Year Five The Perfect Goodbye Plan novel Chapter 17

“Have I always been so immature?”

She set the proposal on the desk, unconsciously taking a step back.

Of course, he noticed, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

He leaned against the desk, that charming glint in his eyes as he smiled with casual indifference. “Oh, absolutely. Back then, you’d never let me bring any female colleagues to meet clients.”

That was because she used to care about him.

But now, she was trying to move on.

“I told you, I’ll be more sensible from now on.”

With those words, Silvia turned and headed for the door.

He watched her retreating figure, his gaze darkening for just a moment.

She really was different these days.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly had changed.

By the time Silvia finished work and got home, it was past eight in the evening.

She showered, ready to call it a night, but her stomach twisted with pain so severe it left her trembling.

Thinking she’d eaten something bad, she dragged herself to the bathroom. But when she came out, the pain only seemed to get worse, her whole body shaking.

She hurried to change into fresh clothes and called a cab to the hospital.

After examining her, the doctor delivered the diagnosis: acute gastritis.

“This is what happens when you drink too much,” the doctor warned her sternly. “Lay off the alcohol for a while, or it could get much worse.”

He repeated his instructions, and Silvia could only nod in a daze.

Leaving the exam room with the bill in her hand, she gave a humorless, shaky laugh.

“Just go ahead and help the next person. I’ll only be a minute.”

Clutching her aching stomach with one hand and her phone with the other, Silvia trembled as she stepped aside, her gaze falling on Shipley’s name in her contacts.

She had no other choice.

She pressed call.

It rang for ages before he finally picked up.

Silvia didn’t waste time. “Shipley, I’m at the hospital. I’ve got acute gastritis, but I—”

She didn’t get to finish before his voice cut in, light and teasing: “Sweet Silvia, you’re acting up again. You know I’ve got a client meeting tonight, so why are you making a fuss now?”

Her grip on the phone faltered. Even her voice sounded smaller. “I’m not making a fuss. I’m being serious.”

“Sweet Silvia, if you want my attention, at least pick a better time. I’ve got clients waiting for me right now, so be good, okay? Can you do that for me?”