Chapter 549
Anathea turned down Theo’s offer. “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
“You barely ate at the banquet, then you were so busy making sure Mrs. Campbell ate her food that you didn’t bother grabbing a bite yourself. How could you not be hungry?” Theo countered.
Anathea went still.
“If you’re worried you’d be troubling me, don’t. I’m doing this because I want to,” he added, then drew the jacket tighter around her before leaving to get Anathea food.
No sooner had Theo left than a woman’s voice rang out. “Fancy running into you here, of all places.”
Anathea looked in the direction of the voice and was surprised to see Giselle. “What are you-
“My family’s sick. I brought them here to get checked out,” Giselle replied.
Anathea noted the shadows under Giselle’s eyes, a clear indication that the latter had been so worried that she’d lost sleep. Anathea offered gently, “Let me know if you need help with anything.”
Now that Giselle was their company’s legal advisor, it was only natural for Anathea to help her in whatever way she could. “Thanks, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Giselle claimed a seat on the bench and crossed her arms. When Anathea took the seat beside hers, Giselle continued, “That Harrington guy seemed nice.
Giselle didn’t know much about what went on between Anathea and Theo, but shortly after meeting Anathea the last time, she saw Theo go up to the latter. Giselle had also seen the way Theo looked at Anathea; even a stranger could see he was smitten with her, let alone Anathea.
Anathea lowered her gaze and saw the meteor pendant hanging around her neck. The scene where Theo confessed his feelings for her flashed in her mind. She knew what he felt for her, but had no idea when he started falling for her until he told her at the banquet earlier.
Theo’s heart was true, but Anathea had little to no plan for her love life just yet. Even if she and Theo were betrothed, she had no intention of seeing it through. On that note, she was prepared to talk to Grace and Theo about calling off the engagement altogether, then make her stance clear to Theo.
She should have told Theo right away when he confessed his feelings for her, but the call from the hospital had interrupted her. She’d have to find another chance to talk to Theo properly.
Anathea and Giselle made small talk for a bit before the latter returned to tend to her brother.
After sitting quietly by herself for a few minutes, Anathea grew thirsty. She wanted to get a bottle of water from the vending machine, but when her gaze darted to the dim and empty corridor that seemed to stretch on forever, she gulped.
The vending machine was at the corner at the end of the corridor, and aside from Adam’s ICU room, a long row of empty hospital rooms lined the space. All the rooms had glass doors that reflected the gnarled forms of the trees outside, all of which looked like the twisted shadows of dancing, beckoning devils.
Anathea’s fingers clutched the hem of her shirt. She closed her eyes, but willed herself to stand up and walk toward the vending machine while holding her breath.
Her footsteps echoed through the corridor, an eerie beat that accompanied the rustling of the wind–tousled leaves outside. There was even an occasional, Insidious creaking.
Hannah used to drag Anathea to the movies. Due to Hannah’s profession, they could only catch late–night–shows at the cinema when there was little to no crowd. That would have been fine, had Hannah not been such a fan of horror flicks!
In the wee hours of morning at the hospital, the howling wind added a skin–pricking element. It didn’t help that the lights flickered from time to time, either.
Chapter 549
+25 BONUS
Anathea’s heart was pounding hard, and she cursed herself for stopping in her tracks. However, she dared not look back, fearing she might be greeted by something less than friendly.
The next second, the sound of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, followed by the sound of someone making a call. A low, husky voice rang out, and Anathea’s fraying nerves gradually calmed.
She cast a sidelong glance in the direction of the voice, and sure enough, the towering figure she’d expected to see stood at the end of the corridor.
But what was Gregory doing here at this hour?
Anathea didn’t dwell on this and instead hurried to the vending machine. She silently tried to figure out how the machine worked. She’d never navigated one before and found the e contraption foreign.
She ended up wasting a lot of time checking out the vending machte. The next second, a slender hand reached past her and hovered over the machine’s touch–screen. “What would you like to drink?”
Chapter 550
