Giselle’s fingers curled tightly, and it was only through hard effort that she managed to keep her voice from cracking or shaking “Is it serious? What’s the treatment plan?”
“As things are, we’ll need to remove it surgically…”
The words had only just left Louie’s mouth when Giselle clutched s arm and stared at him with red–rimmed eyes. “Save him, Loule.
Louie made no reply, for his own eyes prickled when he saw Giselle’s eyes turning red with tears. He couldn’t even speak. When Giselle did not hear his response, she panicked. “Louie, can you just be fair and leave your grudges out of this?” “Get out!” Louie rubbed the corners of his eyes and turned away from her.
Giselle stopped short after he yelled at her. She chewed on her lower lip, but rose and left the consultation room anyway.
It was only after the door slammed shut that Louie fell apart. He took off his glasses just as his tears strearhed down his cheeks like strings of pearls. “Damn it…”
He pulled a couple of tissues and dried his tears, but they were unstoppable. He hadn’t even wanted to cry in the first place, so why did his eyes betray him like they had a will of their own?
Could he have been possessed by an overly sentimental devil with a penchant for tears? Was this some kind of black magic? No, he reckoned he should hire a voodoo specialist to purge whatever strange force had come over him before he truly became a crybaby!
Outside the consultation room, Giselle raised her hand to dry the tears she’d expected to have cascaded down her face. However, she was baffled when her fingers came away dry. Could she have been so overwhelmed by panic that even tears evaded her?
Then again, she’d already vowed a long time ago that nothing would make her shed a tear anymore.
She sniffed and reached into her purse for her cigarettes, her hand shaking. But when she saw the no–smoking sign on the wall, she repressed her urge. Plopping down on a chair, she buried her face in her knees.
Ten minutes later, Louie discarded the pile of used tissues, put on his glasses, and emerged from the consultation room. He found Giselle sitting on a chair outside.
Perhaps exhaustion had gotten the better of her, for she’d leaned into her seat and closed her eyes. Her fingers were tightly interlaced to the point where they looked almost pretzel–like. Judging from the way her fingers were turning pale, she was cutting off the blood circulation in them, and she hadn’t even realized it.
Frowning, Louie stepped forward, gripped her hands, and slowly pried her fingers apart.
It was then that Giselle woke up and stared at him blearily.
He paused, and upon realizing he was holding her wrists, he instinctively let go. But Giselle clutched his hand and did not let him leave, urging him, “Please, Louie, save my brother.“.
She knew Louie was one of the best neurologists in Castenea who had countless successful cases. It was hard to even get an appointment with him.
“I’ll give you anything you want!” she added, biting her lip as if making a hard decision. The next second, she shrugged off her jacket and made to undo the buttons of her blouse.
“Giselle!” Shocked by her behavior, Louie quickly grabbed the jacket and wrapped it around her. He demanded angrily, “Do you even know what the hell you’re doing?”
“Of course I know-”
“No, you don’t!” Louie cut her off tersely, nearly flying into a rage over her wildly inappropriate gesture. “This is a hospital, so
behave yourself!”
The hospital might be near–empty at this hour, but they were still a public space! He couldn’t figure out what had come over Giselle to make her think it was a good idea to seduce him into saving Gabriel!
Giselle froze, her eyes scanning the fury on Louie’s face. She released her grip and lowered her gaze. “Okay.”
Louie drew the jacket closer around her and buttoned it up so she couldn’t take it off. He said stiffly, “I’ll carry out your brother’s surgery.”
Her eyes lit up in surprise. She didn’t think Louie would agree so readily, given how they’d rubbed each other wrong on several occasions in Grendova.
“Yes.” Louie handed her the patient form. “Go have him registered”
“Okay!” Giselle took the form, her fingers unwittingly brushing against his knuckles. The warm touch made them look at each other, complicated emotions swirling within them.
