“You can go, but before that, you must consume this,” Spencer said, pouring out a pill from the bottle. Thalia frowned. “What is this?”
“This is...” Spencer thought about it briefly before saying, “An antidote I've developed to delay the poison attack.”
Thalia's eyes lit up. “When did you develop it? Oh, you're amazing!” Spencer flashed a sheepish smile. “Just recently.”
“Wow, no wonder you've been spending so much time in the lab lately. Turns out you were up to
something big!” she exclaimed. Taking the pill from him, she examined it closely. “I'm really grateful that you developed the antidote. Now I won't have to go through the trouble of getting my blood extracted or feeling weak all the time.”
Thalia was about to swallow it when she added, “Get me more so I can keep them as spare for my journey.”
Spencer shook his head. “No need. One is enough.”
Thalia was about to pop the pill into her mouth but halted in her tracks. “How long can it delay the attack?”
Spencer seemed torn as a conflicted look crossed his face, but he looked at her and said, “It should last for a long time. I'm not sure about that.”
Thalia's lashes fluttered. She remained composed and asked cheerfully, “Has Nelly tried it yet?”
Spencer felt his heart sink when he heard Nelly 's name, but he told himself to stay calm and replied, “Not yet.”
Thalia stretched her hand out.
“What?”
“Give the antidote to me, and I'll deliver it to her!” Thalia said cheekily. “It's not every day that I find someone who suffers from the same rare condition as me, so we'll have to take the antidote together.” She gestured at him. “Come on, give the antidote to me.”
Spencer forced out a smile. “You don't have to do that. I'll deliver it to her later.”
“No, I want to do it myself,” Thalia insisted.
A troubled and hesitant look flashed across Spencer's handsome face. He seemed to be caught in a tight spot as he remained silent.
The smile on Thalia's lips slowly disappeared. “This is the only antidote, right?” Spencer met her gaze.
Thalia gazed at the little pill in her palm. “If I'm not mistaken, this is the 'antidote' Alpha Kilian got when they went out that night.”
“Thalia—”
“Am I right?” Thalia cut in icily.
She rarely showed her stern side to him, but it was clear from her attitude that there was no room for discussion.
A while later, Spencer caved in and nodded in resignation. “You're right.”
Thalia's brows scrunched up as she gazed at him for a long time. “So what's with this pill you gave me?” “Nothing. Just eat it. You'll recover after taking it,” Spencer snapped impatiently.
“What about Nelly ? What will happen to her?” she asked.
Spencer pursed his lips and said nothing. He was already filled with guilt and remorse about this, so he wanted the matter to end as soon as possible with no regard for the consequences.
As he said nothing, Thalia continued, “You can also tell me that you've succeeded in developing the antidote and you're giving this one to me first...” She looked at him, her gaze deep and penetrating. “Spencer, tell me the truth.”
Spencer lowered his gaze and remained silent.
His silence merely served to prove Thalia's guess.
Her expression was tense as she snapped, “I understand now.” Without a word, she hopped off her bed and strode to the door.
Seeing that, Spencer rose to his feet hastily and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?” “I'm going to see Nelly ,” Thalia answered without turning around.
Frowning, Spencer took a deep breath and asked, “Why would you go to her?”
“Why else?” Thalia whipped her head around to glare at him. “I don't understand why you'd take the antidote and lie to me, but they were the ones who brought it back. It should be theirs!” She then turned around to leave.
“You're right,” Spencer declared once she turned around. Thalia halted in her tracks.
“There is only one antidote. I have studied the components of this pill, and I can say with certainty that there is a specific ingredient that I don't have. I can't reproduce it,” he revealed in a low voice.
Thalia was startled to hear that. “This might be the only antidote.”
Spencer went after her the moment she stepped out of the room. Undeniably, Thalia's words had struck a chord within him.
It was extremely hard for him to make the decision and ask for the antidote from Nelly because he knew how selfish and wrong his action was. However, he had no choice but to do it. Now, Thalia had crushed him and his idea entirely with a single sentence.
Spencer stood rooted to the spot and mulled over it for a moment before chasing after her. After exiting the room, Thalia went straight to Nelly 's room.
She wanted to barge into the room as soon as she reached the door, but she held herself back. Instead, she composed herself and knocked on the door.
When she heard no response from inside the room, she hammered the door a few more times in an urgent manner.
Still, no one came to the door.
Right when she was about to storm into the room, Spencer grabbed her wrist.
Thalia froze momentarily and turned around. Seeing that it was Spencer behind her, she struggled to break free. “Let go of me!”
“Just stop!” Spencer refused to let her go. “Leave me alone!”
“Thalia!” Spencer suddenly shouted in a stern tone. Startled, Thalia stared at him.
Spencer took a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and said, “I know it doesn't matter what I say now. Perhaps I'm a selfish person in your eyes, but I don't care what you think of me...”
Thalia couldn't bring herself to blame him because she knew he had her best interests at heart.
While looking back at him, Thalia narrowed her eyes slightly and answered, “I know you're doing this for my sake. Frankly, I'm happy because you're doing everything you can to save my life. If that person weren't Nelly , I wouldn't mind. But I'm close friends with the three kids, and I've also known Nelly for so many years. Besides, you guys are friends, right? If you do this, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. If you have to live in guilt for the rest of your life just so I can survive, I would rather not live.”
Spencer kept mum and stared at her with his dark and conflicted gaze.
“Spencer, Nelly had already saved my life by transfusing her blood to me that day. Thanks to her, I'm still alive. We can't be so selfish. Do you understand?” she asked.
“I don't want you to die.” Spencer fixed his gaze on her, the expression in his eyes deep and profound.
In response, Thalia smiled. “I won't die. With your skills, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you develop the antidote.”
Spencer's eyes were red. “I don't even believe in myself.”
“Spencer, you're great at what you do, so you must believe in yourself. Besides, I strongly believe that you have the ability to keep me alive!”
Spencer said nothing in response.
Thalia smiled and turned around to enter Nelly 's room.
“She's downstairs...” Spencer's voice suddenly rang out from behind her.
Thalia halted in her tracks upon hearing that, knowing that Spencer had relented. He's only telling me that because he has accepted what I'm about to do.
With that in mind, Thalia flashed another smile and said, “Okay. I'll go downstairs to look for her.” With that, she went downstairs.
After only taking a few steps forward, she stopped and turned back to glance at Spencer. All of a sudden, she walked back toward him and hugged him.
Spencer merely looked at her without saying a word.
“Thank you for loving me so much.” Thalia let go of him, smiled, and went downstairs. At that moment, Nelly , Alpha Kilian , and Dave seemed to be in a discussion downstairs. Thalia descended the steps without hesitation and called out, “Ms. Jackson .”
Nelly lifted her head to see Spencer walking down the stairs behind Thalia. Upon seeing the different expressions on their faces, she seemed to have figured something out.
Alpha Kilian heard Thalia's voice and looked up as well. When he saw Spencer, he narrowed his dark eyes instantly, and a sharp glint flashed across them.
Meanwhile, Thalia walked up to Nelly and said, “I need to talk to you.” Tilting her head, Nelly said, “Have a seat.”
Initially, Thalia was in a rush to speak her mind and get everything off her chest. For some reason, however, she became calm when she saw how composed Nelly was.
Therefore, she took a deep breath and took a seat opposite Nelly . There, the two of them sat face to face with a table in between.
“What is it? Speak your mind,” Nelly said.
Thalia didn't know how to start, so she thought about it for a while and whipped out the antidote
Spencer gave to her. “I'm returning this to you.” With that, Thalia pushed the tiny bottle toward Nelly .
Everyone at the scene was staring at that bottle, and the place promptly fell silent. Nelly lowered her gaze and swept a glance at it. “What's the meaning of this?” “Well, this belongs to you,” Thalia uttered.
Just then, Alpha Kilian and Dave shifted their gazes toward Spencer.