Time Brews Longing

Sorry, I’m Late

John had been lingering outside the ward and even smoked a cigarette before a nurse chased him out to the balcony.

When he finally made up his mind to go into Aqua’s ward, he saw another man inside.

His eyes fell on their connected hands, and a ruthlessness he did not even notice flashed in his eyes.

A fire brewed in his chest, but he had no way to release it, so he could only hold it in while he asked that question.

He did not want to demand an answer from Aqua. After all, she was still sick.

When she heard the door open, Aqua’s eyes darkened.

As she watched John put down the flower basket, Aqua pulled her hand back.

She was not worried about John misunderstanding the situation. She simply did not want to defend herself to him.

Over the past few days, when he went out with Will and Samara, she never asked them where they went.

Since she gave them their freedom, they were in no place to stick their noses into her business.

Just as she intended to shut her eyes, she found a sliced piece of apple delivered to her mouth.

Aqua’s mind wandered for a moment. The sweet scent of the apple tempted her, and she licked her lips before taking a bite.

John’s gaze turned even colder.

Aqua was doing it on purpose.

He could not quite keep his cool, but when he talked to Aqua again, he still chose to speak softly to her. “Can we talk?”

There was nothing to say between them.

She knew perfectly well just what sort of person John was.

If she told him the truth, she could never board the plane. She would even have a hard time getting out of the hospital.

“Mr. Frank, this is my bestie’s friend. He came to visit.”

John’s expression changed a little.

Aqua had just called him “Mr. Frank”.

So formal. So distant.

Also, didn’t she like him?

He had read her diary before. Those pages were filled with her love for him.

And she never called him “Mr. Frank”.

She always referred to him as John.

A dull pain instantly filled his heart. His face was a little pale.

“Aqua, I know now…”

He only realized it after it happened, and it was almost too late.

But it was Aqua’s fault. She had always pretended that she was not allergic.

Allergies could not be warded off by just taking antihistamines beforehand. Even if the person with allergies did take them, they would not be completely spared from the allergies.

Yet Aqua had made all sorts of chocolates just to make John happy, and she did it every year.

In truth, every time after eating nut chocolate with John, she would go to the hospital to get an allergy shot.

She had even signed up for an immunotherapy session that was supposed to last between three to five years.

If she had not gone abroad to further her studies, she would have completed the treatment.

As Aqua remembered all the pain she endured and her silent love toward John, her eyes stung, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She had done it all just so she could kiss the man she loved.

Yet even after all the effort she put in to get to where she was, she had ended up like a clown in a circus.

“I’m tired, Mr. Frank.”

Aqua decided to chase him out instead.

She shut her eyes and stopped eating the apple.

Mike tactfully chose to leave as well, but John caught up to him in the corridor. “Stay as far away as possible from her.”

He knew Aqua. She did not have any boyfriends while she was studying abroad, so mixed-bloods like Mike should not be her type either.

But there were no absolutes in the world, were there? Judging by her reaction toward him just then, John decided to be more careful.

After all, things had already progressed to that point, and they were just one step away from completing their plan.

Mike chuckled. “Are you her uncle or something?”

That question stung John.

Since Aqua was not around, he decided to shed his mask.

“Aqua likes me.”

Those words carried weight, but he did not profess his love for Aqua either. After all, he always knew what to do and was always relaxed in whatever he did.

Mike extended a hand. “Mike Phillips.”

He was not supposed to be rude to someone being polite to him, but John did not intend to have too much to do with Mike.

“Listen to me and stay away from her.”

John put his hands in his pocket, cast a discreet glance at Aqua through the window, and turned back to Mike. “And don’t even think about leaving this place with her.”

Mike scoffed as he watched John leave, and he returned to the ward.

If he had known that she lived such a miserable life, he would not have stepped down in the beginning.

He had thought about being the gentleman in the situation, but all he got for his efforts were these two snakes hurting Aqua.

When Mike walked in, he saw that Aqua was already sitting up with her cheeks stuffed.

At the sight of Mike walking in, she blinked before she swallowed the apple slices she put in her mouth.

He turned to the table and found that some of the apple slices he had cut just now were gone.

“I’m glad you feel like eating again.”

He was in a much better mood and returned to the stool. He grabbed a pillow to put it behind her. When they were close to each other, he subconsciously caressed her hair.

Feeling vulnerable, Aqua avoided him, but Mike held her down. “Don’t move. You have a worm on your head.”

Aqua blinked and immediately stopped moving.

Her mind instantly went blank.

Oh, no! She had not washed her hair for three to four days.

“I was just teasing you.”

Mike smiled gently, and it contained an endless amount of affection and love.

Aqua’s heart skipped a beat.

Mike was a gentle person.

He was different from the reticent John and the flashy Will.

He was like the rare moments of sunlight in winter that would shine through the dark clouds into a room.

As Aqua fell asleep, Mike’s gaze darkened. He massaged her temples and mumbled, “Sorry I took so long.”

When Will opened the door with flowers in his hands, he saw this.