Queenie glowered at Arielle, her gaze oozing distaste. I thought Brielle had a heart of gold. Who would have known that she would disregard others' safety for her own benefit?
“Did you forget to brush your teeth this morning?” the elderly lady snapped with thinly-veiled anger.
“Take my advice and brush your teeth before talking to me.”
“What?” Queenie was flabbergasted. “But I've already brushed my teeth!”
“Then why is your mouth so foul? You might as well not brush it!” the elderly lady scoffed.
Queenie's face flushed scarlet as she belatedly understood the insult. The fact that she, the precious daughter of the Mills, had been publicly ridiculed by an old hag was mortifying.
“Am I wrong? Your belly was protruding when you arrived yesterday, and all the rounds of screening showed that you're pregnant. Now, your belly is gone after a night. The only logical explanation is that you got an abortion!”
Trying her best to maintain her composure, Queenie reasoned with the elderly lady, “I know that my words may not be pleasing to your ears, but they come from a good place. You're not that young anymore, so the risk of going through an abortion is incredibly high. Arielle is only encouraging you to go for the surgery so that she can get a good grade. She doesn't care for your health or safety because she's trying to achieve higher marks!”
Rage bubbled up within the elderly patient as she listened to Quennie ramble on about pregnancy and abortion. She had the itch to slap Queenie across the face.
“Didn't the young lady tell you yesterday that I'm not pregnant? Which part of that sentence do you not understand?”
The old woman stared at Queenie with contempt. This lady must be rotten to the core! Why else is she slandering the girl who's trying to treat me? Heaving a sigh, the elderly lady admonished, “There will be diseases that you don't know how to treat, and there will be people who are able to treat them. You can't be mad about that! You should know that there's always someone better than you out there. The only reason you aren't able to cure this illness is that your medical expertise isn't as good as hers.” The corners of Arielle’s lips quirked up in a smirk as she listened to the elderly lady berate Queenie. This old woman is way too amusing. But, Queenie is dumber than I thought. If the old woman really underwent an abortion, a woman her age would need to be hospitalized for at least eight to ten days and recuperate at home after. How would she have the energy to follow me to Silverbirch Hospital?
“Since you insist that it's not pregnancy, enlighten me on what disease it is then. How did you get rid of all the signs in the span of a night?” Queenie spluttered, severely offended that the elderly lady thought her to be less skilled than Arielle.
However, the more aggravated Queenie got, the more gleeful Arielle became. After all, it was gratifying to see her opponent upset.
“It's true that she isn't pregnant. Queenie, didn't I tell you yesterday that we shouldn't take things at surface value? Why can't you remember that?”
“Stop spouting nonsense and just tell me what happened to the old woman’s belly.” Queenie refused to believe that the elderly lady was sick. She had performed multiple checkups on her yesterday, and each screening showed that the elderly lady was indeed pregnant.
“Ms. Moore, we would like to know what illness the old lady had as well and how you healed her.” Viggo had grasped the situation and was also curious as to how Arielle had figured out the cause of the disease and its cure.
“This patient here was not pregnant. She was infected by a very rare parasite. Once infected by this parasite, the host might lose his or her life in half a year if the cause is not found. Conversely, if the root cause is identified in time and dealt with adequately, then the patient will be fine.” Arielle's face grew grim as she spoke.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Versatile Gorgeous Wife