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    Suddenly, Alicia found herself at a loss for a story about the brooch. ‘The more I say, the more I might slip up. If I lie too much, he’ll see right through me. After a moment’s thought, she decided to stick to the truth.


    “I’m not even sure where this brooch came from. It has always been in my drawer, like something I’ve had since childhood. When I was kicked out, I didn’t have much to take. Since it has been with me since I was little, I brought it along, thinking maybe I could sell it if I ever ran out of money.”


    Charles watched her intently as she spoke, and her heart raced with anxiety. She was terrified that one wrong move would send this influential man straight back to Tiffany.


    Only when she finished did Charles finally respond, “Since you’re willing to sell the brooch, I’ll buy it. I feel drawn to it.”


    Alicia froze. This was nothing like her past life. Back then, when Tiffany got the brooch, Charles saw her as his savior and became her backer.


    But now, with Alicia holding it, he wanted to buy it back. ‘So it all depends on who you are,’ she thought, a faint disappointment lingering in her heart.


    But after a few seconds, she quickly let it go. ‘It doesn’t matter. As long as he doesn’t help Tiffany, that’s enough. I can avenge myself on my own. I don’t need to rely on anyone else.’


    She held out the brooch to him and said, “Since you feel drawn to it, I’ll just give it to you. Thank you for giving me a ride today. This can be the fare.” <fn3c26> Get full chapters from fι?dnοvel</fn3c26>


    She looked out the window. They had already left the vi district and entered a busy street. She could easily catch a taxi from here, and the car could pull over nearby.


    “I’ll get off here,” she said, then turned to Kevin. “Sir, could you please pull over?”


    Charles reached out and took the brooch from Alicia. “If this is the fare, then I owe you a ride to your destination. Where would you like to go?”


    Alicia froze for a moment. She had no idea where to go. After leaving the Lawrence family, she had no home to return to. She wanted to go back to the ce where she had lived with Richard, but twelve years had passed. That neighborhood was probably gone by now.


    She couldn’t think of a single ce she could go to. ‘Maybe I should rent somewhere, but where should I even look?’


    She looked out the window and noticed a rental agency right outside. She was about to ask Kevin to stop there when a sharp pain suddenly stabbed her stomach. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as she clutched her abdomen, suddenly unable to speak.


    As a child, she had often gone hungry, leaving her with a weak stomach. Later, with Richard’s care, she was much better for a time. But after joining the Lawrence family, her eating habits became irregr again, and her old stomach problems returned.


    Recently, forced to paint for Tiffany, she had barely eaten, surviving on just two pieces of bread a day. Now


    her stomach was rebelling.


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    She held her stomach, waiting for the pain to ease. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Charles ask, a hint of worry in his voice, “Your stomach hurts again?”


    Alicia nodded, missing the key word “again”, which seemed to show he had already known about her stomach issues. Charles frowned deeply and turned to Kevin, “Take us to the hospital.”


    Kevin hesitated, a worried look crossing his face. “But Mr. Yates,” he said cautiously, “we’re already more than ten minuteste today.” He nced nervously toward the rearview mirror, unsure how his reminder would be received.


    When Alicia heard this, she quickly said, “I’ll just get off here. Thank you both for today.” With that, she reached for the car door handle.


    Suddenly, a long, slender hand pressed down on hers. The calluses on his palm were a little rough, but his touch was dry and warm. “Go to the hospital,” he insisted, looking at her.


    Surprised, Alicia looked up and met his deep eyes. It felt like she was about to sink into those eyes. She was unable to say a single word of refusal.


    Charles’s voice turned even colder, sharp with authority, as he addressed Kevin, “Take us to the hospital now.” Startled, Kevin quickly turned the car around.


    *****


    By the time they reached the hospital, Alicia was in so much pain that she could barely stay conscious. ‘This stomachache is worse than usual,’ she thought dazedly. After being carried out of the car, she fainted.


    When she woke up again, she was lying in a clean, soft white bed. Alicia stared nkly for a moment. It wasn’t until she looked up and saw Kevin that she realized she had fainted from a stomachache. “Sir,” she called out.


    Kevin was just telling a young woman nearby something. When he heard Alicia’s voice, he hurried over with a smile. “Miss Lawrence, you’re awake?”


    Alicia offered a faint, grateful smile. “Yes,” she said softly, her eyes tired but sincere. “Thank you for bringing me to the hospital.”


    “It was nothing,” Kevin replied, looking somewhat awkward. He had been reluctant to take her to the hospital earlier. It was Mr. Yates who had insisted.


    Now, receiving her thanks, Kevin felt he didn’t deserve it. He cleared his throat and asked, “Miss Lawrence, are you feeling any other difort? Should I call the doctor for you?”


    Alicia sat up slowly, her movements weak but deliberate. “No, I’m alright,” she said. “I just need some medicine, then I can be on my way.”


    “Lie down.” A cold voice cut in from the doorway. Startled, Alicia slipped back under the covers.


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    Then a yfulugh followed. “Who would’ve thought our Charles would fall for such a sweetheart?”


    Alicia pulled the covers up to her eyes, peeking out at the two men entering the room. One was Charles. The other was a stranger with a yful, almost flirtatious look in his eyes.


    Charles shot the man a cold re, a clear warning in his eyes. The man touched his nose, cleared his throat, and walked over to Alicia.


    He held out his hand to Alicia and introduced himself, “Hello, I’m Harvey Johnson, Charles’s friend.”


    Alicia recognized the name. She had never met him in her past life, but the Lawrence family had mentioned him countless times.


    He was a doctor at Maplewood General Hospital, where Adam also worked. They were known as the “Maplewood Duo,” though in reality, they were rivals.


    Both Harvey and Adam were chief physicians in internal medicine, locked in a fierce rivalry. Two yearster, Harvey made a critical error during surgery that resulted in a patient’s death, ending his medical career.


    Then Adam became the top doctor in Maplewood General’s internal medicine department and sailed smoothly ever after.


    But Alicia knew a secret. That medical ident had been set up by the Lawrence family. They had framed Harvey to clear the way for Adam.


    She remembered how Harvey had been brutally beaten by the patient’s family back then. They had even struck his head with a brick. Yet he stoodpletely still, as if he had already given up on life.


    His look of despair and self-doubt had stayed with Alicia for a long time. Yearster, she wore that same expression herself.


    She knew that despair, the kind that made them surrenderpletely. She knew it all too well. It was the feeling of a heart turning cold.


    The memory stirred a flicker of sympathy in Alicia, even a sense of shared suffering. She was about to sit up and shake Harvey’s hand when Charles suddenly took Harvey’s arm. “Come outside with me,” he said. “We need to talk.”