Chapter 215 Cole comes to visit
No sooner had Stephan left than a cold, imposing figure quietly approached the hospital room.
Alana kept her head down, replying to a message Eve had sent.
After suddenly hanging up the phone, that little rascal Eve wasn’t giving up; she
kept sending messages to ask.
Alana replied with a few brief words, completely oblivious to the blue-clad figure
slowly entering her hospital room.
The man spoke, “Lana...”
Startled, her hand trembled, and her phone nearly slipped from her grasp.
She looked up and saw Cole standing at the doorway of the hospital room, dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath and a blue tie in the same shade.
A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high, straight nose; the lenses glinted slightly, concealing the emotions swirling in his deep, dark eyes.
Alana was taken aback. “Cole, why are you here?”
“I heard from Carla that you injured your ankle, so I came to see how serious it is.”
Cole walked closer, his gaze involuntarily scanning the space, searching for any trace of the other man’s presence.
But aside from the slightly disheveled bedding, he found nothing. His tense jaw relaxed slightly.
Seeing Cole arrive unannounced, Alana felt a twinge of nervousness.
“I’m fine. You didn’t need to go out of your way to come see me.”
Cole walked up to her and said earnestly, “But I was very worried about you. I won’t feel at ease until I see you in person.”
Alana gave an awkward smile. To her, his concern felt like a burden.
Cole’s gaze was gentle. “Which foot is injured? Let me take a look.”
As he spoke, he reached out to lift the blanket, intending to examine her slender legs beneath it.
Alana nervously covered herself with the blanket. “It’s okay, I’m really fine. I just accidentally bumped my left ankle.”
Noticing her resistance, Cole’s eyes darkened slightly.
His fingers curled slightly before he slowly withdrew his hand.
Pretending nothing had happened, he continued to ask with concern, “How did you suddenly get injured?”
Alana was too embarrassed to reveal the real reason. “I... just tripped while walking.”
Cole frowned. “Does this have anything to do with your boyfriend?”
Alana looked at him in surprise. How did he know her ankle injury was related to Stephan?
Could it be that during that phone call just now, Stephan had told him the reason for her injury?
No way...would he even bring something like that up?
Just thinking about it was embarrassing.
But then again, come to think of it, Stephan might actually say something like that...his face is thicker than a city wall.
But she was too shy!
How could she possibly bring herself to answer that?
What should she do...
She felt so embarrassed right now!
Seeing Alana’s silent reaction, Cole knew his guess was correct.
His eyes darkened instantly. “After what he did to you...injuring your ankle, are you still going to force yourself to stay with him?Break up with him right now!”
Alana gasped. “He... didn’t mean to. Also, I don’t feel like I’m settling for less when I’m with him.”
Cole laughed in exasperation. For the first time, he realized just how love-struck Alana was, but why couldn’t that same infatuation be directed at him?!
“He hurt you, and you still don’t feel wronged?Lana, do you have a masochistic streak?”
Alana took a deep breath and said earnestly, “I told you, it was an accident. Nobody wanted this to happen...I didn’t, and he certainly didn’t. Besides, even if there is something going on, it has nothing to do with you.”
Cole felt a sharp pang in his chest as he stared at her with pained eyes. “Is that
really how you feel?”
Alana pursed her lips and nodded. “Yes.”
Cole let out a short laugh, a dull pain spreading through his heart.
He had gone to every length to find her, hoping to win her back.
But she had gone to every length to stay away from him, wanting to completely cut ties with him.
How... had things between them ended up like this?
Alana glanced at Cole’s somewhat sorrowful expression. After a moment of silence, she steeled herself and said, “Cole, you’ve come, you’ve seen me. I’m fine. If you have other things to do, you should go back first. I have a boyfriend. He’ll take care of me.”
If Cole still had feelings for her, then what she needed to do now was cut off those feelings completely.
Better short-term pain than long-term suffering, wasn’t it?
She had managed to do it back then. She believed Cole could do the same.
Time would heal all wounds.
Cole didn’t move an inch. He asked calmly, “Then where is your boyfriend? You’re injured now. Why isn’t he by your side?”
Alana replied, “He went to buy breakfast for me.”
Cole stared at her and continued, “What’s your boyfriend’s name?”
Alana frowned. “Does his name really matter?”
Cole said, “To me, it matters very much.”
Alana said, “I’m sorry. I don’t want to tell you.”
The corners of Cole’s lips twitched. “It’s okay. Then I’ll wait here until he comes back.”
Alana felt suffocated. “Cole, why are you so determined to meet my boyfriend? Even if I didn’t have a boyfriend, there would still be no possibility between us.”
Unwilling to give up, Cole stubbornly asked, “Why is it impossible? You can be with another man, so why can’t you be with me again?!”
Alana felt helpless. Wasn’t it obvious?
Did she really have to point everything out one by one?
“Putting aside the fact that your sister and I are like fire and water, I can never trust you again. And you yourself once said that I was only suitable for dating, not for marriage.”
Cole hurriedly explained, “I was wrong back then. I shouldn’t have said that. I regret it. I can marry you! As for my sister, I’ll persuade her properly and stop her from targeting you every time.”
Alana found it amusing. Every time Cole said the same thing, yet Camila’s attitude toward her had never changed.
It only became worse each time.
The funniest thing she had ever done in her life was believing Cole’s empty promises again and again.
“Even so, what about your parents? Would they agree?”
Cole’s gaze was resolute. “My marriage is my own decision. I’ll convince them to agree!”
Alana shook her head. “I’m sorry. Even then, I still wouldn’t be with you, because... I don’t like you anymore.”
Unable to restrain himself, Cole grabbed her shoulders. His large hands tightened around them, his eyes filled with pain that couldn’t be dissolved. “Lana...Please give me one chance.”
“Don’t reject me so quickly. Fall in love with me again. This time, I won’t let you down again...”
Alana wasn’t moved.
She only felt exhausted from his relentless persistence.
Especially when she saw the sorrow filling Cole’s eyes, all she felt was helplessness.
“I’m sorry...”
Other than saying she was sorry, she couldn’t give him what he wanted.
The strength in Cole’s hands loosened slightly.
Still unwilling to give up, he asked, “Is there really not even the slightest possibility?”
Alana said seriously, “My boyfriend will be back soon. He’s the jealous type. I don’t want him to see you here and cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Cole gave a bitter smile.
Every sentence she spoke was about her boyfriend.
Was her boyfriend really that wonderful?
Or was she simply trying to provoke him and make his heart ache?
His voice turned hoarse. “Lana... what if I insist on staying here to meet your so-called boyfriend?”
Alana quietly clenched her fingers, trying her best to keep her voice steady.
“Cole, don’t make things awkward for everyone, okay?”
So in her eyes, his appearance only brought embarrassment. “Fine. I’ll leave!”
Cole’s expression darkened as he turned and walked away.
The door slammed shut loudly.
Alana’s body trembled slightly before she slowly let out a sigh of relief.
As long as he was willing to leave.
To be honest, if Cole had really run into Stephan, with the two men confronting each other, she would have had no idea how to deal with the situation.
*********
Angrily slamming the door behind him, Cole strode toward the elevator.
The elevator doors opened, just as he was about to step inside, he happened to run into Stephan, who had just bought breakfast.
Cole stepped into the elevator.
Stephan walked out carrying breakfast.
As they passed each other, their shoulders brushed unintentionally.
Neither of them looked at the other.
Stephan calmly walked past Cole and continued out.
However, as if remembering something, he couldn’t help but glance back toward the elevator.
At that moment, the elevator doors were slowly closing.
Inside the elevator, Cole also happened to turn his head and meet Stephan’s gaze.
He met Stephan’s deep, dark eyes and his strikingly handsome face that was almost bewitching.
The man’s gaze was inexplicably sharp.
Cole’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
For some reason, the face seemed somewhat familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.
But he didn’t think much of it.
At that moment, his heart was filled with the anger and sorrow of being hurt by Lana again and again. The two emotions intertwined, leaving him too unsettled to think about anyone or anything else.
What he never expected was that the man standing before him, the one he had just crossed paths with, was the so-called boyfriend of Alana, the very man he had spent so much time and effort trying, yet failing, to investigate.
The elevator doors finally closed.
Their gazes, which had met in midair, were completely cut off.
Stephan withdrew his gaze, his expression slightly dark.
Back in the hospital room, Alana was still wondering when Stephan would return.
Unexpectedly, less than two minutes after Alana left, the ward door was pushed open.
The man’s tall, slender figure dressed in black walked in. There was almost no expression on his handsome face, causing her heart to tighten for no reason.
Alana nervously clutched the blanket and forced a smile. “Ste...Stephan, you’re back...”
Just now... Cole hadn’t run into him, had he?
Nothing like a showdown had happened, right?
Stephan replied expressionlessly, “Mm.”
Alana immediately sensed something was wrong with his mood, making her even more uneasy. “You... what’s wrong?”
Stephan glanced at her and said calmly, “When I came out of the elevator just now, I ran into someone who looked very familiar.”
He walked over, sat down on the edge of her bed, and fixed his deep eyes on the girl’s delicate, fair face. The corners of his lips lifted casually. “Don’t you plan to explain?”
Alana bit her lip. “Whe...when you went to buy breakfast... Manager Cole came by to see me.”
Stephan looked at her, the corners of his lips curling into a half-smile.
“He just came to take one look? Are you sure it wasn’t several looks... or more than ten?”
Alana replied weakly, lacking confidence. “I... I didn’t let him stay and look for long. I asked him to leave.”
Stephan smiled without warmth. “Is that so?”
Alana nodded vigorously. “Mm! Yes, yes. I promise.”