Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 48

Chapter 142: Joel Smith Is Cracking

Justin’s eyes widened in shock. He hastily went over and picked up his daughter, who broke into a frown. In her dazed state, she saw Justin and said, “Daddy, Cherry’s stomach hurts so much…”

A stomachache…

Justin hastily carried her downstairs, but Cherry instead cried out, “I want Mommy… Mommy…”

Mommy…

On the way to the hospital, Justin took out his cell phone and called Nora in the end.

The phone rang for a very long time before it was finally picked up. The recipient also sounded displeased as she said, “You’d best have something important to say.”

Justin said, “Pete’s having a stomachache. I’m taking him to the hospital now.”

There was only a one-second pause before her voice became much clearer—obviously, she had woken up.. She said, “I’ll come over right away.”

At the VIP ward in Hospital Finest.

Justin sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the tiny little child lying down. IV fluid was flowing into her body through the needle on her hand. Cherry, who finally wasn’t hurting anymore, had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open and a figure rushed over in front of him like the wind.

Justin saw Nora come up to Cherry slickly but anxiously. She reached out her hand and checked her pupils. Then, she held her other hand as if she was checking her pulse. After that, she stood up and took a look at the IV fluid prescribed to Cherry. After checking all these, the woman, who had a chilly look on her face, finally said, “It’s normal stomach flu.”

However, she didn’t relax much even after saying that.

Cherry was born prematurely. She might look stronger and sturdier than Pete, but that was only because Nora had spent a lot of hard work and effort nursing her back then.

Compared to most people, things were more troublesome when she fell sick.

Nora took out a bag of pills from her pocket, took one out, and stuffed it into Cherry’s mouth.

The action woke Cherry up, and she opened her eyes in a daze. When she saw Nora, she let out a soft mew of ‘Mommy’ like a kitten. After that, she swallowed the pill, which had melted in her mouth the moment it entered, and fell asleep again.

This time, however, she looked much better.

After Cherry’s condition stabilized, Nora, who was dressed completely in black, suddenly stood up, hooked her finger at Justin, and walked out.

Justin stood up slowly. The corners of his lips curled upward slightly and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye exuded an alluring charm.

He followed Nora out of the ward and saw her turning into the stairway at the side. Before she went in, she even specially looked back at him.

Her almond-shaped eyes were warm and inviting.

Justin walked over again. He had only just turned the corner when someonesuddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him toward the wall. By the time he was held against the wall, the woman had already come right up to him.

She gripped his collar with one hand and held him down forcefully while also holding his hands down with her other hand, thereby trapping him in place.

Justin didn’t resist. He leaned against the wall docilely and looked at the woman in front of him with a smile. Although she was half a head shorter than him, the look in her eyes was wild and untamed as she lifted her head and stared at him. She asked, “Mr. Hunt, why did you come to me when your son fell sick?”

The mirth in Justin’s eyes intensified.

Was she suspecting that he knew the truth?

He asked calmly, “Aren’t you a doctor?”

Nora was dubious of his claim, but not only did the man look calm, but his eyes were also dark and unreadable. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. She went on and asked, “There are many good doctors in the hospital.”

Justin’s voice was low and deep. Nora could even feel the vibrations in his chest when he spoke.

“But none of them are you…”

So, it was because he knew she was Anti?

That was obviously what he meant, yet he made it sound as if he was whispering sweet nothings to her. That man really was trying to flirt with her every moment of the day.

The look on Nora’s countenance flickered a little. It was only then that she noticed that the domineering vanilla scent on the man on the man had filled her nose as they were in such close proximity to each other.

Her grip on his collar loosened slightly and she pulled away from him. However, there was still some resentment in her eyes as she asked, “What did Pete eat in the evening?”

Justin didn’t dare to be careless about this, so he listed the dishes one by one.

“Ice cream, French fries, mousse cake, iced watermelon juice, and…”

As she listened to the menu that he was casually relaying, Nora’s lip corners spasmed and she said sharply, “Children have weak digestive systems, so they can’t eat too much at night, especially when there’s both hot and cold food agitating the stomach. Even adults wouldn’t be able to take it, let alone children? How exactly did you raise your son to his current age, Mr. Hunt?”

As Pete was staying with her lately, she had taken the opportunity to conduct a full-body check-up on him.

Apart from being a little thinner than most, there was nothing really wrong with him.

However, at the sight of how casual Justin was about this, she really couldn’t help doubting whether he was qualified as a father or not!

The lectured Justin touched his nose awkwardly.

“…”

Of course, he was strict about that little brat’s diet, but whenever he was facing Cherry, the moment she called out ‘Daddy’ in that soft and tender voice of hers, he simply couldn’t bring himself to harden his heart, alright?

However, this was indeed his fault.

The usually domineering man backed down and said sincerely, “It’s my fault.”

Only then did Nora return to a straight posture. However, the next moment, Justin let out a soft chuckle and added, “We originally ordered those dishes for Ms. Smith though. Since you didn’t come, Pete and I could only eat them ourselves. After all, it’s not good to waste food.”

Nora, “?”

Was that guy blaming her for bailing on him?

_

At the other end of the hallway connecting the hospital’s VIP wards.

Joel, who was in the hallway, was talking to the doctor. He asked, “My third uncle’s condition had already been brought under control recently. Why did he suddenly faint?”

The doctor touched his glasses and sighed. He replied, “We did a CT scan on Mr. Smith and found a tumor in his neck.

The concrete details remain to be seen, but we will expedite the process and check if it’s malignant or benign.”

Joel nodded. There was a bit of anxiety on his usually gentle countenance. He asked, “What happens if it’s malignant? And what happens if it’s benign?”

The doctor heaved a sigh and replied, “Mr. Smith’s tumor is located too close to the arteries and is very dangerous. Most hemangiomas are benign. As long as the patient is nursed well, there usually aren’t any major problems. However, if it’s malignant, there’ll be some difficulties removing it via surgery.”

As the tumor was very close to the arteries, the moment one showed even the slightest bit of carelessness, even an unsteady hand could lead to the patient’s death.

Anti was probably the only one in the world who would dare to take on an operation like that.

The doctor didn’t dare to voice that out loud though.He could only hope that the tumor would turn out to be benign and have the patient undergo conservative treatment.

After the doctor finished talking to Joel about Ian’s condition, he left for consultation.

A frowning Joel walked toward the ward. His frown deepened when he saw the lights in the other VIP ward on the same floor.

Someone immediately explained, “It’s the Hunt's little mister. He’s down with stomach flu, so they brought him here to put him on the drip.”

The Hunts’ little mister… In other words, Tanya’s son?

It was already so late. Tanya would probably also be there, right?

Joel, who wanted to see her, walked toward the other ward impulsively. However, when he passed by the stairs, he suddenly sensed something and quickly turned his head.

Through the glass window on the door to the stairway, he could see a man and a woman sharing a passionate kiss inside…

The man was Justin Hunt.

As for the woman, she was… Nora Smith from the Anderson's?

As though he had been petrified, Joel froze where he was!

Chapter 143: What’s Your Relationship With Mr. Hunt, Ms. Smith?

Joel stopped abruptly in his tracks, a touch of surprise forming in his upturned eyes.

Justin Hunt was with Nora Smith?

What was the relationship between the two of them?

Suddenly, the people inside seemingly noticed the movement outside, and Justin’s razor-sharp gaze penetrated through the window.

Joel quickly stepped backward and hid to the side. He didn’t look inside anymore.

However, he could hear violent thuds and thumps coming from within. There were sounds of their bodies hitting the wall, as well as muffled grunts from colliding against each other. He could also hear gasps in between…

The intense activity made even Joel blush.

He took another step back and slipped away quietly as if he was afraid that they would discover him.

Now, that would be awkward.

The last time he could remember hearing such children-inappropriate sounds was back when he was still with Tanya five years ago. As for Hillary, it was because he had been drunk one night. He clearly remembered that the person he was with in bed was Tanya, yet when he woke up, it became Hillary instead.

In his memories, he had never slept with Hillary before.

Not in the past, let alone during the last five years.

Joel didn’t continue going to the ward in front but returned to Ian’s ward instead.

_

In the stairwell.

With her leg blocked, Nora’s fist came into play. Spying an opening, she threw a punch at his left shoulder.

After succeeding, she finally ended the fight and took a step back, pulling away from him. She said coldly, “Mr. Hunt, please keep an appropriate distance from me.”

Justin held his shoulder. From the look of it, his injury seemed pretty serious. He gave her a wry smile and said, “You seem to be the one who approached me first, Ms. Smith…”

Nora was still pulling a long face. Her gaze was sharp and her eyes misty from anger. The tips of her ears were also a little red.

She was only planning to teach Justin a small lesson just now, but the moment they finished talking and she let go of him, he immediately reached out and held her by her waist, bringing her toward him.

Then, he leaned down and kissed her… Kissed her…

Damn it!

Nora had thrown a punch at him the very next moment. Unfortunately, the man had the audacity to actually duck. The two of them had fought for a full ten minutes before she finally found an opening and hit him, thereby taking her revenge on him.

Nora looked at him coldly and clenched her fists. “If this ever happens again, Mr. Hunt, I’ll kill you!”

Then, she pushed the door to the stairwell open and left at once, leaving Justin there as he touched his nose in embarrassment.

He thought back to the scene just now.

The stairwell was dimly lit. The girl’s head was raised as she stared at him with her cold, sharp eyes.

On her small, palm-sized face were a pair of delicate eyebrows and eyes, a sharp and pert nose, and moist, rosy lips…

Unable to hold back, he had acted on impulse and kissed her.

Although the kiss had lasted only a brief moment, the girl’s soft and tender lips lingered in his memory even now.

As he touched his dislocated left shoulder again, a smile suddenly appeared at the corners of his lips.

Although the kiss had lasted only a brief moment, the girl’s soft and tender lips lingered in his memory even now.

She was wild enough for his tastes indeed.

Ten minutes later.

The family doctor came over to pop his shoulder back into place. When he saw how Justin couldn’t exert much force, he couldn’t help but find himself a little dumbfounded.

“Who beat you up, Mr. Hunt?”

After all, there were only a few people in New York—in fact, in the whole of the United States—who could beat Justin in a fight!

The family doctor had always just been treating Pete and Justin’s mother whenever they were unwell. This was the very first time he was treating Justin in all these years!

However, the moment the question left his mouth, he secretly regretted his actions. He shouldn’t be asking that much about his employer’s affairs, especially when it was about Justin.

On the surface, the man seemed like the head of the Hunts. However, he knew his identity was by no means simple. He had never said anything more than what he should during all these years.

Now that he had suddenly asked such a question, would Mr. Hunt get mad at him?

The family doctor observed Justin carefully while he kneaded his shoulder. However, not only was the man not annoyed, but the corners of his lips were even slightly lifted.

The beauty mark at his eye that usually exuded a chilly and ruthless aura actually even seemed to be shimmering a little at the moment.

Justin, who was obviously in a fantastic mood, even replied to his question from just now, “It was worth the fight.”

The family doctor, “…”

Why were there people who actually liked being beaten up?

Surely his boss wasn’t a closet masochist, right?

Should he prescribe him some medicine for his mental health?

After having his joint popped back into place, Justin started walking back to Cherry’s ward while moving his shoulder. As expected, he saw that the woman was still there. She had fallen asleep on the sofa at the side.

Her eyes were closed, and her long silky and glossy hair was spread out behind her. Her small pert nose made her look quiet and docile.

Coupled with how thin she was, it made one want to protect and take care of her because they couldn’t help but feel that she looked so weak and frail. Yet, once she opened her eyes, she would change into a completely different person.

Justin softened his steps. He checked on Cherry first—she was sleeping soundly with her little mouth open and was even talking in her sleep. She mumbled, “Stinky Daddy! How dare you delete me from your f*******: account. I’m never talking to you ever again!”

Justin, “…”

He let out a soft chuckle and pulled up the covers for her. Then, he heaved a sigh.

Had he known that Cherry was his daughter, he would have been delirious with joy a long time ago. He would never have done all those things that were no different from slapping himself in the face.

After pulling up the covers for Cherry, he looked at the woman on the sofa again. Then, he took off his jacket, walked over, and gently covered her with it.

_

The next day.

It was already bright and sunny by the time Nora woke up.

Cherry was eating her cereal obediently on the bed in silence.

Nora got ready to get up. However, when she shifted, the jacket on her shoulders immediately slipped off. Her gaze swept toward it—when she saw the black custom-made suit jacket, she raised her eyebrows.

She yawned and stood up.

Cherry said, “Daddy has a meeting in the morning, so he went off for it. Where are you going now, Mommy?”

Nora stretched and shuffled toward the door as she replied, “I’m going home.”

Cherry gave her a pitiful look. “… Mommy, can you bear to leave me all alone in the hospital?”

Nora glanced at her and said coolly, “Don’t be so fake.”

“…”

Then, Cherry giggled and said, “Take care, Mommy~”

Now that Mommy was gone, she could play all the games she wanted!

As she hadn’t live-streamed the previous evening, she couldn’t help but wonder how Sponsor Grandpa was. She had sent him a text message on Messenger in the morning, but he hadn’t replied to her. Sigh!

A troubled Cherry rested her chin on her hand. What was the matter with Sponsor Grandpa?

She picked up her cell phone again and sent him another message on Messenger: ‘Sponsor Grandpa, I was hospitalized because of stomach flu last night. Have you had your lunch today?”

It was just a pity that the text message still went unanswered even after she sent it out.

_

Nora left the ward, dragging her feet loudly as she shuffled out. She had just turned the corner when she saw a figure there looking at her.

“Are you free for a quick chat, Ms. Smith?”

Nora raised her eyebrows. She thought that Joel was approaching her because of Ian—after all, the Anderson's were the only ones with Carefree Pills—so she nodded.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Joel instead asked, “What’s your relationship with Mr. Hunt, Ms. Smith?”

Nora, “??”

Chapter 144: Nora Hates Misunderstandings The Most

The man in in front of her was gentle and mild-mannered. His eyes were slightly upturned and he looked rather polite. However, the way he was speaking sounded a little strange.

Nora found his question rather ridiculous.

This was only the second time they were meeting, yet he was already starting to take note of her private life?

Even though she found him rather likable, she nevertheless couldn’t be bothered to talk to him about such things. She raised her brows slightly and said coldly, “It seems like you’re minding more than just your own business, Mr. Smith?”

She’d had a pretty good impression of him when she first met him back then.

However, when she realized that his wife was the one who was bullying Tanya, Nora couldn’t be bothered to be civil with him anymore.

She left straightaway.

Joel broke into a frown as he stared at her from the back. He couldn’t help but go after her and say, “Ms. Smith, allow me to remind you that Mr. Hunt already has a child!”

Nora, “?”

She looked back and raised an eyebrow. “So?”

After a long silence, Joel finally smiled bitterly and said, “As far as I understand, Mr. Hunt intends to marry the child’s mother. It doesn’t seem like a good idea for you to get in between them like that.”

“The child’s mother?”

“Yes, that’s right. The child ultimately still needs a mother…” said Joel with some difficulty.

Back then, it was exactly because he felt that Mia needed a mother—as well as the fact that he didn’t intend to remarry—that he had allowed Hillary to move in.

Now that he thought about it again though, that wasn’t true at all.

At the sight of Joel in such an internal struggle, something seemed to click in Nora’s mind. The corners of her lips curled upward as she raised her eyebrows and asked, “Is the child’s mother whom you’re referring to, Tanya?”

From the look of it, Nora also knew of Tanya’s existence.

Joel nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

If Nora became close to Justin, going by Tanya’s character, she would definitely be sad, right? Or perhaps she would compromise for the child’s sake?

Therefore, the best solution was to have Nora take the initiative to withdraw from the relationship.

This way, he would also be fulfilling Tanya’s wishes somewhat, right?

A wave of irritability surged up within Joel. Going by his character, he’d rather drag Tanya back with him and keep her by his side.

Just like what he had done back then…

But he knew Tanya too well. That woman would never allow herself to be controlled by him.

He looked at Nora and said, “As long as you’re willing to leave Justin Hunt, I can fulfill one of your wishes for you.”

Nora, “?”

She suddenly smiled and said, “You’re going to make me misunderstand something if you do that, Mr. Smith.”

Joel’s heart sank.

If she found out that Tanya used to be involved with him and told Justin about it, Tanya would probably have a hard time in the future.

Joel’s expression turned a little cold. Just as he was deep in thought, he heard the girl’s cool and crisp voice.

“Are you interested in Mr. Hunt, Mr. Smith?”

Joel, “???”

“If so, I’m willing to pull out from the relationship and fulfill the two of you.”

“…”

Nora’s bright and clear eyes were full of mirth as she took in Joel’s facial expression, which looked as if it was about to crack. Then, she walked around him and headed to the car park.

That guy must have misunderstood Tanya, right?

Yet, in spite of that, he was still willing to go to that extent for her. Not bad.

After Nora took a few steps forward, the man at the back came after her again. After seemingly letting out a sigh, he said in resignation, “Even though you didn’t agree to my request, I can still fulfill one of your wishes for you, Ms. Smith.”

Nora was a little taken aback. “Why?”

Since he hadn’t allowed her to treat Ian’s illness, then that meant they must still harbor resentment toward the Anderson's.

What was Joel suddenly approaching her for?

Joel, however, stared at her for a while before he slowly replied, “It’s because you’ve done me a favor.”

Nora was puzzled. “What favor did I do for you?”

However, Joel didn’t explain any further. He took a step back and said, “I’m a man of my word. Goodbye.”

Nora was rendered speechless.

Joel went upstairs after that. As he hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, he rested sleepily on the sofa in Ian’s ward and closed his eyes.

His executive assistant-c*m-bodyguard, who had been with Joel the whole time, couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Has Ms. Smith helped you out in some way, Mr. Smith?”

Joel opened his eyes. The deep look in his eyes made people unable to guess what he was thinking.

He glanced at Ian on the bed and slowly replied, “Of course. She saved Uncle Ian’s life.”

The executive assistant, “??”

He was confused by Joel’s reply. Wasn’t Tina York the one who saved Mr. Ian? Why did it suddenly become Ms. Smith instead?

However, Joel clearly didn’t have any intentions of explaining any further, so he simply shut up.

After resting for a while, Joel finally instructed, “Find Anti.”

The assistant nodded. “We’ve already started investigating Anti’s whereabouts last night, but we couldn’t find anything so far. We’ve also put up a reward for his whereabouts in international forums. So far, what we’ve found out is that Anti once treated the elderly Mrs. Hunt in the past. It seemed like Justin Hunt was the one who found him that time.”

At the mention of Justin, a competitive look appeared in Joel’s eyes and he said coldly, “Do you think I can’t find someone that Justin Hunt could?”

All the warmth and mildness around Joel disappeared in this instant, and his entire self seemed to be dyed with a layer of black, making him look like a demon from hell itself.

At this point, they heard slight movement at the bed.

Joel, who had sensed it right away, hurried over. Sure enough, he saw Ian slowly opening his eyes.

An anxious Joel said, “Uncle Ian.”

Ian glanced at him. When he saw the shadows under his eyes—obviously, he hadn’t slept all night—he said, “It must have been tough on you.”

Joel shook his head. “Don’t worry, Uncle Ian, I will definitely find Anti. I’ll drag him here and make him treat your illness even if he’s unwilling to!”

Ian sighed and said, “If I’m gone, then so be it. What’s the use of doing all this?”

Determination filled Joel’s eyes as he held Ian’s shoulders. He said, “No, Uncle Ian, you have to live on…”

He paused for a moment before he went on and said, “You’re my only kin now.”

His only kin…

Should outsiders hear what he said, they would definitely find his words very strange because there were still so many members of the Smiths. By right, based on blood relations, he still had a lot of relatives.

However, Ian seemed to understand what he meant. His jaw tensed up as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t. He merely heaved a deep sigh instead.

_

On the way back to the Anderson's, Nora gave Tanya a call after thinking about it a little.

Tanya answered very quickly. She sounded very anxious as she asked, “How is Cherry? Why did they ask you to go over in the middle of the night? Is it serious?”

Nora looked ahead and replied concisely, “It’s not gonna kill her.”

‘Not gonna kill her’…

Tanya panicked. “That means it’s very serious, right? Is she at Hospital Finest? Which ward is she in? I’m going over now!”

Nora lazily told her the ward number and hung up.

Joel had obviously misunderstood. In that case, she would let Tanya resolve the misunderstanding herself.

Nora hated misunderstandings the most.

After resolving the misunderstanding, if it was still possible between the two of them, then they could just get together. If not, then they could break up properly…

Upon receiving the news, Tanya hailed a cab and rushed to the hospital. As soon as she went upstairs, she immediately saw Joel walking out of Ian’s ward…