Love My Friends with Benefits novel Chapter 54

The doctor looked at me with pity in her eyes.

She didn't continue, and I felt a little embarrassed to ask her what she meant.

There were no other patients in the emergency room at the moment. I sat there and stared into space, all of my thoughts focused on Grandma.

"What I meant was..."

After a while, the doctor said, "You're young, and you have a long road ahead. You shouldn't do something as terrible as being someone's mistress."

The word "mistress" hit me in a sore spot.

I sprang out of my chair and raised my voice. "I'm not!"

My head spun. I fell back onto the chair, looking dishevelled.

She frowned but remained patient as she tried to talk some sense into me. "I can tell that you and that young man are very intimate. He has a girlfriend, and she injured you..."

It looked the doctor already had a whole soap opera plot in her mind.

I gave her a wry smile and said feebly, "Doctor, you've got it wrong. My sister was the one who beat me up. He's just my brother-in-law."

She was a little surprised. "Really? Things like this actually happen?"

I nodded but didn't say anything.

Being mistaken for a mistress shocked me so badly that I couldn't even bring myself to speak.

Me? A mistress?

My heart twisted as I remembered the bitterness and hatred that had taken over my mother.

I'd sworn that I would never, ever be someone's mistress.

Leonard made all the arrangements for me to be hospitalised and entered the room again. After greeting the doctor, he picked me up and turned to leave.

I wanted to resist, but I didn't have the strength to.

I didn't know whether I was being too sensitive, but I felt like there was a sense of contempt in the doctor's gaze as she watched us leave.

Leonard carried me all the way to the ward and put me down on the bed.

I looked around at my surroundings.

I was in a single room. Since it was nighttime, the whole area was silent.

Leonard sat down beside me and stared at me.

Feeling a little uneasy, I asked, "How much does it cost for a night here?"

I remembered that this was one of the best hospitals in the city, and they charged a lot. I was a big spender and didn't have much savings. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle the expenses.

He frowned. "Not much, about five thousand dollars."

...

I gaped at him.

Five thousand dollars was equivalent to half of my monthly salary. I'd splurged on a few things before this and I didn't have much money left. How was I going to foot the bill?

"What are you panicking for?" Leonard snorted. "I'll pay your hospital bill."

Taken aback, I asked, "Why?"

He coughed, seeming a little awkward. "My woman was the one who injured you, after all."

He said that Phoebe was his woman.

A wave of bitterness washed over me as Leonard continued, "It's my fault for not keeping Phoebe in line. When you're feeling better, you can name a price. Take it as me compensating you."

He even wanted to compensate me?

I started to laugh so hard that I teared up. "Do I really look like I'm that desperate for money?"

However, I couldn't ignore the bitterness in my heart. Leonard obviously viewed Phoebe as one of his own, while I was nothing but an outsider.

Since one of his own had injured an outsider, some monetary compensation was enough to settle the matter.

If an outsider had injured one of his own, what would he have done? I doubt that he would've let me off the hook so easily.

The more I thought about it, the more disappointed I felt. Leonard didn't seem to catch my mockery and asked seriously, "How much money do you have left, Queena?"

"Five thousand? Ten thousand?" I dabbed my tears away and asked coldly, "Does it have anything to do with you?"

Leonard frowned deeply at my answer, looking like he was suppressing himself. "Don't give me that bullsh*t. You should take this opportunity to make a deal with me."

"I don't need it." I dropped the friendly act and started to shoo him. "Thank you for accompanying me to the hospital, Mr. Nell, but it's time for you to leave."

Leonard pursed his lips tightly.

The light shone on his face and accentuated his features. It also made the rage in his eyes more obvious.

He left before I could shoo him away again.

I let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the pillows, feeling sour.

After staring into space for a while, I called May for some help.

There weren't many people that I could rely on in times like this. Aunt Nancy was already losing her mind over Grandma, and there was no way Bell would settle the bill.

I could only let out a bitter laugh when I thought of the twenty thousand dollars in my bank account.

Sometimes, dignity truly was a luxury for the poor.

I had no choice but to borrow a mobile phone to call May.

She was indeed my best friend. She hurried over to the hospital after I called her.

"Here you go, the password is my birthday." She stuffed a card into my hand generously. "Use as much as you need. I'll think of something if it's not enough."

This was not the time for me to be shy.

I took the card and said sincerely, "Thanks."

"Oh, come on. There's no need for that." May waved a hand nonchalantly.

...

Perhaps she'd been in too much of a hurry to come here. She only thought to ask me after a while, "Who made you end up like this?"

I didn't know whether to tell her.

She sat down by the bed and held my hand. "Tell me! Tell me so that I can get revenge for you."

Revenge?

I let out a disparaging laugh. Judging from the way Leonard was so protective of Phoebe, I was really doubtful that I'd be able to get revenge.

"Forget it. It's all in the past."

In the end, I just tried to sweep everything under the rug.

In reality, there was no way I could let this matter go so easily. I didn't want to drag May into this mess, though.

May thought about it for a while, then asked, "It was Phoebe, right?"

Subconsciously, I asked, "How did you know?"

The moment I blurted that out, I wanted to slap myself.

Wasn't I just giving myself away?

"So it's really her!"

May had a short fuse. She immediately shot to her feet and turned to rush out of the room.

I quickly grabbed her.

She tried to break away. "Why are you stopping me? I'm gonna teach her a lesson!"

"Forget it." I shook my head. "Leonard's watching over her. We need to think of something more indirect to get back at her."

May got even angrier when she heard that. "That b*stard's actually on her side? Isn't someone gonna take responsibility for this?"

I sighed. "He wanted to settle this matter with money."

"He's so shameless!"

She trembled with anger.

Suddenly, the door swung open. A nurse walked in, looking displeased. "Keep your voices down, or you'll wake the other patients."

I hurriedly soothed May and replied, "We will."