Me After Meeting You

Calvin was still angry. He knew that, at this time, he should calm down, act kindly, and be considerate of her actions.

But he couldn’t stand it.

His mind was consumed by agitation and a tinge of sorrow, but his tone did become gentler. “Do you care that much about him? What about me? Even after I came here in this wretched state, why didn’t you ask why? When I said that I was drunk, did you really believe that? Why was I drunk, what did I do while I was drunk-don’t you care about any of that? Do you only care about him?”

Amber took a deep breath. What he was saying wasn’t technically correct; in reality, she had asked him all those questions when he had first entered through the door. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but rather that she could tell that he didn’t want to answer.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about this. She looked at him directly. “Calvin, I already know why you got drunk, and I also know why you’re not feeling well. But I can only say one thing: I’m not romantically involved with Ian at all. As I said yesterday, he’s ill, and there’s a reason why I have to personally take care of him. If you believe me, then I’ll be very happy, but if not, then I also understand why.”

“This again.” Calvin smiled a desolate smile. “You say all this as if I’m a petty person. You always ask me to believe you, but how can I? Don’t you feel that your care and attention to him is way beyond what’s normal? Amber, I really want to be generous and gracious, but I don’t like that you’re so close to him. No matter what you think, I don’t like it.”

He had finally revealed his deepest thoughts. With his heart bare, he looked at her, his expression pleading for her to consider his feelings.

Before, Amber had always felt that Calvin was too introverted and that he was bottling all his emotions up in his heart. She didn’t expect that a day would come when he could be so forward.

But this was fine too, as it allowed them to exchange thoughts candidly. She didn’t get mad, turning back around instead. “Alright, I’m sorry. I was too hasty when deciding just now.” She reached out for his hand and guided it to her face. “I know that it’s not good for me to act like this since it bothers you. However, please don’t be angry, alright?”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

“Then are you still going to go?”

Amber didn’t respond, so Calvin slowly retrieved his hand and left without another word.

Amber called out to him a few times, but he never responded. In the end, she had no choice but to let him go.

She felt that, since he was still angry, it would be better for her to wait for him to calm down before explaining everything, but she didn’t realize that, when Calvin saw no sign of Amber chasing after him as he walked out, the disappointment in his heart was almost enough to drown him.

All men held an insatiable desire within their hearts. Before Calvin and Amber’s relationship had solidified, Calvin had been able to wait for her patiently despite her other “boyfriend”. However, now that their relationship was confirmed, Calvin found that he wasn’t able to stand seeing her care so much about any other man.

Especially after what happened last night.

After Calvin’s outburst, even though Amber was certain that she would be able to get back together with him, she didn’t feel very well.

She rubbed her face vigorously, and then did so again. Only after she felt like she had rubbed all her unease away did she rush to the hospital.

***

The Axton family was arranged in a neat little row. After a night had passed, Ian’s father had also arrived, and he was currently standing with his parents in front of Ian’s ward. Apparently, his brother had also come, but Amber didn’t see him anywhere.

Ian’s grandmother explained, “He’s still a kid in school. It’s useless for him to be here, so we made him leave first.”

Amber didn’t mind, and instead tried to persuade Ian’s grandparents to rest. “If there’s nothing to do, then the two of you should go rest as well. Mr. Axton will have the best doctors taking care of him. If you persist, then not only will be delaying his recovery, but the two of you might also get sick.”

Ian’s father was also trying to persuade his parents to leave.

Ian’s grandmother, however, was very stubborn. “I’m not leaving. With the way he is now, how can I leave without worrying?”

Ian’s father logically rebutted, “But you can’t help even if you’re here.”

He was trying to take care of his mother, but this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ian’s grandmother was originally just worried about her grandson, but when she heard this, she became so angry that she stopped caring about her image and turned to her son, prepared to give him a public scolding.

“Then, how about you? Are you of any use right now? As his father, are you even worried about your son? If I hadn’t called you so many times last night, would you have come home at all? When have you ever cared about your son? You’re already middle-aged; a failure of a father leads to a failure of a son. If someday the two of us die, then this family’s going to fall apart too!”

Ian’s father was a middle-aged man in a position of power, and he was made so discomfited by this public humiliation that he turned to leave, not even properly greeting Amber.

Ian’s grandmother began to tremble in anger, and his grandfather’s expression also turned more serious as the corners of his mouth drooped.

Amber felt very awkward about stepping into this situation and was getting ready to leave when Ian’s grandmother suddenly pulled on her hand, complaining, “What’s going to happen to our little Ian? He’s never been close to his father even when he was young, and now he’s fallen ill-he’s still not married. What can he do in the future?”

Only then did Amber find an excuse to leave. “Don’t worry. Even though septicemia is a troublesome disease, it’s not hard to treat once we determine the bacteria responsible for it. Please don’t be too anxious. I’ll go look at him, alright?”

Ian’s grandmother finally let go of her.