Chapter 561 Poison You Mute
Winona's eyes drifted down from Zachary's furrowed brow, past his throat which was convulsing intensely, and his chest which was heaving rapidly, finally landing somewhere.
Zachary's body was slightly turned, so there wasn't much of a visible curve, but his hoarse, suppressed voice made it clear he wasn't feeling well.
Winona raised an eyebrow at Zachary with a smug look. "Even with a broken leg, you're still so determined. Serves you right. Just deal with it."
With that, she went straight to the bed next to him, pulled back the covers, climbed in, and turned off the light.
Zachary had just been lying in this bed, and his scent hadn't completely dissipated. As Winona's face pressed into the pillow, his smell filled her nostrils.
It was comforting.
The once bright hospital room suddenly plunged into darkness, with the cold white light from the hallway seeping through the glass window on the door, illuminating a small patch of the floor.
Zachary looked at Winona's curled-up figure under the blanket, and the corners of his lips involuntarily curved up.
Although it was already dark outside, it was only a little past six, prime time for dinner and visiting hours. The hospital door wasn't soundproof, and the noise from conversations and nurses' hurried footsteps filtered in.
A breeze blew in through the window crack, slightly chilly, yet it brought a sense of tranquility.
Lying in bed, Zachary's restless heart finally calmed down. It was only now that he felt the pain—headache, chest pain, leg pain, muscle pain, and exhaustion from his severely overtaxed body, making it hard to even lift a hand.
Someone knocked on the door.
It was the caregiver Lydia had hired, coming to deliver his meal. Zachary instructed them to leave the meal box on the cabinet and said, "You can go now. Come back later to collect it."
Relieved to have some free time without having to care for the patient, they obediently followed his instructions and left after placing the items down.
Zachary glanced at the sleeping Winona. Though he didn't want to wake her, he was worried she might be hungry, so he called out a few times, "Winona, get up and eat something before you go back to sleep, okay?"
His voice was gentle, his tone indulgent as he coaxed her.
Winona had already fallen asleep but was awakened by Zachary's persistent talking. She struggled to open her eyes a sliver, "Shut up. I'm not eating. If you keep this up, I'll poison you mute."
Winona was so tired she felt like she was glued to the pillow, unable to discern whether Zachary was being affectionate, coaxing, or nagging—she just wanted him to stop talking.
Maybe her harsh words had intimidated him, as Zachary indeed fell silent, and Winona quickly drifted back to sleep.
Later, a nurse seemed to come for a routine check, turning on the light. The sudden brightness was piercing even through Winona's closed eyelids, but she just buried her face deeper into the pillow and didn't wake up.
Because she had gone to bed early, Winona woke up around six the next morning, feeling refreshed and no longer uncomfortable from lack of sleep. Despite sleeping on the hospital's hard bed, she didn't feel any soreness.
In contrast to Winona's comfort, Zachary was far from well-rested. He was exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes. Seeing her get up, he spoke with a tone full of grievance, "You're awake?"
Winona replied, "Yeah, why are you up so early?"
The nurse's last routine check was at nine last night, and Zachary, being injured, surely needed more sleep. Winona had thought he would sleep until the doctor came for rounds. "Is your leg hurting again?"
It was definitely hurting, but seeing Winona's worried expression, Zachary swallowed the word that was about to escape his throat. "No, just having trouble sleeping."
Zachary took a deep breath, looking a bit downcast, with a hint of inexplicable frustration.
He hadn't slept well, not just because of the pain, but for other reasons. Yet, being watched by Winona's concerned eyes, he couldn't bring himself to admit that he had spent the night restless and uncomfortable.
Winona got out of bed. "I'll go get you some breakfast. The doctor won't be here until eight, so you can sleep a bit more."
She spoke while heading to the bathroom to freshen up, feeling like she had forgotten something but couldn't recall what it was until she was about to leave. "Do you need to use the bathroom? I can help you."
"No need," Zachary replied, seeing Winona's skeptical look and fearing she might say something outrageous. "The caregiver took me earlier."
Winona couldn't carry much, so she ate at the store. Not knowing what Zachary wanted, she bought corn porridge, a sandwich, and a pie. As she approached the hospital room, she heard Zachary talking, "They've already checked on me. You should leave."
"I'm not here to see you. Can you have some dignity? Timothy probably got so mad because you have none, and that's why he wanted to drag you down with him."
Winona was speechless.
It was Austin's voice.
These two, whenever they got together, they just mocked each other, unable to have a normal conversation, more childish than kids.
Winona pursed her lips in exasperation, about to push the door open when a female voice followed, "Mr. Bailey, here's some water."
The voice sounded familiar. Winona thought for a moment but couldn't place it until she saw the person. "Ms. Watson?"
Zachary replied, "No thanks."
Their voices overlapped.
"Okay, Mr. Bailey."
Abigail placed the cup on the cabinet decisively, her face showing a relieved smile.
Winona was speechless.
She felt Abigail had been waiting for Zachary's refusal but couldn't understand why she would go through the motions if she didn't want to.
Austin's gaze fell on Winona, or more precisely, on the breakfast she was carrying, sarcastically mocking someone, "Is he so broke he's about to go bankrupt, can't even afford a caregiver, and has to have you bring him breakfast?"
Austin had been there for a while and hadn't seen anyone else come in besides doctors and nurses. Seeing Winona with the food, he frowned and spoke coldly, "Zachary, you're almost paralyzed, and you're letting her take care of you alone? She's a woman; can she handle you?"
Abigail stepped forward enthusiastically, taking the food from Winona's hands, blurting out, "Sponsor..."
Though she stopped herself in time, the room fell silent.
Winona's eyes widened in shock, turning to Zachary on the bed, silently asking, "What kind of trouble have you gotten into?"
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