Chapter 21 Luke

Nelson was aware that it was useless for him to try and get any news about Melinda from Jonas. So he requested Gavin to investigate the matter for him.

He was very happy to learn that Melinda had been keeping herself busy by writing some works and she had even finished a book that was about to be published.

"It seems that the Gu family had been holding back her potential for all these years."

Nelson had his own connections, so although Melinda's book hadn't been published yet, he still had managed to get a sample. He looked at the carefully written words in the book, and was intrigued by her personal experiences that she had articulated with so much emotion.

Her sadness flowed through every word that she wrote, captivating the reader who could feel every pain that Melinda wrote about, as if it was their own. It was the first time that Nelson had ever doubted his decision to keep Jonas and Melinda married.

"Mr. Nelson, Melinda always made her own choices despite your influence, you can't blame yourself for everything," Gavin comforted Nelson.

Back then, Melinda had been brave and had a crush on Jonas. When she learned that she could marry him, she didn't care about any other things and made sure that she was married to him. She tried to stay in the marriage, struggling against hope and disappointment over the years, but she finally gave up and chose to get out of it quickly.

"Anyway, Mellie is a member of the Gu family. I need to protect her. I'll support her in the future when her books are published. Gavin, you have to make arrangements but make sure that it is anonymous and no one ever finds out about my involvement in her professional life."

Nelson seemed to have come up with a solution and made up his mind. Although Melinda was not his grandson's wife anymore, he would still protect her.

Once the novel was published, Melinda was out of the woods; she was no longer so tight on cash and could even afford to take a break. She rested for a short period before getting back on the road to look for a job. Learning from her previous experience of being tricked, she didn't dare to look for work through an agency. Instead, she went to a commercial office building to find a job.

Lady Luck was smiling upon her, so when the editor learned that she was looking for a job, she recommended her to one of her friends, who worked in the planning department of a small-scale cultural company.

Melinda liked this job very much. It was right up her alley and matched what she had specialized in as her major. Moreover, she had relatively more free working hours, which gave her time to do her own things.

Seeing that she had gradually settled down, Kent began to pursue her in earnest and tried to up his game. He drove her to and from work daily, and it took him less than three days to get familiar with Melinda's workmates at her department.

He was handsome, elegant and polite, but the most important thing was that he brought food for them every day. He quickly won over her workmates, and although she still vehemently denied that there was anything between them, the people in the department all believed that he was her boyfriend.

If that was not the case, then they would try their best to bring them together.

"Hi, Kent! Are you here to pick Mellie up again?" a colleague greeted Kent warmly as soon as Kent arrived at Melinda's department.

Kent smiled and gave them the stuff he had bought. Then someone shouted, "Kent, here you are again, with wonderful food!"

"Where is Mellie?"

asked Kent as he walked to Melinda's desk and found no one there.

"She is in the washroom. But she is not doing well today. You might be a father, Kent," a colleague said jokingly, but Kent frowned unconsciously.

Melinda had not promised to be his girlfriend yet. It was a mere fantasy for Kent to be a father, especially for Melinda's baby.

"Yeah. She has vomited several times today," another colleague stated as they ate the food Kent had brought.

But Kent was worried and was no longer excited at all.

Just then, Melinda came out of the bathroom. After vomiting, she looked as pale as a sheet and very frightening.

"Please give me a minute, Kent," Melinda said weakly.

They had made an appointment to go out for dinner that evening, so she was not surprised to see Kent in her office. However, after seeing her weak appearance, Kent grew more worried and less interested in the date.

"You should go to the hospital and have a check-up. You need to know if it's food poisoning or it could be something else more serious," Kent stated as he fretted around her.

Kent was not at ease. Thinking of what her colleague had said, indicating that Melinda had vomited several times, he could not help but worry about her. After all, she loved herself very much. There was nothing between them, so it was impossible for her to be pregnant. That was why he was worried that she might have eaten something bad.

He was a smart man. The statement about her constant vomiting explained why her colleagues had come to the conclusion that she was pregnant.

"No, I don't think it's food poisoning. My diet has been normal and constant without much change, and I haven't been eating out much. But my appetite has been very poor lately and I have a lot of discomforts in my abdomen."

Thinking of the discomfort she had been feeling for the last two days, Melinda was also a little worried. She therefore did not object to Kent's proposal to take her to the hospital. She simply tidied up and followed him to the hospital.

There were always many people in the hospital at any given time. Melinda sat on the chair to rest a little bit as Kent helped her by waiting in line for the registration process. By the time everything was done, more than an hour had passed.

"Did you have surgery recently?"

"Yes, I had a miscarriage some time back," explained Melinda without showing any emotion.

When she had gone through her miscarriage, Melinda came to this hospital alone, and once the procedure was done, she went back home. Although she had recuperated when she was pricked by the vase fragments, the doctor ignored the miscarriage history and focused on the wound on her back.

"I suggest that you visit the gynecology department. It's probably the surgical wound that is inflamed," the doctor explained to Melinda while writing down a prescription for her.

Kent accompanied Melinda to the gynecology department for a physical examination. It turned out that where they had made the incision during surgery was inflamed.

Melinda's situation seemed like a small medical accident. Because of the negligence of the doctors, the incision was not

treated well and therefore she now had an infection which made it inflamed. Fortunately, it was caught on time, or it would have festered and become more serious, which would be harmful to her health.

"Damn it. How could the doctor have been so careless? Have a good rest, Melinda. I will deal with this matter," Ken stated in anger.

He seemed to grow angrier by the minute. Once he thought of the consequences that the doctor had just said, he felt terrified. He couldn't bear to see Melinda suffer any more.

Melinda had rarely seen Kent that angry. His nostrils flared like an angry bull ready to charge at a crowd. Melinda, on the other hand, was not too worried. She reasoned that since the doctors had found her problem in time, she would be fine after some time of treatment.

"Melinda, you have no idea if you are the only victim," Kent said with passion.

Melinda was speechless. Although she was fine and she had found the issues on time, what if it was someone else?

Melinda found that she didn't have a valid reason to prevent Kent from confronting the doctors. Soon, Kent found the doctor who had treated her. The doctor was on duty at the hospital that time.

Kent seemed to be gentle, polite and exterior. However, he was an astute business man and knew how to confront his opponents without having to shout. His aggressive attitude seemed mild but he was tough enough to make the doctor sweat.

"It's my fault. I had just performed a major operation and was too tired. Mr. Jiang, I'm sorry, but I hope this can be handled in private, otherwise it can cost me my practicing license."

The doctor also felt guilty. If things got worse, her practicing license would be revoked and she wouldn't be able to practice any kind of medicine anymore.

"So your excuse is that you were irresponsible for other patients just because of a major operation? Is this how you act as a professional doctor? What happened to the Hippocratic oath?" Kent asked mildly.

The doctor was about to say something when a woman's voice came from outside the door.

"Kent, it's my fault too. I should have taken more rest. It's not entirely the doctor's fault."

Although Melinda was uneasy staying in the hospital, especially after she heard what the doctor said, she decided not to hold the doctor accountable.

The accident at home was unknown. During her examination just now, the doctor also observed that it was because she used some over the counter medications which were not appropriate for her condition.

"Miss Mo, I'm very sorry for the negligence, you can't take responsibility for my actions. Can we resolve this issue in private?"

"It's okay. I just hope that you can be more careful in the future. If you feel tired, you need to have enough rest before taking on another patient."

Melinda had always seen on the news and social media how doctors would fall down while at the operating table due to exhaustion, so she was very aware of the situation. Seeing that Melinda was not going to pursue the matter further, Kent didn't argue anymore. The doctor hesitated feeling guilty, and decided to personally oversee Melinda's affairs while she was in the hospital.

The hospital where Melinda had been admitted in was a bit short on ward, especially for the department of gynecology. Other departments were not as overwhelmed, so they could take better care of Melinda. The doctor therefore organized for her to be moved to an adjacent double ward which belonged to the pediatric department.

Apart from Melinda, there was also a little boy in the room. Seeing the new comer, he was curious and kept asking questions.

Perhaps because Melinda had lost a child before, she seemed very patient with him. She looked at the little boy and talked with him for a while. At last, Kent stood by and reminded her that she needed to take a rest.

"Are you sick? Dad said that you should have a good rest if you are sick. I also need a rest, let's have a rest together."

The boy's tender tone made people smile although he reasoned like an adult. Melinda was tired and fell asleep soon.

Kent didn't leave. The boy played iPad by himself for a while and soon also fell asleep. Silence filled the ward.

Melinda had asked for sick leave from the company, and so she was able to have a good rest at the hospital. The little boy kept her company the whole time. He told her many interesting things in his own childish way. She came up with a new idea for her book inspired by the boy as one of her characters.

After discussing with the editor for a while, Melinda set the background of the characters and prepared to get down to writing a new manuscript.

"Hey, are you writing your diary?"

The boy was called Luke Zhou and he was brilliant, although still in kindergarten where he was always at the top of his class. He knew a lot of words, but he could only read a limited number of them. When he saw Melinda busy typing in front of the computer, he assumed it was a diary.

"No, I'm writing stories," Melinda answered gently.

"What kind of story? May I read it? I like to read stories."

The stories Luke Zhou read were obviously different from what Melinda was writing. Melinda laughed and ruffled his hair, making it look messier than before although he looked very cute.

"It will be boring for you to read this kind of story. I will find another story for you."

"Is it like what Dad has been reading?" Luke Zhou asked curiously. His father was always busy reading something, but his father didn't treat him as gently as Melinda did. He always threw him a random story book to read.

"Maybe it's the same one, let's see what I can get."

Melinda searched for a story online. As soon as she started reading, Luke Zhou continued reading for himself. Once he was finished reading word for word, he looked at Melinda with happiness, as he expected her to compliment him for finishing the story.

Obviously, Luke Zhou had heard the common story many times. But following their regular conversations, Melinda was surprised to find that although he was very young, he knew a lot of other things.

"Luke, you are so smart!"

"My parents always say I've picked up a few skills over the years."

Luke Zhou was proud of himself, like a peacock. After a while, he talked about his parents. It was not until then that Melinda learned that they were in the same industry although their level was relatively higher than her.

Luke Zhou's father was the boss of Grand Culture Company which was well-known in A City. So she got interested instantly to hear more about him.

However, it seemed that she hadn't seen Luke Zhou's parents for the many days that she had been in hospital.