Chapter 21 - Her Birthday

After Susan had left, Richard also came over.
Knowing her situation from Susan's mouth, he himself didn't know what to do for a while, and would be hesitating at the door.
When he saw Susan come out, he quickly found a place to hide. It was only when he had left that he slowly went in.
After knocking twice on the door, Alice's gaze was indeed pulled over.
Seeing that it was him, Alice greeted him with a light smile and, seeing him standing in the doorway, said slowly, "Come in."
Only after receiving permission did Richard slowly go over. Looking at her pale face, Richard was a little distressed and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
"Almost." Alice smiled.
He was a little uneasy and a little rushed, not knowing what he should do.
After saying a few words to her, he fell away. Alice looked at his back as he left and couldn't help but sigh, before lying back down in silence.
Looking at the ceiling above her head, Alice fell into deep thought. The weakness brought on by her illness soon made her feel tired and she yawned softly, not knowing when she would not wake up again.
Bored all day long in this hospital bed, she felt a little bored. It was just that in her current physical condition, she could not go out alone yet.
It was Edward who pushed her to go outside when he was free. Alice was inexplicably moved, but did not know what to say.
It was soon her birthday, and Edward had read about it in her file, and after counting the days, he knew that it would be soon.
He took a green book from his own bookshelf and put it in his hand before returning to the hospital.
Alice was still asleep, and the time for her to wake up had not yet arrived. Edward took a glance at her, and then barked out an instruction to the caretaker, "When she wakes up, come and inform me immediately."
The caretaker nodded and watched him leave before going about his business
Edward was not originally a doctor here, but he had a doctor's licence and was quite capable himself. It was only for Alice that he worked here.
Edward was not short of money, but Alice was. He works here and his entire monthly salary is used to maintain the treatment for her condition.
The hospital also takes a special interest in Alice as a patient because of Edward. As far as she was concerned, she just needed to recuperate in peace and quiet.
It was only at ten in the morning that she woke up. The caretaker took one look and asked in a warm voice, "How do you feel now?"
"Fine." She let out a laugh and made to get up from the bed. After helping her up, the caretaker went to get her toiletries and handed them to her.
While she was washing up, the caretaker immediately went to report to Edward.
After the latter had finished with the patient at hand, he took the book out of his drawer and left the office briskly.
When he met people on the way to say hello, he only smiled politely and did not flirt with them as gently as before.
When he reached her ward, Edward slowed his steps and came to her side.
After checking one side, he was relieved.
"How do you feel?" He began to unconsciously find a topic of conversation.
Alice was slightly puzzled, but answered him softly, "The same as yesterday."
……
"Well ......" he hesitated, taking out the book he had hidden in the back and holding it out to her, explaining, "Happy birthday."
Edward's ears couldn't help but redden and his head was lowered, as if he was squirming.
Alice froze for a moment, her gaze moving from his face to the book. She stared blankly at the book, hesitant to move.
……
Edward quietly glanced at her, seeing her dazed and thinking she didn't like it, he hurriedly explained: "This is one of my favorite books, and I know it's your birthday today. So, I specially brought it over to give it to you, I ......"
"Thanks." She reached out and took it, choking up a little as she spoke. Her eyes couldn't help but heat up, and Edward was a bit at a loss when he saw that she seemed to be about to cry.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled for a long time before she said sincerely, "Thank you very much, this is the best birthday present I've ever received."
Edward watched her smile and smiled with her. His mood brightened considerably, "Then I'll go to work first."
"Hmm." Alice nodded gently and watched him leave the place.
Her fingers brushed against the cover of that book, and her heart unconsciously rippled. The paper was marked with the traces of age and looked like it had been dormant for many years. If she hadn't particularly liked it, how could the book have been preserved intact until today.
It was the best gift she had ever received today; in her previous life, no one had ever remembered her birthday, and over time, she had forgotten.
And now that it was brought up again, Alice only felt surprised and happy.
Tony looked at her smile and was uncomfortable at the thought that it was actually for someone else.
He walked in without knocking, looked at the book and said sarcastically, "You've hooked up with someone else so quickly, I didn't expect you to be so good at playing the poor girl."
Alice gave a start, and the smile on his face withdrew.
"What are you doing here?"
Seeing her stop smiling, Tony became even more annoyed, his eyes on the book, and then directly grabbed it.
"What are you doing!" Alice looked at him in surprise and tried to take the book back. It was her first gift, and the most meaningful one.
But Tony couldn't look away, it was just a book, was it worth her being so happy, was it worth her smiling for someone else? He looked at her panic and his anger increased, so he took the lighter next to him and set the book on fire in front of her.
Alice looked at the book in shock as she stared dumbly at the burning book.
She struggled to get off the bed, only to fall down with her arms and legs weak, getting up several times and slowly moving closer to the book.
Seeing this, Tony walked straight to the window and threw it out.
The book completely disappeared in front of her. Alice looked at the window and then at the person in front of her, and her whole body trembled with rage.
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