Josephine lunged toward the garbage can, spat out the concoction, then whipped her head around to glare at Lewis. He flashed a smug grin at her, which she found annoying.
"Finish it yourself." She set the concoction on the nightstand before leaving. She couldn't care less if he survived the night.
Dr. Halliday was temporarily staying with them. Once he saw Josephine come downstairs, he asked, "Mrs. Alvarez, did Mr. Alvarez take the medication?"
"He did."
"That's good." Dr. Halliday sighed in relief, yet his brows remained furrowed with constant concern.
Josephine studied his expression before asking, "Is his condition severe?"
That snapped Dr. Halliday out of his daze, and the words rushed out his mouth. "It will be manageable if he takes his medication. If he doesn't, there's no guarantee his condition will remain stable.
Josephine recalled how she had asked Dr. Halliday to help keep her illness a secret from Lewis before. Dr. Halliday had behaved like this at the time.
She stared at him for the longest while and pondered what to say. Yet, Josephine couldn't bring herself to voice her doubt. After all, what could she do if Lewis' illness turned out much worse than she imagined?
She had done everything she could to not think of Lewis' affairs, including having assumptions about him. So, her best option now was to ignore him. That way, she wouldn't feel worried or responsible for him.
A brief silence passed between the two. Then, Josephine nodded without pursuing the matter anymore.
Mrs. Larson soon brought Josephine's medication over.
Josephine glanced at the medication, then at the doctor. "Is this even effective? Despite my taking this medication for a long time, nothing's changed."
"Let me do a quick checkup." Dr. Halliday motioned her to sit on the couch before he checked her pulse. A second passed when he voiced, "Mrs. Alvarez, I've told you that you must continue this medication for at least half a year. Indeed, I can't tell if it's working thus far, but …"
"But what?"
Dr. Halliday knitted his brows. "Why is your pulse so abnormal?"
"How so?"
The doctor replied, " Have you felt any changes in your body lately?"
Josephine shook her head. "No, I've been the same as always, except I'm sleepier. I keep wanting to nap."
Dr. Halliday retracted his hand after scratching his head and examining Josephine's pulse again. "It shouldn't be a major issue if you feel like nothing's wrong. I can't make an official judgment yet, so I'll look up your situation once I get back."
He felt like the information he had gathered this half a year was much more than he had learned in all his years of medical studies.
Josephine didn't question anything and merely downed her medicine in one gulp.
Dr. Halliday then headed upstairs to check on Lewis, who lay in bed while silently receiving his IV fluid. A frown marred Dr. Halliday's face just then. He couldn't believe Josephine claimed Lewis had drunk the medication when it was still by the bedside.
"Mr. Alvarez, why haven't you finished your medication?"
Lewis kept his attention on the tablet as he answered, "I'll finish it later."
Dr. Halliday sighed curtly. He knew there was no convincing the former. Plus, he couldn't be bothered to do so. So, he left after switching out a fresh IV fluid bag for Lewis.
…
Josephine had her meal, then returned to her bedroom. Alas, she tossed and turned so much in bed and couldn't sleep. She couldn't fall asleep, although she was exhausted and kept yawning.
Around midnight, she couldn't stand wallowing in insomnia and got up to check on Lewis. She tip-toed and lightly opened the door. The lights were on inside, but there wasn't anyone on the bed. Josephine pushed the door open a little more. That was when she saw Lewis sitting by the window and smoking.
The scene angered her so much that she wanted to shut the door and storm off. However, her body did the opposite. It instinctively entered the room.
Lewis froze at that. He looked at Josephine, then checked the time on his phone. It was 3:00 am. "Why aren't you asleep?"
Josephine approached him and stared at the cigarette in his hands. All the while, she refrained from speaking.
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