Joanna thought she was about to fall flat on her face.
Just then, a man wrapped his strong arm around her waist, catching her fall. The fresh scent of peppermint filled her senses, entrancing the woman entirely.
"You're burning hot… Do you have a fever?" Ace asked her with a hint of concern in his voice.
The urge to protect her sprang up in his mind, accompanied by the following thought.
'She's so thin and frail, like a feather.'
"This doesn't concern you!" Joanna hissed through her teeth as she regained her balance. She stubbornly tried to free herself from his arms.
After the procedure was done, she intended to walk away elegantly, leaving Ace in the dust. She wanted to avoid casting the impression that she was using her illness to gain sympathy.
However, no matter how tough she tried to act, her body was simply exhausted. Even after gaining her footing, she staggered backward.
Seeing this, Ace lifted her bridal style and said, "I'll get you to the hospital."
"What are you doing… Let go of me!" Visibly upset, Joanna wriggled in his arms with all her might. "Do you not remember that we've separated…"
"You're still considered my wife during the waiting period." The man insisted firmly.
Seeing them leaving together, Alice went into a state of panic. This was not what she wanted to happen.
She immediately planted one of her hands on her hips feigning sickness. "Ace, wait up! I can't walk that fast when I'm pregnant…"
"Stay here, I'll have Jack pick you up later," Ace said in a deep voice before turning back towards Joanna. "I can't stand back and watch when she's clearly ill."
Hearing this, Joanna nearly rolled her eyes to the back of her head.
'What the hell is he doing?! First, he knocks up his mistress and forces his wife into a divorce. Now he's acting as if he still cares for me?!'
'Who does he think he is? Is he trying to string me along? This jerk… Turns out he really is a perfect match for Alice!'
'If that's how you want to play it, don't mind if I do too!'
Joanna decided to switch up her strategy and she wrapped her arms around Ace's neck. While batting her eyelashes flirtatiously, she said "Thank you, my dear ex-husband."
Ace's eyes darkened as he was left speechless. No one could tell what was running through his mind at the moment.
On the other hand, the color drained from Alice's face as she was consumed by sheer anger.
At the hospital, Ace stayed by Joanna's side throughout the entire process. He even went as far as waiting for the blood test results with her.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the hospital to get back to them.
"Her temperature is currently 39.3 °C. You do realize that this is a viral infection, not a bacterial infection, right?"
"If she got here any later, you'd find her a cold corpse rather than diagnosed with a fever."
After going through the report, the doctor adjusted his glasses and lectured Ace sternly. "What kind of husband are you? How could you let your wife wear such thin clothing in this cold weather, with a fever no less? How heartless can you be?"
Just as Ace was about to explain, Joanna started speaking in a sickeningly sweet tone, choking on fake tears. "Doctor, please don't blame him for this. He may have starved me and left me out in the cold… He may be very temperamental and takes out his anger on me… He may have cheated on me and forced me into a divorce, but… I'm willing to endure this much for him."
"He's just way too handsome, I couldn't possibly hold a grudge against him!"
Ace was absolutely confused. 'What is she saying? Why is she so different from what I remember?'
The doctor seemed very taken aback as well, looking at the both of them in disbelief. 'Ah, the younger generation… Always full of… surprises.'
"Your condition should stabilize once you've taken the pills I've prescribed. You may rest here till the IV infusion is finished," said the doctor before leaving the ward.
With that, Ace and Joanna were the only ones left in the ward, which created an odd tension.
Despite being married for three years, the two rarely spent time alone together.
Ace shoved his hands into his pockets and loomed over Joanna, asking. "Are you done with the games?"
Joanna cleared her throat awkwardly and replied, "Yeah."
She was now aware that she could've lost her life if she had fooled around any longer.
"Why didn't you reschedule today's meeting when you realized you had a high fever?"
Joanna's cheeks were flushed red due to the fever. She lay still on the bed and was back to being the defenseless little bunny that he was familiar with. Oddly enough, this made his heart ache for her.
"What's the point of rescheduling? It's inevitable anyway, isn't it, Master Moran?" Joanna replied softly.
Though she wished for Ace's love, she knew she shouldn't let herself drown in that fantasy.
"Thank you for today. I'm fine now, you can leave now. Your pregnant lover is waiting for you, you know!"
Her statement seemed to have snapped Ace back to reality, as he responded. "Alright, I'll be off then."
Just then, a tall slender figure entered the ward.
"Miss Pierce, how did you end up in the hospital over a divorce…"
Liam's relaxed voice came to a sudden halt as soon as he noticed Ace standing inside the ward.
He scanned the ice-cold 'statue' up and down, and the 'statue' stared back at him. The odd tension from before returning to the room.
"Do you know each other?" Ace asked Joanna with a chilling tone.
He wondered how an infamous playboy and a modest rich lady would ever get the chance to interact when they were from completely different worlds.
"Well…" Joanna buried her face in her hands awkwardly. She was the one who texted Liam to meet at the hospital, but she didn't expect him to arrive so soon.
'A soon-to-be ex-husband bumping into the dashing playboy… This was weirdly reminiscent of a scene from a romantic drama.'
"Know her? She's my muse!" Liam exclaimed as he approached Joanna with a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand.
With a sarcastic smile, he turned to Ace. "Little do you know, Master Moran, Miss Pierce has quite the reputation back in our school! She has so many admirers that she could build an army if she wanted to! As for me, I'm her most loyal fanboy!"
"As one of her biggest fans, of course, I'd have to come over to congratulate her on finally handing in those divorce papers! It's a great day!" Liam said as he handed the bouquet to Joanna. There was love in his eyes as if he was no longer the infamous womanizer.
"These sunflowers are for you, my goddess. I remember that these are your favorite, especially since they symbolize loyalty and new hope, right?"
"I think it truly does suit you the most!"
Joanna did in fact love sunflowers. However, she knew that the sunflower actually symbolized unwavering love, which was what she felt for Ace. She never had eyes on anyone else the moment she met him.
Now that things had come to this, she realized that it was time to look somewhere else. After all, it was just a pointless endeavor to keep on loving him.
Joanna happily accepted the gift and brought it up to her nose. Sniffing the flowers, she flashed Liam a bright smile and thanked him. "This is the first time in three years I've received any flowers. They smell great."
"I'll send you flowers every day if you'd like!"
Ace's expression was as cold as ice at this point, so much so that the temperature within the room seemed to have lowered by a few degrees.
Liam smirked arrogantly as he noticed Ace's silence, teasing him. "Mr. Moran, I'm really grateful to you for returning my goddess to a life of freedom. A divine beauty has yet again returned to the City."
Ace ignored Liam's remarks, along with his existence, entirely. To him, Liam was merely the old man, Robert Blackwood's spoiled kid. He didn't have to pay attention to this flirt at all.
The bright yellow sunflowers complimented Joanna's gorgeous appearance, blinding Ace for a brief second. He even mumbled to himself under his breath. "I didn't know you like sunflowers…"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Joanna chuckled coldly before issuing an instruction.
"Help me put these flowers in the vase, Liam."
"Alrighty!" Liam immediately did as told.
Upon seeing this, Ace felt oddly frustrated once more. 'Just what is their relationship?'
'This third master of the Osborne family had always presented himself as a cocky womanizer, but why is he acting like a complete simp in front of Pierce?'
"Do you need anything else, Master Moran?" Joanna smiled politely at the man, indicating that she wanted him gone.
Ace looked even more upset now. "I'll have to remind you that you're still a married woman during the grace period, so be mindful of your actions."
"I know. At least I wouldn't end up with a child like you did, Master Moran."
Ace had a feeling he was going to pop a vein if he continued this conversation, so he exited the ward without saying a word.
Seconds after he left, Liam couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"Did you see that, boss? Did you? He looked so mad!"
"I swear, this is the first time in three years I've ever seen him make an expression on his stone face, even though I've bumped into him in so many events! That was hilarious to watch!"
"You were amazing, Boss! You dissed him so hard that he decided to rage quit! Hahahaha, good job!"
Joanna didn't feel happy about it at all. In fact, sadness began to well up in her heart. No matter how indifferent Ace was, he was still the man she had loved for three years. She never expected them to
end up this way.
"Okay, okay, stop laughing. Where's the thing I asked for? Give it to me," said Joanna who had decided to leave her sorrow behind