Chapter 422

Emily Blair stared at him, her expression so eerily calm it was almost unsettling. “Tristan Davis, you really need to get your head checked,” she said, summing up her thoughts.
Tristan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re calling me crazy just because I turned you down?”
Emily fell silent, dumbfounded. Did I actually say that?
Now Tristan was truly offended. He yanked the blanket up to his chin, rolled over to face the wall, and snapped, “Get out! I don’t want to see you!”
Honestly, Emily wanted to leave too. But the hospital room was dead quiet, her voice echoing in the stillness. Every other patient was staring at her.
Their looks were a mix of pity and thinly veiled contempt.
Pity, because they thought she’d just confessed and gotten rejected. Contempt, because she supposedly insulted Tristan’s sanity as revenge for being turned down.
Emily’s foot froze mid-step. She couldn’t just run away now-her reputation would be shot if she didn’t clear things up.
She planted herself by his bedside and yanked the blanket away from Tristan. “Look, there’s obviously been a huge misunderstanding.”
Tristan gritted his teeth, clutching the blanket tighter, looking for all the world like a chaste maiden about to be ravished. “What are you doing?” he hissed.
Emily took a deep breath, fighting for patience. “You’re completely mistaken.”
Tristan kept his back to her, his neck stiff. “No mistake. Just leave already!”
She opened her mouth to explain, only to realize she didn’t even know where this misunderstanding had started.
She exhaled, staring at the back of his head. “I’m pretty sure I never actually confessed to you. What’s with this attitude?”
The tips of Tristan’s ears went crimson, like a ripe apple. He hissed, “There’s all these people here and you you have the nerve to say that out loud? If you don’t about your reputation, I care about mine!”
Emily drew another slow breath. “What I’m saying is—”
“I’m not going to say yes,” Tristan cut her off.
She could feel the gossip in the air as everyone watched, eyes wide and hungry for drama. Emily forced herself to stay calm. “I’m saying ”
Suddenly, Tristan sat up and fixed her with a haunted look. “I get it now.”
Emily braced herself. Whatever he was about to say, it couldn’t be good. “Get what, exactly?”
He said, in a tone of absolute certainty, “I’ve seen you before. You’re the neighbor across the hall.”
Her brow arched. “So you finally remember? I guess your brain isn’t—”
He blurted out, face turning redder by the second, “So you already had feelings for me back then, didn’t you?”
Emily sputtered, “No, man, you—”
He flopped back onto the bed. “Just leave. I said no and I mean it.”
She stared at him, voice icy. “Are you sure you even graduated college? Because at this rate-”
Did you even make it through kindergarten?
He cut her off before she could finish. “And don’t think I’ll marry you just because you saved my life. I’ll pay you back for the hospital bill, I owe you nothing else.”
Emily stared at him, exasperated. This guy really did have a screw loose. But at least he promised to pay her back, so she had no reason to keep arguing about this nonsense. She spun on her heel and strode out of the ward.
Behind her, Tristan heard her footsteps receding and buried his face in the blanket.
He remembered how, when he first woke up, the doctor had called him Emily’s boyfriend, and she hadn’t bothered to deny it or explain. She just let everyone assume he was her boyfriend.
Tristan huffed quietly to himself. No way. Not happening.
It was late. The subway had stopped running for the night, and Emily waited forever
for a cab to finally take her home.
She woke up early the next morning.
Emma George had been indulging her love of cooking now that she had more free time. When Emily emerged from her room, freshly washed, she saw her mom coming out of the kitchen with two mugs of warm milk.
“Breakfast is ready,” Emma called.
Emily sat down across from her, took a bite of toast, and glanced at the insulated food container on the table. “What’s inside?”
Emma smiled. “You mentioned taking your friend to the hospital last night, so I thought you might visit again this morning. I made some vegetable porridge for him take it to the hospital.”
Bring breakfast to Tristan?
Emily’s face soured at the idea. She did have to go see Tristan, but only to collect the hospital fees he owed her, not to play nurse.
“No need, Mom. He can skip breakfast for all I care.”
Emma frowned in disapproval. “Don’t be like that. We’re new in the city-you should make more friends. It’ll make things easier down the line, and you’ll have someone to rely on. Always be kind to the people around you, okay?”
Emily took another bite of toast, chewing like it was cardboard. “That neighbor is the one across the hall. He’s unbelievably rude—”
And brainless.
Emma clapped her hands in delight, cutting her off. “That’s perfect! He’s right next door, so if anything happens, you can go to him for help!”
Emily sighed. “Whatever you say, but don’t count on him. He’s not exactly firing on all cylinders.”
Emma tsked. “Don’t be so harsh. Just eat up and head over. He’s new here too, probably lonely and helpless. Be nice to him.”
Emily swallowed her toast and nodded, resigned.
At the hospital, she stood in front of Tristan’s empty bed, clutching the insulated container.
She paused, thinking maybe he’d just stepped out for a moment.
Another patient gave her a look of pity and said, “Don’t wait, honey. That handsome
guy, Tristan, checked out earlier this morning. You should just go home.”
The room’s sympathy dialed up a notch, as if they were all certain she’d been dumped-crushed by unrequited love.
Emily closed her eyes and laughed bitterly.
Fine. So he’s dodging me now?
No big deal. Houses don’t grow legs. If Tristan Davis wants to avoid paying, he’ll have to come home eventually.
Emily marched back to their apartment, fuming.
Emma noticed the untouched container and raised an eyebrow. Emily muttered a quick explanation before locking herself in her room to work on her assignments.
That evening, when Emily was coming back from her study group with Elizabeth Wilson and Xavier Gonzalez, she ran into Tristan Davis again.