Chapter 22 Does He Know About My Illness?

Does Sebastian love Eleanor? Why did he remain indifferent when she kneeled in the rain and gave up all her pride in front of everyone that day? But now,he has been guarding Eleanor for two days and nights without closing his eyes.
As the nurse pushed the medicine cart out of the intensive care unit,Michael arrived with a stack of documents to report on work to Sebastian at noon. After reading them,Sebastian signed several urgent files and handed them over to Michael before asking: "How is John's case going?"
"According to your instructions,we have submitted the evidence. John won't be sentenced to death but will probably just pay some money," replied Michael with confusion. He had followed Sebastian for many years and knew that he never engaged in unprofitable business deals. His methods were ruthless; he was even called a capital vampire. He would not leave any residue behind after stripping someone down.
Sebastian lowered his eyelids and said: "Alright,you can go back now."
Michael hesitated for a moment before speaking again: "Mr. Hastings,Miss Xia called me because she couldn't reach you by phone and asked when you'll be back..."
"Don't worry about her. You continue monitoring John's case while also cleaning up any online news videos related to Eleanor kneeling."
"Okay," replied Michael as he left quietly. He didn't expect that one casual question would lead to so much trouble.
Sebastian picked up a cup of warm water and carefully applied it onto Eleanor's dry lips using cotton swabs which made him smile bitterly since sometimes even himself could not understand why he did certain things.
Originally,they agreed only to spare John's life so that he could spend his remaining years in prison peacefully; however,now Sebastian planned on releasing him from jail which overturned their previous plan entirely.
Why did he do this?
Perhaps it was simply because he didn't want to upset Eleanor and see the disappointment in her eyes. Eleanor couldn't die yet; she had the same blood as Victoria,and they had signed an agreement between them. If Victoria were ever in danger or injured,who else could he turn to for help without Eleanor?
Sebastian threw away the cotton swab in his hand and walked towards the window. He opened a gap,revealing that Los Angeles had finally stopped raining after several days of continuous downpour. The sunlight slipped through the window like a thin layer of golden sand sprinkled on her blanket.
After staying indoors for too long,Sebastian's eyes were not used to seeing sunlight suddenly appear before him. He squinted slightly while looking into the distance only to find a rainbow hanging in mid-air.
He turned back to look at Eleanor lying on the bed with closed eyes and said gently: "Eleanor,it's sunny outside now,and there is even a rainbow appearing. When you wake up later,I'll take you out to have a look."
His voice was unexpectedly gentle even for himself.
"Don't worry about anything; Stone family won't fall apart; your father won't die or go to jail either; I won't leave here but will stay by your side all along."
Eleanor's fingertips moved slightly which caused some equipment beside her bedhead to beep suddenly.
Sebastian was startled by this sudden sound and quickly grabbed hold of Eleanor's hand while staring intently at her face calling out her name twice more.
Eleanor blinked slowly as if struggling against something heavy inside her mind until she finally managed to open both eyes fully...
The first thing she saw when opening them was a white ceiling above her head. Her brain felt scattered like loose sand that couldn’t be gathered together no matter how hard she tried concentrating on it. She stared blankly at the ceiling for quite some time before noticing Sebastian standing beside her bed.
She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything,just watched as he frantically pressed the call button and then went to the door to shout for someone before returning back to hold her hand while saying something.
Eleanor felt very unfamiliar with this side of Sebastian. For a moment,she thought she was dreaming until she moved her hand and felt the pain from the needle on its back which made it clear that this wasn't a dream.
She frowned and looked over at her hand where there was an intravenous catheter attached with a transparent tube hanging above it containing milky white liquid dripping slowly. Soon after,David arrived with two nurses and chased Sebastian out of the room.
"Eleanor,are you still in pain?" asked David. Her vital signs had returned to normal so there shouldn't be any danger for now.
Eleanor looked at David but couldn't speak; all she could do was shake her head indicating that she wasn’t feeling any pain even though every part of her body hurt right now - hands were cold,body soreness everywhere,anesthesia had worn off long ago leaving behind only faint pains from wounds. She just has the habit of suppressing these things,not letting the people who care about her worry.
David touched her hair and said,"You've been asleep for 46 hours. It's normal that you can't speak. You can moisten your throat with some water later." Eleanor had just undergone surgery and couldn't eat yet,so she could only rely on nutrient solution to maintain her bodily functions.
Eleanor nodded again.
David turned around and fetched a glass of water. He gently helped Eleanor sit up and watched as she took two sips.
"Feeling better?"
"I...I feel better..." Her voice was hoarse,as if there was a thorn stuck in her throat causing pain when speaking.
Eleanor spoke softly,and the other people in the ward instinctively quieted down to hear what she had to say. The room became so quiet that they could hear the woman's slightly heavy breathing. She tilted her head towards the door and asked in a hoarse voice,"Does he know about my illness?"