Santiago made his way back to the ward after he had lunch. He could be seen holding a cell phone which bore a striking resemblance to Raeleigh's phone, except that it had more advanced features. It was a limited-edition phone.
Scarlette walked towards Santiago the moment he arrived at the ward. She then muttered under her breath about Raeleigh tirelessly tending to the siblings. Santiago patted her head and said, "Go. Get Hadrian to buy you a cell phone. It's on me."
"Aww, that's very kind of you, Mr. Santiago."
Scarlette turned around and left. Santiago kept the phone somewhere outside the ward. Raeleigh was rinsing a towel when Santiago thrusted the door and went into the ward. Although it was a new towel, she insisted on having it rinsed before using it.
She snuck a glance as Santiago walked into the ward. As soon as she noticed it was Santiago, she went into the washroom again.
Santiago walked towards Zorion and said, "I'm going back to the school tomorrow morning. Could you get someone to look after both of you?" "Raeleigh can stay over, can’t she?" Zorion said as she glanced at the washroom. Santiago sniggered and said, "Well my brother has never bossed her around like a servant. What makes you think you can boss her around?"
Deanna was elated when she saw Santiago. However, she looked grim at that moment.
"That was not the case," Deanna said. "We didn’t boss her around. In fact, she's the one who offered to help us..."
"Bullcrap," Santiago said as he turned around, looking visibly annoyed. Nobody had ever been that rude to Deanne. Teary-eyed, she directed her gaze towards Zorion.
"It has never been our intention to treat her like a servant," Zorion asserted. "Quite the contrary, she has been kind enough to offer us help since we're not well."
"Well, then she should stop being kind," Santiago said. "Deanna's food poisoning has nothing to do with her in the first place. Even if she did not buy those watermelons, the perpetrators would cook up another vicious plan against me sooner or later. If someone shall ever be held accountable, that would be me, not Raeleigh. Granted, I shall be held responsible. However..."
"If Deanna hadn't been abducted, then I wouldn't have been admitted to the hospital," Santiago added. "On that note, I'm sure that you could tell Raeleigh's not involved."
Visibly irritated, Zorion said, "You' ve been blabbering. What message do you wish to drive home?"
"Raeleigh is under no obligation to stay over to look after both of you, much less getting bossed around like a servant," Santiago said.
"For the record, we didn’t boss her around," Deanna said. She had been agitated, so much so that she almost fell off the bed. However, she remained still at the moment as she was taking an injection. She has always been faint-hearted when it came to getting jabbed. It was not surprising to find her crying her eyes out whenever she got jabbed.
"Stop making excuses." Santiago brushed her off. "Raeleigh has been busy looking after you. If she were to be bedridden, then would you go so far as to stay over the hospital looking after her tirelessly?"
Dazed, Zorion directed his gaze towards the washroom door. Raeleigh happened to walk out of the washroom at that moment and overheard the conversation.
"My brother has never bossed her around," Santiago said. "I was the one who injured her forehead. He has warned me not to do that again." "You've never been able to win her heart," Santiago added. "You wouldn't shower her with as much love as my brother did anyway. So, I guess it's been a lucky escape for her."
"It's better to let go."
Santiago turned around and glanced at Raeleigh. "Come on, you’ re the daughter- in- law of the Richards family," he said. "Don't be reduced to a doormat."
Then, he thrusted the door and walked out of the ward. "Get out of here," he commanded.
Raeleigh stood by the entrance to the washroom. Awkwardness was written all over her face. She did not take his words to heart as she knew that he could be ill-mannered at times.
"Rest well," Raeleigh said. "Let me have a word with him." Raeleigh thrusted the door and walked out of the ward. As soon as Santiago saw her, he turned around and walked towards the other end of the corridor. Raeleigh trailed along and grabbed him by the arm.
"What’s wrong with you?" Raeleigh asked irritably. Santiago replied nonchalantly, "Well, what do you think?"
Raeleigh paused for a moment. Then, she said, "I was just helping out. Nobody's in the ward. I can’t let them use the unwashed towel, can I?" "Get someone else to do it. Why hasn’t Scarlette been helping out?"
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