Chapter 68 Clinging to His Neck
"Magnus and Mary have nothing to do with each other. She's not my fiancée," he explained, something he rarely did.
In fact, he had no obligation to explain anything to her.
Juniper nodded, "Then there's no issue of favoritism. I believe Mr. Blackwood will be a good father."
Not only a good father.
He had once been a very decent boyfriend, too.
It was just her who had not cherished that.
With nothing more to say to each other,
The surgery wasn't major, but it wasn't short, either.
Juniper's wound on her left chest hadn't healed well, and the intense running had torn it open.
The pain was piercing.
Joseph noticed her pale face and kindly asked, "Juniper, is it your wound that's hurting?"
"Maybe I ran a bit too fast just now, pulled it a bit, but it's nothing."
Juniper pressed down on her wound, trying to dull the pain.
Suddenly, Magnus, who was sitting beside her, stood up.
"Go see a doctor."
"It's not necessary—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Juniper felt herself being lifted.
Magnus picked her up in his arms.
For a few seconds, Juniper was stunned by his action.
To her, it was completely unexpected.
Even a bit overwhelming.
"Put me down. I can walk on my own."
"I told you, I don't want to owe you any favors."
His handsome face was still as cold as ice.
Yet the way he cradled her sideways had a touch of patience and gentleness.
Magnus carried Juniper to the Department of Thoracic Surgery.
Joseph watched them walk away, shaking his head and sighing, "What a bunch of hypocrites."
Hospitals were always bustling with activity.
Juniper was carried in Magnus's arms like she was incapacitated, and the two of them caught the eye, especially Magnus, with his tall stature and commanding presence. Passersby couldn't help but stare a little longer than usual.
Feeling the weight of those gazes, Juniper's ears turned hot. "Um, you can put me down now. I'm really okay."
The man merely looked down at her with a cool glance, indifferent to her request.
That man was, as always, unyieldingly dominant.
"Wrap your arms around my neck."
"Do you want to fall?"
Left with no choice, Juniper obediently tightened her hold around his neck.
Recalling the last time she had been carried like this was six years ago, on their very first date, she had deliberately worn a pair of high heels. Within minutes, the shoes had rubbed her feet raw, leaving her heels bloody and blistered right in the middle of a crowded mall.
Without a word, Magnus had scooped her up and carried her to a fifth-floor store to buy a pair of comfortable sneakers.
Back then, Juniper experienced for the first time what it was like to be indulged and favored so blatantly.
The saying was spot-on: encountering someone too dazzling in one's youth could lead to a lifetime's misdirection.
Juniper slowly lifted her eyes, carefully looking at him as if to memorize every feature of his face. There might not be a future, but this moment was more than enough.
In the thoracic surgery department, after examining Juniper's wound, the doctor asked, "How long have you had this injury?"
"It's been healing for about half a month."
"Half a month, and it still looks like this? Did you get it wet at home? If the wound keeps reopening, it's hard to heal. You might need to be hospitalized for treatment if it doesn't improve."
Juniper didn't want to be hospitalized. She didn't have much time left and didn't want to waste it in a hospital.
"Doctor, please clean it and change the dressing. If it gets worse, I'll come back for admission."
"That's fine, but you need to take care of this wound. It's healing slowly. I'll prescribe some medication for you."
"Okay."
After the wound was cleaned and dressed, Magnus and Juniper returned to the waiting area just as Jennifer's surgery came to an end.
The surgeon emerged from the operating room, removing his mask, and announced, "The surgery was very successful. Since it was minimally invasive and she's young, she should recover quickly."
"When can she wake up?" Juniper inquired.
"After the anesthesia wears off, it probably won't be until tomorrow."
"William."
Jennifer was wheeled into the hospital room.
Juniper stayed with her.
Magnus stood to the side, looking utterly useless.
"Mr. Blackwood, I'm here to watch over her, so if you have work to do, you can go ahead. If there's any change, I will call Paul."
She thought he would leave without looking back.
However, Magnus just sat down on the couch nearby, showing no intention of leaving at all.
"Jennifer is my daughter. I'm not going to abandon my responsibilities and leave her alone in the hospital."
Was that a direct accusation against her?
She bit her lip, feeling the need to explain, "When Mr. Blackwood destroyed my career, no company was willing to hire me. I had to take a night job. If it weren't for financial pressures, I wouldn't have left Jennifer alone at the hospital."
"Are you blaming me for destroying your career?"
"I'm not. I don't want to make excuses, just stating the situation."
Both adults remained in the hospital room, watching over a child who had not yet awakened.
The two of them were cold and silent toward each other, not speaking a word for half an hour.
Joseph felt the odd tension.
He mustered his courage to break the ice, "Magnus, Juniper, you didn't eat lunch, and now it's afternoon. You must be hungry, right? I'm going to get some food for you."
Juniper, fearful of being alone with Magnus in the room, quickly said, "I'm not hungry."
Right after she spoke, her stomach growled.
Juniper was embarrassed. Her stomach was not doing her any favors.
Magnus stood up and said to Joseph, "Let's go together."
"Oh, okay."
Once Magnus and Joseph had left the hospital room, Juniper breathed a sigh of relief.
She reached out to touch Jennifer's small forehead, then slowed the IV drip a bit, gently massaging Jennifer's tiny arm where the IV was inserted.
Her cell phone rang. The caller ID showed Ophelia.
She stepped out of the room to answer: "Hello?"
"Juniper, how did it go with Magnus? Did he give you a hard time?"
"No, our talk is practically done. Jennifer's custody goes to him, and I can visit her once every two weeks."
Ophelia exploded on the phone, "What? Only once every two weeks? Does Magnus have no conscience?"
"I think it's for the best. If I kept visiting, it would only get harder for me to let go."
"Jennifer is your daughter, after all, and for the past six years, you've single-handedly raised her! What right does Magnus have to limit how often you can see Jennifer? Even after giving up custody, he's still so domineering, it's inhuman!"
Juniper didn't fight for custody because of her own circumstances, which no longer allowed her to pursue it. In fact, she needed to slowly sever her relationship with Jennifer. She didn't want Jennifer to suffer for her when the time came. And with only six months left, she would inevitably have to let go. Ophelia was unaware of these facts.
Juniper had no plan to explain, "Let's just leave it at that for now. Jennifer just had surgery, and I'm still at the hospital watching over her. I can't talk right now."
"When Jennifer wakes up, let me know, and I'll come visit her!"
"Okay."
Half an hour later, Magnus and Joseph brought back food.
Joseph handed a bag of food to Juniper, "We just grabbed something quick. Hope it's okay for you to eat."
"Thanks, and you guys?"
"We already ate at the restaurant."
Joseph had to leave early for corporate matters.
In the hospital room, only Magnus and Juniper remained.
Another couple of hours passed.
Juniper felt drowsy and began nodding off, her head at the edge of the hospital bed, almost falling over multiple times.
Magnus couldn't stand seeing her like that and vacated the couch for her.
"Go sleep on the couch."
"But the IV..."
"I'll keep an eye on it."
Knowing she couldn't argue with him, Juniper got up, and Magnus went to check on the IV, casually adjusting its flow rate.
Suddenly, she noticed fresh burn marks on the pale fingers of his hand.
"Your hand..."
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