Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"Fine, look what you've done!" The man crumpled the prescription into a ball and hurled it at Hallie furiously.
The paper ball struck Hallie's gown and dropped to the floor.
Hallie squatted, picked it up, unfolded the crumpled sheet, and inspected each word carefully.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "I didn't write these words... I've never prescribed this medication."
Moments earlier, the old lady's harrowing experience had struck terror into the hearts of surrounding patients and their families, who feared falling prey to such a negligent doctor themselves.
They were determined to have such an irresponsible doctor expelled from the hospital.
"Who else could have tampered with your prescription? After you wrote it, only the patient's family had access to it. Are you suggesting he deliberately harmed his own mother?"
"Exactly! The old lady almost died, and you're not even sorry, just making excuses! Where's your conscience as a doctor?"
"Are all doctors at Mentville Medical Center like this? Where's the dean? We need to see him. This irresponsible doctor must be cancelled!"
"Hold her accountable!"
As fellow patients and family members seeking medical care in the same hospital, they rallied together instantly. Their disgusted and disdainful stares pierced Hallie like pins.
The atmosphere, once harmonious, now crackled with tension. Public sentiment turned sharply against Hallie, and even the medical staff beside her began eyeing her with thinly veiled suspicion.
What a feeling of being targeted by everyone...
Hallie felt as if she'd been a public enemy. Rage, grievance, and defiance welled up, but she had nowhere to vent.
Her fair fingers clenched into fists, nails nearly digging into her palms.
Speechless and overwhelmed, she turned away from the insults and walked toward her office.
"Follow me," she said, glancing at Nelson, who had been observing the scene with one hand in his pocket. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Nelson thought, 'Is she asking me for help?'
A sarcastic arc curled his sexy thin lips as he trailed Hallie.
"Take off your clothes."
Hallie's words hit Nelson as soon as he stepped into the office.
His eyes misted over with complicated emotion, his voice threaded through with doubt.
"Does this job mean so much to you? Enough to sacrifice your..."
The word "body" caught in his throat, half-swallowed as he watched Hallie retrieve alcohol swabs from the cabinet.
"What are you rambling about?" Hallie frowned, eyeing him up and down with thinly veiled impatience.
"Hurry. I need to investigate this matter after dealing with your injury. No time to waste."
A ceramic flowerpot careened into his back, jolting a wrenching pain. But Nelson had long been accustomed to bearing pain.
Still, he hadn't expected Hallie's first thought to be his condition.
He thought, 'Is she sincere? Or playing a cruel ruse to make me pity her, then volunteer to help?'
He scanned her calm face with a blend of scrutiny and an unnamable strange emotion.
As he unbuttoned his suit jacket, Hallie's pupils constricted. She had prepared for gravity, but the reality was graver than she'd fathomed.
His white shirt was saturated with blood. A two-inch gash gaped in his back, the fabric caked to the wound like congealed wax.
She swallowed her saliva and took out scissors to carefully snip his shirt.
His broad back looked deceptively sturdy.
To spare Nelson further pain, Hallie peeled the fabric from the wound inch by inch, though each strip still felt like a fresh torture for him.
His jaw tensed, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Beyond the searing pain, he felt the soft brush of Hallie's fingertips and the faint wash of her breath.
It fueled his irritation and unease, but he was too afraid to process why he would feel so.
Clenching his teeth, Nelson taunted her. "Come on, give me a quick break. Are you so reluctant to let go of my body? Didn't get enough that night... ah."
Before he could finish, Hallie abruptly ripped the cloth stuck to the wound. Nelson yelped, caught off guard.
"Satisfied? You can have a break now," Hallie said icily.
"You..." Nelson spun to glare at her, eyes blazing.
Hallie ignored his fury, her face blank as she stared at the gash and continued dressing it.
Ten minutes later, she went to a nearby shop and bought a men's white shirt, then tossed it to Nelson.
Nelson caught it. His chiseled fingers flinched at the fabric, his expression twisting in distaste.
He ran his fingers over the fabric, his brows furrowing into a deeper frown.
Hallie bit back a retort, thinking, 'Considering his style and standard, I spent nearly 200 dollars on a designer shirt from the brand store, and this is how he reacts?
'Fine. Whether for Grandfather or not, he got hurt because of me. Tolerating his tantrums is the least I can do.'
"I don't know your usual brands. This was the best I could find nearby. Just make do with it."
"Don't you know I've never tolerated wearing such shoddy clothes?" Nelson yanked on the shirt, his eyes snapping up to meet hers.
As Hallie stored the disinfectant, she suddenly had a realization: 'He didn't come here to take that flowerpot for me.'
"Why are you here today? If you need an appointment, I can help."
It would be a peace offering, of sorts.
"Help me?" He scoffed. "You can't even clear your own name. How can you help me?"
"You seemed entertained watching me get framed." Hallie's voice sharpened as she recalled his amused smirk.
"So what? Can't people laugh at your blunders?"
She exhaled. "Your prerogative." Turning to leave, she stopped at his sudden question.
"Do you know how to treat depression?"
Frowning, Hallie paused.
She turned to Nelson and saw a rare flicker of worry beneath his usual sarcasm.
"I came for Regina's report today. The doctor called, telling me she might be suffering from depression."