Chapter 359 The Question She Couldn’t Avoid
The effects of the anesthesia still hadn’t fully worn off.
Ryan was wheeled into the hospital room, unconscious and pale, while Oliver followed close behind. The ordeal had clearly shaken him. He dropped into the armchair beside the bed and let out a long breath.
"I honestly didn’t think you’d come," Oliver said, glancing at Rose. "Not after everything that’s happened."
Rose didn’t answer.
She simply sat beside Ryan’s bed, quietly watching him.
Oliver studied her for a moment before continuing.
"He’s in pretty rough shape. He used himself as a human shield and basically took the full impact of the fall. Even though the height wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, his weight still added to the force."
Rose’s expression remained unreadable.
Oliver leaned back.
"He has a fractured lower leg that’ll probably take two or three months to heal. Mild concussion. Extensive bruising across his back. Scrapes and cuts pretty much everywhere."
He paused.
"And there’s another problem. Ryan has a blood-clotting disorder."
Rose’s eyelashes fluttered.
Oliver continued, "Fortunately, Ariel had some plasma available, so the hospital was able to keep giving him transfusions. They used about sixteen hundred milliliters."
Rose’s fingers tightened slightly in her lap.
Sixteen hundred milliliters.
That was a significant amount.
She had always known very little about Ryan’s blood-clotting problems. He had never talked about them with her, and unless something happened to bring the issue to light, she had no reason to investigate.
The only time she’d really noticed something strange was when she’d saved Ryan as a child.
He’d kept bleeding, and she’d always assumed she’d simply failed to treat his injuries properly.
Then there had been the accident last year.
She remembered seeing the wound on his body refuse to heal as quickly as it should have.
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Now, everything suddenly made sense.
And Ariel’s condition...
It was just like his.
A faint, bitter smile tugged at Rose’s lips.
Ryan had never given Ariel anything.
Not his time.
Not his love.
Not even the identity of her father.
Yet somehow, the one thing that could matter most in a crisis had been passed down to her perfectly.
"Rose?"
Oliver’s voice pulled her back.
When she still didn’t respond, he sighed.
"Not many men would do what Ryan did. And honestly, I don’t think this was simply about him being unwilling to watch Ariel get hurt."
Rose finally looked at him.
Oliver hesitated beneath her stare.
He still remembered the last time he’d managed to embarrass himself in front of her. Ever since then, whenever Rose looked at him, he had the distinct feeling she was silently reminding him exactly how stupid he’d been.
He cleared his throat.
"I mean... maybe it’s the whole ’love the parent, love the child’ thing."
Rose’s expression didn’t change.
"Your habit of overthinking everything hasn’t changed," she said calmly. "You’ve just found a new direction to take it in."
Oliver winced.
He knew exactly what she meant.
Back then, he’d constantly assumed Rose was deliberately playing hard to get with Ryan, convinced she was using every possible trick to keep his attention.
He’d made assumptions.
He’d judged her without understanding the situation.
And now?
Was he making the same mistake by assuming Ryan’s actions were motivated by his feelings for Rose?
"Okay. I know I didn’t exactly make myself look trustworthy back then." Oliver rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But think about it. Even a biological father wouldn’t necessarily go that far to protect his child. You have to admit that."
Rose’s lips pressed into a thin line.
His words brought someone else to mind.
Derick.
There was already a precedent for a biological father doing less than what Ryan had done.
Still, Rose wasn’t naive enough to believe that loving someone meant automatically loving everything connected to them.
She wasn’t the carefree girl she’d once been.
Life had beaten that innocence out of her a long time ago.
"You’re right," she said.
Oliver blinked.
"Really?"
Rose gave him a cool look.
"I said you’re right about one thing. Even a biological father might not go that far."
Oliver immediately realized she’d completely ignored the point he’d actually been trying to make.
He couldn’t exactly argue.
He knew better than anyone why Rose no longer trusted his interpretations of her feelings.
He sighed and stood.
"James called me and filled me in on what happened."
Rose looked at him.
"As for Samantha... her situation is complicated. Because she’s pregnant, it’s unlikely she’ll actually serve time in prison."
Rose’s expression immediately darkened.
"Legally, the court can suspend her incarceration and allow her to serve her sentence outside prison instead."
For a moment, Rose said nothing.
Being pregnant really could become a lifeline.
Considering everything Ariel had suffered because of Samantha, Rose felt no sympathy whatsoever.
If anything, she felt furious.
That woman had nearly destroyed Ariel’s life, and now she might avoid prison simply because she was pregnant?
It was far too lenient.
Oliver seemed to read the anger on her face.
"You should stay with Ryan for now," he said. "And as for Samantha... honestly, don’t assume being outside prison means she’s getting off easy."
He gave Rose one last look.
Then he left.
The room fell silent.
Only the steady beeping of the monitors and the quiet hum of the medical equipment remained.
Rose stayed where she was.
She stared at Ryan.
His eyes were closed, his face so pale that he looked almost unfamiliar.
Even after everything Oliver had told her, she hadn’t realized just how bad his condition was until she saw him lying there herself.
His brow was still faintly furrowed, even in unconsciousness.
Rose lowered her eyes.
There were too many things she didn’t understand.
For all this time, Ryan had never once thought to tell her anything.
His plans.
His secrets.
His health.
His intentions.
She’d been completely shut out.
She didn’t know how long she sat there.
Eventually, Ryan stirred.
His dark eyes opened slowly.
For a few seconds, they were unfocused.
Then his gaze sharpened.
The first thing he saw was Rose.
He didn’t look surprised.
"You’ve been here this whole time?"
His voice was rough from the anesthesia and lack of use.
Rose hesitated.
She picked up the plastic cup of water from the bedside table and held the straw to his lips.
"No. I just got here."
"Okay."
Ryan didn’t question her.
He lowered his gaze to the straw, opened his mouth and took a small sip.
Rose waited.
When he turned his head slightly to indicate he didn’t want more, she pulled the cup away.
"Should I call the nurse?"
"I’m not dying."
Ryan sounded exhausted, almost bored.
Then his first real question came.
"How’s Ariel?"
Rose’s hand tightened around the cup.
"She’s okay. As long as she doesn’t keep losing blood, she’ll be fine. Her external injuries weren’t too serious. She needed seven stitches."
"Mm."
Ryan didn’t seem surprised.
He knew Ariel hadn’t suffered any serious external injuries when they fell.
He’d made sure of that.
He had taken the impact himself.
"You’ll probably be uncomfortable for the next couple of months," Rose said.
Her eyes moved to his right leg, which was secured in a heavy cast.
"Especially with your clotting problem. A fracture is already painful enough, and it’ll probably take longer for you to heal than it would for most people."
She paused.
"You’ll likely need a wheelchair for at least a couple of months."
Ryan glanced sideways at her.
"Is that concern?"
His voice was as cool as ever.
"Or are you just making polite conversation?"
"I’m stating the facts."
"Then thank you for wasting your time telling me something I already know."
Rose pressed her lips together.
Even lying in a hospital bed with a broken leg, bruised ribs and a concussion, he still had the nerve to be sarcastic.
What was even more irritating was that his expression barely changed.
His face remained calm and unreadable, making it impossible to tell whether he was genuinely annoyed or simply trying to provoke her.
Rose crossed her arms.
"Fine. You can take it as concern if that’s the kind of reassurance you’re looking for."
Ryan looked directly at her.
"No need to dance around it. Say what you actually mean."
Of course.
He always noticed.
Rose exhaled quietly.
There was no point pretending.
"I do need to thank you for what you did for Ariel."
Ryan remained silent.
"I honestly didn’t expect you to go that far," she continued. "And I still don’t completely understand why you did it."
Her gaze settled firmly on him.
"But that’s not what I want to ask you about."
Ryan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"The plasma."
His expression remained unchanged.
"What about it?"
Rose had already formed the question in her mind.
Do you know Ariel’s background?
But she stopped herself.
That question was too direct.
Instead, she chose her words carefully.
Ryan watched her without saying a word.
His dark eyes were steady, almost unnervingly calm.
Rose opened her mouth.
Then Ryan spoke first.
"Rose..."
His voice was quiet but firm.
"Are you going to explain?"
He paused.
"Or do you want me to?"