### Chapter 3: It Was Dr. Pemberton Who Saved You!
anwhile, Silas Sinclair finished his call and returned to Zachary Hawthorne’s side. "Mr. Hawthorne."
"It’s so late. What did she want?"
They were also at the hospital—the sa one as Nina Wainwright. Their rooms were just in a different section; they were in the VIP ward.
"It seems Miss Wainwright wanted to use the money on the card you gave her."
After saying this, Silas Sinclair had intended to add that Miss Wainwright seed to have said her father was gravely ill. But his phone signal had been poor at the ti, so he hadn’t heard clearly. Seeing the expression on the man’s face before him, he ultimately decided against ntioning it.
Upon hearing Silas’s words, Zachary Hawthorne’s expression darkened. He hadn’t forgotten that she had asked for a divorce when he left.
’What? She wants a divorce but still wants to spend my money?’
Zachary Hawthorne’s voice was icy. "Didn’t you say her father recently took out a bridge loan?"
"Yes."
"Good. Notify the finance departnt that not a single cent is to be disbursed to the Wainwright family. And keep her personal funds restricted."
"I understand, Mr. Hawthorne."
After hearing this, Silas Sinclair left the hospital room.
...
The next ti Nina Wainwright opened her eyes, she was in a hospital bed. Daylight stread in from outside. She froze for a second, then the mory of her father in the operating room rushed back, and panic washed over her face. She tried to get out of bed.
"Hey, don’t move!"
The nurse who had taken her to the paynt window the previous night stopped her.
"You just woke up. You’re very weak. You can’t get out of bed until this IV drip is finished."
The nurse had just entered the room and was speaking as she walked to the bedside to change the IV bag.
It was only then that Nina Wainwright noticed the IV needle in her hand.
"Miss, I’m fine. I... I need to go see my father. Last night..."
"Your father’s surgery is already over."
"Huh?"
A look of confusion crossed Nina Wainwright’s face.
The nurse patiently explained, "You fainted at the paynt window last night. Dr. Pemberton, from our hospital, happened to be passing by and found you. He brought you in, and when he learned about your situation, he vouched for you so the doctors could proceed with your father’s surgery."
"We notified your mother afterward. She ca to see you, but she couldn’t stay long since she needed to be with your father."
’So that’s what happened?’
’Soone had vouched for her father.’
For a mont, Nina Wainwright didn’t know how to feel. The one person she wanted to rely on most had failed her, and in the end, it was a stranger who had co to her rescue.
"Thank you,"
Nina Wainwright said instinctively. She was about to ask about the doctor who had helped her when, at that very mont, a figure walked in from outside.
"Dr. Pemberton," the nurse called out.
Nina followed the nurse’s gaze to the doorway. "A... Ad..."
Her eyes widened in shock, but the man in the white coat simply smiled. "What’s wrong? Has it only been a few years and you already don’t recognize ?"
"No, it’s just... I’m a little surprised."
It was true that Nina hadn’t recognized him at first, but now that the man was standing right in front of her, she knew exactly who he was. "Adrian."
He was her old next-door neighbor. They had been quite close, but his family had moved away during her sophomore year of high school, and they’d lost touch since then.
"Adrian, I can’t believe you’re a doctor now."
"Mm? Is that so surprising?"
"No." Nina shook her head. ’In my mory, he always had a calm and detached personality, which actually seems like a good fit for a doctor.’
A smile touched Adrian Pemberton’s lips, but he quickly reined it in. His voice, however, remained gentle. "Nina, you don’t need to worry about your father. The surgery is over, and he’s out of danger. As for... the dical expenses..."
"Nina..."
Just as Adrian was about to continue, a voice suddenly erupted from the doorway.
Nina glanced over to see Catherine Grant bursting in like a little firecracker.
"Babe, you’re finally awake! You scared half to death! How could you just collapse out of nowhere? You have no idea, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I got the call from your mom."
Before Nina could get a word in, Catherine started rattling on, spilling everything at once.
Adrian stood to the side, and seeing how agitated Catherine was, he held back what he was about to say. "Your friend is here," he said instead. "The nurse and I will step out. If you need anything, just call for . My office is in the next building, on the fourth floor, Surgical Ward, room 401."
The man was exceptionally gentle and courteous.
"Okay. Adrian, let’s talk later."
Nina’s heart ward slightly at Adrian’s tactfulness. He led the nurse out, leaving just Nina and Catherine in the room.
"Nina, who is he?"
Catherine eyed Adrian’s retreating figure with suspicion.
Nina wasn’t sure how to describe her relationship with Adrian. ’He’s just an old neighbor,’ she thought, ’but before Zachary, I actually... I used to have a crush on him.’
"Just an old friend."
She answered vaguely.
Catherine didn’t seem convinced, but she let it slide. She had more important things to ask.
Catherine pressed, "So, what exactly is going on? Your mom told a bit about your dad’s situation last night. Don’t worry about the dical fees; I’ve already paid them. You can pay back whenever you have the money."
"But the real issue is you and Zachary Hawthorne. How can the esteed Mrs. Hawthorne possibly be out of money? And... how is it your dad is in the hospital, and it’s just you and your mom here? Where is *he*?"
Listening to Catherine’s barrage of questions, Nina couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh. "Could you maybe rember that I’m a patient here? You’re firing off questions so fast you might make pass out again. More importantly, with so many questions, which one should I answer first?"
Catherine’s reply was simple and clear. "Zachary Hawthorne."
The smile vanished from Nina’s face. "I don’t know..." She paused, then added, "Probably with his ’white moonlight’."
"His ’white moonlight’?"
"Luna Sterling is back."
"What!"
Catherine nearly leaped out of her chair.
After everything that had happened, Nina was much calr than her friend. "Keep your voice down."
But Catherine couldn’t keep her voice down. "How is she back? I thought she went abroad! Why would she co back? Don’t tell she’s here to fight you for Zachary, and he’s gotten tangled up with her again?"
Nina didn’t answer Catherine’s string of questions. As it turned out, Zachary Hawthorne himself would provide the answer.
Because not long after, they saw Zachary Hawthorne and... Luna Sterling.
Here’s what happened.
Catherine had asked her questions, but Nina didn’t answer. Tired of listening to her friend’s incessant chatter, Nina made an excuse and asked Catherine to go with her to see her father.
Her room was in Building 1, while Mr. Wainwright was in Building 2. To get from one to the other, they had to cross the small garden on the ground floor.
And it was there that Nina and Catherine saw Zachary Hawthorne walking alongside Luna Sterling.
In fact, even before seeing them with their own eyes, they had already overheard passing nurses gossiping about the pair.
Nurse A: "Oh my God, you guys will never guess who I just saw! The head of the Hawthorne family, the most powerful family in the city! Holy crap, he is so handso!"
Nurse B: "Zachary Hawthorne? What’s he doing at the hospital?"
Nurse A: "It looks like his girlfriend is sick, and he’s here with her. It’s just a minor cold, but he’s being so overprotective, you’d think she was fragile as glass. He put her in the top VIP suite and even called in several of the best doctors to consult."
And so on and so forth.
If Nina hadn’t later seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.
That was Zachary Hawthorne, after all. How could he possibly dote on soone to that extent?*****
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