Natasha didn't know what else to say.
Her act of kindness had resulted in disaster for Thalia, so it was only natural that she would feel guilty about it.
Even so, she had a determined look in her eyes as she slowly came to a realization.
Noticing that Natasha had gone silent, Thalia tried to ease the tension by saying with a chuckle, “The reason I'm telling you this is to remind you that you're not alone in this. I just didn't expect to someday be so closely connected to another woman in life, you know?”
However, hearing her laugh only amplified Natasha's feelings of guilt even further.
“Relax, will you? I'm used to living life on the edge, so death doesn't scare me at all! On the contrary, I want to thank you for giving me the chance to find out something that I've always wanted to know!” Thalia continued with a genuine smile on her face.
Of course, no amount of reassurance would ever erase the guilt in Natasha's heart. While she hadn't intended for things to turn out like this, it remained an undeniable fact that her actions had indirectly caused it.
“Have you had any episodes lately?” Natasha asked after a brief pause.
Thalia shook her head.
She had yet to witness Natasha suffering from the poison as Spencer had knocked the latter out before bringing her back.
“How is it like when you have those episodes? Does it hurt a lot?” Thalia asked.
Natasha nodded. “Yes, it hurt so much that I felt like I was going to die.”
That was when she recalled reading about Thalia's fear of pain when she looked her up a while back.
Sure enough, Thalia froze the moment she heard that. “Oh, well... So be it, then! It can't possibly hurt more than all of these wounds!” she said with a forced smile.
“It's not the same. You can stop the pain from your wounds or go numb from them, but this is different. It really redefines pain for you. In fact, the pain I felt when giving birth was nothing compared to this,” Natasha clarified.
Thalia fell silent this time.
Although I've never given birth myself, I've heard and witnessed how painful it was for others when going into labor. That's why I decided to never have kids in life! And now, Natasha is telling me that the pain during childbirth is nothing compared to this...
Natasha chuckled when she saw Thalia go silent. “Well, it's not like there's nothing you can do about the pain.”
Thalia's eyes lit up when she heard that. “What can you do?”
“Remember what Spencer did the other day? It worked wonders,” Natasha said.
Thalia frowned. “You mean have someone knock you out?”
Natasha nodded.
“I see... All right, I understand. If I ever have one of those episodes, please make sure to knock me out on the spot! I don't want you to hesitate, okay? Oh, and tell everyone else to do the same if they ever see me having an episode,” Thalia said in a trembling voice.
“What's this? The great Thalia who fears nothing in the world is afraid of a little pain? I wonder what your man would think if he finds out!” Natasha teased her.
“Who said I'm afraid of pain?” Thalia stubbornly refused to admit to it.
It was her biggest secret, after all.
“Why else do you think I'm telling you this?” Natasha asked.
Thalia froze as the sudden realization dawned upon her. So, she was telling me all that just to warn me?
“How did you know about my fear of pain?”
“Take a guess.”
“No one else knows about this!”
Natasha simply kept quiet and smiled at her.
“Did Anthony tell you that? Wait, no... I don't think Anthony knows about it either. Hmm... Was it Spencer who told you?”
“You could say that.”
Thalia frowned and mumbled with a pout, “I can't believe he revealed my biggest secret!”
“All right, it's getting late. You should get some rest,” Natasha said, making no attempt to explain herself whatsoever.
“You too,” Thalia replied.
Natasha nodded and walked out of the room.
Thalia found herself liking Natasha more and more as she watched the latter leave.
She's calm and doesn't try to compete with others, and yet, she exudes this powerful energy wherever she goes. Natasha truly is a charming woman!
Natasha went straight to Spencer's lab after leaving the room.
Spencer was focused on analyzing some data at his workstation when Natasha came in through the door.
Unlike his usual charming and handsome appearance, he had grown out a stubble and looked rather weary.
“Is it true that Thalia got poisoned because of the blood transfusion?” she asked sternly.
Spencer froze when he heard that and simply stared at her in silence.
“Well? Say something!” Natasha shouted while walking toward him.
Spencer tossed the report aside and said, “I don't know what I should say.”
Natasha picked up the report and skimmed through it. Although she didn't understand most of the data she saw, she realized it was mostly similar to her own report.
That, combined with Spencer's attitude, was all she needed to confirm her suspicions.
After taking a deep breath to keep herself calm, Natasha asked, “If it really was the blood transfusion that poisoned her, then why hasn't she had any episodes yet?”
“The test results confirm that she is indeed poisoned, but the concentration of it is fairly low. I'm guessing most of the poison is still inside your body. Maybe she hasn't had any episodes because only a small amount of the poison entered her system. The probability of her having an episode is two times lower than yours.”
“Oh, I see...” Upon noticing how upset Spencer looked, Natasha continued, “I'm sorry. I didn't know it would turn out like this.”
“There's no need for you to apologize. I know you had nothing to do with this,” Spencer replied.
“Will you be able to come up with an antidote?” Natasha asked. His answer was key to determining if she would proceed with certain options.
Spencer let out a sigh. “Honestly, I might be able to if I could identify the contents of the poison. As of this moment, I can't promise anything because it's too risky to run trials on your bodies.”
Having understood the situation, Natasha told him, “Spencer, I don't want you to feel any pressure when conducting your research. I'm willing to be the first to try out the antidote. Who knows, there might be an antidote for this poison available on the market by then!”
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