Tangled in His Obsession

Chapter 448

When Seraphina finally made her way back to the hospital, Andrea was waiting at the main entrance, her eyes anxiously scanning each arriving vehicle. As soon as Seraphina’s car pulled up, Andrea darted forward, grasping Seraphina’s hands in her own.

Seraphina’s palms were icy, a stark contrast to the warmth of the summer evening. Andrea instinctively rubbed them between her hands, trying to infuse some of her own warmth into Seraphina’s chilled skin.

“What are you doing here?” It took a moment for Seraphina to find her voice, a quiet murmur against the buzz of the hospital.

Andrea’s gaze lingered on her face, a gentle tone softening her words, “Mr. Herman sent me a text.”

A brief laugh escaped Seraphina at the mention of his name. “You haven’t blocked him yet?”

The quip brought a more scrutinizing look from Andrea, revealing a disturbing calm in Seraphina’s eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.

“I’ll come in with you,” Andrea offered.

But Seraphina shook her head, her gaze drifting to the dark expanse of the night sky as she exhaled, “Time moves so slowly…”

Glancing at her watch, Andrea noted it was already ten in the evening.

“How’s Valerio?” Andrea attempted to shift the focus away from the unspoken topic of Leandro, “Is he still in Summitville, or did he come back too? Is everything settled?”

“You remind me…” Seraphina mumbled, reaching into her purse for her phone only to realize she’d left it in the car.

Fortunately, her driver had parked and was approaching with her bag in hand.

After retrieving her phone and quickly dialing Reynolds Manor, the familiar voice of the housekeeper answered. Seraphina’s tension seemed to ease as she asked, “Has Valerio gone to bed?”

“He just nodded off,” the housekeeper responded, her voice carrying a hint of mirth, “He was a bit down today, missing Leandro and you not being around.”

“Good that he’s asleep,” Seraphina sighed, “Keep an eye on him for me, will you? We might only get back late tonight.”

The housekeeper’s chuckle came through the line, reassuring, “Don’t worry, dear. I’ve got it covered. You go enjoy your date with Leandro!” Another soft laugh from Seraphina, and with a simple “Okay,” the call ended.

As Seraphina turned to face Andrea, thoughts of Herman momentarily returned, but before she could voice them, another car rolled to a stop nearby. Two doctors emerged swiftly from the hospital and approached the newly arrived vehicle.

“Dr. Daniel, Mr. Reynolds is waiting for you-”

The hospital’s chief, Daniel, wasted no time and quickly entered the building.

Rooted to the spot, Seraphina watched the group disappear inside, her mind momentarily blank of all else.

Snapping back to reality, Andrea tugged at Seraphina’s hand, and they both hurried inside.

By the time they reached the surgical floor, Bruce and Daniel were deep in conversation, heading toward the conference room.

Hearing their approach, Bruce turned and motioned them over, “Sera, come here.”

Andrea felt Seraphina’s hand grow even colder, her whole body rigid with tension. She squeezed Serephina’s hand, guiding her forward into the room.

As they all settled in the conference room, Andrea, unable to bear the silence any longer, inquired, “Mr. Reynolds, what’s the status?”

The surgery is ongoing,” Bruce replied softly, “I wanted to be updated, so I called in Dr. Daniel.”

Closing her eyes briefly, Seraphina seemed to relax ever so slightly, a cue for Andrea to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the midst of their conversation, a doctor handed Daniel a stack of documents, “Here are the patient’s previous medical records, recent test results, and reports…”

“His injury from years ago shouldn’t affect the surgery; he’s recovered well,” Daniel spoke, setting Leandro’s past records aside to focus on the latest reports.

The past records lay within reach of Seraphina, who sat quietly beside Daniel.

As the others continued their discussion, Seraphina’s attention drifted to the medical file before her. She reached out and flipped it open. Leandro’s history with the hospital was extensive; from childhood colds to surgeries, his medical journey was comprehensively documented. His health had been robust until his 27th year when the records suddenly thickened with more frequent hospitalizations.

In April, Leandro was admitted three times in two months due to recurring gastric bleeding.

In June, he was stabbed by an assailant, sustaining three deep wounds.

In September, while rescuing others from a fire at a construction site, he collapsed from exhaustion.

In January, he survived a severe car accident that left him with multiple injuries and on the brink of death…

Seraphina had heard snippets of these events before, but never had she so vividly visualized the reality of those moments-diagnoses, photos of his wounds, reports of damaged organs, X-rays of fractures, and even three critical condition notices that Leandro had once narrowly survived.

The pain he had endured, the trials he faced, casually spoken of in the past, now lay bare before her in the stark, unyielding print of medical history- From NôvelDrama.Org.

It was only at that moment that Seraphina realized the extent of the perils he had weathered, time and again, to make it through to now.

As she gazed at the words before her, a chill liquid began to fall – drop by drop, magnifying the lifeless black print on her hands.

“Sera,” Andrea called out to her urgently, her voice a whisper, “he’ll be okay, he has to be-”

It was a long while before Seraphina finally lifted her head to meet her gaze and said in a low voice, “Tell me, what hurts more-the wounds on one’s body, or the ones deep in the heart?”

Andrea’s eyes, tinged with redness, stared back for a long moment before she replied, “Both hurt.”

“And if one had to endure both kinds of pain at the same time…” Seraphina’s voice trailed off as tears began to cascade uncontrollably, “how excruciating that must be…”

At a loss for words, Andrea simply reached out, cleaning the tears that wouldn’t stop.

“I need to be with him, I have to go to him…” Seraphina murmured, suddenly pulling away Andrea’s hand and turning to face Daniel, “Mr. Daniel, please let me sit with him. I promise I won’t interfere with the surgery, I just want to be there… to quietly stay by his side.”