Chapter 561 No Chance To Breathe
A chuckle fell from Amelia’s lips. “Why? You never expected me to say something like this?”
Jolin nodded as confusion filled her gaze.
“Kurt has helped me a lot over the years, and I’m truly grateful to him from the bottom of my heart. I even think of him as my family. However, my husband and son are two of the most important people in my life. You may think that I’m selfish, but I’m aware of who I should prioritize. So, I won’t overly interfere with Oscar’s job. If Kurt really turns out to be a deserter, I won’t help him beg for mercy. Anyone who makes a mistake should pay the price,” Amelia said calmly.
While Jolin was still puzzled, her opinion of Amelia changed again. “Mrs. Clinton, you’re very different from when I first met you,” she said honestly.
“I’m still the same. It’s just that I’m not as kind as I appear to be,” Amelia replied without much emotion in her voice despite the noticeable gloom in her frown.
She could not wrap her mind around the situation. Kurt’s condition in the operating room was unknown, and she was puzzled as to why he returned from Anglandur with wounds. So many things happened that were beyond her expectations happened in less than two weeks.
Although she answered Jolin’s question as if she did not care much about Kurt earlier, she was worried about him and the punishment he would have to bear after he woke up.
She was only lying to everyone when she said she could face it calmly. After everything that Kurt had done for her in Beshya, there was no way she could forget his kindness toward her so easily.
When Kurt was still in the operating room, Oscar arrived at the hospital after learning about the matter.
“Boss,” Jolin greeted but did not receive a reply as his gaze was on Amelia entirely.
For some reason, Amelia felt a little guilty when he was looking at her like that.
It was as though she was a wife who was caught cheating by her husband and was afraid that he would misunderstand something.
She dismissed the thought from her mind, although she was still confused about why she would think of that.
Running her fingers through her hair, she said, “Oscar, you’re here! Kurt’s injured, so I couldn’t just leave him in the lurch. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Oscar ruffled her hair and said, “Silly! I won’t blame you no matter what you do. I’m not here to scold you.”
Amelia tugged her lips into a smile and finally perked up.
“It’s almost six o’clock. Have you taken your dinner yet?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to a bench nearby.
Amelia shook her head. “He’s been inside for a few hours now, so I don’t have the mood to eat anything. Where’s Tony?”
“I asked Hugo to pick up Tony, and he’ll bring him here straight away,” Oscar replied.
With that, she nodded.
Oscar then instructed Jolin to buy some food for Amelia, to which she did as told immediately.
Once the couple was left sitting on the bench, Amelia asked in an even voice as she looked at Oscar, “Oscar, I heard from Jolin that Kurt came back after deserting Hugo and Jean. What exactly happened to him in Anglandur? Can you tell me?”
She paused when a realization dawned on her. “Wait. Hugo’s back too?”
Oscar did not intend to hide it from her. “Yeah. He just landed, and I asked him to fetch Tony. Kurt came back on his own before he completed the mission, and he even fought with Hugo and the others. When Hugo chased after him at the airport, the two of them got into a fight again, and Hugo accidentally wounded Kurt. As for what happened afterward, you know it too.”
“What do you plan to do?” Amelia asked while lowering her eyes.
“I’ll do what I have to do. I’ll wait until he’s discharged, and I hope you won’t interfere with my decision on his punishment as I still have a reputation to maintain in front of my subordinates.”
“Sure,” she agreed without hesitation.
Surprise flashed across his eyes. Amelia laughed when she perceived his reaction and remarked, “Why? Did you really think that Kurt holds a more important position in my heart than you?”
The corner of Oscar’s lips curved upward, and the gloomy feeling within him slowly faded away.
He pulled her close and took in the scent of her hair. “Amelia, I’m thrilled to hear that. I’m really proud of you for being able to think objectively,” he commented in a melodious voice.
Amelia nuzzled against his chest, but she was still looking at the lit sign by the operating room with red-rimmed eyes. Her heart felt heavy.
In the end, she still could not stop herself from asking, “Oscar, can I make a request?”
“Is it about Kurt? Go ahead.”
“Spare his life, no matter if it’s out of personal feelings or whatever. He’s been with you the longest and is basically your right-hand man. Besides, he helped me a lot and is Tony’s godfather,” she pleaded.
Oscar fell silent.
“Did you really plan to take his life? I mean, even if he is a deserter, it shouldn’t be an offense punishable by death, right?” she asked perplexedly while lifting her head to look at him.
“Don’t worry. I’ve never thought of killing him. I only wanted to bring him back to the organization so that he can receive the punishment he deserves.”
“Thank you.”
Oscar nibbled at her earlobe. “I don’t like it when you thank me for another man.”
Amelia laughed and shook her head.
Suddenly, she heard someone fake a cough, so she looked over and found Jolin. She had just returned from her errand.
“Boss, Mrs. Clinton, I bought you some meat dishes, salad, and soup. Sorry. You’ll have to make do with it since we’re at the hospital,” Jolin said as she handed the bag over to Amelia.
“Thanks, Jolin. Sit down and eat with us.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not hungry,” Jolin responded after glancing at Oscar.
“Since Amelia has invited you, let’s eat together,” he piped up.
Jolin’s eyes lit up immediately, and she went to get a little table that she asked from the nurse when she came upstairs. “Boss, you two can eat first, and I’ll have the leftovers.”
Amelia laughed when she saw the reverence in Jolin’s eyes. It was as though she worshipped Oscar.
Oh, Jolin. You’re usually cold and taciturn with others, but when Oscar’s present, you become like an admirer, yet you have to be respectful because of his identity.
Oscar glanced at Jolin before pointing at the dishes on the table.
Immediately, Jolin understood what he meant.
“Okay, Boss. I’ll eat. I’ll eat now.”
With that, the three of them finished everything. Amelia did not really have much of an appetite, but Oscar was around, and Jolin ate a lot, so she, too, forced herself to eat.
Right after they finished eating, Hugo brought Tony over.
“Boss,” Hugo greeted politely.
Tony wriggled free from Hugo’s grasp and ran to Amelia’s side. Then, he climbed onto her lap.
“Mommy, who’s sick? Why are you in the hospital?” the boy asked.
“It’s Godpa. He has some minor injuries, so he’s here to get the doctor to treat his wound,” she explained in simple words.
“Daddy’s hurt?” Tony wanted to get down, but Amelia carried him up and placed him on her lap again.
“Don’t worry, Tony. Your godfather’s fine. He’ll come out after the doctor bandages his wound. Why don’t you go and eat something with Jolin?” she suggested.
Tony glanced at Jolin and nodded.
Once they left, Amelia looked at Hugo.
“Hugo, can you tell me what happened to Kurt in Anglandur? I don’t believe that you’ll accidentally injure him after working with him for so many years,” she said.
With a gloomy expression, Hugo glanced at the lit sign by the operating room. After that, he said succinctly, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Clinton. I was too rash. Once he wakes up, I’ll apologize to him myself. As for the punishment, I’ll take it in his place. The mission in Anglandur failed because of me.”
Amelia furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”
Hugo remained quiet, and there was a hint of pain in his eyes.
After some time, he admitted everything instead of putting the blame on Kurt while the latter was unconscious. “Jean died because of my mistake. When she tried to save Kurt, the bullet hit her heart, and she passed away immediately. We couldn’t even bring her body back because we were busy fleeing. I forcibly brought Kurt onto the plane, and we started fighting over a dispute after we alighted. Then, I accidentally injured him. Once I return to the organization, I’ll willingly accept any punishment.”
Amelia was still confused even after listening to his explanation.
Hugo bowed to Oscar and said solemnly, “Boss, it’s all my fault. Please punish me. I’ve let Jean and Kurt down. One of them’s dead and the other’s injured. I’ll never forgive myself.”
Oscar furrowed his eyebrows and responded in a deep voice, “Are you sure you’re the one who caused that mistake? Hugo, you have to understand that you’ll receive grave punishment once you admit to committing the mistake.”
“Boss, it’s true. This is all my fault. Jean is dead because of me. I even had the urge to kill Kurt when we were on the way back to conceal the truth. I’m not worthy of being their partner. I’m willing to accept any punishment and start over,” Hugo continued while lowering his head.
Oscar closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had calmed down.
“You should go back first. I’ll look into this matter myself to see if it was your fault or Kurt’s. I’ll decide after I get to the bottom of this. As for Jean’s body, I’ll get someone to look for it.”
“Yes, Boss,” Hugo replied and turned to leave.
His figure looked despondent from behind.
Amelia reached out to hold Oscar’s hand. “Oscar, are you okay?”
He turned toward her and smiled. “I’m fine. It’s just that I can’t believe that out of the three subordinates that I’ve personally trained, one is dead, one’s lying in the operating room, and another keeps insisting that everything is his fault. They’re the ones that I rely on the most. I’ve never expected that they would fail one day.”
“No one is perfect. Don’t think too much about it,” she said, though her words of comfort were feeble.
Similarly, she did not expect that the aloof woman from her memory would be gone just like that. Because of that, she felt that life was impermanent.
There’s no chance to breathe at all, with so many things happening in succession.
