Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Survival Instinct
It’s hard for a person’s mind to control emotions. Just now, Ashley Shaw could hold back her worries, but now that she’s at the door, she can’t stop feeling anxious.
So, Ashley Shaw kept pacing back and forth at the entrance of the treatment room.
"Do you want to go inside?" Warren Prescott glanced at the tightly closed door and asked.
Ashley’s eyes lit up, "Can I?"
"It’s better not to, otherwise you’ll be worried beside her, and your friend won’t be able to focus on the treatment. Plus, your friend has a lot of wounds; it’s best to treat them in a sterile environment. Going in might bring in bacteria."
"Then, forget it..."
"Don’t worry; she should be out soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the treatment room was opened from inside.
It was the same doctor who helped Ashley check her concussion last time.
Ashley quickly approached and asked, "Doctor, how is my friend?"
The doctor said, "Don’t worry, it’s not very serious; the nurse is still doing the final stitches."
"Stitches?" Ashley’s eyes widened, "Why does she need stitches? Isn’t just disinfecting enough?"
"One of the wounds is relatively large; it looks like it was cut by a piece of something, and it can’t do without stitching. But it only needs four stitches."
"Four stitches..." Ashley’s voice trembled a little.
Ariana is most afraid of pain; though she is chubby, she is a very fragile chubby person.
"Can I go in and see her now?"
"No rush, stitches are best done in a sterile environment."
Warren also said this. Ashley is not someone to make a fuss, so she nodded immediately, "Okay, I won’t go in."
"However..." The doctor changed his tone and said, "The physical injury is secondary; she just needs to come back in three days to remove the stitches. The main issue is psychological."
"Psychological issues?"
"Yes, when we were stitching, your friend asked if she was going to die. When we said no, she looked very disappointed. So, I thought your friend might have some suicidal tendencies; as her friends, you must pay more attention in this regard."
Ashley’s eyes trembled with emotion, and she immediately replied, "Thank you, doctor, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her."
"Okay. I have other patients to attend to, so you just wait for her to come out. I’m leaving now."
Ashley thanked the doctor again and watched him leave.
"Do you need help finding a psychologist for your friend?" Warren asked.
"No need, I think I might be more helpful than a psychologist."
"That’s true."
Just as they were speaking, Warren’s phone rang.
He pressed the speakerphone button, and Ashley didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but the sound reached her ears anyway.
"Warren, the ticket is booked. Tomorrow’s flight, arriving the day after."
It was Xavier Quincy’s voice.
Ashley’s eyes immediately brightened.
But thinking about Ariana inside, she couldn’t feel happy again.
Life is always like this, giving you a surprise while delivering a heavy blow.
"What time does the flight arrive at Westcroft Airport the day after tomorrow?" Warren asked.
"If the flight isn’t delayed, it lands at 8:30 PM."
"Alright, I’ll leave at 8 to pick you up. By the time you get your luggage, it’ll be around 9, just in time to meet at the exit.
"Hey, come on, I haven’t seen you in years, would it kill you to wait for me for a bit?"
"What’s the point of wasting time? You’re not a woman."
"So if I were a woman, you’d be willing to wait?"
Warren couldn’t help but glance at Ashley Shaw.
If it were Ashley...
"Ahem!" Warren cleared his throat and said, "Let’s not talk about this now; we’ll discuss it when you get back."
"Wait! Why aren’t you answering me? Is something really going on? Are you seeing someone? Rosalind?"
Hearing Rosalind Lynch’s name, Ashley instinctively looked up.
She swore that she didn’t care whether or not Rosalind and Warren were together; it was just that she hadn’t heard the name in a long time, and her body reflexively reacted.
But looking over, she saw Warren giving her a meaningful glance.
Ashley frowned, what does that mean? Did he think she was jealous?
She would have preferred them to be locked together, honestly!
She only heard Warren say, "Nothing like that, a lot has happened while you weren’t here. Anyway, we’ll talk about it when you get back."
"Alright, don’t leave anything out. I’ve been too bored abroad and can’t wait to hear the gossip when I return."
"Okay."
"You’re busy, hanging up!"
The call ended, and Warren asked her, "Did you hear that? The day after tomorrow at eight in the evening, I’ll be at your door to pick you up."
Ashley remembered the agreement they made back at The Queen’s Bar, that she and Warren would go to pick up Xavier Quincy.
As for the others, they all pretended to have things to do, planning to surprise Xavier with their arrival when he thought everyone was too busy with their own affairs to welcome him.
"Is it still the same plan?" Ashley asked.
"You joined the group, right? Didn’t you check it?"
"... They’re too noisy, so I muted it."
That group could have ten thousand messages in a day.
If these people weren’t all wealthy and idle young masters, Ashley would have suspected that a bunch of AI was in there; only artificial intelligence could type continuously, day and night.
"Quite noisy indeed." Warren nodded in agreement and said, "The plan hasn’t changed, but they did take it upon themselves to set Xavier up with a girl."
Ashley’s eyelids lifted, "Who is it?"
"I don’t know her, but they posted a photo, you can go check it out." Warren said.
"Oh..." Ashley nodded.
Someone even Warren doesn’t know, she definitely wouldn’t know.
As for sifting through all the photos, forget it. With so many messages, who knows how long it would take? After all, they’ll see each other the day after tomorrow.
"What about the gift, what are you planning to do?" Warren asked her.
Ashley suddenly remembered that the brooch she had originally prepared for Xavier Quincy had been ruined by Hailey Hayes.
"I’ll think about what to give him when I get back."
"Why go through such trouble? I’ll have them send another one to you."
Ashley looked at Warren in surprise.
"That brooch costs one million and seventy thousand."
"So?"
His completely unconcerned manner made Ashley once again feel the wealth gap.
However, Warren’s money isn’t hers. She had already let him pay once, and she didn’t have the face to let him pay a second time.
"Forget it, I’ve already thought of what to give him."
"What is it?"
"You’ll find out then."
Warren said nothing, though he inexplicably felt a bit displeased.
Just then, the treatment room door opened.
Ashley quickly looked over and saw Ariana Grant with various bandages of different sizes on her body and several layers of gauze wrapped around the back of her hand.
Before Ashley could say anything, Ariana spoke first.
"Oh, I thought you’d be worried sick about me, but it turns out you’re having a great chat outside! Hmph!"
Ariana had a playful look, none of the sadness or despair the doctor mentioned was visible on her face.
Generally, Ariana’s emotions couldn’t be concealed from her, but right now, there wasn’t a trace of sadness on Ariana’s face. Ashley couldn’t tell if she was pretending or truly wasn’t upset anymore.