Chapter 113
She wasn‘t the only one who didn‘t see any pears, but the masked man didn‘t either.
Matthew tossed her a pear and coldly answered, “There‘s a wild pear tree by the river.”
“Great job! All hail the Almighty Matthew!” Veronica gratifyingly praised as she wiped the pear with her clothes,
Still, her words sounded like jabber in Matthew‘s ears. He then sat opposite from her without saying a word, nor did he eat the fruits. Simply, he awaited rescue in silence.
Swoosh! After some time, the sound of a chopper could be heard.
Veronica and Matthew peered at each other and subconsciously lifted their eyes, knowing rescue had arrived. The chopper gradually approached and circled the sky a few times before stopping in the air right above them. As its propellers were speedily rotating, nearby branches and leaves shook violently, producing blaring noises.
Veronica pointed at the campfire before them, to which Matthew came over to help her extinguish the fire thoroughly to prevent a forest fire caused by an ember.
“Veronica?” At that moment, a person called for her from behind. Instinctively, she turned around and saw Xavier standing somewhere not far from her.
As they faced each other, Xavier was dazed. He glanced at Matthew before dashing to Veronica, who also ran toward him, and they gave each other a big hug.
“It‘s so good to see you! I‘d have gone crazy with you lost!” Xavier held her tightly as he spoke into her ear.
“Ow, f*ck. Ouch, ouch!” Veronica gasped as he accidentally touched her injured arm. When he noticed her wound, he worriedly inquired, “What happened? Why‘s your arm like this?”
There was nothing but guilt and self–blame deep in his heart. After knowing Veronica was washed away by the flood, he hurried over as soon as he could. Tagging along with him was Matthew‘s assistant, Thomas.
“It‘s a long story. I‘ll tell you when we get back,” Veronica replied.
“Alright. Okay.” Xavier nodded and supported the woman up the rope ladder,
completely disregarding Matthew and the masked man.
Seeing Xavier interacting so intimately with Veronica and the smiles on their faces, Mathew scowled intensely. Even the pear in hand seemed like a hindrance.
“Young Master Matthew?” Thomas, who alighted the other chopper, walked to Matthew and stated concernedly, “I‘m glad that you‘re okay, Young Master.”
Watching as the two got into the chopper, Matthew climbed into another chopper without saying anything. Once the chopper door was shut, the pilot flew away.
Not a single soul cared to bat an eye at the masked man. Left alone in the wilderness, the masked man let out a sigh. He helplessly scoffed at himself underneath the mask. He then got up and walked to where the campfire was and picked up the pears before wiping and eating them. After consuming the fruits, he could feel his energy replenished. Accordingly, he picked up the dagger left behind by Veronica and cut open the wound on his thigh to extract the bullet, enduring the excruciating pain, before wrapping it back up.
Hours later, the night sky was engulfed in darkness.
Outside the emergency room were Matthew and Xavier standing in the hallway. None of them bothered to talk as they silently waited for Veronica who was being treated. About half an hour later, the woman was pushed out of the room. Seeing her, they immediately came over, and before Matthew could say anything, Xavier inquired, “How‘s my Roni, doctor?”
“We gave her a tetanus shot, but there‘s a minor infection in her wound, so she‘ll need to be hospitalized for further examination. As long as there‘s no fever afterward, she‘s fine,” the doctor informed.
Upon hearing that, the anxiety in Xavier‘s heart dispersed. He then guarded Veronica beside her and followed the nurse, who was pushing her portable bed, to the ward.
Instead of chasing after them, Matthew stayed behind and asked the doctor, “She was bitten by a wolf, and it bit her right in her wound, and it‘s been many hours. Will there be any side effects?” Since Veronica‘s wound was precisely bitten by one of the wolves, he was worried that the infection in Veronica‘s wound might spread speedily. which would result in abysmal conditions like tetanus or rabies. In addition, when her wound was infected, she was already having symptoms of high fever, and he couldn‘t help but be worried.
“We performed a thorough examination on her when she was sent over. The results are already out now. Why don‘t you bring them to my office and we‘ll talk about it
wire?” the doctor suggested.
“Alrigh.” Matthew nodded. He then turned around to retrieve various reports before bringing them to the consultation room and handed the documents to the doctor who had just operated on Veronica. He sat before the doctor with a strict face. “How is she, doctor?”
Putting on his reading glasses, the doctor gave the reports an assiduous read, and would sometimes shake his head. His gestures were so stern that Matthew immediately grew nervous. He then quizzed, “What is it?”
“The report states that her wound has a minor infection, but it‘s treatable. However, there‘s her malnourishment, iron anemia, and severe insomnia.”
“Insomnia?” Matthew recalled Veronica‘s recent sleeping behavior. Ever since he saved her from overseas and brought her to Dawnpol Village, for the entire month, she had been falling asleep at around four in the morning and waking up about two hours later. Indeed, she gravely lacked sleep, and that, he had realized. Nonetheless, as he wasn‘t around her every second, he wasn‘t a hundred percent sure about it.
“Anemia, depression, anxiety, and many other forms of mental disorders can lead to insomnia. But her case is rather special. She has severe insomnia.”
“What will that cause?” Matthew was helplessly agitated.
“Severe insomnia can also work the other way round, leading to depression, anxiety, and erratic behavior, which may further lead to heart diseases and mental illnesses.”
“Will she… die?”
“Insomnia itself won‘t cause death, but in serious cases, it just might trigger it.”
“Trigger…?” Matthew‘s face blanched as his heart tensed. In that instant, even his breaths grew rapid. “Am I allowed to tell her about this?” he inquired.
The doctor pondered in silence before asking, “How long has she been insomniac?”
“More than a month, I think.”
“More than a month?”
As the doctor had yet to encounter any sudden occurrence of severe insomnia, he contemplated for a bit before advising, “It‘s best to keep it from the patient, or she may feel burdened by it, worsening her condition.”
Afer discussing many details with the doctor, Matthew ultimately decided to hide the findings from Veronica and to switch up her medicines to other medications in the future.
When he went to Veronica’s ward, the woman was already awake. She was pleasantly chatting with Xavier. The atmosphere in the room was rather uplifting.
Looking at the view before him as he stood at the ward door, Matthew felt somewhat perturbed, and even a little jealous. Nevertheless, when he remembered the doctor‘s words, he started to feel sorry for the woman. He had never thought a merry, spirited woman like her would be pressured by concerns that ended up causing her to have insomnia. He couldn‘t help but wonder, What exactly happened to her? Are the Larsons, in fact, troubling her?
