The morning sun shone through the half-opened windows, brightening Anne's pale skin.
Fine strands of hair fell upon her forehead. The fatigue on his face was obvious.
Anne had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. She had thought that she wouldn't wake up until late in the morning, but the moment the sun rays touched her skin, she immediately woke up.
She felt weak, like a newborn child that was just opening its eyes to the world.
"Are you all right, Anne? It's nine o'clock now. You don't look so good," Sam asked with concern.
Anne shook her head in reply and did not want to say anything to him. She felt strangely tired, even though she had just woken up from a good night's rest. Perhaps, it was her depression and helplessness that caused her to feel that way.
Seeing that she was not uttering a single word to him, Sam was naturally concerned.
Considering her recent issues and her performance, he figured out that she might be too stressed out.
"I'm okay," Anne finally replied in a low voice.
Although she had been resting for an entire night, she couldn't help but feel tired.
"Please go to have a check-up. I am so worried about you," Sam said.
Anne responded with a frown. Without wasting another moment, Sam immediately dragged her to see a psychiatrist.
The hospital was very quiet that day. As Anne waited outside the mental health department, she saw that it was relatively emptier compared to the other departments.
She felt a bit reluctant to see the doctor, but Sam was unwilling to let her go.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Sam?" the psychiatrist who was on duty asked Sam.
"She needs some assistance, so could you please check her condition?" Sam asked.
After the consultation, the doctor said to him with a smile, "She's fine. I think she's just had a terrible week. She is going to need some time to adjust to the situation. You can rest assured that she will be happier after a while."
Sam heaved a sigh of relief. Looking at Anne, he wondered if getting out of depression could really be that hard.
"You heard her right, I'm fine. Let's get out of here already," Anne whispered to him.
"I can see that you're still upset about losing Kevin. Do you really love him that much?"
Upon hearing Sam's sudden mention of Kevin, Anne immediately looked into his eyes with a puzzled expression. However, Sam could clearly see that she was broken on the inside even though she sounded indifferent.
Anne lowered her gaze. She was not in the mood to talk, so she decided to keep quiet about her feelings.
"There might be some mistake in your medical history that was submitted to your doctor," Sam said when she remained silent.
Anne immediately raised her head and looked at him. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked.
Since Sam's words had caught her off guard, she spoke without thinking.
"I am just not sure if they got your previous test results right. Don't worry, I will personally supervise the examination this time." As he said those words, his eyes glinted with determination,
as though he would go to any lengths to get her treated. If he found that there was someone in the hospital who had done something that breached medical ethics, he would do anything to make them pay whoever the person was.
"Okay, then." Even though Sam had tried his best to give her hope, Anne seemed sullen.
Since she had already gotten her checkup done at that hospital twice, she strongly believed that it was highly unlikely that they had gotten her case history wrong.
Anne felt like she couldn't afford to be hopeful, because even a small disappointment would completely crush her from the inside.
"Would that even help?" she asked in a skeptical tone.
In order to make her agree to the checkup, Sam introduced a valid point, "Let's try it, anyway. I own this hospital for God's sake, so you have nothing to worry about."
"Fine," Anne replied reluctantly.
Meanwhile, at the Greenlight Forest.
Delicate-looking daffodils had blossomed on the small pond inside the cafe, brightening up the interiors.
Anne read her novel while she waited for Emily. She seemed to be so absorbed into the book that she barely noticed anything around her.
Her long fingers flipped through each page, and her eyes were glued to the book.
"I'm so sorry, Anne. I got caught up in traffic, and that's the reason I am so late!" Emily's apology pulled Anne back to reality. She looked at her with clear eyes.
"It's okay. You invited me to join you for a cup of coffee, and I already had a cup of coffee while I waited for you, so all there is left for you to do now is to pay the bill," Anne said with a laugh.
She seemed to be in better spirits than she was that morning when she had visited the doctor.
"All right, I shouldn't have kept you waiting, Your Highness. By the way, coffee is bad for you. Sam told me that just before I came here.
Although he's my boyfriend, he cares a lot more about you than he does about me. I am jealous, girl!" Emily retorted with a sarcastic smile.
Anne smiled at her. Even though Emily seemed to be joking about her jealousy, Anne could tell that it was indeed the way she felt.
"Oh, you don't have to be jealous of me. By the way, has Sam made the preparations for your big birthday party?" Anne very well knew the answer to that question, but still she asked it deliberately.
Just as she had expected, the second Emily heard that question, her face turned red.
"Well, since he's really busy, he just planned for a simple, intimate party," she said shyly. Since it was the first time that Anne had seen her be so shy, she was amused.
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