Sorry, You Can't Have Me Now

Chapter 4 Emily Gets a Helper

The doctor was shocked and instinctively shook off Emily's hand. "Are you his family?"

"Yeah, how's my grandpa?" Emily's question came out urgent and straightforward.

The doctor looked at her and shook his head. "It's critical. We're doing everything we can, but..."

Emily's brow furrowed hard at the doctor's words.

Seeing that the attending doctor was about to rush off to call an emergency consultation, Emily stepped aside to make a quick call.

About half an hour later, a grey-haired old man with steady strides appeared at the door.

"Hey, Emily."

She turned, and the tension on her face melted at the sight. "Hi, Mr. Turner!"

The elderly man was Paul Turner—the legendary figure of the medical world.

Years back, he'd been struggling with a research project, short on funds and support. By a twist of fate, Emily helped him out, and since then, they kept in touch.

Paul knew some of what Emily had been going through lately, but with the situation so serious, he didn't say much. He just asked where he could find the patient.

Emily led him into the room and closed the door.

Moments later, the doctor and nurses who had just left returned. Together with them was Anna's voice.

"Why's the door locked?"

"Emily, are you there?"

Then, a deeper voice, unmistakably Joseph's, sounded at the door. "What's going on?"

Emily's brows creased, but she just turned to Paul. "Please keep going, Mr. Turner. It's a long story, and I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"I understand. A doctor's duty is to save lives," said Paul.

The door started shaking with knocks, and Anna's voice grew louder outside. "Get out here now, or we'll call security!"

But Emily stayed focused and tuned it all out.

Finally, when Paul sighed in relief, and the alarms on the equipment fell quiet, Emily took a deep breath, walked over, and unlocked the door.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

However, she found that she was face-to-face with Joseph's tall frame rather than Anna.

"What did you do to my grandpa?" He demanded, his voice full of accusation, a tone she'd come to expect from him.

Emily pulled her arm free from his grip and flexed her wrist. "Nothing."

She'd practically saved Clain's life, but explaining that? The last person who'd believe her would be Joseph.

"Emily, don't think you can use Grandpa to get at me."

Joseph's face was a storm, dark and tense.

"Emily, you've gone way too far." Anna reached out to hold Joseph's arm and gasped, "Joseph, calm down, okay?"

She paused, biting her lip before continuing, "Emily, I get it. You're angry because of the divorce, and you probably feel a lot of resentment... If you think it's all my fault, then come at me directly. Why drag Clain into this?"

Suddenly, the attending doctor rushed up, pushed the door open, and walked inside.

Joseph cast Emily one last look, about to follow, but stopped when he overheard the doctor asking, "What's happening? Why is the patient reacting so intensely?"

Still wearing a mask, Paul just answered calmly, "This is normal. Just give him a little more time."

Joseph's expression grew darker as he turned to Emily. "Are you still saying you're not playing any tricks here?"

"Emily, how dare you dismiss the attending doctor? I know you care about Grandpa too, but bringing in someone random to treat him? How is that okay?" Joseph's tone was stern and unyielding.

If Emily really was behind all this, he'd get to the bottom of it.

Watching Joseph standing there, locked in by Anna's side, Emily couldn't help the mocking smirk.

As expected, Anna's words had Joseph wrapped around her finger again.

Outside Clain's ward, Anna hinted that Emily was driven by some pent-up resentment, so Joseph would think she had it out for his grandfather.

Emily let out a cold huff, ready to snap back, when she caught a faint scent lingering in the air—the cool blend of cedar and a few herbal notes.

It was Anna's scent, something subtle but unmistakable.

It couldn't find another one elsewhere since Emily specially had someone make it for Clain to soothe his mind.

Emily's eyes narrowed slightly, her voice icy. "Anna, did you visit Clain before this?"

"Me? Of course not," Anna replied reflexively after a short pause. "What are you trying to say, Emily? Surely you're not suggesting that I did something to him?"

The smile on Emily's lips deepened as she said, "Didn't say that. Just curious, that's all."

"After all, you and Joseph practically move as one these days, and it wouldn't be surprising for you to come by and check on him too, right?"

Anna bit her lip, dodged Emily's sharp gaze, and leaned into Joseph's arm with a soft voice. "Joseph, I shouldn't have come with you. Emily clearly hates me."

Yet, despite her words, her fingers tightened possessively around his arm, sending a clear message.

Whether she was trying to spark Joseph's protective side or staking her claim in front of Emily, the intent was all too obvious.

"If she really thinks all of this is my fault, maybe I just shouldn't visit Clain anymore."

Emily watched Anna's theatrics, catching every calculated move.

'Oh, gosh, I haven't even accused her of anything, and she's playing the wounded dove,' Emily thought.

"I only asked if you came by. I didn't say a word about you doing anything. Joseph and I haven't told the family about our divorce yet. What if, somehow, you happened to let it slip and it upset him?" Emily's tone was measured but pointed.

Anna's expression flickered, and her voice quivered as she replied, "I didn't. I know Clain only sees you as his granddaughter-in-law. I don't have any standing, so why would I come visit him?"

"Well, you'd know whether you came by or not."

However, Emily was cut off by Joseph's cold glare. "Emily, stop throwing around wild accusations."

It felt like a bucket of ice water that chilled her to the core.

Emily's heart sank as she met his look of disappointment and contempt. "So, she says she wasn't here, and you just take her word for it?"

With a scoff, Emily called over a nurse nearby, "Where's the security room? We gotta check the footage."

The nurse cast a quick glance at Anna before answering, "I'm sorry, but the cameras on this floor have been down the past few days. The hospital's working on getting them fixed."

'Oh? Down? Only for the past few days? What a coincidence,' Emily scoffed inwardly.

Emily's brows knitted as she looked up, only to see the disdain on Joseph's face.

It was like he'd already made up his mind about her, and his face was etched with disappointment.

"Still trying to pull something?" he asked, his tone biting.

Emily opened her mouth to defend herself, but a rush of anger took over. Watching them side by side only deepened her disgust, so she turned on her heel to leave.

Just then, the attending doctor spoke up, "Wait, the patient's condition... it's actually stabilizing. There's real improvement!"