Chapter 12 A Woman With Stories
Charles didn't know why it was happening, but it touched his heart.
He twirled his fingers habitually, wondering about his affection for this woman. However, the one thing he was certain about was that he really liked the warm moment between Nancy and Bobby. That convinced him to get Nancy's phone number and WeChat account.
After Charles and Bobby left, Nancy let out a sigh of relief.
"I guess you must be very tired these days," Ethan said, walking over. He had been standing by the windowpane until he saw Charles drive away his car.
Nancy turned to him, shrugged and smiled. "Yeah. But, what's wrong with you?"
Ethan's hair was a bit messy, and he had stubble around his mouth, making him look quite depressed.
As far as Nancy remembered, he was always a clean and refreshing man.
Ethan smiled bitterly. "I saw the rumors on the internet. But, I haven't believed any of it."
Nancy looked at Ethan and smiled, "Ethan, we have known each other for so long. You know what you mean to me, don't you?"
"A brother who fights for you?"
"You remember that! That's right. I take you as my brother, so it becomes your responsibility to find me a beautiful sister-in-law as soon as possible.1 It was a rare instance when Nancy acted like a spoiled child.
But in her heart, she felt cheerless.
"Are you trying to tell me that those rumors on the internet are true?"
Nancy waved her hand contemptuously. She didn't bother to clarify it or make an explanation. She even let Ethan misunderstand her.
"Those are baseless rumors. Whether they are true or not, they have nothing to do with either me or you."
Nancy knew that Ethan liked her, but she was also aware that they wouldn't be together in the future. Ethan was a neat freak in love. He absolutely wouldn't tolerate her having had a child in the past. So, why should she give him hope?
She wanted him to be her friend, a friend for a lifetime!
"Okay!" Ethan made his hair and said, "Hobart had asked me to help you with the medical records. Shall we proceed now?"
"It's my request. I need to get familiar with the special cases and difficult cases first. I didn't expect that the president would find me a helper, and that too such a competent one, like you," joked Nancy. "Don't make fun of me. I guess the reason why the he asked me to help is because we know each other."
"Well, let's get started then," Nancy said, and happily walked to the room with medical records.
Ethan followed her. However, he was still immersed in thoughts about the rumors on the Internet. Charles... Bobby...
What on earth might have happened to Nancy in that year when she had disappeared?
Did Bobby have anything to do with Nancy?
But as far as he knew, Nancy was definitely not a dissolute girl.
The doubts made him increasingly restless, and it was slowly troubling his sleep.
In the archive room, the folders were covered with a layer of dust. Obviously, they had not been taken care of for years.
Nancy dusted them gently and a cloud of dust rose suddenly.
Ethan carried down the folders that were kept on high shelves.
Nancy found a stack of old newspapers and sat on it. Then she started to go through the files one by one.
When she noticed certain special cases, she took pictures of them with her phone.
"Although many of these cases have passed the retention period, these are rare experiences for us," Nancy said as she rubbed her neck.
"Nancy, do you know what I appreciate the most about you?" Ethan asked as he browsed through the files.
"You really appreciate me? Well, that's strange," Nancy said indifferently.
In elementary school, Ethan was the one who often said that she was the most "stupid".
It had made her feel inferior. She almost believed that she was more stupid than others.
"You study hard; you are serious about your work, and you are obsessed with finding solutions to problems... I appreciate you for your efforts. You are surprised, aren't you?" Ethan said with a smile. "Well, what can I say? I'm humbled by your words. As the saying goes, 'The clumsy bird flies early.' If I quit my efforts, I'll never achieve anything." Nancy laughed at herself.
"But there are still a lot many men in this world who would fall for silly and clumsy women!" Ethan said, while he wiped the dust on a medical record.
Maybe due to that some dust got into his eyes, his eyes were suddenly sore. He squinted and almost shed tears.
"How can your opinion be representative of others? Yet, Ethan, I warn you. You are free to fall in love with anyone, but not me," she warned seriously.
Ethan couldn't help but laugh. "Give me one good reason," he said.
Nancy was stunned. Reason? She couldn't tell him the truth, but she thought hard to find something convincing.
She had various reasons.
When she was in the freshman year, she blankly ignored his pursuit and insisted on dating with Caspar. Ethan got drunk and had a car accident, resulting in a fractured leg.
In her third year in the university, she had a baby with another man.
And then, she went abroad. Still, he hadn't been informed of any of these.
She was obviously a woman with stories,
and it was not easy for a woman with stories to fall in love.
"I have told you long ago that I treat you as my brother. I don't love you," Nancy said grimly.
"Well... Well, little girl, so you still don't love me!" Ethan didn't go on, but changed the subject. "These don't look like pediatric cases. They seem like obstetric cases. How could they be in the pediatric archives?"
"Maybe, someone has made a mistake." Nancy walked over and picked up a file.
"Nancy..." When she saw the name of the patient, her first thought was that the patient might have had the same name as hers.
But that was only until when her sight fell on the date. In an instant, her eyes opened up wide.
Her face became as pale as a ghost's. If Ethan hadn't been there, she would have screamed in horror.
Nancy: Twins. One male and a female. Poor uterus contraction and blood clotting, causing postpartum hemorrhage.
Did it refer to her?
It must be her!
So, did she give birth to boy and girl twins?
But, then why didn't anyone tell her?
Did they take both the kids away?
But she remembered clearly that the deal was two million for a boy and five hundred thousand for a girl. It meant that they wanted a baby boy and not a baby girl.
Would they have sold the baby girl?
Why didn't they leave the baby to her?
She would have taken care of her.
Nancy wasn't sure whether she was feeling happy or sad now, but she felt her heart being torn apart... Ceaselessly...
"Nancy, what's wrong with you?" Ethan found Nancy standing at the corner and her body to be trembling.
Nancy hastily put away the file. "I'm fine. I just feel nervous when I see records of women giving birth to babies. Tidy up. We should leave."
"Okay." Ethan gave her a suspicious look. "Every woman needs to go through that. You're a doctor. We have to just treat it as a case study. Why were you so worried about it?"
"You are not a woman. How are you supposed to understand it?" She felt like being stabbed again and again. Only those who had given birth could understand the piercing pain. "Well, you're correct. I don't understand. Let's go." Seeing that Nancy didn't look well, Ethan didn't ask anything else. He held her and walked out of the archive room.
Author's note
TESS WHITE SB
Translator: Alice