Chapter 623 Martin's Critical Condition
Half an hour later.
Kaleb looked at the chessboard, his shoulders slumping in disappointment and his face filled with disbelief.
"How? How can you...how can you be so good, little girl?"
Patricia smiled. "Uncle, do you want to play another round?"
Kaleb was unconvinced. "Another round...I refuse to believe that I can't beat you..."
The people around watched with great interest. No one left, holding their breath as they watched.
The time they were passed, minute by minute.
Three rounds.
Three complete rounds.
Kaleb lost every time.
And he lost miserably.
When he stubbornly wanted to play a fourth round, Patricia clapped her hands and stood up. "It's getting late, I have to go!"
Kaleb held her back. "No, we haven't finished yet!"
Patricia took out her phone and showed him the time. "It's almost midnight. I have to go back to the hospital to take care of my dear one! Let's play another day..."
Kaleb urged, "When can we play next?"
Patricia grinned. "I don't know. If my loved one's condition stabilizes, I'll come over. If his condition worsens, I have to stay at the hospital to take care of him."
Kaleb hesitated.
For a moment, the determination in his eyes seemed to waver.
Just when Patricia thought he would agree to save Martin, he said, "Alright, whenever you have time, come over. I must beat you in one round."
Disappointment filled Patricia's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.
"Great! I hope you can beat me," she said.
Her tone was confident, neither humble nor arrogant, without the arrogance of a winner, as if it were just a casual conversation.
She knew that Kaleb couldn't back down after just one game.
She had to take it step by step, slowly.
"Alright!"
After they agreed, Patricia left first, using the excuse of taking care of her seriously ill husband.
Kaleb needed more convincing. When he returned home, he took out the chessboard and studied it. Except for eating and using the bathroom, he spent almost all his time playing chess against himself.
In the following days, Patricia teased Kaleb's appetite.
She knew that Kaleb was definitely eager to play against her, so she did not show up the next day.
Nor the third day.
And still absent on the fourth day.
By the fifth day, she deliberately timed it and arrived at 9:35.
Kaleb had waited in the pavilion for half an hour. Seeing that it was already 9:30, he thought Patricia would not come and was about to leave. Just as he walked out of the pavilion, he saw Patricia coming towards him. Excited, he ran over, feeling wronged, as he said, "Why did you just come? Don't you know I've been waiting for you here every day? I thought you wouldn't come!"
Patricia forced a smile. "I'm sorry. My husband has been in the hospital, and I have been taking care of him these past few days."
Kaleb paused and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but eventually held back. Urgently, he said, "Hurry up, hurry up! I've been practicing chess skills hard these past few days. I will surely defeat you today."
Patricia nodded, not saying much, and walked into the pavilion to take a seat.
The other older men had been waiting for a long time and, upon seeing her, instantly became lively. They found the best viewing spots and excitedly waited to watch the game.
This time, they played international chess.
Patricia still let Kaleb go first.
As expected, Patricia won again.
He was not convinced and wanted to continue challenging the other old men, but they pulled him away.
Patricia played a few more games with the others.
She seemed gentle, making each move steadily without aggressive attacks, but in reality, she was dominant and hardly gave them a chance to win.
Without a doubt, Patricia won again.
A group of older men took turns playing chess with Patricia, but none of them could beat her.
This includes Arnold, Otis, and Curtis, who were all undefeated in the field of chess.
Now, there's a new chess prodigy, Kaleb.
Everyone felt downcast and frustrated.
"Young lady, you seem quite young. How can you be so skilled at chess? It's not just one skill, but you know everything! Teach us and take us as your apprentices, won't you?"
Upon hearing that everyone wanted Patricia to take them as apprentices, Kaleb grabbed Patricia and ran.
"You guys are dreaming. She has already agreed to take me as her apprentice."
Afraid that they would chase after them, they ran quite a distance before stopping.
While looking back and panting, Kaleb said, "Patricia, you promised to take me as your apprentice last time. You can't go back on your word!"
Patricia pretended to be hesitant and said, "I want to, too! But my husband is sick, and I have to take care of him. I'm afraid I don't have the time."
Kaleb blurted out without thinking, "We can hire a nurse! I'll pay for it."
Patricia replied, "I have money! It's not about the money! As a wife, how can I leave my seriously ill husband in the hospital and enjoy myself outside?"
Kaleb's eyes darkened, and he fell into silence.
"Unless..."
Patricia deliberately paused.
Kaleb's eyes immediately lit up. "Unless what?"
Patricia said, "Unless you help and cure my husband's illness. Once he can manage the company again, I'll have the time to teach you chess wholeheartedly."
Without hesitation, Kaleb refused, "No way!"
Patricia lowered her head, saddened. "Then I'm sorry, I might not have the time to teach you."
Saying this, without giving him a chance to respond, she turned around and walked away.
"Hey..." Kaleb reached out to grab her.
But he remembered her request, and his hand froze in mid-air. In the end, he could only watch her walk further and further away until she completely disappeared.
Patricia had already guessed that Kaleb wouldn't agree today, so she wasn't too disappointed.
In the following days, she continued to come to the pavilion as usual, every other day, to chat with everyone and occasionally give them pointers.
Kaleb stood angrily by the side, watching Patricia instruct the others, getting along harmoniously. He glared with anger in his eyes.
In his heart, he was torn and wanted to ask Patricia to be his master.
But he couldn't go against his oath.
Several more days it was passed in this conflicting emotion.
As Patricia guided the older men around her, their chess skills improved rapidly, but she felt trapped, unable to break through the bottleneck herself, becoming infuriated.
Days went by.
Kaleb's heart began to waver little by little.
On this day, while Patricia was instructing everyone on the balcony, she suddenly received a call from the hospital.
"Is this Martin's family? This is Dr. Jim from Pearl Hospital."
"Yes, it is!"
When she heard that it was a doctor's call, Patricia's breath caught, and her voice unintentionally trembled.
As a doctor, she knew all too well what it meant when a doctor called a patient's family.
As expected, Dr. Jim hurriedly said, "Mr. Langley's condition is not optimistic. Do you have time today? I want to talk to you!"
To outsiders, "not optimistic" may seem like a literal meaning.
But Patricia clearly understood that it was just a euphemism.
In reality, Martin's condition was very serious, and she needed to go there immediately.
Patricia's eyes turned red in an instant. "Alright, I'll go right away--"
After ending the call, Patricia ran outside, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face.
Her heart beat rapidly.
It felt like it could jump out of her throat at any moment.
All the way, she silently prayed.
'Please, let nothing happen, absolutely nothing.'
She suddenly regretted not accepting Maximilian's proposal.
She should not have chosen this foolish method based on her damn principles, which undoubtedly delayed Martin's treatment.
Patricia started crying.
If anything happened to Martin, she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.
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