Wooing My ex-wife (Gwendolyn and Maverick) novel Chapter 185

That was not all. He had also recovered most of his strength after receiving the 023 antidote injection earlier.

He lay on the chaise lounge and turned his head to look at Nico. A faint smile curled on his bloodstained lips as he chuckled and said, “I’m not going down so easily, so pull yourself together.”

“Boss!” Nico’s eyes flashed with shock and delight, but then he continued to cry, “You scared me to death! I really thought you were gone!”

Swain, who was considerably younger than Nico, had been scared witless, too.

At that moment, the two men burst into tears in front of Maverick, completely dispensing with their image. After a while, they started laughing with relief as tears continued to stream down their faces, making for a rather comical sight.

Maverick gently patted Nico’s shoulder, comforting him, “I was just exhausted. The S404 RNA virus caused my heart and pulse to go into temporary cessation, but I heard everything you said.”

“Then why didn’t you answer me?” Nico was furious and angrily pounded on Maverick’s arm.

Stupid boss! He made me cry like a baby! I completely humiliated myself!

Maverick furrowed his brows and let out a pained grunt.

“Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have hit you!” Nico looked distressed. To punish himself, he hit his own right arm with his left fist.

Maverick sat up and said, “All right, tell me what’s the deal with this suppressant.”

Nico wiped the tears from his face and turned to look at Swain.

Swain nodded, sniffed, and reported earnestly, “Professor Yancey was shocked to learn that you were infected with the S404 RNA virus. This suppressant cannot cure the disease, but it can temporarily inhibit the virus, thereby allowing the body to recover for a short period of time. The effects of the medication can last up to a week at most…”

One week. Maverick considered this. That means I can stay in Fairlake for another seven days at most.

Nico chimed in, “Boss, you must go back for treatment this time. Professor Yancey has already started working on the antidote, and they need you to return for blood tests. Don’t you want to recover and have a long and happy future with Ms. Shalders?”

Maverick pursed his lips and made no reply.

He had promised Gwendolyn to disappear from her world after a year, and she still had evidence of this in her phone. To stay by her side forever was no easy endeavor, and it required some forethought.

He pondered on this and remembered the plan Swain had come up with the last time.

He was still deep in thought when he suddenly felt someone tugging on his clothes. He snapped out of his reverie and saw Nico pawing at his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Maverick demanded.

“Boss, the wound on your back can’t be treated by ordinary medicine from any hospital dispensary. Professor Yancey has provided a healing ointment for S404 burns. The least you could do is let me apply it on your wound,” Nico explained.

That makes sense.

Maverick did not hesitate to unbutton his shirt. He elegantly removed his dark suit jacket, then proceeded to shrug off his blouse to reveal his perfectly-chiseled physique.

Nestled between the defining lines of his muscular back was a palm-sized burn.

The wound was still a ghastly shade of red even though it had been three days since the viral infection. At this point, the wound had already festered, and the surrounding skin and flesh had begun to peel away. It looked grotesque.

Even someone as bloodthirsty and ruthless as Nico could not help inhaling sharply at the jarring sight of the wound.

He asked Swain to fetch a basin of hot water from the bathroom. Then, using a towel, he first wiped the bloodstains off Maverick’s back, then used tweezers to remove the rotting flesh surrounding the wound.

Maverick broke out in a cold sweat, his veins bulging and his jaw tightly clenched.

Nico felt a pang of sympathy for the man and remembered the tranquilizer gun they had brought with them. “Boss, should I give you a sedative? This can hurt really bad.”

“Don’t worry. The 023 antidote is working. I can handle this much pain.”

Nico had no choice but to grit his teeth and apply the ointment on Maverick’s wound.

Swain, who was nearby, did not remain idle, either, and seized the opportunity to clean up the bloodstains on the floor.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of several figures outside the villa gates who were running in their direction.

Swain paused his cleaning and took a proper look this time. Then, his eyes widened as he hastily cried, “Ms. Shalders is back! Ezra and Justin are with her, too!”

Maverick frowned. “So soon?”

Swain glanced out the window again. “She came back here on foot! I don’t see Charles anywhere.”

Pressed for time, Nico had no choice but to speed up in applying the ointment while Swain quickly cleaned up the scene.

Outside, Gwendolyn was just about to step through the iron gates of the garden.

Swain gasped dramatically as he remembered something. “Oh, no! The bodyguards are still lying in the garden! There’s no way we can cover this up…”