After a moment, she heard the man let out a low laugh, and the cold, strong scent of cedar surrounded her.
"It does work," he said.
Kelsey was surprised by his reaction.
She looked up at him, still kind of out of it.
Her nose was still red, and her eyes were too. Her pale, snow-like skin looked even more see-through against the soft peach-colored wall.
If this was a few days ago, Rhett would've just lifted her chin and kissed her.
He never held back when it came to his desires for Kelsey, but now he didn't have the same status or position anymore.
Rhett leaned closer, staring at the tear that was about to fall down her cheek. His dark eyes looked deep and unreadable.
"I'm feeling merciful this time, so don't cause any trouble, okay?"
Kelsey's voice was rough and quiet as she nodded. "Okay."
Rhett smirked, but there was no warmth in his smile.
He stood up, undid two buttons on his white shirt, and casually threw his suit jacket over his arm.
"That trick works, but I prefer it when you're obedient."
"So, be obedient."
---
Kelsey left the hospital.
Her body wasn't in bad shape, but she was still kinda weak from the early pregnancy and the blood she had donated to Elise.
She had recovered a good bit by now though.
When Catherine saw her in Dexter's room during her rounds, she greeted her.
"You look good. I guess you've decided to keep the baby?"
Dexter had been lying quietly on the bed, but when he heard Catherine's words, he suddenly looked up at Kelsey.
"What child?" he asked.
Kelsey pressed her lips together and didn't say anything.
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned heavy.
Catherine looked at Dexter, then at Kelsey, feeling awkward.
"His condition seems stable, so I'll leave now," she said quickly and rushed out.
As she closed the door, she glanced back at the two siblings, realizing she'd probably said something wrong.
She slapped herself lightly on the mouth, thinking,
"Why do I always say the wrong thing?"
---
Inside the hospital room, maybe the recent blows had made Dexter calm down. He just looked at Kelsey without yelling.
"Child? Don't tell me it's Rhett's."
His fists under the bedsheet were already clenched tight. The veins on the back of his hands popped out.
He was already thin, and after being sick for so long, he had lost even more weight. His bones looked like they were sticking out.
Kelsey sat beside the bed and looked at him calmly.
"It's my child. Just mine."
"How can it just be your child? Do you think I'm stupid?" Dexter burst out.
"What about Rhett? He doesn't want you. He won't take responsibility. Why would he want you to have his child?"
"It's me who wants to keep this child!" Kelsey suddenly raised her voice and cut him off.
"He didn't want it. I begged him to let me keep it…"
"Why?" Dexter looked completely confused.
Kelsey stared at her stomach and said in a low voice,
"I have a special condition. I might only have this one chance... this one child in my life."
Dexter suddenly felt all his strength disappear.
His eyes turned a little red, and finally he just punched the bedsheet out of frustration.
Seeing him like that, Kelsey couldn't hold it in anymore. Her fake calm shattered.
"Dexter, you can't tell anyone. Please. This is my child alone, do you get it?"
Dexter took a deep breath, shaking hard, but he didn't reply right away.
After a while, he finally forced himself to calm down and muttered,
"...I understand."
After calming Dexter down, Kelsey planned to go back to the villa to pack her things.
Rhett might send someone to pick her up for the divorce certificate at any time. Before getting kicked out by him, she had to find a place to stay first.
As she passed by the hospital garden, she saw a man in a wheelchair slowly pushing himself along the small cobblestone path ahead.
Kelsey unconsciously slowed down, and some fragments of memory appeared in her mind.
She remembered the last person she saw before fainting a few days ago, and it seemed to be this man.
Just from his back, she felt a familiar vibe.
Hearing footsteps behind him, the man in the wheelchair also stopped and turned around, meeting Kelsey's gaze.
Unlike the quick glance she had when she fainted, this time Kelsey saw the man's face clearly.
Back then, she only remembered that he looked good, refined, and had a gentle smile. Now that she looked closely, his features were really outstanding.
Even though he was sitting in a wheelchair, he still seemed really tall.
But his body looked kind of thin, and he gave off this otherworldly vibe.
He looked at Kelsey with a half-smile and said, "It's you."
Kelsey was now sure he was the one from that day, so she stepped forward and said, "Hello, I bumped into you that day and haven't apologized yet. I'm sorry."
The man pushed his wheelchair toward her and said, "You already apologized when you bumped into me."
He looked at Kelsey, and even though his actions were kind of forward, his calm and elegant aura made it feel less rude. He didn't make her feel uncomfortable or pressured.
"It was you who fainted in front of me, and honestly, it was kind of scary."
Kelsey felt more embarrassed hearing that. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect to faint all of a sudden."
She looked at him carefully. "I didn't hit you, did I?"
"Even though I'm in a wheelchair, I'm not so fragile that you could knock me over with your small frame." He had already rolled up next to her.
Seeing how she was acting, he suddenly asked, "Do you know me?"
Kelsey froze for a second, trying to think if she had ever seen him before, but nothing came to mind. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"
The man rested his chin on his hand. "My name is Kingston."
Kingston…
Kelsey was about to say she'd never heard of him before, but then he added casually,
"Rhett never mentioned me to you?"
Kelsey clenched her fists, surprised at first, then forced herself to stay calm. "So you're his friend."
Seeing how her expression suddenly changed, Kingston found it kind of interesting.
"When I carried you to the doctor that day, he happened to see us. I think he was pretty mad and didn't like that I was carrying you."
"Did he say anything about me after you woke up?"
Kelsey frowned a little, then replied calmly, "No, he didn't."
Kingston laughed. "Well, that's interesting."
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Thank you for what you did that day."
He said he carried her to find a doctor, and it didn't seem like a lie.
At least he didn't just stand there and do nothing. Kelsey's tone softened a bit toward him.
But he was still Rhett's friend, and she didn't want to talk to him too much.
She suddenly wanted to leave, but Kingston instinctively grabbed her wrist.
"In such a hurry?"
Just as he spoke, a low and cold voice came from behind them.
"She's—"