Chapter 641: Extra Eighteen: Ink Dot Plum Scent (Sixteen)
 

Amelia Smith had minor injuries all over, aside from a serious wound on her arm and a concussion.

Her leg was caught in a crevice, but it was just a bruise, no serious harm.

Perhaps it was good fortune in misfortune.

However, because of the blood loss and concussion, she was unconscious for a day.

When Amelia woke up, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

She opened her eyes to the hospital ceiling, smelled the disinfectants, and stayed dazed for quite some time before realizing she was still alive.

And she was in a hospital.

She blinked and then shifted her eyes to the side.

William Lane was sitting on a chair beside the bed, elbows upon the bedside table, his head held up by his hand, fast asleep.

Amelia watched his closed eyes, his high-bridged nose, and his thin lips.

Her eyes slowly traced the details of William’s carefully refined face.

Suddenly, William opened his eyes.

Amelia instinctively averted her eyes, feeling embarrassed as if she had been caught peeking.

But William was too anxious to notice her facial expressions; he was relieved that she was awake, “Amelia, you’re awake? Since when? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Does your wound hurt?”

“Just woke up, and I’m not uncomfortable.” Amelia spoke, her throat sounding a bit hoarse.

William got up, gently touched her face, and called over the doctor anyway.

The attending doctor came for a checkup and found no problems, which finally eased William’s mind somewhat.

He poured her a glass of water, inserted a straw, and brought it to her lips, “Drink some water.”

Amelia had a few sips.

William then sat back down in the chair, caressed Amelia’s right hand, “Does it hurt?”

Amelia looked at his bloodshot eyes, “It doesn’t hurt, I can’t feel anything.”

“The IV drip has a bit of painkillers, if you feel pain, they can increase the dose a bit, it won’t affect your body.” William softly explained.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Amelia looked at him, “Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine.” William held her fingers, “Your leg is not hurt, it won’t affect your dancing. Take care of your arm, it won’t delay your carving.”

Knowing her worries, William addressed them directly.

Amelia visibly let out a sigh of relief, a small smile formed at the corner of her lips, “How long have I been asleep?”

“For more than a day.” After a pause, William seriously said, “Amelia, I promise, there won’t be such incidents in the future.”

“That woman seems to like you.” Amelia interjected.

“I don’t know her.” Afraid she might misunderstand something, William instinctively explained.

Amelia fell silent, “I want to sit up for a while.”

She had an IV in her left hand and her right arm bandaged, although it wasn’t painful, the thought of the wound still made her a little uncomfortable, and she didn’t dare to exert too much effort.

“Alright.” William got up, walked to the foot of the bed, adjusted the position of the head of the bed a bit, and then held Amelia to adjust her position, “Does this work? Feeling dizzy?”

“I’m not.”

Once Amelia was settled, she silently stared at the buttons on her patient gown and after a while she asked, “Brother, where is Max?”

“Temporarily locked at home.” William responded, “For your mother, I have arranged for a ward and doctors. The preliminary results from the doctor are…it cannot be completely cured for now, but it can be effectively controlled.”

“Thank you, brother.” Amelia quietly said, her head low.

“What’s there to thank?” William tucked her hair behind her ear, “This is what I’m supposed to do. We’re husband and wife, these are all our affairs, no need to distinguish between you or me.”

Amelia Smith dropped her head in silence again before speaking, “Brother, on that day we got the certificate, if I hadn’t entered the Civil Affairs Bureau, you wouldn’t have done anything to Evan Smith, right?”

William Lane was taken aback by her sudden question, “That’s not necessarily true.”

“You wouldn’t have.” Amelia Smith said, “And I knew you wouldn’t have. But I still followed your threat and went into the Civil Affairs Bureau. Am I awful?”

William Lane looked at her without saying anything.

“That day, I knew I shouldn’t have gone in, but my selfishness took over my rationality in that moment.” Amelia Smith’s voice started to waver, she took a breath to suppress her sob, “After I got out of the car, I was thinking of leaving. But I couldn’t control myself and still went into the Civil Affairs Bureau. I was in a bad mood because of my younger brother, but mostly because I was angry with myself.”

William Lane was still silent.

Amelia Smith dared not to look at William Lane: “While I was rejecting your advances, I constantly lingered in your presence. I knew I should leave, leave Imperial Capital, but…I greedily wanted to be by your side even more.”

While she was talking, she could hardly control herself. Tears already trickled onto the quilt, “I always think, what if one day you stop liking me, then I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore. So, I greedily wished for more and more time to be with you.”

William Lane took out a couple of tissues and stood up. He turned her face toward him, asking her to look at him.

As soon as she lifted her head, tears rolled down her cheeks.

William Lane carefully wiped away her tears, then looked into her eyes and asked, “Why are you telling me all of this?”

Hearing his voice turn cold, Amelia Smith’s tears poured more heavily. She paused before saying, “I suddenly felt like telling it.”

“Amelia Smith, I want to hear the truth.” William Lane looked at her unwaveringly.

Amelia Smith tried to look away, but William Lane grasped her chin and forced her to look at him.

Unable to free herself, Amelia gave a sniffle, “I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of death.”

William Lane didn’t quite understand.

Amelia choked back a sob, “Life is unpredictable. I fear death, because that means I won’t get to see you again. I fear death, because I haven’t had the chance to spend quality time with you or even tell you that I like you.”

William Lane’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, as he stood there, somewhat dazed.

“I don’t care anymore if you will always like me or whether I’m worthy of you.” Amelia choked out between sobs, struggling for breath, “But, but… I’m not as good as you think I am. I’ve been using your feelings for me to get close to you.”

William Lane pulled her into his arms, brushing away her tears with one hand and patting her back with the other to comfort her.

Amelia sniffed quietly, “Brother, will you hate me?”

“Why would I hate you?” William patted her back, “How do you know I didn’t deliberately bring up your brother’s issue, knowing that you would’ve gone into the Civil Affairs Bureau anyway.”

Amelia gave a soft whimper, sounding like a small kitten.

William Lane buried her face in his waist, letting her wet his clothes with her tears. He fondled her head, “Amelia, that’s not selfishness. It’s just that our little Amelia likes her elder brother. You can’t control yourself when you’re in love.”

“Also, Lady Smith, you need to get one thing straight. From start to finish, it has been me pursuing you and me insisting on keeping you by my side. If it wasn’t me wanting to see you, do you think… you could see me anyway?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Amelia toughed through her tear-induced dizziness and somehow managed to answer his question.

A smile reached William Lane’s eyes, “There you go. Honesty is the best policy. What goes on in that head of yours all day? Is your mind built differently from mine?”

Amelia choked sobbed again.

William Lane took pity on her; he gently pulled her out from his hug and wiped away her tears and runny nose, then leaned down to her eye level and asked, “Do you like elder brother?”

“I do.” Amelia glanced at him before dropping her gaze again.

William Lane leaned in to kiss her tear-soaked eyes, “I like you too, very much… Amelia, our lifetime is going to be long; we will love each other all our lives. So, later on… don’t grow tired of your old big brother.”

Amelia shook her head, but after a couple times, she began to feel dizzy.

Noticing that, William Lane immediately steadied her head to keep her from moving, he held her against the bed, “Stop moving. Just rest for a bit.”

“Um.”