Dear Soldier, Put Your Gun Down

Herman dashed over to the dining table and saw the plate of salmon. Looking bleak, he asked, "Mrs. Snider, why did you feed General Snider with this?"

He then whirled around to admonish Karen and Amber, "Don't the two of you know that General Snider can't have salmon?"

Looking aggrieved, Karen muttered, "I tried to inform Mrs. Snider just now, but General Snider..."

"Keep the excuses to yourself! The two of you will be punished for the blunder!"

Colors drained from Karen and Amber's faces at once. As military rules applied to those who worked at the manor too, Karen and Amber knew they would end up being black and blue. Winona assumed that Matt did not like the taste of salmon, so she was just curious to see whether he would eat it for her. She did not expect he would suffer such a serious allergic reaction to it. "Herman, this is my fault. Karen and Amber have nothing to do with it," Winona said.

Herman spoke in a cold tone, "Anyone who violates the military rules has to be punished accordingly. Mrs. Snider, I think you should go and check on General Snider."

Winona scurried to the bathroom where Matt was vomiting so badly that he was suffering from mild muscular spasms. She crouched down and patted his back soothingly. "Matt, I'm sorry," she apologized. After puking everything in his stomach out, Matt dunked his head into a basin filled with cold water. He straightened up several seconds later and wiped his face dry with a towel. "This isn't your fault."

Even after all those years, he still couldn't conquer the fear.

Winona grabbed one of his arms. "Matt, please tell me what this is all about."

With a faint smile, he replied, "A salmon bone stuck in my throat when I was a boy. I've been traumatized ever since then."

Winona found it hard to believe a tough man like Matt would be bothered by such a trivial matter. However, there was nothing she could do since he was not ready to tell her the truth. "Why did you put it into your mouth just now if you can't have it?"

Matt pulled her to his arms and said, "I will never reject anything from you."

"If I fed you with poison, would you eat it?" she asked in a throaty voice.

"I would eat it as long as it was from you."

"Matt, you're an idiot!"

Winona was surprised to see such a mushy and flirtatious side of him. It was a stark contrast to the domineering and courageous image he usually portrayed. Smiling craftily, he whispered to her ears, "Let's not forget that I'm a man who earns a lot. I'm sure you won't kill me because it won't do you any good."

The dreamy feeling Winona was experiencing vanished right away. Chafed by what he said, she pinched his chest and snapped, "Enough of your silly jokes!" He gasped and fixed her a smoldering gaze. "I've told you about my habit of making my enemies have a taste of their own medicine, haven't I?" Instinctively, Winona put her hands over her chest protectively. She slowly stepped away from him, but her back soon hit the wall.

Noises that later came from the bathroom suggested that the two were engaged in a steamy session.

"Matt, you're a prick!"

With a loud thump, both of them fell into the bathtub.

Everyone in the living room appeared awkward. Seeing that, Herman immediately instructed them to get back to work.

Karen asked tentatively, "Mr. Lynch, do we still have to be punished?"

"Go and prepare some fresh clothes for General Snider and Mrs. Snider now!"

Karen and Amber let out a sigh of relief. Without further ado, they headed upstairs to carry out their task.

Herman was on pins and needles. Considering that he spoke to Winona in a slightly harsh tone just now, he couldn't help worrying whether she would complain to Matt about that. After some time, Matt and Winona reappeared in front of everyone looking like a perfect couple. Matt looked dashing in his uniform whereas Winona was smartly dressed in a pantsuit. Winona was surprised to see Matt easing himself into the driver's seat of the car. "Shouldn't you be on your way to the President's Office now?" she asked.

"Nothing is more important than sending you to the hospital. The president can wait."

"I can't believe he has the guts to make the president wait for him! So, is he going to drive me to the hospital himself?" she wondered.

The thing was, almost every citizen in Bolwich could recognize Matt's car. If Winona was seen arriving at the hospital in that car, she would immediately become the center of everyone's attention. "You don't have to drive me to the hospital; I can call a cab myself."

Matt squeezed her hands and said, "As my wife, you should start getting used to the limelight."

Only one thing was holding her back-she was worried that all the attention might distract her from her job.

Just like what she had expected, Matt's car caused a stir at the hospital. The entire drop-off area was teeming with Matt's admirers.

"Holy crap, General Snider is such an eye candy."

"Please hold me still. I think I'm about to suffocate because of his charm."

Matt got out of the car and opened the door for Winona gentlemanly. Then, he kissed her. "I'll pick you up later."

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Sure."

The brief moment felt like a dream to her. If it wasn't because of the clamor around her, she would have been convinced that Matt and she were just like any other normal couple.

Instead of ignoring the higher-ups of the hospital who were there to welcome his arrival, Matt exchanged some pleasantries with them. He wrapped an arm around Winona's waist and said to the higher-ups, "Please take care of my wife."

Norman Stanley, the hospital director, nodded vigorously at Matt. "Of course!"

After Matt left the hospital, the higher-ups immediately surrounded Winona and vied for her attention.

Norman even helped her with her briefcase and led the way to her office.

Winona found their pragmatic attitude sickening. As much as she hated those ass-kissers, she understood that it was a social norm that one with a more elevated social status was generally more well- respected in society. Life would be challenging for those who refused to conform to the norm.

While Winona was putting on her white coat, her assistant, Mandy Binder, approached her. "Dr. Winston, you only have a minor thoracic surgery scheduled this morning."

Winona frowned in confusion. Usually, she would be assigned to at least seven surgeries in her morning shifts. She couldn't help wondering whether her workload had become lighter because she was Matt's wife.

Mindy explained in an undertone, "This is an impromptu decision made by Dr. Doyle."

Enlightenment dawned upon Winona instantly. She had never been on good terms with Yvonne Doyle, the head of the department. Winona resented her because she earned herself a promotion by having an intimate relationship with Norman. She spent most of her day in her office perfecting the makeup on her face instead of caring about the patients. Apart from that, Yvonne was also Sharon's bestie. Winona suspected that Sharon was the reason why she was often given a hard time at work by Yvonne.

Winona dropped by Yvonne's office and opened the door without knocking. Yvonne and Sharon looked flustered when they saw Winona. At the sight of Winona, Sharon hurriedly shoved an ultrasound scan and a medical report into her bag.

"Winona, what brings you here?" Yvonne asked.

Winona sneered, "Dr. Doyle, are you pulling my leg? I'm your colleague, and I'm here to discuss work with you."

Winona examined Sharon's swollen face and chuckled, "As far as I can remember, appearance matters more than anything else in your life to you, Mrs. Larson. I have no idea how you convinced yourself to come here when you're having such a swollen face. Is there a problem with your baby?"

Sharon, who looked pale, countered, "What baloney are you talking about?"

Sharon said bye to Yvonne hurriedly and headed for the exit.

When she walked past Winona, she smiled eerily and suddenly knocked herself against Winona's body. A pool of blood appeared on the floor between her legs as she slumped on the floor.

Having worked as a doctor for years, Winona instinctively crouched down to check on Sharon.

Just then, Yvonne ran out of her office urgently. "I ... I'm going to get someone from the department of gynecology here."

Winona took Sharon's pulse and felt the bulge on her belly with her hands. An ominous glint flickered in her eyes.

All of a sudden, Sharon opened her eyes and clutched the hem of Winona's shirt tightly. "Winona Winston, you've murdered Benjamin's only child! The Larsons wouldn't go easy on you this time even if you were the president's wife!" she hissed with a nasty grin.[