"Alright, I'll take a look around," Giselle nodded.
"So, does that mean you agree?" Lucas Harper's face lit up with a sunny smile. He stood up and took a necklace out of a velvet box. "Here, let me put this on you."
As he stood up, he blocked Victoria's view. She frowned slightly and whispered, "You've done enough acting. Any more and it will be too much."
Lucas raised an eyebrow at her. "If we're going to act, we should do it properly."
He unclasped the pendant necklace and leaned in close to Victoria, wrapping his arms around her to put the necklace on.
Even though it was just an act, the intimate gesture made Victoria's face flush and her heart race.
The nurse at the door was even more excited, cheering loudly.
"That's so touching!"
"Oh my gosh, if I weren't a nurse, maybe I'd have time for romance too."
"Kiss! Kiss!"
"Yeah, kiss her!"
"Hahaha..."
The nurses, always eager for some fun, stood by recording the scene on their phones and egging them on.
Victoria was at a loss for words, unable to deal with the enthusiastic nurses. What a situation.
Lucas tilted his head to look at the group of female nurses at the door, a charming smile playing on his lips. Then, he leaned in and gave Victoria a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Wow, that was quite a show."
"I'm so envious."
"I wish I had a boyfriend like that."
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get back to work before the head nurse starts yelling at us."
The group of nurses grinned at Victoria and then dispersed.
Victoria, however, stood there stunned, her eyes blazing with anger as she glared at Lucas. Her look seemed to say, Lucas, you jerk! We agreed to fake it, and now you're taking advantage of me!
Lucas just smiled it off.
Giselle, on the other hand, was in a great mood. She repeatedly reminded her, "Victoria, Lucas is so good to you. You should treat him well."
"Yes, Mom, I know," Victoria replied, nodding. Then she turned her head slightly toward Lucas and whispered so only he could hear, "Lucas, you're dead meat."
Despite their "pretend" relationship, Giselle was in such a good mood that she ate all of the lunch Victoria had brought and didn't mention wanting to leave Haven Brook Hospital anymore.
After lunch, Victoria and Lucas finally left the hospital room. Giselle saw them to the elevator and said, "Lucas, take it easy on your way back."
"Sure thing, Auntie," Lucas replied.
Lucas had his arm around Victoria's shoulder, responding politely and courteously.
"Next time, don't bring anything, okay?"
"Got it, Auntie. You should go rest now."
"Alright, I'll go check on your uncle."
With that, Giselle turned and walked away.
Victoria: "..."
Just like that… had she already become invisible?
Ding—
The elevator doors closed.
Victoria's expression changed instantly. She shoved Lucas' hand away and kicked him.
"Lucas, are you out of your mind? I asked you to 'act,' not to take advantage of me."
"Ouch..."
Lucas rubbed his leg in pain. "If you break my leg, you'll have to take care of me for the rest of my life. Besides, it's just acting. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"Then why did you kiss me?"
"It was for the 'plot.' What else could I do?"
"You... damn it."
Victoria's head throbbed with anger. She couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore.
She raised her hand to take off the necklace, but Lucas stopped her.
"If you take off the necklace now, your mom will suspect something tomorrow."
"That's too expensive, I can't accept it."
"I bought it from a street vendor for $3. If you think it's too much, just buy me some extra lamb skewers when we go out for barbecue tonight."
"Oh, I see. That's more reasonable."
Victoria believed him and didn't think much of it.
The two walked out of the elevator and passed through the hospital lobby. Just then, a group of doctors and nurses in white coats approached. Leading them were Leo Carter and George, surrounded like stars around the moon.
When Victoria saw Leo, he was also looking at her, his gaze finally settling on Lucas. He had his arm around Victoria's shoulder in a friendly manner, and the two were chatting and laughing.
Leo's calm face suddenly surged with a storm of emotions, but he quickly concealed them all.
They passed by each other without saying a word.
Lucas, engrossed in his conversation with Victoria, didn't notice Leo at all.
It wasn't until they left the hospital that Lucas departed, and Victoria was about to ride her electric scooter back home when her phone rang in her pocket.
She took it out and saw it was Leo calling.
Frowning with annoyance, she answered, "Master Carter, what do you want?" Her tone was sharp and hostile, like she had swallowed a bullet.
"Be at your dad's hospital room within five minutes, or I'll have the specialist team leave immediately."
"Ah? Oh, okay, okay. I'm coming right away," Victoria said hurriedly.
The moment she realized it was the team of experts, she remembered the group of "angels in white" following Leo earlier. She quickly grabbed her phone and ran back.
At that moment, the team of experts was in the office discussing Alexander's condition. With nothing else to do, Leo stepped out of the office and headed toward Alexander's room.
As he passed the nurse's station, he overheard a group of nurses chatting about the recent events.
"Can you believe it? How did Victoria get so lucky? She's pretty average-looking, yet such a handsome guy confessed to her."
"No way! Victoria is so plain. It's a miracle anyone likes her, let alone a handsome guy."
"It's true! Why would I lie? We all saw it with our own eyes and even recorded a video."
"Let me see."
Leo slowed his pace, unintentionally eavesdropping on the nurses' conversation. He quickly pieced together that they were talking about Lucas, who had been with Victoria earlier.
"Oh my gosh, that guy is so handsome."
"Yeah, yeah! He even proposed on one knee and gave her a necklace. My boyfriend better propose to me like that someday."
"I'm fainting."
The nurses were so engrossed in their gossip that they didn't notice Leo walking by.
Initially, Leo had arranged for the team of experts to help Victoria's father. But now, it seemed like they might not be needed after all.
Leo walked into the elevator with a grim expression and made a call to George.
"No need to have the expert team treat Alexander anymore."
"Boss, what happened? ... Hello? Hello?"
Before George could get an answer, the call was abruptly ended.
Leo's face was as dark as a storm cloud as he rode the elevator down to the first floor.
When the elevator doors opened, Victoria was standing outside, panting heavily.
"Why are you coming down? Didn't you say you called an expert team for my dad? Are they upstairs?"
Victoria asked Leo, then added, "I'll go up and check."
The man stood tall and straight, his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. His cold eyes glanced at the new necklace around Victoria's neck, which sparkled under the elevator lights, making it particularly glaring.
"No need to check. I've already dismissed the expert team."
He brushed past Victoria, striding away with long, determined steps.
Victoria looked bewildered and quickly checked her watch.
"Wait a minute… I was only gone for two minutes. It hasn't even been five minutes yet. How can you go back on your word?"