Before Zayn could pick her up, Carla stopped him. "I can go to the hospital myself. You don't have to come with me, Mr. Giblo, " she said coolly.
"Can you stop putting on an act?" Zayn snarled, his teeth gritted angrily.
"You—"
"Shut up!" Zayn didn't give her a chance to speak as he picked her up and stalked out.
"Zayn Giblo, let me down this instant!" Carla hissed. "Let me down!"
Ignoring her cries, Zayn brought her to his car. He was about to get in after her when Benard reminded him, "Er, Ms. Gold is still here."
It was only then that Zayn remembered Nella's existence. He turned at his shoulder and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I have to go to the hospital now."
"It's fine. I understand." Nella flashed a smile. She urged, "You should hurry and send Ms. Lierger to the hospital. We can meet up another time."
"Mm, " Zayn grunted in response. He told Benard, "Give Ms. Gold a ride home."
"Yes."
Freda drove the car to the hospital, and Naya occupied the passenger seat.
By then, Carla was already shaking like a leaf. Her face was as pale as a sheet, but she forced herself to stay quiet by biting down hard on her lip.
The dagger was extremely sharp. If she had held it any tighter, her right palm would've been sliced off.
A fresh swell of rage rose in Zayn at the sight of her trembling figure. "Are you a fool? Why did you grab the dagger with your bare hand? Do you think I'm not his match? Even if he tried to attack me, I could've pinned him down easily. There was no need to act foolishly."
"Don't overthink. I wasn't trying to protect you, " retorted Carla in a disdainful tone. "I don't want this to escalate into a fight. If I don't stop him, and one of you gets hurt, the consequences will be horrible."
"You…" Zayn trailed off, speechless. He couldn't bring himself to blame her, for she was already wounded.
Soon, they arrived at the hospital. Naya promptly got to work on Carla's wound as Freda and Zayn stood aside silently. Benard and his men showed up later on.
Finally, when the clock ticked past nine at night, Carla's wound was stitched up neatly. Naya prescribed some oral medicine and ointment before reminding Freda to take good care of her. She also offered to pay a visit a few days later to check on Carla's wound and change the dressing.
Arrangements were made, but Zayn wasn't satisfied. "What if your wound gets in contact with water? What if it gets infected? Naya, bring a few nurses with you and stay with her until she recovers completely."
"But I have an important surgery tomorrow, " Naya replied, torn. "And Dr. Solova is arriving a few days later."
"Won't you listen to my order?" Zayn frowned.
"Well…" Naya caved in. "All right. I'll make the arrangements now."
"No need, " Carla interjected. "It's just a superficial wound. You don't have to trouble her."
"Carla—"
"Thank you for your help, Naya. You can leave now, " Carla told Naya.
Naya shot a timid glance at Zayn, her feet rooted to the spot.
"You may leave now." She only made to leave when Zayn made the order.
On the way back home, Carla leaned into the seat weakly with her eye shut.
Zayn's expression was grim. A heavy silence hung in the air.
Both Benard and Freda dared not utter a word.
Ring, ring!
Right then, Carla's phone rang.
She tried to use her left hand to take the phone in her right pocket, but it proved to be a difficult mission.
Furrowing his brows, Zayn took her phone out and glanced at the screen. It was a call from Randy, so he answered it promptly. "Randy!"
"Daddy?" Randy was shocked to hear his voice. "Are you with Mommy right now?"
"Yes. Mommy's right beside me." Zayn turned on the loudspeaker.
"What's wrong, Randy?" asked Carla.
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