As soon as Stella put her phone into the pocket of her white coat, she saw a stylishly dressed and handsome man walking toward the VIP ward.
When he saw her, he raised his eyebrows, and flashed her a blinding smile.
"Is Ms. Garcia in this ward, doctor?"
Hearing that he was looking for Amelia, Stella's expression froze. Was it really a suitor who had come for Amelia?
Stella was dejected, but kept a smile on his face.
"Yes. May I ask who you are?"
He took out a business card from his suit pocket and handed it to her.
"My name is Neil Sherwood."
She looked at the bronze-plated business card which read "Chief Architect of Sumasa Construction Co., LTD".
With a subtle smile, she replied, "Nice to meet you."
Neil grabbed her hand, putting the business card in her palm, and grinned.
"Contact me if you're ever looking for someone to design your house. I'll give you a 20% discount."
After he said that, he quickly turned around and walked into the ward.
However, the moment he turned around, the smile on his face disappeared instantly.
Upon walking to the door of the ward, he paused and grinned once again as he knocked on the door.
"Ms. Garcia, can I come in?"
Eva, who was helping Amelia massage her leg, heard the voice and looked up at the man outside the door.
"Who are you?"
Neil leaned on the door frame with one hand, and smoothed out the thin bangs in front of his forehead. "Neil."
When Amelia heard that name, she recalled that Aaron had mentioned that he would get someone to teach her about architecture.
She couldn't turn around, so she just answered, "Come in."
Neil simply walked in. Upon seeing that her back was wrapped in layers of bandages, his thick eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Despite that, he didn't ask her what happened. All he did was say, "I don't think you can even hold a pencil in that state, Ms. Garcia."
Amelia felt a little embarrassed, and glanced at him.
"Sorry. I don't think I'll be able to learn architecture from you for the time being."
Neil flashed a clean smile.
"It's okay. I'll teach you theoretical knowledge first."
He took out his phone and looked at the time before telling her, "I will teach you for two hours a day."
Amelia nodded lightly and replied, "Okay. Thank you, Mr. Sherwood..."
Neil waved his hands indifferently, and the grin on his face remained the same. It looked rather stiff.
After adjusting his smile, he stated, "Ms. Garcia, before I teach you, I need to understand your basic situation."
Amelia was lying on her stomach, and didn't notice the change in his expression. Thus, she just nodded and responded, "Okay."
Having obtained her consent, Neil didn't hesitate to hit her in a sore spot. "Your sister graduated from Harvard. What about you?"
Amelia's expression froze for a moment. Feeling rather insecure, she lowered her gaze and murmured, "A university in Arcadia..."
Neil raised his eyebrows. "Arcadia University?"
Amelia shook her head, and he figured out that it probably wasn't a very good school.
There was a hint of contempt in his eyes, but he forced himself not to be hung up over her education. He quickly changed the topic.
"What field of design did you study?" he questioned.
"Brand design," she answered.
"Have you won any awards?"
"I did for school-organized competitions. Does that count?"
Neil was speechless.
After making a mental note about Amelia's lack of talent, he stopped asking.
Neil forced a smile and told her, "Ms. Garcia, the project your sister took on isn't some ordinary interior design project. It's a landmark building that can represent every country and every city. You don't have any foundations, which means it's almost impossible for you to achieve what your sister has done in such a short period of time. I suggest you first get to know her style, and then imitate it. Maybe nothing will go wrong."
Naturally, Amelia was aware of that. The pressure in her heart only increased, but she firmly nodded.
"I will work hard, Mr. Sherwood."
Neil maintained a kind smile, but his tone was mocking.
"Sometimes, hard work is useless when you have no talent."
Eva, who was sitting next to her, had already been annoyed ever since Neil started asking Amelia about her educational background.
She couldn't help but chime in, "You haven't even seen Amelia's drawing skills. How do you know she has no talent? "
Neil turned to glance at Eva. He couldn't maintain his grin, which collapsed. "I can tell you never made it past high school."
Eva clenched her fists, but Neil turned back around and smiled again. Looking at Amelia, he added, "A friendly reminder, Ms. Garcia. My lectures are rather brutal. You have to mentally prepare yourself."
Amelia nodded easily. "No problem."
Seeing that she was cooperative, Neil got up and left.
After walking out of the ward, he raised his hand and rubbed his cheeks that hurt from smiling. He blurted, "Ugh. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much."
Watching him leave, Eva angrily grumbled, "Who does he think he is?"
He has such a strange smile on his face, and he speaks in such a condescending manner.
Amelia was clearly exhausted after talking so much. However, she still tried her best to comfort Eva.
"Architects tend to be a bit eccentric. Don't think too much of it..."
Eva was still furious. She took out her mobile phone and searched for Neil, wanting to see what he was capable of to act so arrogant.
In the end, after reading Neil's resume, Eva chose to keep quiet. She decided to forget it, and couldn't be bothered to argue with such intellectuals.
Eva pretends to be nonchalant. Putting down her phone, she quietly asked, "Amelia, are you hungry? I'll buy you something to eat."
Amelia gently shook her head. She couldn't focus, and her view of Eva was getting increasingly blurry.
"Eva, when I moved to your villa, I brought a box of medicine. The next time you come, can you bring them to me?"
Eva subconsciously glanced at Amelia's heart and nervously questioned, "Is your heart in pain because you didn't take the preventive medicine?"
Amelia blinked her exhausted eyes.
"After crying a few times, I can't see clearly anymore..."
Upon hearing that, Eva felt distressed. She touched Amelia's forehead and muttered, "I'll go back and get your medicine right
now."
Amelia wanted to tell her not to rush, but Eva had already got up and quickly left with her mobile phone.
As soon as Eva left, Amelia was left alone in the empty ward, enveloped in an endless feeling of loneliness.
She glanced around, vaguely looking through the rows of men's suits in the closet as her expression gradually grew glum.
He hadn't taken his clothes, so he probably didn't want them anymore. He never looked back at things he had already discarded...
When Stella came to check on her, she saw Amelia staring at the clothes in the closet while in a daze. With just a glance, it was obvious that she still cared about James very much.
Although she had promised James that she wouldn't mention him in front of Amelia, Stella still couldn't help saying, "Ms. Garcia, Mr. Evans thought Mr. Jones would take care of you, so he left. If he knew that you and Mr. Jones was divorced, he would never have abandoned you."
Amelia looked away and smiled at Stella.
"We don't owe each other anything, Ms. Cobb. It's not right to say he abandoned me."
Sighing deeply, Stella looked at the pale Amelia.
"Ms. Garcia, I know you actually miss Mr. Evans a lot deep down."
Amelia lowered her long and slightly curled eyelashes. She murmured, "Stella, don't mention him anymore, okay?"
After hearing that, Stella nodded helplessly.
"Okay. I won't talk about him. Let me help you change your bandages..."
Amelia nodded lightly, and Stella told her to bear with it before she began to change her bandages.
A huge wave of pain spread across her back. It made Amelia sweat profusely. Her face turned pale, and tears began flowing uncontrollably, quickly gushing out of his eyes.
She gritted her teeth and clutched the sheets. Raising her chin slightly, she forced back the tears.
She still needed to help her sister draw those blueprints. She couldn't lose her vision. She had to take care of her eyes.
With that belief in mind, Amelia allowed her bandages to be changed again and again. Even if it was so painful that she fainted, she would never let herself cry.
Throughout that period of time, she also endured the pain and listened to Neil's lecture.
At first, she thought that Neil was just joking when he said that his lessons would be rather cruel.
However, after getting to know him, she realized that Neil was a severe perfectionist.
If she didn't answer the question exactly as she was supposed to, or missed out a keyword, she would be severely reprimanded because he thought her answer was unbalanced.
Moreover, Neil pursued architecture to the ultimate standard of perfection and did not allow even the slightest mistake. If she miscalculated the formula, he would definitely insult her.
Even without cursing, he was able to bring her to tears with his scolding.
Amelia endured the pain while clenching her fists, and secretly swore in her heart.
When she recovered, she would absolutely torture Neil with her projects, or else she would never be able to vent her anger.
Under such men tally and physically stressful circumstances, she gradually recovered her will to live.
A month later, har hack had gotten past the secondary audition period, and the pain was not as easy as adore.
Despite that, Stella was very worried about the show grafting.
"I tried contacting an internationally famous plastic surgeon, but I didn't manage to get through to her."
Everything else aside, Jessica Simmons was highly skilled when it came to skin grafting. However, it was hard to hire her because of the price she charged, and it was difficult to even contact her in the first place.
Amelia replied, "It's okay. An ordinary plastic surgeon will be fine. Nobody will see the scars on my back, anyways be wearing clothes."
Eva, who was peeling oranges, said, "You shouldn't have scars on your body, it'll look so ugly...
Amelia didn't care.
"I have scars from when I got a transplant, too. It doesn't matter if there are more."
Eva felt a little distressed and glanced at her.
"You are so beautiful. Having scars on your body would be such a waste."
Amelia grinned.
"I'm not a celebrity, so why does it matter?"
Stella was just about to answer when there was a knock on the door.
She walked over and opened the door. When she saw the person in front of her, Stella was shocked, and then smiled happily.
"Dr. Simmons!"
Jessica was dressed in a white suit with an elegant and friendly smile on her gorgeous face.
"Ms. Cobb. I heard that you have a patient whose back was injured by sulfuric acid. Let me see if I can help," she offered.
"That's great! I've been trying to contact you recently, but it didn't get through so I didn't expect you to come to our hospital," Stella exclaimed.
Compared to Stella's excitement, Jessica seemed rather deadpan.
"Let me see the patient first."
Stella nodded easily and led her into the ward.
She was just about to introduce Amelia to Jessica when Jessica walked up and stretched out her fair hand.
"Hello, Ms. Garcia. I'm Jessica."
Amelia and Eva were stunned for a moment. Stella was also a little confused. How did Jessica know Amelia?
Out of politeness, Amelia stretched out her hand to grab Jessica's.
"Hello, Dr. Simmons."
Jessica didn't explain how she knew Amelia. She simply raised her hand and lifted the bandages on her back, seeing the severity of the injury.
After giving her a full check-up, she turned to Stella and stated, "We can't delay any longer. Arrange for skin graft surgery as soon as possible."
Stella readily agreed and nodded.
"No problem. I will arrange an operating room. Do you need a few doctors to assist you?"
Jessica picked up the wet towel next to her and wiped her fingers before replying, "I brought a few doctors of my own here. I don't need any doctors from this hospital. You just need to provide me with an operating room."
Her distinguished words made Stella feel a little uncomfortable, but she didn't protest.
"Okay."
After throwing the wet wipes into the trash can, Jessica turned around and looked at Amelia, scrutinizing her carefully with a pair of dark yet glistening eyes.
"You're beautiful, Ms. Garcia. With your sickly yet delicate kind of beauty, it's no wonder that James personally called me to help you."
The mention of James made Amelia's slender eyelashes tremble slightly.
Before he left, he said that he would help her find the best surgeon.
She hadn't taken it seriously at first. Unexpectedly, he actually did it.
Stella glanced at Jessica, who was standing in front of the hospital bed with her arms crossed as she looked down at Amelia.
Those who worked with James would never dare to call him by his name directly.
Despite that, not only had Jessica done so, but she was also full of hostility towards Amelia.
She had a bad impression of Jessica right then, and the feeling of discomfort in her heart only grew stronger.
Even so, Jessica didn't care. She even took a step forward toward Amelia, saying, "I went to the same university as James, Ms. Garcia."
Amelia didn't understand. She lifted her gaze calmly and looked at Jessica in front of her.
Her demeanor was graceful and elegant. She looked gorgeous and charming, with refined manners. She spoke in a confident and calm tone. Undoubtedly, she was a high-class beauty.
No matter how beautiful Jessica was, though, it had nothing to do with Amelia.
The relationship between her and James was long over...
Amelia's fingers tightened a little bit, but there was no expression on her face.
"That's your business, Dr. Simmons. It has nothing to do with me."
Jessica revealed a graceful smile.
"Since you've said that, I understand."
After she spoke, she turned around elegantly and looked at Stella.
"See you in the operating room, Ms. Cobb."
With that, she hurriedly left the ward in her high heels.
After she was gone, Eva was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
"If not for the fact that I'm worried she'll sabotage your operation, I would have started cursing at her."
Stella was also a little angry, but didn't say much. She just took out her mobile phone and kept trying to call James.
He had already been at the base for a month. No matter what, he would have to get out and check his phone at some point, right?
Despite that, his phone was still turned off. Stella was a little discouraged. She put down the phone and looked at Amelia.
"Amelia, don't take it to heart..."
Like Eva, she had stayed by Amelia's side for the past two months. They had gotten closer, and she was no longer as formal
as before.
Amelia's tense fingers relaxed. She looked at Stella and Eva and smiled.
"I should be the one saying that to you guys."
It didn't matter whether she took it to heart or not. James no longer had anything to do with her.
Stella and Eva looked at each other. Both of them were familiar with Amelia's personality, so they didn't say anything more.
After explaining the preparations that would have to be done before the operation, Stella went out to work, while Eva stayed in the ward to take care of Amelia.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the skin graft surgery.
Although Jessica regarded Amelia as her rival in love, her medical skills were truly excellent. She didn't sabotage the surgery in any way.
In fact, after the operation, she gave Amelia some expensive medicine that she had brought from abroad in order to relieve Amelia of her pain.
Amelia stayed bedridden for another two months. After enduring countless bouts of severe pain, she slowly recovered.
On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Amelia stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She turned sideways and glanced at her back.
Although there would still be some scars, most of the skin had healed well, and it wouldn't look so shocking.
She was very satisfied with the result. Turning on the tap, she washed her hands and walked out of the bathroom.
Eva was packing her things. When she saw her come out, she asked, "Do you want to take the clothes in the closet?"
Amelia glanced at the rows of men's suits and muttered, "I'll take them to Stella. She can return them to him."
Eva nodded, lowering her head as she continued to pack.
Amelia stared at the clothes for a few seconds, and grabbed them one by one.
When she was taking the clothes to the dean's office, she bumped into Erin again.
He had pushed Stella up against the wall as they kissed.
Amelia seemed unfazed. She put down her clothes and asked Stella to help return them before saying, "You guys can continue."
The moment the door closed, Stella was extremely embarrassed, but Erin was dissatisfied. He grabbed her waist with a fierce desire for her.
Stella endured the pain. She grabbed Erin's shoulder and muttered, "Erin, I want a child..."
Erin paused. His face went pale as if he was reliving a bad memory, which made him lose interest.
He pulled away, grabbing a few wet wipes as he cleaned his fingers slowly.
"Adopt one."
Stella looked at his face calmly and continued to provoke him.
"I want to have one of my own..."
A look of guilt flashed in Erin's eyes, but he pretended to be unaffected.
"It's better not to have children. There won't be anyone to bother us."
Stella noticed the guilty look in his eyes, and she felt happy. She didn't say anything more after that.
After tidying herself up, she brought up the clothes that Amelia put on the floor earlier.
"I'm going to the Evans Manor."
Erin sat on the sofa without even looking up.
"Come look for me at the hotel tonight."
Stella agreed before turning around and walking out.
After leaving, Erin was in a bit of pain. He held his forehead with one hand.
He couldn't stop thinking about how he had hired people to assault Stella back then, causing her to lose her child, not to mention personally performing a hysterectomy on her.
That unsightly past had haunted him for the past three years, making him miserable. Even so, Stella kept proposing marriage and children in front of him.
How was he going to repair Stella's uterus so that she could bear his child?
After Amelia and Eva finished packing, they went to the parking lot.
Before getting into the car, Eva realized that she had left her phone in the ward.
She hurried back inside while Amelia opened the trunk and put all the things inside.
The moment she was done and closed the trunk, a group of men wearing masks suddenly showed up in front of her.
The man in charge was leaning against the car door. He was wearing a gold-copper mask and holding a golden knife in his hand while staring at her with his head tilted.
He was tall and built, dressed in relaxed and casual clothing. He had thick locks of hair that looked quite messy.
The moment Amelia saw him, she was startled.
"Mr. Shawn..."
Through the dim light of the underground garage, she caught sight of the green dragon mark on his neck, further confirming her conjecture that he was Mr. Shawn.
Little had she expected Mr. Shawn to know that she was still alive and came blocking her way. What was odd was that why did he bring such a large crowd with him?
She remembered that Mr. Shawn had shown up twice, both by himself, but since he brought so many of his men along with him that time around, it seemed more like he was there to take revenge on her.
Sensing something fishy, Amelia's footsteps shifted, trying to get around to the car door and hop in.
With just a slight movement, the two masked men swiftly blocked her way.
Amelia's heart skipped a beat. With a clenched fist, her alert eyes scanned her surroundings to see that a group of masked men had surrounded her, blocking her way out.
She could only force herself to calm down as she shifted her gaze to Mr. Shawn. Her instincts told her that Mr. Shawn would never hurt her, but right then.....