The room was suddenly illuminated when Isabella switched on the light.
The man lay on the bed, his eyes tightly shut, the glaring light shining on his face.
Isabella was instantly captivated.
She shouldn't be staring at this time, but this man was just too handsome.
His wet hair hung over his forehead, but it didn't detract from his handsome brows and eyes, his straight nose, and smooth lips... His facial features melded together, flawless and perfect.
Despite his pale complexion, it somehow accentuated his handsome face with a sickly beauty.
Although his clothes were smudged with mud and stained with blood, they couldn't conceal the powerful aura emanating from him, making Isabella inexplicably feel that he exuded a noble king-like temperament.
Suddenly, she noticed something sticking out of his chest pocket, and she was curious. She pulled it out and found two soggy pieces of paper.
The papers were soft and damp. Isabella gently peeled them apart and carefully identified them. One turned out to be a shelter card, but the critical information like the name was already soaked and blurred.
A shelter card? Was he a homeless man?
Isabella pursed her lips and looked at him again.
How could a homeless man be so good-looking and have such charisma? His clothes were dirty and torn, but it was evident that they were of considerable value.
Or perhaps, he used to be a big shot, but went bankrupt, so he ended up alone and helpless, eventually wandering into a shelter.
Considering his current situation, Isabella thought her speculation wasn't impossible.
In that case, he was also quite pitiful. Like her, homeless and injured.
Isabella shook her head, then carefully unfolded the other piece of paper.
This piece of paper crumbled at the slightest touch, and after piecing it together for a while, she could vaguely make out a hospital diagnosis, with ‘leukopenia’ written in the diagnosis section.
Is Leukopenia similar to Leukemia?
No wonder he refused to go to the hospital. A penniless homeless man must owe the hospital a huge medical bill and fled from it.
A surge of immense sympathy welled up in Isabella. She felt that being kicked out of her home was already miserable, but compared to the man in front of her, it was nothing.
At least she was physically healthy, had a place to stay, and still had the opportunity to strive for a better future.
When a girl's compassion overflowed, she would become exceptionally gentle.
Lying on the bed, Lucius naturally had no idea that Isabella had already drawn conclusions about him. So when he opened his eyes, he saw this lovely and beautiful girl frowning, staring at him with pitying eyes, like an abandoned kitten or puppy.
He couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation on his scalp.
Lucius's wound throbbed painfully, and he felt warm liquid continuously flowing out of it. And this woman had brought him home, but now she was just foolishly looking at him. Did she want to watch him bleed to death?
He furrowed his brow and laboriously lifted his hand, pointing to the wound on his leg, his voice hoarse, "Quick, bandage it."
Isabella snapped back to reality, feeling the sharpness of his gaze, and quickly exclaimed, bending down to check his wounds.
Only then did she realize that he had several large and small wounds all over his body, with blood seeping out from his shoulders, back, and legs. Especially the wound on his leg was the most severe, with blood soaking through his pants, staining them red.
Was he hit by a car? But his body was covered in dirt, making it look more like he had rolled down from a mountain and got scratched up.
They all looked very painful!
Isabella sucked in a breath, hurriedly stood up, rummaged through the cabinets, found some medicine, and began binding his leg with a bandage. As she did so, she muttered to herself, "Let me stop the bleeding first. You've lost so much blood, you need to go to the hospital tomorrow."
"No need!" Lucius straightforwardly refused.
Isabella sighed and turned to look at him, earnestly persuading, "I know you have no money. But which is more important, money or life?"
Seeing the transparent expression on the girl's face that seemed to say, ‘I knew it all along,’ Lucius was stunned for a moment, and a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
No money to go to the hospital? Hmm, this reason was not bad.
After bandaging the wound, Isabella suddenly paused, panic-stricken, and exclaimed, "Oh no, why is the blood flowing even more?"
Lucius lowered his head to look at his legs, which were hastily wrapped into a large mummy. She hadn't even properly wrapped the wound; instead, due to the pressure of the bandage, more blood flowed from the wound.
He felt speechless, propping himself up and saying disdainfully, "You didn't bind it at the wound site. Quickly take it off."
"Oh, okay," Isabella hurriedly removed the bandage, struggling to unravel it. But the more she tried, the tighter it became, ending up as a tangled mess that couldn't be undone.
Isabella glanced awkwardly at Lucius.
More blood flowed from the wound, making Lucius frustrated. He questioned her with his eyes: Are you trying to help me?
Feeling guilty, Isabella stood up anxiously, saying, "I'll get scissors." However, as she stepped forward, she slipped and fell onto Lucius.
He groaned in pain, his face turning pale.
Covered in wounds and now crushed by her weight, wouldn't she crush him to death?
"Sorry, sorry..." Isabella propped him up, quickly getting up, almost on the verge of tears.
This foolish woman!
Lucius gritted his teeth in frustration. "Cut open the pant leg."
"Okay..." Isabella felt extremely guilty, her voice barely audible.
She cut along the pant leg, revealing bloodied skin, but still no sign of the wound.
Lucius watched nervously, fearing she might cause further harm.
Isabella couldn't help but think, his leg is really long.
Even after cutting open the entire pant leg, the wound still wasn't visible. As she neared the end, more and more blood flowed from near the thigh.
Isabella's hands trembled. The wound was at the root of the thigh.
To bandage it here, she had to cut open his entire pants.
So she had to cut off the waistband entirely.
Inside, shorts were revealed. Isabella accidentally glanced and immediately blushed.
But seeing the bleeding wound on the inner side of the thigh, she ignored her embarrassment and wrapped it with a bandage.
Because of her earlier mistake, this time she was very careful. To prevent any errors, she stayed close to him.
The girl's unique faint fragrance filled the air, momentarily captivating Lucius.
Strange, he didn't feel repelled by this girl at all.
Isabella knelt between his legs, her delicate hands gently touching his skin, like a gentle breeze over a lake, causing ripples.
Her soft and plump body inadvertently touched his leg, her warm breath occasionally blowing onto him, tickling...
Lucius inexplicably shuddered. He didn't expect this slender-looking girl to have such a figure.
Damn it, a surge of heat rushed to his lower abdomen... He involuntarily reacted to a woman for the first time, and in such an inappropriate situation.
Lucius quickly pulled his clothes down to cover.
Luckily, she wrapped it very carefully and didn't notice his change at all.
The girl furrowed her eyebrows, her rosy lips tightly pursed, appearing stubborn yet cute.
This stubborn look, paired with her beautiful face, was quite amusing and adorable to Lucius. He almost couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her.
This time, the bandaging was very successful, and the bleeding stopped quickly.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Isabella breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What's your name?"
***
As if reading her thoughts, Lucius embraced her and held her face, looking into her eyes. “I love you,” he admitted, his gaze unwavering. “I always have. Ever since the first time we met, I admired your strength and your passion. I wanted to be someone you could rely on, someone who would stand by you, even if it meant hiding who I was.”Isabella searched his eyes for any sign of deception, but all she found was raw honesty. The realization settled within her like a weight being lifted. The anger that had flared between them now seemed trivial compared to the bond they had forged through adversity. “No more secrets, okay?”“Agreed,” he said, relief flooding his features. “I promise to be honest with you from here on out. And please don’t worry about the Rivera Corporation. I’ll help you resolve everything.”“You know?” Isabella blinked, startled once again.“I said I was on a business trip because I’m helping you solve the problems at the Rivera Corporation. Your father is critically i
When Isabella finally finished her work and could take a moment to rest, she remembered that someone was waiting for her at home. She quickly took out her phone to send a message.She had expected to find numerous missed calls and messages from Lucius, given his personality, but to her surprise, there was only one message.“Bella, I’ll be busy traveling with my boss for the next few days, so don’t worry about me.”Of course, Lucius had his own life and couldn’t revolve entirely around her. Yet, for some reason, Isabella felt uneasy upon reading that message.As fatigue set in, she had no choice but to rest in the office for a while.She slept soundly until night fell and was awakened by Nate shaking her.“Miss, there’s a banquet tonight where you need to attend as the representative of the Rivera Corporation. We can't let others see us in a bad light; it’s best if you can bring in some investment for the company,” Nate said, immediately arranging for a stylist and a wardrobe for Isabe
"Are you sure it’s not needed?"“Miss, what do you mean?” Nate, perceptive and sharp, immediately understood after hearing Isabella’s words—Regina was involved.Isabella nodded and said to Nate, “Before, when I was slandered, I had a huge argument with my father because I discovered that Regina was behind the losses of the Rivera Corporation. But I only heard fragments of her conversation; I had no evidence.”“I’ll go retrieve the accounts! As long as there are financial transactions, we should be able to uncover the truth,” Nate said, quickly heading towards the company.After all, with Carlos in his current state, only the doctors and nurses could help him now.Once Nate left, no one else appeared outside the hospital room.Isabella dialed Regina’s number.
As Isabella listened to their conversation, a realization struck her. She stepped forward, hesitating for a moment before asking, “Is this the woman you saw?”Barely able to contain her excitement, she pulled out a photo of her mother and handed it to the person who had been speaking.“Yes, yes, that’s her!” The person, startled by Isabella’s sudden appearance, nodded in recognition. After all, such a beautiful woman was unforgettable after just one meeting.“I clearly remember that she was kidnapped by a man living in this building, and Regina was being chased by debt collectors. She even tried to confront that man, provoking him and putting herself at risk with those pursuing her for money.”“Oh, isn’t that just typical of her? Deep in debt and not even trying to earn her way out,” one person scoffed.“I can’t believe it!” Isabella clenched her fists in anger, her eyes wide with disbelief.Her mother had only mentioned her benefactor once,
“You don’t even share the Knight last name, and you dare to argue with me in front of my parents, and my own nephew? You really have some nerve!” Giselle coldly shot a glance at Lydia, not holding back her disdain for her. When it came to matters of interest, she didn’t even want to pretend anymore.“What do you mean I don’t share the last name? I’ve carried a Knight family member in my belly! My poor Lily is still in the hospital, all alone, receiving treatment while her mother is being bullied like this. It’s really inhumane!” Lydia put on her usual act, crying and making a scene, appealing to everyone’s sympathy for her sick daughter.Lydia was merely the daughter of a subordinate of Lucius’ father—Jay. At a banquet, she climbed the social ladder and successfully became Jay’s mistress, even getting pregnant.She gave birth to a daughter, Lily Knight, but the child was born frail and weak.
“Did they send you as a negotiator?” Hearing Lysander mention the Knight family, Lucius couldn't help but sneer, dismissively saying, “They’re all useless leeches clinging to me. None of them genuinely care about my well-being.”The reason Lucius had been gravely injured in front of Isabella was recently revealed to be the work of a business competitorBut at that time, some members of the Knight family weren’t in a hurry to find him; they even tried to take advantage of his absence to seize control of the Knight Group.The ‘useless’ people Lucius referred to included his stepmother—Lydia, his aunt—Giselle, and Lydia's brother, Hans.They all had their eyes on the Knight Group, clearly incompetent and unable to do anything, yet they harbored grand ambitions of taking it for themselves.Over the years, Lucius had cleaned up many of their messes.Fo