Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 65: If We Had Met Back Then, Maybe There Would Have Been a Glimmer of Hope
Shortly after Zane Thorne left, James Vaughn arrived. He just couldn’t put his mind at ease until he came over to take a look himself.
Of course, he also had a small task to hand the household register to Natalie Vaughn.
But...
When James Vaughn saw the mark on Natalie Vaughn’s neck, his expression turned completely sour.
Last night, he gauged that Natalie knew what was up and didn’t say much, but now he saw the hickey. Zane was really too reckless; Nina was injured, and he still dared to pull something like that!
"Where’s Zane?"
James’s tone wasn’t very pleasant.
Natalie didn’t quite get why James came over acting like he’d swallowed a stick of dynamite. Lazily shuffling in her slippers, she returned to the living room and curled up on the sofa with her script.
"How should I know where he went?"
James noticed Natalie had no unusual posture in her walk, raising his eyebrows in confusion.
Could it have been just a close call without anything happening?
Even as siblings, such personal issues aren’t suitable to discuss directly.
James could only suppress all sorts of guesses in his mind, yet couldn’t conceal his discontented feelings.
"Is this how he takes care of you?"
Natalie raised her eyebrows, finally turning her attention from the script to James, sitting upright and pretending to ponder.
"Is the company going bankrupt?"
James: ...
"What nonsense are you talking?"
"Then why do you look like you swallowed dynamite, with such a temper? Or have you stepped into menopause a decade early?"
James: ...
He’s only just over thirty, menopause, my foot.
"Do you talk to your big brother like this?"
Natalie smiled with her eyes and extended her hand.
"Give it to me."
"What?"
Natalie raised an eyebrow.
"Aren’t you here to deliver the household register?"
With the marriage certificate to be collected the day after tomorrow, she obviously couldn’t go home to get the register herself, so it had to be James bringing it over.
James gave a cold snort.
"If you want the household register, be nicer to me."
Natalie immediately got up and sat next to James, raising a hand to skillfully massage his shoulders and neck.
Natalie’s massage skills were learned from Mrs. Vaughn because the two men in the family were often working and their necks would get uncomfortable. So, Mrs. Vaughn specifically learned massage and acupressure from a traditional medicine master.
As for why Natalie learned it, it was simply because James wouldn’t let Mrs. Vaughn massage him, so he turned to Natalie.
Since his blind date, James hadn’t enjoyed Natalie’s massage services.
At this moment, as Natalie massaged him for a brief while, James’ furrowed brow relaxed.
Comforting as it was, the thought that Natalie was doing this for the household register made James uncomfortable again.
When has Natalie ever been so agreeable?
All for Zane.
James’s conflicted feelings emerged once again.
He was nearly ten years older than Natalie and had practically raised her.
"Nina."
James raised his hand to still Natalie’s hand and asked,
"Is Zane good to you?"
Even though he saw Zane’s attentiveness towards Natalie last night, he was still worried.
Natalie lowered her eyes, carefully observing James’s expression, confirming that he was indeed worried about her life after marriage. Her lips curled slightly.
He was the one who picked the person, yet now he’s the one not at ease.
"Do I look like someone who’s easily taken advantage of?"
James shook his head.
He knew Natalie’s personality well; she’d never let herself suffer. But Zane was evidently proud too.
He feared that two proud people might inevitably clash.
But what married couple doesn’t have their squabbles?
James was just worrying too much.
"Brother, I’m not that averse to the idea of a blind date."
She conceded that if the date wasn’t with Zane, she would definitely make a scene.
But there are no what-ifs; James chose Zane for her.
A brother who has spoiled her for over two decades, always knowing what she liked.
"Sister-in-law will be back soon, right? You don’t need to worry about me. It’s time to prepare for having kids; I can’t wait to be an aunt."
James was getting on in years too, and for the sake of his wife’s career, he’d suggested delaying having kids for a few years. Now that Tanya Donovan was returning from studying abroad, this matter was bound to become pressing.
Ultimately, Natalie got the household register from James.
Before leaving, James couldn’t resist, frowning with narrowed eyes, and admonished while staring at the hickey on Natalie’s neck.
"At least be mindful of your appearance when seeing people."
Natalie was taken aback and only realized what James meant when she heard the door close.
Raising her hand to touch where Zane had bitten her last night, she couldn’t help but curse under her breath again.
Having just come out of the club, Zane Thorne suddenly sneezed.
Looking up at the sky about to change, he furrowed his brows and quickly drove to the next destination.
Aaron Channing’s studio.
In their circle, few studied medicine, and even fewer like Aaron who specialize in psychology. Everyone’s way too high-status to bother with other people’s emotions.
Aaron was an exception. After returning from his studies, he opened a studio and worked diligently for the first two years to make a name for himself. Now, most patients are handled by other doctors in the studio, with only a few under his direct care.
Just on his shift day, Aaron couldn’t have expected an uninvited guest.
Aaron poured Zane a cup of tea.
At the racing club that day, Zane had pulled him aside to chat a bit.
Not much, but he learned Zane had a friend in Altara undergoing psychological treatment for years and had improved, though inconsistently. The doctor there advised returning to the country, so Zane needed to find a domestic psychologist.
Hearing the basic situation, Aaron furrowed his brow.
Psychological disorders resulting from physically irreversible damages are the most challenging to treat. No wonder after so many years, the situation only slightly improved.
"Who’s his doctor in Altara?"
"Leo Chandler."
Another Cinnabar native.
Hearing a familiar name, Aaron was quite surprised.
"Leo Chandler was my senior when I studied in Altara. He’s very skilled."
Now it was Zane’s turn to be surprised.
Initially, he chose Leo simply for convenience in communication, never expecting Aaron would know him.
That’s even better, since they’re senior-junior, exchanging information and aligning treatment plans shouldn’t be an issue.
After a call to Leo, Aaron suddenly recalled something.
"Who performed the initial surgery?"
Zane furrowed his brows.
"Can’t quite remember."
The accident had occurred too swiftly, and at the nearest hospital, he didn’t even know the doctor’s name.
Aaron sighed regretfully.
"If we had known each other back then, there might have been a glimmer of hope."
Zane was startled, his pupils contracting, his throat dry.
"What do you mean?"
"Senior Chandler has a well-connected friend in the Cinnabar surgical field named Ethan Forrest, known as the Golden Hand of Surgery, with an intimidatingly high success rate and nearly no failures."
If Ethan had operated on Gideon Sheffield back then, perhaps his leg could’ve been saved, and it wouldn’t have developed into the current situation.
But there are no what-ifs; the accident happened too far from where Ethan practiced. Even if Ethan had the skills, reaching there in such a brief time...
It was too hard.
