After Zoey's brief talk with Ivan, she returned to Matthew's room. As soon as she reached the vicinity of the room's entrance, Zoey knitted her brows together. She left Owen and Ryan there earlier with Ivan. However, they were still in there with Carter.
"What are you doing here?" As she approached closer, Zoey inquired.
"Miss Z," The three of them turned to her direction, bowing their heads slightly as they called out in unison.
For some reason, Zoey's heart pounded. Although they hadn't answered her question, deep down, her instincts were telling her something important. Thus, without further ado, Zoey rushed towards the door.
"Matthew!" Zoey called loudly upon opening the door.
Instantly, her entire being froze as soon as her eyes laid on the person on the bed. There, Matthew was sitting with his back against the headboard. Paul was standing by the side of the bed with Doctor Liang, who was temporarily residing in the mansion to take care of him.
Zoey's heart raced. Her eyes stung seeing his imperious mien. She bit her trembling lower lip as her eyes fixated on his side profile. After a while, Zoey watched him slowly turn his head to her direction.
Slowly, she witnessed his eyes softened as the corner of his lips curled into a subtle smile. "Young Master's condition is stable. I'm relieved that he woke up sooner so he's out of harm's way." While Zoey and Matthew were staring at each other, the doctor started speaking.
However, his words were left unheard by the two. Only Paul was listening intently, but he noticed that his boss was just staring at Zoey's direction without saying a word. "Doctor Liang, I'll assist you out." Paul turned to the doctor, gesturing for him to go out as it seemed Zoey and Matthew had something to discuss.
Doctor Liang just glanced at Paul, and then to Matthew before he nodded in understanding. Although he still had questions, he wanted to ask his patient, Doctor Liang knew it wasn't the time for that.
With that being said, Paul sent the doctor off. Before they left, Paul glanced at the two for the last time and then left with a sigh.
"Da — darling…" Zoey bit her lower lip harder, restraining herself from sobbing her heart out. Yet, her vision blurred as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
"I made you wait for a long time, huh?" Although his voice was low and surprisingly gentle, Zoey heard him loud and clear. Those words alone broke the last straw that was holding her tears in her eyes. "Come here." He said, patting the side of the bed with a subtle smile on his lips.
"Darling!" At this point, Zoey couldn't think straight as she immediately rushed towards the bed while bawling her eyes out. "Wahhh!" She sobbed, gliding to his side with her arms wide open.
Without further ado, Zoey pounced on him, which made Matthew wince with her weight. "Darling! How can you sleep for so long?!" In between her sobs, Zoey cried and cried as she couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to.
She missed him. It's been six days since Matthew fell ill. He didn't wake up, even though the doctor said he was fine. Yet, those six days felt like an eternity for her. She felt like someone trapped her in a long, dark tunnel without a sliver of hope to see the light again.
"I — ksjdn…" As she cried, Zoey kept on speaking, but to no avail. No one could comprehend her words as it was filled with hiccups and sobbing.
Matthew patted her back gently, the side of his lips still curled into a subtle smile. "I'm sorry for making you wait for a long time." He whispered, but her loud crying overwhelmed his voice. He wouldn't be surprised that she wouldn't understand his words as she was just sobbing her heart out.
"There there," Hence, Matthew kept patting her back lightly to calm her down. In his eyes, she was akin to a child sobbing as if she was bullied. "I'm happy to see you again." He whispered, brushing her hair as his eyes softened.
The two of them stayed like that for as long as they could remember. Zoey kept crying until there were no tears that were coming out from her eyes, while Matthew continuously rubbed her back until she calmed down.
When she was completely calm, Zoey wiped her tears by her arm as she sat upright. She stared at his pretty front, her eyes scanning every detail of his face as she pursed her lips together. She wanted to say a ton of things to him, but words clogged in her throat and she didn't know where to start.
Slowly, Matthew's hand reached to her and cupped her cheek. The subtle smile on his lips still cemented on his face. He couldn't say the words he wanted to say as his heart was just utterly glad to see her again.
"*hiccup*" Zoey bit her lower lip, feeling that her heart was being overwhelmed despite not hearing a single word from him.
Just then, Matthew's other hand reached to her. The back of his finger wiped the tears on the corner of her eyes.
Finally, his lips parted, and his words followed. "I heard you. During my sleep, I was hearing you." His thumb caressed her cheek as he raised his head to her eyes. "I'm sorry for making you cry." His softened eyes glinted with bitterness and pain, as if he was regretting a lot of things.
"Hmm.." Zoey pursed her lips in a thin line as she shook her head. "What's important is that you're awake again." She said with a smile. Her hand held onto his hand that was cupping her cheek as she rubbed her cheek that was cupping it.
"You don't have to say sorry." She whispered, closing her eyes for a second before opening them once again and stared back in his pair of russet eyes.
"No," Matthew shook his head lightly. "I need a lot of things to say sorry about because…" He paused, swallowing a mouthful of saliva as if mustering his courage to say the words he needed to say. "I messed up big time.." In the end, these were the only words that slipped past his lips.