Chapter 33 Zero and Countless Times
Isabella dropped her keys on the ground as her hand trembled while opening the door. She asked, her voice trembling, "What happened to her?"
"Come to the hospital quickly. Nina’s going to die," Charlie said urgently over the phone before hanging up.
--
When Isabella arrived at the hospital, she saw Charlie sitting alone on a chair outside the emergency room, hanging his head as if he had made a huge mistake. Isabella walked up to him. "Charlie, where's Nina?"
Charlie raised his head and motioned toward the emergency room. Isabella leaned against the door but couldn't see anything. Worried, she asked, "What happened to her?"
"Nothing... she's fine," Charlie stuttered, avoiding eye contact. "We had an argument and then..."
"You hit her?" Isabella could smell the strong scent of alcohol on Charlie's body. Her eyes widened.
"No... I just pushed her and she hit the handle of the cabinet. She was bleeding, but I don’t think it’s a big deal..."
"It’s not a big deal?" Isabella clenched her teeth and trembled with anger. "If something happens to Nina, I won't forgive you."
Charlie was genuinely frightened as he witnessed this side of Isabella for the first time,.
At that moment, the door to the emergency room opened and a nurse pushed out a bed. Isabella was the first to go toward the bed. When she saw Nina lying there with her pale face, eyes closed, tears almost welled up in her own eyes.
"How is she, Doctor?" Isabella unintentionally lowered her voice.
"Fortunately, she was brought in promptly and none of her vital areas were hit. If it had been a bit off, she might not have been so fortunate. She's fine now. You just need to wait for her to regain consciousness,” the doctor reassured her.
"Thank you," Isabella expressed gratitude while still feeling a bit frightened. Nina was her only family in this world. If she lost Nina, she wouldn't be able to go on. The fear and helplessness she felt outside the emergency room was something she never wanted to experience again in her lifetime.
"She's fine," Charlie relaxed. "I told you she'd be fine. It was just a minor bump..."
Isabella turned around and glared at him. Charlie, feeling guilty, didn't say anything more and obediently came forward to push the hospital bed.
When they arrived at the ward, Isabella took care of everything herself. Charlie tried to approach Nina several times, but Isabella drove him away. She helped Nina wipe her face and hands. As she looked at Nina's sleeping face, her nose tingled. When she turned and saw Charlie lying on the couch, snoring soundly, she bit her lip hard and made up her mind.
Isabella stayed by Nina's side all night. The next morning, Isabella felt a gentle touch on her head. When she opened her eyes, she met Nina's loving gaze.
"Nina," Isabella said, holding Nina's hand. "You're awake? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something? I'll go buy it."
Nina shook her head, "Why are you here?"
"Charlie called me."
As Isabella finished speaking, Charlie entered the room with breakfast. "Nina, you're awake? I bought breakfast for you guys. The breakfast shop downstairs is busy. I had to line up for ten minutes. Come and eat quickly."
When he handed the food to Isabella, she didn't take it.
Charlie froze and looked at Nina.
"Bella?" Nina nudged Isabella's hand, signaling her to take the food.
Reluctantly, Isabella obeyed Nina and took the food.
"I have some work to do, so I'm leaving. Please spend more time with Nina, Bella. I'll come over after work," Charlie said as he grabbed his coat and hurriedly left.
The ward fell silent. Nina asked in concern, "What's wrong with you, Bella?"
Isabella stared at the sandwich in her hand. After a long time, she asked, "Are you happy, Nina?"
Nina was startled for a moment, then smiled, "I'm pretty happy. We went through some tough times. Looking back, I don't even know how we managed to get through that. But it's all in the past now. Everything is good now."
"Really?" Isabella's eyes turned red, "Ever since you married Charlie, I haven't seen you smile."
"What nonsense are you saying? I'm smiling right now, aren't I?"
Isabella felt a pang in her heart. She held Nina's hand and firmly said, "Nina, you should get a divorce."
Nina was taken aback because that was something Isabella would never say. "Bella, you..."
"I know you chose to marry Charlie to give me a home and someone else to rely on. But I've seen you become less and less happy these past few years. I've found a job now, so you don't have to work as hard as before. Get a divorce."
Nina felt conflicted. "But..."
Nina, domestic violence should only happen once," Isabella said, tightening her grip on Nina's hand, her eyes more determined than ever. She knew that if she held onto this idea firmly, she could give Nina the confidence and strength she needed.
"I... I'll think about it," Nina said, avoiding Isabella's gaze. "You should go have breakfast."
After breakfast, Nina urged Isabella to hurry to work. When Isabella saw that she was in good spirits, she suggested that she come to the hospital to keep her company during lunch break. Then Isabella squeezed onto a crowded bus to go to work. As soon as she arrived, Laura blocked her path. "The morning meeting is about to start, Isabella. Where are the files you organized?"
Isabella was taken aback, then remembered what happened yesterday. "I'll do it right now..."
Laura snatched the files away. "Right now? Are you saying that everyone should wait for you?"
Isabella didn't know what to say.
"Do you remember what you told me yesterday, Isabella? You said you had something important to do last night, so you would come to the office early today to finish it. And now, the meeting can't start because of you. Are you willing to take responsibility?"
"I..."
"Isabella was with me yesterday evening, meeting a client," Sebastian said, stepping out of the elevator. He was dressed in a black suit and exuded a cold aura. He walked straight over, glanced at the documents on the table, and said to Laura, "I plan to assign Isabella to work with Mr. Williams, so she won't have to handle these miscellaneous tasks anymore."
"Why?" Laura retorted, her tone rising involuntarily. "You’ve always been fair to every employee, Mr. Landon. But why are you always defending Isabella? It's unfair to the rest of us."
Jack sternly said, "Watch your words, Laura!"
"What's wrong? I'm telling the truth. She’s the newest member of the office. Mr. Landon promoted her to a regular employee against the norm before, and now she's making mistakes, but he keeps protecting her. If we don’t assign these miscellaneous tasks to her, who will do them? I just don't understand. Mr. Landon. I hope you can give us a clear answer."
After Laura finished speaking, everyone else looked over. In fact, they were all puzzled because Isabella had always been low-profile. Why was she suddenly getting special attention from Sebastian?
