Chapter 1866

“You sent that girl away? I honestly thought you’d keep her around, maybe even adopt her,” Yvette teased.
Karina choked on her water, launching into a series of startled coughs. “Adopt her? What nonsense are you talking about? She’s an adult! How would that even work?”
The thought alone was absurd. Adopting a grown woman? Not only was it unfeasible, but considering their earlier dynamic as semi-rivals, it was outright bizarre. Just imagining it gave Karina goosebumps.
Yvette, unfazed, leaned lazily against Karina’s desk, sipping from her water cup like she hadn’t just said something ridiculous. “Anyway, I heard you’ve taken on a new research project?”
Karina shot her a skeptical glance. “How do you always hear about these things so quickly?”
Yvette smirked. “Please, who do you think I am? They call me the *Queen of Internal Medicine Gossip.* Now, spill!”
Karina sighed, a trace of resignation on her face. “Yes, I’ve been selected for a project, but nothing’s been finalized yet. I heard they’re organizing a visit to the main headquarters soon, but I haven’t received any official updates. I still don’t know when they’ll finalize everything.”
She had handled similar research projects before and thought she would be used to the process by now. But this one was different. The moment she read the project proposal, she had been stunned and then eagerly waiting ever since.
Days had passed with no updates. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Wilfred directly. He was swamped with responsibilities, and she didn’t want to bother him over something that felt relatively minor.
“That’s it!” Yvette exclaimed, clapping her hands, her voice jumping several octaves in excitement. “Who said it hasn’t been finalized? It’s been decided for days. You’ve just been so busy taking care of that girl that no one had the chance to tell you.” Karina blinked in surprise. “What? When did this happen?”
Yvette thought for a moment.
“Sometime in the last couple of days, I think. The hospital’s already making arrangements. I even heard you might be going abroad! Hey, can you talk to the director and see if he can bring me along?”
Karina raised an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. “I’ll need to confirm it first,” she said, trying to hide her own growing excitement.
Without wasting another moment, she hurried to Wilfred’s office. Her steps quickened with every second, and by the time she burst through the door, she was slightly out of breath.
Wilfred glanced up from his desk, his expression calm and knowing. “By the look on your face, I’m guessing you’ve heard?”
Karina nodded, catching her breath. “So, it’s true?”
“Sit down, and I’ll explain everything.” Wilfred stood and went to the water dispenser, filling a glass and carefully adjusting the temperature before handing it to her. Wilfred’s meticulous nature always showed in the smallest details of daily life.
Karina thanked him softly as she took the glass of warm water he handed her. The soothing temperature helped calm her nerves a bit, but the excitement in her eyes was impossible to miss.
Wilfred glanced down to retrieve a document, and when he looked back up, he caught her staring at him with an eager, expectant expression, He couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’te
really excited about this, aren’t you?”
Karina nodded enthusiastically, like a bobblehead on overdrive. “Of course! When do we leave?”
“It’s scheduled for two days from
now,” Wilfred replied. “But since it’s
an international trip, we’ll need to catch a flight by tomorrow night at the latest. Otherwise, we won’t make it in time,” Wilfred explained without hesitation.
He had already planned to call Karina over to discuss the arrangements soon.