Too Late to Love Her: When She Divorced, He Fell Apart-Chapter 17: My Boss’s Hands Are Swollen Like Radishes

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: My Boss’s Hands Are Swollen Like Radishes
Hearing Tina Hayes’s footsteps fade away, Claire Hale’s tense nerves relaxed, and she leaned weakly against Tristan Lockwood’s chest.
"Can you stop?"
She rested her head on his shoulder and said weakly.
The person in his arms was alarmingly feverish, and Tristan Lockwood’s expression turned cold. He lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers.
The searing heat transferred through their skin, and his brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "Do you have any medicine in the office?"
She weakly pointed to the takeout bag on the table.
Tristan bent down, wrapping his arm around her knees, carrying her to the sofa, then took out the fever-reducing medication from the takeout bag, followed by a glass of hot water.
"Aren’t you the one who treasures your health the most? How can you ignore it when you have a fever?"
His tone was somewhat cold, as if resenting her for being a bother.
Claire Hale, feeling dizzy, said faintly, "I waited in the cold wind for someone a few days ago and caught a chill."
He brought the medicine and water to her lips, looking at her intently: "Wait for someone? Someone important?"
She thought for a moment, then looked into his eyes and said, "Yes, an annoying client. Used to be very important, but I waited too long and wasted too much time. Now, not so much."
Tristan paused, took away her leftover water, then immediately carried her downstairs to the car, driving directly to the hospital.
Claire, burning with a fever, fell asleep in the car.
As Tristan drove, he glanced in the rearview mirror. She was curled up in the back seat, huddled into a frail ball in a very insecure posture.
When she woke up, Claire found herself hooked to an IV drip, her hand aching faintly.
She immediately pressed the call button, and the nurse she had previously met, Kiara Vance, came in.
Kiara casually lifted her hand, glanced at it indifferently, and said, "It’s just a bit swollen, bear with it."
Claire frowned: "Why is it swollen?"
"Your veins are too thin, it’s normal."
Kiara wore an expression suggesting Claire was too delicate and left without waiting for her to speak, leaving Claire alone in the hospital room.
Her fever hadn’t subsided, and her whole body felt weak and painful, leaving her in no mood to argue with Kiara.
But her hand hurt more and more, and the icy sensation of the fluid flowing through her veins grew stronger.
Claire had no choice but to call Tristan.
The phone rang for a long time before Tristan answered, and she asked him, "Are you at the hospital?"
He hesitated, then said, "Yes."
"My hand hurts a lot," she said, mustering the strength, "Can you come and take a look?"
Tristan didn’t immediately agree, instead saying, "Can’t you call the nurse?"
Claire: "Nurse Vance came, but then she left."
Hearing Tristan’s continued silence over the phone, she ended the call, then pulled out the needle by herself.
The call ended abruptly, and instinctively, Tristan walked toward the door.
The woman half-lying on the hospital bed grabbed him, cautiously asking, "Tristan, where are you going?"
"I have something to do," he said lightly.
The woman let go of his hand, habitually hugging her knees, resting her chin on them, and softly whispered.
He lowered his eyes, saw her eyelashes quivering slightly, and a faint mist of tears in her captivating eyes, and asked, "What’s wrong?"
She looked up, gave him a smile, and said, "Nothing, I just saw you didn’t look too well and wondered if something had happened, getting a bit worried."
Tristan reassured her, "Take good care of yourself, I’ll be busy for a while."
She watched him go until the last corner of his white coat disappeared from sight, and her worried expression vanished instantly, leaving only coldness and resentment on her beautiful face.
"You made our boss’s hand swell up and still had the nerve to say it’s a small issue, how can someone be so shameless!"
As Tristan approached Claire’s hospital room door, he heard a dispute erupting from the nurse station.
Looking over, he saw Claire’s assistant berating Kiara Vance.
Kiara’s eyes were red, hiding behind her colleagues, not daring to say a word.
By contrast, Tina was unabashed, brazenly confronting them as if she were a shrew.
And Claire, who should have been getting an IV drip in the ward, stood next to Tina, coldly staring at Kiara.
Her face was very pale, lacking the vitality of usual times, her lips devoid of color, and her eyes were chilly, deterring anyone from approaching.
"Having such an unprofessional nurse at Central Hospital is simply disgraceful! Bring out your supervisor; I want an apology!"
Just as Tina finished speaking, a bland male voice sounded behind her:
"You were looking for me."
A chill ran down her spine as she turned around to find Tristan Lockwood staring at her with an impassive expression.
His face expressionless, yet the cold aura he exuded was enough to render her speechless for a moment.
He stepped into the crowd, briefly scanning the surroundings, and asked, "What’s the situation?"
The male doctor shielding Kiara explained first, "Miss Hale’s veins are too thin, and Kiara was a bit clumsy, poking her more than once. She has already sincerely apologized."
"Is this her attitude of apology? Clearly she’s just playing victim to gain sympathy!"
Tina’s courage, which had been scared off by Tristan, returned upon hearing that.
She took Claire’s hand, saying, "Our boss’s hand is swollen like a radish, and you still use clumsiness as an excuse!"
Tristan looked over, seeing Claire’s slender hand was already blue and swollen with three needle holes on her delicate skin.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Kiara: "Messed up two injections? And not treating her when her hand is swollen like this?"
"Her hand swelling has nothing to do with me. She pulled out the needle herself!" Kiara’s voice choked with tears, and her grievances overflowed as she cried to Tristan, "Dr. Lockwood, I understand Miss Hale is your friend, and it’s normal for you to side with her. But you can’t accuse me of things I didn’t do!"
Kiara’s gentle appearance and weeping made her look pitifully charming, drawing empathy from onlookers.
Even some patients spoke up for her, "Nurse Vance isn’t irresponsible. She’s always quickly responsive and patient when we need help. All three beds in our ward are under her care, and we all like her!"
"She’s lying!" Tina stormed up to Kiara, shouting, "My boss clearly called for you once, and not only did you not help her, but you also said she’s fragile. My boss was in too much pain and pulled out the needle herself, and now you’re twisting the truth, really shameless!"
"Ma’am, please refrain from personal attacks on our medical staff, or I will have security escort you out immediately!"
The doctor assisting Tina sternly reprimanded her.
Tina, with her full momentum, was about to continue the altercation, but Claire stopped her, "Tina, don’t be so hasty."
She cast a dispassionate look over Kiara and the doctor, not even lingering on Tristan, and said, "You can never wake someone pretending to sleep. Let’s go."
"But..."
"If you’re upset, be my defense attorney and sue Nurse Vance for dereliction of duty and deliberate harm to a patient, considering it practice for you."