Not A Small-Town Girl

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Meanwhile, on the other side, Howard and Vivian had broken the curse, and Danielle’s brothers showed no signs of heading back to work. They were still at home, staying with Danielle, but there was so much to be done.

"Danielle, leave Ivan and Judy to us for questioning. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. You look so pale." Joseph’s voice was full of concern for Danielle. Their entire family had sent people to find the antidote for Luna Stalk, but there was still no news. Everyone knew this poison wasn’t easy to cure, and things weren’t looking good.

"Joseph, I’m not tired. How about we go to the hospital and check on Xavier? He should be awake by now," Danielle said, wanting to give her brothers something to do. They were all hovering over her, worried she might overwork herself.

"Then let’s go."

*****

At St. Katherine’s Hospital, Xavier slowly regained consciousness.noveldrama

The first thing he saw was a man sitting in a chair, asleep, with dark circles under his eyes. Jaden had obviously been staying up for several nights—was he the one taking care of him this whole time?

His throat burned with thirst, but the water was out of reach. After struggling to stretch his hand towards it for a while, he finally got close enough to grab it, but the movement caused his wounds to sting, and he winced in pain.

Hearing the rustling from the bed, Jaden woke up. His eyes immediately locked onto Xavier’s pained expression.

"Want some water?"

Xavier nodded. "Yeah, how come you’re here?" he asked, a little disappointed. He hadn’t seen any family around, and it stung—wasn’t anyone concerned?

Jaden poured him a glass of water and thoughtfully added a straw. "Drink up."

"Your parents were cursed by the housekeeper. They’re at home now, getting the curse broken," Jaden said, sensing Xavier’s disappointment. He explained patiently, almost sounding like he was the one who had been poisoned, sitting here instead of going to work, but now, he was explaining things to Xavier like some kind of obsessed caretaker.

"What? You’re saying my parents were cursed by the housekeeper? Is it dangerous? I need to go home! I need to check on them and on Danielle. What if she’s still poisoned? I have to see how she’s doing!" Xavier tried to get up, but Jaden immediately pushed him back down.

"You’ve got your brothers at home. Right now, your only job is to rest and recover. You can barely even get to the hospital doors, and you’re thinking about leaving? Do you even know how dangerous your situation was? It took a lot of people just to get you back alive! Can’t you listen for once?"

Jaden was really angry now. How could Xavier be so thick-headed, wanting to leave the hospital when he was still injured?

Xavier was stunned by Jaden’s sudden outburst. It took a moment for him to realize what had just happened. His eyes welled up with tears, and he cried, "I don’t want you taking care of me anymore! Go away, you’re so mean to me!"

Jaden, shocked, couldn’t help but laugh. He was the one getting scolded for speaking loudly? But seeing Xavier’s tears made him soften his tone. "I’m not mad at you. You’re seriously hurt. You need to rest. You just woke up; how can you leave? Your parents will be fine."

"You are mad at me! You’re always bullying me! You just like yelling at me to show off how loud your voice is! You think you’re so impressive, huh?" Xavier shot back, still crying, continuing his rant. "You’re always picking on me, you bully!"

"I..."

"What’s with you? Yelling at me one minute, scolding me the next, and now you’re ready to bite my head off? Why don’t you just kill me already?"

"It’s not..."

"Not what? Dare to say you haven’t been harsh with me? Men are all the same!"