David immediately sipped the hotpot broth, and to his surprise, the broth was extremely spicy. David immediately stared at Liana.
"Why...? Is it not good?" Liana said, knowing that David must be in pain from the spice.
"I... It's good," David stammered.
David actually couldn't eat spicy food, but he didn't want to disappoint Liana. He tried with all his might to endure the spiciness.
"Mom, this is delicious," Rey said happily about Liana's cooking. Rey received non-spicy hotpot broth; Liana had intentionally made it specially for Rey alone.
"Thank you, Rey, I'll cook it for you again next time," Liana said happily.
David, who had been eating and constantly drinking, felt a little happy to see Liana's smile again, even though he himself was suffering right now.
After finishing their meal, Liana was washing the used dishes in her kitchen sink. Suddenly, David came and immediately opened Liana's refrigerator.
"What are you looking for, sir?" Liana asked, confused.
"Milk... Don't you have any milk in your fridge?" David explained.
"No, I don't like milk. So I never buy it," Liana stated firmly while busy washing dishes.
"Is that so," David said briefly.
David had actually just received a call from the hospital and had to leave immediately, but his plan was to try to find milk first to cool down his currently burning stomach.
"In that case, I'll take my leave now, I have to go to the hospital. I just got a call that there's a patient who needs attention. I'll leave Rey here to stay overnight. I hope you don't mind," David expressed.
"Hmph..." Liana replied without looking at David.
David knew Liana was still angry with him, so he decided to just leave.
Upon arriving at the car
"This stomach, please cooperate for today," David said, enduring the pain in his stomach.
David drove his car to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital
"Doctor, you're here, the patient is waiting in the operating room," said the nurse who was waiting for David.
"What kind of injury did he sustain?" David asked while rushing to the operating room.
"A gunshot wound. According to the people who brought him here, they said it was a work accident while hunting animals in the forest," the nurse explained.
"Alright, please prepare the equipment," David said, starting to clutch his stomach slightly as he felt the pain.
"Are you alright, sir? Your face looks pale," the nurse asked, worried about David's condition.
"No... I'm fine, go quickly, do your job," David requested.
"Alright then," the nurse said, immediately leaving.
"Please hold on until the operation is over," David winced in pain.
Meanwhile, at home
"Rey, are you not asleep yet?" Liana asked, lying down beside Rey.
"Mom, Rey is not sleepy yet," Rey replied.
"Okay, what should Mom do to make Rey sleepy?" Liana asked.
"Mom just sleep beside Rey, you're going to cook for Rey again tomorrow, right?" Rey asked.
"Of course, Mom will cook whatever Rey wants," Liana replied.
"Rey wants sweet fried rice, Mom. With lots of soy sauce," Rey answered enthusiastically.
"Why sweet fried rice, Rey is already sweet," Liana said.
"Because that's Rey and Dad's favorite food, we can't eat spicy food, Mom," Rey explained.
"Really?" Liana started thinking about David. "No wonder he was looking for milk earlier, it was to neutralize the spiciness," Liana thought worriedly.
"Rey was once hospitalized because he tried to eat spicy food, his stomach felt hot, Mom," Rey added.
"Oh, in that case, never ever eat spicy food again, okay?" Liana advised.
"Yes, since then, Rey doesn't want to eat spicy food anymore," Rey explained.
"Smart boy, come on, it's time to sleep," Liana said while hugging Rey beside her.
Back at the hospital
David had successfully completed his task, the operation went smoothly. As he exited the operating room, David began walking unsteadily, holding his stomach which was still quite hot and churning.
"Thud" David fainted and fell to the floor.
"Doctor David!" the nurse who saw him shouted.
David was immediately taken to the treatment room for attention.
The next morning
Liana started waking up from her sleep, this time something was different than usual. Rey had been sleeping while hugging her all night.
"Rey, don't you want to wake up?" Liana asked, starting to wake Rey up.
"Mom, don't go, Rey is still sleepy," Rey replied in his sleep, also tightening his hug.
"Alright, just five more minutes, okay?" Liana conceded.
After a while, someone knocked on Liana's apartment door. She thought it must be David, so Liana immediately got up and rushed to open the door.
"Yes, just a moment," Liana said while opening the door.
"Uncle Will, it's you? Where is the doctor?" Liana asked, surprised.
"Miss, Uncle is here to pick up Young Master Rey," Uncle Will said.
"Oh, he's still asleep, Uncle. What's wrong, why so early?" Liana asked, confused.
"Mr. David is currently hospitalized, Miss, his condition is quite serious. Uncle is here to pick up Young Master Rey," Uncle Will explained.
"What..." Liana said, shocked.
"What happened, Uncle...?" Liana asked, panicked.
"The nurse said earlier, before handling the patient last night, Mr. David already looked pale and kept holding his stomach. He wasn't in good condition but forced himself to handle it," Uncle Will added.
Liana began to realize her mistake last night, for giving David the spicy hotpot broth.
"It must be because of that," Liana said spontaneously.
"Uncle, I have to go now, Rey is still asleep inside. Please look after him," Liana added, immediately grabbing her bag.
"But where are you going, Miss?" Uncle Will asked.
Without answering Will's question, Liana immediately left there. She went downstairs and looked for a taxi on the street.
On the way
"Crazy... If he really can't eat spicy food, why did he still eat it?" Liana said, frustrated.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Liana immediately ran to the reception desk.
"Excuse me, where is Mr. David's current ward?" Liana asked, breathless.
"Mr. David's room? Who are you, Miss? Mr. David's room is a VVIP room. Not just anyone can go in to see him," the nurse explained.
"I... I'm his wife," Liana said spontaneously, whatever was on her mind, she just said it.
"Wife? In that case, please follow me, Madam," the nurse said.
Liana followed where the nurse walked, until they arrived at a VVIP room door.
"Please, Madam," the nurse said, inviting Liana to enter.
Liana walked inside and saw David lying weakly on the hospital's white bed.
"Sir, what happened? I'm sorry," Liana said, blaming herself.
"His face is pale, he must have suffered all night," Liana thought sadly.
Not long after, a doctor entered David and Liana's room.
"Doctor, you're here. What is it, Doc?" Liana asked.
"I just want to give you this. When he wakes up, help him drink it immediately," said Erik, David's friend who also worked at the hospital owned by David's family.
"Will he recover?" Liana asked, looking very anxious.
"He will recover, don't worry. What I'm wondering now is, he knows he can't eat spicy food, but why did he still eat spicy food? David is the most disciplined person regarding his food. I don't know what's wrong with him this time, he knows his stomach isn't strong but he still acts up," Erik said, genuinely confused.
"I see, in that case, thank you, Doctor. I will make sure he drinks it," Liana stated firmly.
Erik left the room, and now only Liana and David were in the room.
"When will you wake up, Sir? I'm here to take responsibility for everything," Liana said.
The clock showed ten in the morning, Liana accidentally fell asleep again by David's bedside. David slowly began to show signs of consciousness, he gradually looked around the room before his eyes truly caught Liana who was sleeping by his bedside.
"Liana... She's here," David expressed, feeling happy.
David gently stroked Liana's hair so as not to disturb her sleep.
"I knew you would come, Liana," David said weakly.
Accidentally, David coughed, which startled Liana slightly and she immediately woke up.
"Sir, you're awake," Liana said, seeing David still coughing.
"Thank goodness, I was so scared," Liana added, immediately getting him water.
David drank the water slowly with Liana's help
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt your sleep?" David asked.
"What are you talking about, Sir? Your condition is like this because of me too, isn't it? If I had known you could get stomach inflammation if you ate spicy food, I wouldn't have given it to you," Liana explained.
"It's okay, Liana, I never blamed you at all. I know you were upset with me, right?" David expressed.
"I apologize, because I was upset, I did something foolish," Liana said.
"What do you want me to do now to make up for my mistake?" Liana asked.
David, hearing that, could only smile seeing Liana's behavior.
"Don't go anywhere, just stay here," David said while taking Liana's hand to hug it.
Liana was quite surprised by David's behavior, which was quite clingy like Rey.