Chapter 301: Chapter 301 Was it you who saved me?
Rose’s mind still hadn’t fully cleared.
The lingering effects of the anesthetic left her thoughts sluggish and unfocused.
So when Trevor suddenly pulled her into his arms, she froze.
For several long seconds, she simply sat there in a daze, forgetting to respond.
Her stillness almost looked like acceptance.
Outside the room—
Ryan stood silently beyond the narrow glass window in the hospital door.
Everything inside was clearly reflected in his eyes.
A man and a woman who had narrowly escaped disaster.
Grateful simply to still have each other.
Holding one another after surviving a life-and-death ordeal.
It was the kind of scene people called touching.
His face remained expressionless.
The cold light in his dark eyes never changed.
He didn’t push the door open.
Instead, he slowly lowered his gaze.
His eyes landed on the bandage beneath his shirt covering his left shoulder.
The fracture wasn’t severe.
A displaced hairline fracture.
Painful, but nothing life-threatening.
It would simply take time to heal.
Ryan looked away.
Without another glance inside, he turned and quietly walked away.
*****
Just outside the corridor, he happened to run into Julia, who had rushed over after hearing what had happened.
She looked at him in surprise.
Ryan paused for only a moment.
He gave her a brief nod in greeting before continuing down the hallway without looking back.
Julia frowned curiously.
Then she looked toward the hospital room.
Standing outside the door, she immediately saw the scene inside.
Her brows lifted slightly.
A smile spread across her face.
Rather than interrupting them, she waited another moment before finally opening the door.
*****
Trevor released Rose first.
He gently patted her shoulder before sitting back down.
"Thank goodness you weren’t hurt."
"That’s what matters most."
Rose nodded.
"I’m okay."
Fragments of memory slowly surfaced.
Darkness.
The steep hillside.
Someone rushing toward her.
Strong arms wrapping around her before they rolled down the slope together.
She instinctively looked at Trevor.
"...Were you the one who caught me?"
"You rolled down with me?"
Trevor still had his jacket on, making it impossible to tell whether he’d been injured.
He met her gaze.
For a long moment, he remained silent.
Just as he was about to answer—
The door opened.
Julia walked in carrying a thermos.
The moment she saw Rose sitting up, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"I had someone make chicken soup."
"You should drink some while it’s still hot."
"It’ll help warm you up."
Rose smiled faintly.
"Mrs. Robinson... you’re in Washington too?"
"I’m here supervising production at one of our local companies."
Julia placed the thermos on the bedside table.
"I only found out after hearing the news."
"What a frightening ordeal."
She looked at Trevor with unmistakable approval.
"Fortunately, Trevor has always been dependable."
"He used every connection he had to find you."
"If it weren’t for him..."
She shook her head.
"I don’t even want to imagine what might have happened."
Rose finally understood what Julia was implying.
When she woke up...
Trevor had been the one sitting beside her.
He was the one who had stayed with her.
He was the one everyone believed had saved her.
She looked at him gratefully.
"Were you hurt?"
"Did you get checked by a doctor?"
Trevor met her worried eyes.
His brows drew together ever so slightly.
After a brief silence...
He simply answered, "No."
Julia smiled reassuringly.
"Don’t worry about him."
"The important thing now is your recovery."
"When you get back to New York, you have to come stay with us."
"I’ll cook for you myself."
"I even asked the doctor."
"He said you’re much too thin."
"You’re over five-foot-seven and barely weigh a hundred pounds."
"If you’d fallen by yourself..."
"You would’ve broken something."
Rose laughed softly.
"You’re right."
If someone hadn’t shielded her...
She probably would’ve suffered multiple fractures.
Trevor had absorbed most of the impact.
Julia smiled knowingly as she looked between them.
Then she deliberately pushed the thermos a little closer to Rose.
"I’ll leave you two alone."
"This is hardly the time for an old woman like me to interrupt."
"If you need anything, call me."
With that, she quietly left.
*****
Trevor gestured toward the soup.
"Want some?"
Rose shook her head.
"I want to see Ariel."
"She must’ve been terrified."
"I need to be with her."
Trevor understood immediately.
"All right."
"I’ll take you."
"Where is she?" Rose asked.
"James is looking after her."
Rose blinked in surprise.
"James?"
"He agreed to watch Ariel?"
"I didn’t think he’d ever be willing to help me."
****
Ryan remained at the hospital for a while longer.
He stood alone outside and quietly finished a cigarette.
Only then did he take a taxi to James’s house.
Before entering, he looked down at the jacket draped over his arm.
Then at the bandage wrapped around his shoulder.
After a brief pause, he slipped the jacket on.
It completely hid the injury.
He had promised Ariel that he would bring her mother back.
There was no reason to frighten a child by letting her see he was hurt too.
Children deserved to believe in happy endings.
Nothing more.
He entered the access code and opened the front door.
The moment he stepped inside, his brows knit together.
The spacious Scandinavian-style living room had transformed into...
A toy store.
Boxes were stacked everywhere.
Limited-edition dolls.
Building blocks.
Remote-control cars.
Plush animals.
Educational games.
Entire mountains of unopened toys occupied nearly every corner of the room.
There was barely anywhere left to walk.
On the carpet...
James sat cross-legged in his dress pants with his sleeves rolled up.
Completely abandoning his usual polished appearance.
He enthusiastically waved an extremely rare collector’s doll in front of Ariel.
"What about this one?"
"Do you like it?"
"There are several different versions."
"I can open every box if you want."
Ariel quietly looked at the toy.
She wasn’t crying anymore.
But she wasn’t smiling either.
As long as her mother hadn’t returned...
Nothing interested her.
Still, she politely nodded.
"Thank you, Uncle."
James’s heart practically melted.
He immediately grabbed another box.
"This one’s a giant puzzle."
"There are thousands of pieces."
"Want me to build it with you?"
He looked even more excited than the child.
If he could, he would’ve bought every toy in the store.
Ryan couldn’t remember ever seeing James like this.
Ariel noticed him first.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Uncle Ryan!"
"Where’s Mommy?"
Ryan walked over calmly.
"She’s with your dad."
"She’ll come pick you up soon."
Hearing that, James instinctively glanced at Ryan.
He had known Ryan for years.
Ryan rarely became emotionally invested in anything.
He was rational.
Calculating.
Detached.
Yet now...
Faced with the child his ex-wife had supposedly conceived with another man during their marriage...
There wasn’t the slightest trace of resentment on his face.
James couldn’t tell whether that calm came from extraordinary self-control...
Or from complete emotional detachment.
Ariel’s dimples immediately returned.
Her mood brightened at once.
James already knew Rose had been rescued.
He had personally mobilized people to help with the search.
Everyone had quietly agreed not to tell Ariel about the kidnapping.
Ryan sat down on the sofa.
The exhaustion he had been suppressing finally caught up with him.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes.
James decided not to disturb him.
Instead, he continued chatting with Ariel while handing her puzzle pieces.
"You’ve lived with your dad ever since you were little?"
Ariel shook her head.
"No."
"I lived with Grandpa."
Grandpa?
James immediately thought of Trevor’s father.
Surely someone of his stature hadn’t personally raised a child...
He smiled.
"Then..."
He glanced at Ryan before continuing.
"What do you think about your mom..."
"...never marrying your dad?"
Ariel blinked at him in confusion.
She already knew Trevor wasn’t her biological father.
Of course they hadn’t gotten married because of that.
She gently shook her head.
"You’ve misunderstood."
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