Her long hair cascaded down, and as she leaned over, a strand gently swept across Derek's neck—a feather-light touch that sent a shiver of ticklish sensation through him.
The familiar herbal fragrance snapped Derek back to reality. He turned to look at Tabitha.
Though he could only see a hazy outline, a wave of familiarity washed over him.
He replied, "I've got a splitting headache, feeling nauseous, and no appetite."
"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue," Tabitha instructed, her fingers lightly touching Derek's chin.
Her cool fingertips pried open his mouth.
Derek sensed the blurred figure drawing closer, even feeling Tabitha's breath.
She examined his tongue, then released his chin, her expression serious. "I need to check your body," she said.
This time, Derek didn't resist.
Tabitha's fingers began unbuttoning his shirt, one button at a time.
The action, the sensation—it all felt like a trip down memory lane.
Tabitha had once undressed him like this. A ripple of emotion stirred in Derek's heart.
Every detail of that day with Tabitha replayed in Derek's mind, and a bold idea began to form—what if that woman wasn't a figment of his imagination but the very Tabitha he'd longed for?
The thought made his heart race and his blood boil.
As Tabitha placed the stethoscope against his chest, she frowned. "Why is your heart racing so fast?"
She covered him with a blanket and sat on the stool beside the bed, gently extending one of Derek's arms. "Just breathe normally—I'm going to examine you."
Her focused demeanor made Derek more certain of his guess.
But she had no idea that his excitement had already breached the walls of reason.
Derek began piecing together the clues—Why would this renowned physician appear at such a critical moment, selflessly helping him and even staying up all night to brew medicine?
That familiar cry when he held her—it was Tabitha's voice!
As for the seemingly absurd dream, it must have been her way of checking on him when he refused the examination.
A vague image of a little girl suddenly surfaced in Derek's mind.
He heard she was barely three years old. Could it be...?
His thoughts drifted back to that night four years ago.
He had neutralized the drug for Tabitha on the ship and sent her to Seattle.
The next day, Forrest called to tell him Tabitha had requested contraceptive pills.
Concerned about the side effects, Derek had Forrest replace the pills with vitamins.
Little did he know, fate had other plans—an accident had given rise to a new life.
"No wonder the child bears a resemblance to Tabitha..." Derek mused inwardly.
But why did the child have green eyes?
Both he and Tabitha had hazel eyes, which puzzled him.
However, this confusion was quickly replaced by elation—his Tabitha was alive, not only alive but having given him a beautiful daughter and become a world-renowned physician.
The more he thought, the more excited he became, his pulse racing, while Tabitha's frown deepened.
She looked up at Derek, her eyes filled with confusion. "Are you feeling agitated right now?"
Derek forced down a smile. This was all still conjecture, and he needed more evidence to confirm it.
Moreover, he knew Tabitha all too well. If she realized he'd seen through her disguise, she would vanish again without a trace.
He struggled to control his emotions, but his trembling hands betrayed him.
"I..." Before Derek could speak, Tabitha sensed his unease.
She worried it might be a side effect of the medicine or some other issue with his health.
At that moment, Derek suddenly put on a look of terror, his voice quivering. "I'm scared."
"Scared?" The word coming from Derek took Tabitha by surprise.
She looked at him in confusion. "What are you afraid of?"
Seizing the opportunity, Derek grasped her hand, feigning panic. "Doctor, I'm afraid of dying."
Tabitha instinctively tried to pull her hand back but met the complexity in his eyes.
In that instant, she was reminded of her own past—before death, who could truly be without fear?
It wasn't the fear of death itself but the dread of never seeing the most important people in one's life again.
She ceased her struggle, her tone softening. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. You won't die."
Listening to these words, a warm surge filled Derek's heart.
He flipped his palm, interlacing his fingers tightly with Tabitha's, and gazed intensely at her. "I'm afraid that if I die, I'll never see the person I love again."
This sentence carried a double meaning—it was both a disguised fear of death and a sincere confession from the depths of his heart.
How he wished Tabitha could understand, could see that he had never stopped loving her all these years.