Richard’s voice was filled
with frustration.
“I’ve told you there’s a reason, but I won’t be with him forever. When the time is right, I’ll break up with him.
Richard remained aloof. “When is the right time?”
