“Ms. Nicholson, did you come here because you wanted something from me?” Dustin asked when he saw how tense the atmosphere was. “What, do I have to have a reason for coming here?” Dahlia glared at him.
“I didn’t mean that.” He looked awkward. “Whatever. Let’s get down to business– you know Dr. Rowan Cross, right? I want to ask him to examine someone.” Dahlia stopped beating around the bush.
“Examine someone?” Dustin sized her up, then checked her pulse. Confused, he said, “Aside from being a little out of whack, you’re fine. You just need to control your emotions and diet.” your period
“You’re the one who’s out of whack!” Dahlia glared at him again, her face turning red. “I didn’t say I was the one who needed an examination–it’s for a relative of mine who suddenly fainted yesterday. She’s been complaining of a headache, but the hospital said she’s fine. She wanted Dr. Cross to examine them just to be sure.”
“I see.” Dustin nodded. “There’s no need to bother Dr. Cross for something as simple as that–I’m more than enough.”
“You?” Dahlia eyed him doubtfully. “Can you handle it?”
“My medical center’s been around for a number of years now. Wouldn’t it have closed down long ago if I didn’t have a few tricks up my sleeve?” Dustin said confidently.
Dahlia was speechless. She’d never seen any patients in the dingy medical center; how was it different from being closed down?
“We can forget about it if you don’t trust me.” Dustin shrugged.
“Who said anything about me not trusting you? You’ll do!” Dahlia said decisively. “I’ll be frank–this relative of mine is a pretty big deal, so if you can cure her, it could be your ticket to success. You won’t have to leech off anyone anymore when that happens.” As she spoke, she gave Natasha a pointed look.
“What’s wrong with leeching off someone?” Natasha puffed out her chest. “At least my darling is capable of leeching off someone–others may not be able to do so even if they wanted to!”
Dahlia snorted. “No upstanding man would want to be at a woman’s beck and call. Think about how humiliating that’d be!”
“What good is a man for if not to serve a woman? He can’t fool around with himself, can he?” Natasha rolled her eyes.
“Why, you-“Dahlia was exasperated. How could this woman be so crude? She wasn’t ladylike in the slightest!
“Alright, that’s enough. We should focus on whatever’s ailing your relative. Let’s head to the hospital.” Dustin quickly interjected when he saw the two women were about to start quarreling again. He dragged Dahlia out of the medical center.
“Darling, be back soon, okay? I’ll be waiting for you!” Natasha called, smiling seductively and sending him an air kiss. At the same time, she undid another button on her shirt to reveal more of her cleavage. Dustin stared at her.
“Hmph!” Dahlia stomped on his foot and gave him a warning look. He smiled awkwardly and retracted his gaze. “Get in the car!” She stuffed him into the car before speeding off.
“Do you think you stand a chance against me, you flat–chested preteen?” Natasha smiled victoriously as she looked down at her voluptuous chest. It was enough to put any woman to shame, and none of her future children would ever go hungry.
Half an hour later, in one of the wards at East Swinton Hospital.
“My head hurts! I feel like it’s gonna split in half!” Jane lay in a hospital bed and clutched her head, occasionally smacking it to alleviate the pain.
“Mom, hold on for a little longer. Dr. Cross will be here soon.” Dakota kept comforting her. Nobody knew what had happened–Jane had suddenly passed out yesterday and kept complaining about a headache when she’d come to. They’d done all the examinations possible, but the results showed nothing was wrong with her.
“I shouldn’t have come to this accursed place. We’ve had problem after problem since arriving. First, someone crashed into our car. Then, I got slapped for no reason at all. Now, I’m having a terrible headache. What have I done to deserve this?” Jane looked positively miserable.
“We’ll head home once you’re okay; we’re never coming to this dump again!” Dakota said. Then, she turned to Florence, who stood at the ward’s entrance, and screeched, “What’s taking so long? When is Dr. Cross coming? Tell him to hurry!”
“Of course, of course.” Florence didn’t dare delay. She hurried out of the ward, took out her phone, and was about to dial a number when she saw two people approaching her–Dahlia and Dustin. “Dahlia, you’re finally here!” Her face lit up as she hurried toward them. “Your aunt’s headache is getting worse, and the doctors here are too useless to do anything about it. Dr. Cross is our only hope now! Where is he?” She looked around but didn’t see him.
Dahlia shook her head. “He’s busy with something else and can’t be here.”
“What? What are we gonna do, then? Florence was taken aback. Had they waited for nothing?
“Dustin has some medical expertise. How about we have him give it a shot?”
“Him?” Florence frowned. “Have you lost your mind? How can this good–for–nothing possibly know anything about treating a patient? Who’s gonna bear the responsibility if anything goes wrong?”
“He cured Granddad when he was poisoned, remember? I have faith in him,” Dahlia said firmly. She’d
misunderstood Dustin one time too many; this time, she chose to trust him unconditionally.
“Stop this nonsense! Your grandlather only made it through because of Dr. Cross‘ Hexanavir, it had nothing to do with this man!” Florence scowled, looking contemptuous.
“Do you have a better idea, then?” Dahlia asked.
“Well, I- Florence had no words.
LINDRY 200
“Since we’re out of ideas, why don’t we let Dustin try? We can think of something else if it doesn’t work.” Dahlia’s tone became domineering.
“Rhys, you’d better watch what you’re doing. Don’t you dare try to pass just about anything off as a cure!” Florence warned. The two people in the ward were her cash cows. If anything were to go wrong, she’d be in big trouble.
“Let’s see how the patient’s doing.” Dustin didn’t want to waste his breath on her.
“Hmph! Come with me!” Florence led Dustin and Dahlia into the ward. Once she stepped in, her arrogance faded, replaced with a fawning smile.
“Florence, what the hell took you so long? Where is Dr. Cross?” Dakota asked impatiently.
“I’m here!” Florence said sycophantically, gesturing to the people behind her. “Behold the doctor we’ve brought!
“Huh?” Dakota and Jane looked up, then exclaimed in unison. “It’s you?”
