Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 42: Chapter 42
You are reading Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire, Chapter 42: Chapter 42. Read more chapters of Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire.
"Let's go. Didn't you want me to lead the way?" Hallie said, her tone a touch challenging.
As she spoke, Hallie instinctively pulled Dustin behind her, as if shielding him from some beasts.
Nelson's brows furrowed, his displeasure more evident, but he said nothing and simply waited for Hallie to catch up.
Dustin quietly switched places with Nelson, falling to the back of the group.
Walking beside Nelson, Hallie lowered her voice so only he could hear.
"If you have a problem, take it out on me. No need to pick on someone innocent. Dustin has spent most of his life in the mountains—he's not much of a talker. Please, don't make things hard for him."
Nelson let out a mocking laugh. "Sounds like he's a saint, and I'm a bully picking on the weak, huh?"
Hallie said evenly, "If you put it that way, Dustin can live up to that. As the eldest son of his family, it's remarkable that he chose to settle in this small town and dedicate himself to serving its people.
"Moreover, Mr. Blair, you're quite the well-known figure in Callopston. If someone called you a 'bully' behind your back, I doubt anyone would object. You might even take it as a compliment."
Hallie thought calling him "well-known" was really putting it nicely, and "notorious" would be more accurate to describe Nelson.
Everyone knew that Callopston, as one of Hernland's most important economic hubs, had 95% of its ports under the Blair family's control.
Since the Blair family's resurgence six years ago, Blair Group had been expanding relentlessly, and its economic influence now extended far beyond Callopston.
The truly powerful families would never make much public fuss—they'd even suppress news about their inner workings.
So to this day, people in Callopston only knew that the city's most powerful family was the Blair family. As for the heir's real name, no one knew for sure; maybe they once did, but Nelson's carefully planted misinformation had long since muddied those waters.
Blair Group's influence permeated every industry. Anyone who dared to cross the Blair family or threaten their interests was doomed.
While the Blair Group stood as a top-tier financial powerhouse, its reputation was far from stellar. Their ruthless, almost tyrannical methods had spawned endless scandals.
Nelson could tell that Hallie's praise was laced with sarcasm.
Yet not a trace of anger appeared on his face. Instead, a faint, dangerous smile played at his lips, radiating quiet menace.
"If I called you clever and brave, would you accept it just as graciously?" Nelson asked.
Perfectly polite words, yet every syllable dripped with sarcasm when spoken by Nelson.
Hallie couldn't be bothered to argue with him any longer. Or she'd be pissed off by him.
After hiking along mountain trails for nearly six hours, it was already past 8 PM.
After anxiously waiting, the doctors and rescue team finally spotted flashlights beam in the distance. They immediately rushed forward, their faces lighting up with relief and gratitude.
Hallie had been picking her way carefully the whole way, terrified of leading them astray. Her mind had stayed taut as a wire, but now, seeing so many familiar faces, the tension finally drained from her—replaced by a wave of exhaustion that left her barely standing.
After a quick wash, Hallie went into the makeshift tent. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep—so exhausted that she didn't even care where Nelson would sleep.
Hallie didn't get out of bed until 10 AM the next morning.
She woke up to find no tents around her. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't been woken up repeatedly like on previous nights. 'Maybe everyone moved to another rest area?' she wondered.
Stepping outside, she saw she was right—two rest areas had been set up beside the makeshift clinic.
Most importantly, with the influx of additional rescue personnel, nearly all the debris outside had been cleared within two days, and all the injured had been properly accommodated.
The situation was steadily improving.
After changing her clothes, Hallie walked into the makeshift ward and examined the injured and changed their dressings as usual.
Though the tasks were much the same as before, the workload was nowhere near as heavy.
When they first arrived, it was like racing the Grim Reaper for lives. Yet now, it was practically a walk in the park.
If it weren't for Nelson's assistance, Hallie wasn't sure how many more patients here would have succumbed to the medicine shortage.
"Hallie." Just then, a boy's voice called out from behind her.
Hallie turned and saw the same boy who had brought her a blanket before, his face lit up with a grin.
Later, Hallie learned more about him. The boy was Zane Walker, a fresh medical school graduate who had volunteered for the relief effort out of sheer enthusiasm.
Hallie asked politely, "You must be exhausted these days, right?"
"Not really,' replied Zane.
Zane smiled hesitantly, his expression wavering as if he wanted to say something but held back.
After a few seconds of inner struggle, he finally blurted out, "Hallie, is that guy who's always with you your boyfriend?"
Hallie was in the middle of preparing medicine. Hearing this, she paused for a moment and looked at Zane.
She wondered, 'Who else has been spending time with me lately except Nelson? But what made Zane think Nelson is my boyfriend? Surely the marriage certificate can't create the strange atmosphere between us.'
Without changing her expression or stopping her work, Hallie asked, "Why do you think so?"
Seeing Hallie's nonchalant attitude, Zane immediately dismissed his suspicions.
"Oh, so he's not your boyfriend. Is he interested in you?" Zane grinned. "I mean, he was willing to go into the mountains with you, and last night, he specifically told everyone not to disturb your rest."
Hallie's hands paused briefly at Zane's words, though her face remained perfectly composed.
"Really?" she asked.
"Of course," Zane grinned. "You were already asleep last night, so you didn't see it. You know, those two tents were set up by the support team he sent over.
"Officially, they're for the medical staff, but honestly, I think half the reason was to make sure no one disturbed your rest. Everyone's saying we owe this comfort to you, so I wanted to thank you."
Hallie thought to herself, 'Zane really has quite the imagination.
'Sure, Nelson is cold, but even someone as indifferent as him would feel some compassion in a place like this.
'Telling people not to disturb my rest was probably just an afterthought.'
Still, Hallie had to admit to herself that Nelson really did help her.
'Come to think of it, Nelson barely had any water up in the mountains. I wonder if he's even eaten today,' Hallie thought to herself.
After a moment's consideration, she decided to cook something for him at lunchtime.
'I don't have much to offer Nelson in return,' she mused, 'but at least he can force down a little of the food I cooked—even if it's just barely.'
As she spoke, Hallie instinctively pulled Dustin behind her, as if shielding him from some beasts.
Nelson's brows furrowed, his displeasure more evident, but he said nothing and simply waited for Hallie to catch up.
Dustin quietly switched places with Nelson, falling to the back of the group.
Walking beside Nelson, Hallie lowered her voice so only he could hear.
"If you have a problem, take it out on me. No need to pick on someone innocent. Dustin has spent most of his life in the mountains—he's not much of a talker. Please, don't make things hard for him."
Nelson let out a mocking laugh. "Sounds like he's a saint, and I'm a bully picking on the weak, huh?"
Hallie said evenly, "If you put it that way, Dustin can live up to that. As the eldest son of his family, it's remarkable that he chose to settle in this small town and dedicate himself to serving its people.
"Moreover, Mr. Blair, you're quite the well-known figure in Callopston. If someone called you a 'bully' behind your back, I doubt anyone would object. You might even take it as a compliment."
Hallie thought calling him "well-known" was really putting it nicely, and "notorious" would be more accurate to describe Nelson.
Everyone knew that Callopston, as one of Hernland's most important economic hubs, had 95% of its ports under the Blair family's control.
Since the Blair family's resurgence six years ago, Blair Group had been expanding relentlessly, and its economic influence now extended far beyond Callopston.
The truly powerful families would never make much public fuss—they'd even suppress news about their inner workings.
So to this day, people in Callopston only knew that the city's most powerful family was the Blair family. As for the heir's real name, no one knew for sure; maybe they once did, but Nelson's carefully planted misinformation had long since muddied those waters.
Blair Group's influence permeated every industry. Anyone who dared to cross the Blair family or threaten their interests was doomed.
While the Blair Group stood as a top-tier financial powerhouse, its reputation was far from stellar. Their ruthless, almost tyrannical methods had spawned endless scandals.
Nelson could tell that Hallie's praise was laced with sarcasm.
Yet not a trace of anger appeared on his face. Instead, a faint, dangerous smile played at his lips, radiating quiet menace.
"If I called you clever and brave, would you accept it just as graciously?" Nelson asked.
Perfectly polite words, yet every syllable dripped with sarcasm when spoken by Nelson.
Hallie couldn't be bothered to argue with him any longer. Or she'd be pissed off by him.
After hiking along mountain trails for nearly six hours, it was already past 8 PM.
After anxiously waiting, the doctors and rescue team finally spotted flashlights beam in the distance. They immediately rushed forward, their faces lighting up with relief and gratitude.
Hallie had been picking her way carefully the whole way, terrified of leading them astray. Her mind had stayed taut as a wire, but now, seeing so many familiar faces, the tension finally drained from her—replaced by a wave of exhaustion that left her barely standing.
After a quick wash, Hallie went into the makeshift tent. The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep—so exhausted that she didn't even care where Nelson would sleep.
Hallie didn't get out of bed until 10 AM the next morning.
She woke up to find no tents around her. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't been woken up repeatedly like on previous nights. 'Maybe everyone moved to another rest area?' she wondered.
Stepping outside, she saw she was right—two rest areas had been set up beside the makeshift clinic.
Most importantly, with the influx of additional rescue personnel, nearly all the debris outside had been cleared within two days, and all the injured had been properly accommodated.
The situation was steadily improving.
After changing her clothes, Hallie walked into the makeshift ward and examined the injured and changed their dressings as usual.
Though the tasks were much the same as before, the workload was nowhere near as heavy.
When they first arrived, it was like racing the Grim Reaper for lives. Yet now, it was practically a walk in the park.
If it weren't for Nelson's assistance, Hallie wasn't sure how many more patients here would have succumbed to the medicine shortage.
"Hallie." Just then, a boy's voice called out from behind her.
Hallie turned and saw the same boy who had brought her a blanket before, his face lit up with a grin.
Later, Hallie learned more about him. The boy was Zane Walker, a fresh medical school graduate who had volunteered for the relief effort out of sheer enthusiasm.
Hallie asked politely, "You must be exhausted these days, right?"
"Not really,' replied Zane.
Zane smiled hesitantly, his expression wavering as if he wanted to say something but held back.
After a few seconds of inner struggle, he finally blurted out, "Hallie, is that guy who's always with you your boyfriend?"
Hallie was in the middle of preparing medicine. Hearing this, she paused for a moment and looked at Zane.
She wondered, 'Who else has been spending time with me lately except Nelson? But what made Zane think Nelson is my boyfriend? Surely the marriage certificate can't create the strange atmosphere between us.'
Without changing her expression or stopping her work, Hallie asked, "Why do you think so?"
Seeing Hallie's nonchalant attitude, Zane immediately dismissed his suspicions.
"Oh, so he's not your boyfriend. Is he interested in you?" Zane grinned. "I mean, he was willing to go into the mountains with you, and last night, he specifically told everyone not to disturb your rest."
Hallie's hands paused briefly at Zane's words, though her face remained perfectly composed.
"Really?" she asked.
"Of course," Zane grinned. "You were already asleep last night, so you didn't see it. You know, those two tents were set up by the support team he sent over.
"Officially, they're for the medical staff, but honestly, I think half the reason was to make sure no one disturbed your rest. Everyone's saying we owe this comfort to you, so I wanted to thank you."
Hallie thought to herself, 'Zane really has quite the imagination.
'Sure, Nelson is cold, but even someone as indifferent as him would feel some compassion in a place like this.
'Telling people not to disturb my rest was probably just an afterthought.'
Still, Hallie had to admit to herself that Nelson really did help her.
'Come to think of it, Nelson barely had any water up in the mountains. I wonder if he's even eaten today,' Hallie thought to herself.
After a moment's consideration, she decided to cook something for him at lunchtime.
'I don't have much to offer Nelson in return,' she mused, 'but at least he can force down a little of the food I cooked—even if it's just barely.'
End of Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire Chapter 42. Continue reading Chapter 43 or return to Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire book page.