Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

"Yeah, right! No way!"

I gawked at him, totally floored. "Wait, so you just went along with his terms to stall for time?"

Ethan flashed a sly grin. "Emily, chill. It's not rocket science. I got this."

How could I not freak out? Faris seemed like bad news.

"So, what did you actually agree to in the contract? What if you can't get his brother out?"

Ethan, looking a bit cramped, rolled down the window halfway to let some air in.

"If I can't pull it off, I'll owe him $150,000," he said.

My eyes nearly popped out. "Why? He asked for your help knowing it was a long shot. If you can't do it, how's that on you?"

Ethan saw my freak-out and just laughed. "Emily, if money can fix it, it's not a real problem."

Back then, I totally bought that the contract was just about the $150,000. I really thought that was the end of it with Faris.

That night, it was just between Ethan and me. I didn't spill the beans to anyone.

The next day, I went to the hospital to check on Bella and kept my mouth shut.

The duty nurse came around, doing her usual check-up on the patients.

Bella's leg had a metal plate in it. When the nurse lifted her foot, it must've pulled on the fracture site 'cause Bella winced, but she toughed it out without a peep. "Can you be a bit more careful?"

Bella was the one hurting, but Oliver was the one yelling.

The nurse, a young woman with a typical fiery temper, wasn't having it and shot him a glare. "With a fracture, it's gonna hurt. If you knew that, why didn't you talk it out instead of heading to the rooftop?"

The story of their fall had probably been twisted all out of shape.

Oliver, ticked off by her comeback, pointed at her and said, "Is this how Grace Hospital treats patients? Get your head nurse here, I wanna file a complaint."

The nurse, just as feisty, didn't back down.

"Go ahead, complain all you want."

Oliver probably didn't expect the young nurse to be so fiery and was momentarily stumped. After a beat, he said, "Skip the head nurse; get Jason. He's my buddy, and I wanna ask him if this fancy hospital hires any ol' nurse off the street. Do they just take anyone?"

At the mention of Jason, a look of surprise flashed across the young nurse's face, followed by a blush.

I totally caught her subtle reaction.

Having worked at this hospital, I knew Jason was the hospital's heartthrob. Every woman had a crush on him, and no one wanted to mess up their image in front of him.

The young nurse's face turned beet red. When she spoke again, her tone was way softer.

"My bad. I shouldn't have snapped. Please don't hold it against me." Her attitude did a complete 180.

Seeing that Oliver still wanted to stir the pot, I jumped in.

"Let it go. She already apologized. Besides, fractures hurt. You're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Bella chimed in, "It's okay. He's just got a short fuse. Don't mind him."

The nurse nodded, apologized again, and scurried off.

Oliver didn't really want to make a scene. He leaned back, hands behind his head, swinging his leg and grinning. "Didn't expect dropping Jason's name would be so handy." Because of last night's drama, I was a bit out of it.

"Emily, why don't you head home? It's boring here," Bella suggested.

I smiled. "Aren't you guys bored too? I can keep you company."

Then it hit me. "Am I not supposed to be here? Am I the third wheel here?"

Bella laughed at my joke and teased back.

"Who said you shouldn't be here? Stay and be the most graceful third wheel."

I laughed.

Seeing someone walk in, Bella and I both stopped smiling.

The guy walked in, eyes locked on Oliver.

Oliver looked annoyed under the intense stare. Worried he might blow up, I quickly stood up and called out, "Uncle."

Oliver, hearing me call him that, looked surprised and then a bit uneasy.

Leonard nodded at me, his sharp gaze back on Oliver. "Bella, did you jump off the building for him?"

The rumors were getting crazier by the minute.

Bella snorted. "Dad, do you really believe that nonsense?"

"I already talked to the doctor about your condition. If it's just a rumor, then how did you get hurt?"

Leonard had already made up his mind to believe the rumors and wasn't about to listen to anything else. "Believe whatever you want."

Bella and Leonard had always had a rocky relationship, and she didn't bother to explain.

"Uncle, it's not what you think."

Oliver must've realized his future father-in-law was ticked off. He wanted to explain but got shut down real quick.

"Don't speak! I'm talking to my daughter." Leonard made his decision clear. "I'm gonna talk to the doctor and get you moved to a private room." Bella looked at Leonard with a smirk. "Why the sudden concern for me?"

Leonard tried to keep his cool, looking at Bella helplessly. "You're my daughter. Of course, I care about you. Who else would I care about if not you?" Bella seemed to catch on. "Oh, it's because the mistress left. Now you have no one else to care about, so you turn to me?"

This convo was heading into awkward territory fast.

I jumped in to break the tension. "Belle's fine here. I'm looking after her, so no need to worry."

Leonard, sticking to his guns, bluntly told Oliver, "You're not right for my daughter."

Bella shot back, "Not right? I've already slept with him, so you don't get a say."

Her bombshell left me speechless for a few seconds.

Oliver was at a loss for words too.

Whether Leonard bought it or not, he was clearly pissed and stormed off.

It was clear they were hitting roadblocks from the get-go.

Oliver kept scratching his head, totally baffled. "Why doesn't your dad like me? I can change."

"Change for him? You're not dating him," Bella snapped.

Later, when Oliver went to the bathroom, I asked Bella if what she said about being with Oliver was true.

She smiled, glanced at the bathroom, and whispered shyly, "It's not true."

She looked a bit embarrassed and said softly, "We almost crossed the line in several times, but nothing happened in the end."

I figured it was Bella who put the brakes on things.

So I thought Oliver must really love Bella because any guy would go nuts if a woman stopped at the crucial moment.

I left a bit early today and saw Leonard standing in the courtyard as I exited the hospital. He hadn't left yet.

"Hey," Leonard said.

It seemed Leonard was waiting for me, probably to talk about Bella.

Leonard got straight to the point, "Emily, I know you're Belle's best friend. She must tell you everything. Be honest with me, did she get involved with a bar thug and pretend to fall just to spite me?"

I caught a whiff of disdain in his words.

Just like Victor, who had once looked down on me the same way.

I took a deep breath and said seriously, "Oliver's not a thug; he owns a bar. He's got a cheerful personality, but there's nothing wrong with that. Don't judge him with prejudice. Nowadays, people value the freedom to love. Finding someone who truly loves her isn't easy. You were young once; you were rebellious. You get it, right?"

Leonard seemed struck by my words and just sighed deeply.

I seized the moment to persuade him. "I know you and Belle have had a rocky relationship. Now's the perfect time to fix it. Belle does care about you; she just hides it because she's stubborn." When our conversation ended, Leonard thanked me.

He seemed to have gained some insight. I hoped he and Bella could mend their relationship soon.

Half a month later, Bella and Oliver were discharged from the hospital.

Their relationship became clearer after this incident. For two people who weren't great at expressing their feelings, this was a blessing in disguise.

In November, the "Youth Sings Loudly" competition about dreams set the winter ablaze.

I heard the registration scene was wild, with over 8,000 people coming to Starlight City from out of town to sign up.

We were coming out of the supermarket when the big screen was playing a promo for "Youth Sings Loudly."

I nudged Ethan. "You should sign up too."

He bit his tongue and smiled faintly. "I'll leave the opportunity to the younger folks."

I burst out laughing and teased, "Sir, how old are you?"

Ethan put his arm around my shoulder and laughed. "The auditions are at the broadcasting station. Wanna go watch?"

"Can I go?" I was a bit excited.

He glanced at me sidelong. "What do you think? I'm the biggest sponsor; of course, I can get a few tickets."

On the day of the auditions, I dragged Bella along. Oliver naturally tagged along when Bella came, too. Jason happened to be off that day and joined us.

There was a long line of young, handsome guys and beautiful girls outside the broadcasting station. The scene was spectacular.

The girls, with their varying body types, all harbored dreams of becoming stars and had dressed meticulously for the event, hoping to stand out from the crowd.

Bella and I were having a blast watching the spectacle. She said one girl was too skinny, and I said another had the looks of a star.

We were quietly commenting until a tall, slender girl suddenly ran out of the line and threw herself into Ethan's arms, hugging him tightly.