Kicked Out, Flash-Married, and Now He Won't Let Me Go

It was several minutes before Vivian received a reply from Vance Wyatt.

Vivian concluded that since Vance could usually reply in seconds but couldn’t today, he must be genuinely busy.

"I’m already coordinating with the hospital and have arranged for professionals to head over. As for whether we can find anything, it’s still uncertain. Madam, is everything alright on your end?

"The caregiver I arranged should arrive at the hospital in about half an hour. Do you need me to prepare lunch for you, President Faulkner, and the Old Madam?"

Vivian considered it for a moment, gently patted Julian sitting beside her, leaned her head close to his ear, and whispered, "Vance asked if we need him to arrange lunch."

"Yes."

Julian agreed softly and asked, "How are things progressing on his end?"

Vivian shook her head. Julian didn’t show any disappointment; he simply acknowledged it and said, "Tell him. When he comes over, have him bring my spare laptop.

"I will be staying here all day."

"Okay."

Vivian agreed and thought carefully. Since the investigation wasn’t making any progress, she figured she might as well take the initiative. She would go check on Annie’s situation!

"Julian, I’m going out for a breath of fresh air. Um... I’ll be back soon. If you need anything, text me, okay?" Vivian made a casual excuse.

Julian raised his eyes and gave her an earnest look.

For some reason, Vivian suddenly felt that an inexplicable, unspoken understanding had formed between her and Julian. It was as if he could tell exactly what she wanted to do, whether it was intentional or not. And now, it seemed Julian had also realized there was a specific task she had in mind.

"Alright." Julian didn’t ask further. His gaze flickered slightly as he added, "Be careful."

"I will," Vivian replied softly. She glanced again at Grandma Faulkner, who was sleeping in the bed.

Grandma Faulkner’s complexion seemed a bit better than before, and her breathing was steady. She appeared to be resting well, which put Vivian’s mind at ease.

Leaving the ward, Vivian headed to the nurses’ station and asked about Annie’s condition.

"Where is she right now? Has she been discharged, or is she still hospitalized for observation? With what happened to my grandmother and her, I really feel quite uneasy about it all." Vivian hinted to the nurse that she actually wanted to visit Annie.

The nurse was aware of the Faulkner family’s situation. Figuring that someone of Vivian’s status wouldn’t do anything untoward, she gave her a general update.

"She was an older expectant mother, so losing the baby took a huge toll on her body. Having just finished surgery, she’ll probably need to rest in the hospital for a couple of days.

"Her room is..."

After the nurse finished, Vivian thanked her politely.

She was fairly familiar with Concordia Hospital, having actually stayed here for a while in her previous life. Following the signs to the obstetrics and gynecology department, she arrived quickly.

Annie was also staying in a private room.

When Vivian walked over and noticed this, she couldn’t help but feel surprised. Concordia Hospital was considered one of the top hospitals in the country. Tens of thousands of people fought for a single appointment with a specialist, and securing a bed was incredibly difficult.

Julian was able to get Grandma Faulkner a private room only because he had communicated with the hospital in advance, informing them she would be coming in for a checkup and requesting they reserve it. Yet Annie had somehow managed to get a private room as well.

Vivian stood outside the room and glanced in that direction. She didn’t see Lawyer Donovan anywhere and wondered if he had already left. Looking around, she suddenly had an idea.

Fifteen minutes later, Vivian, now changed into a nurse’s uniform, walked up to Annie’s door and knocked gently.

"Ms. Adler," Vivian called out. Forcing a professional smile, she asked mildly, "I’m here to record your vitals. Is this a good time?"

"Come in," Annie replied in heavily accented Veridian.

Vivian could tell that Annie had lived abroad for a long time; she wasn’t proficient in Veridia’s native language and spoke it poorly. But she could still speak it.

According to the information from Julian, Annie was born overseas. Her parents were among the early wave of migrant workers who went to Solara, so the environment she grew up in must have been predominantly English-speaking. Furthermore, for a woman like Annie, who harbored dreams of marrying a foreign tycoon to live a life of luxury, the world abroad was the best place to be. She had absolutely no need to return to the country.

So how did she know how to speak Veridian?

Harboring these doubts, Vivian entered the room, approached the bed, and subconsciously observed Annie.

She looked haggard. However, compared to how she looked when she was first wheeled into the operating room, she seemed slightly better. Vivian noticed traces of makeup on her face. Had she applied some cushion foundation?

Impressive, Vivian thought. She truly was a woman whose goal was to snag a rich man. Even right after a miscarriage, she was able to quickly make herself look presentable again.

As she pretended to take notes, Vivian’s eyes swept the room and landed on Annie’s phone resting nearby. The screen was still open to WhatsApp. It showed that she had just been on a video call. There was no name at the top of the chat window. It was unclear whether Annie hadn’t set a nickname for this person or if she had meticulously hidden all their details. The person’s WhatsApp profile picture was also completely black.

Perhaps Vivian had been a bit too obvious in her staring. Noticing something was off, Annie reached over, grabbed her phone, and hid it under the covers.

She then looked at Vivian and asked, "Miss Nurse, are you done recording? How is my body doing?"

Vivian withdrew her gaze, put her clipboard away, and maintained her fake professional smile as she replied, "All done. Ms. Adler, your physical condition..."

She made up some medical jargon on the spot. She knew Annie’s general situation anyway, so saying just about anything would do. It was unlikely Annie would get suspicious.

Sure enough, after hearing her out, Annie merely nodded quietly and didn’t say anything.

"Ms. Adler," Vivian began again, deciding to take the initiative. "Will you be alright staying here by yourself? Do you need a caregiver arranged to look after you?

"Actually, generally speaking, when a lady goes through something like this, her husband should be by her side."

As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian put on an expression of someone who had just realized they had misspoken and brought up a painful subject. "I’m sorry, Ms. Adler."

Annie had been all by herself this entire time. It was highly possible she was pregnant out of wedlock, or had been abandoned by her husband, so Vivian bringing it up was definitely impolite.

Annie just glanced at her and said indifferently, "My husband? He’s been dead for a long time. As for a caregiver, I’ve already contacted my friend to arrange someone to look after me.

"The hospital doesn’t need to worry about it. Just let me be discharged early once I’ve recovered in a few days."

Vivian was taken aback. Dead for a long time? What did that mean? How long exactly? If it had been more than seven or eight months, then the baby in Annie’s womb...

This sudden influx of information was almost too much to process all at once.

Just then, there was another knock at the door. Lawyer Donovan, who had gone off to who knows where, had suddenly returned. Standing outside, he called out, "Ms. Adler, I’m back."

Hearing Lawyer Donovan’s voice, Annie sat up a little straighter and said to Vivian, "Thank you. I have things to attend to, so you can go back to your work."

"Okay."

Recognizing Lawyer Donovan’s voice, Vivian instinctively pulled her nurse’s cap down a bit lower, lowered her head, and slipped out of the room.