Poppy stared at him intently, silently tightening the strap of her handbag. "A friend?! I bet this is no ordinary friend! If you won't take me, I'll go on my own! Anyway, there are only a few rooms on this floor; I'll search room by room and I don't believe I won't find your special friend!"
After muttering to herself, she turned around and walked down the hallway with a gloomy expression.
Inside the VIP ward.
After Clint left, Serena quickly pulled her hand back. "He's gone, why are you still holding on?!"
The man lowered his head to look at her, his expression not looking too good. "Clint seems to care a lot about you. He thought you were sick and was willing to leave behind his work at Beckett Corp just to rush here."
"Care?!" Serena sneered. "I don't know if he's actually concerned about me. I've never received his concern before, so I'm not familiar with how he cares for people! And in the future, I don't need his concern!"
After hearing this, Xavier's face softened a bit, but his hand still didn't loosen. "You really don't have any feelings left for him?!"
Serena tilted her head back, looking at him with a mix of disbelief and amusement. "What else?! Should I keep being a fool and let him keep trampling on my dignity?!"
Satisfied, Xavier smiled and pulled her hand closer, gently kissing it near her lips. "Serena, you've finally figured it out!"
Serena felt the spot where he kissed her hand start to heat up. Warmth surged from her hand to her chest, making her heart beat wildly.
"Alright, alright, we need to hurry and pack. We're leaving the hospital soon! Uncle Blaze gave you an hour, and that time is almost up!"
Xavier watched with pleasure as a faint blush appeared on her face, his mood lifting as he released her hand.
Serena quickly turned and, pretending to be busy packing, hurried away from him.
'How strange!' Standing with her back to him near the coffee table, she pressed her hand to her chest, thinking to herself, 'In the past, he would often cling to me, but why didn't I ever feel this way-this heart-pounding sensation-like I do now?!'
His affectionate eyes flashed in her mind, and Serena's heartbeat quickened.
While grabbing her things, she shook her head, trying to clear Xavier from her mind.
The man's gaze never left her.
After standing for a while, he folded his arms, leaned against the nearby wall, and continued to watch the captivating figure with interest.
Knock knock knock!
The sound of a knock on the door made him frown. Annoyed, he turned around and asked, "Who is it?!"
How many times has this been already?!
They'd only been in the hospital for a little while, yet so many people were showing up!
"Hello! May I come in?!" A sweet female voice rang out.
Upon hearing it was a woman, Xavier relaxed and turned to open the door.
"Wait!" Serena turned, giving him a complicated look before glancing at the closed door.
"What's wrong?!"
"Hmph!" Half leaning against the coffee table, Serena sneered, "You didn't even ask who was at the door, and you're going to open it?!"
"I don't care who it is, she's just a woman. What's there to fear?!"
"It's not that we need to fear, but I'm worried that someone might see her and get uncomfortable, you know?"
After hearing her words, Xavier paused for a moment, then quickly realized.
The unfamiliar voice outside sounded familiar.
He pointed at the door and asked in a low voice, "Poppy?!"
Serena shrugged nonchalantly. "It should be her!"
"Then... shouldn't we not open it?!"
After a quick thought, Serena immediately stood up and walked toward the door. "I think she's here to find me, I'll go personally."
Xavier silently gritted his teeth, stepping back to make way for her. After she passed, he followed closely behind.
The door opened, and Poppy smiled sweetly, "Sorry, I'm looking for someone..."
As soon as she saw who was standing inside, her smile froze, and her face immediately darkened. "Serena... It's really you!"
Serena crossed her arms and leaned casually against the doorframe, smiling lightly. "What's the matter? Came to find me?!"
"You shameless woman, why did you trick my Clint into coming here?! Aren't you divorced? Why can't you just leave him alone?! A flirt like you, always eyeing more than one man, Clint is really blind to still be fooled by you."
As her anger rose, Poppy raised her hand arrogantly to slap Serena.
Without hesitation, Serena grabbed her hand and forcefully threw it aside.
Caught off guard by Serena's sudden retaliation, Poppy stumbled in her high heels and almost fell to the ground.
Holding the wall to steady herself, she started ranting, "You ... dare to hit me! Just wait, I'll deal with you properly!"
With a smirk, Xavier narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of Serena.
"No need, I'll handle it myself!"
Serena coldly laughed and pulled him back behind her.
Calmly waiting for Poppy to stumble toward her, Serena dodged at the last moment, letting her miss.
Refusing to give up, Poppy turned and lunged again, trying to scratch Serena's face.
Serena stepped aside and, taking the opportunity, grabbed her by the hair. Poppy yelped in pain, "Let go! Let go of me! Serena, let go!"
"Miss Castano, I suggest you think twice before getting physical," Serena said coldly. "If you're not sure you can handle it, it's better not to provoke me."
"You..." As Poppy struggled, she suddenly saw Xavier standing behind Serena.
Her eyes flashed, and she quickly squeezed out a couple of tears, crying as she turned to Xavier. "Mr. Blaze, help me! Serena's gone crazy! If you don't help me, she'll kill me!"
After confirming that Poppy posed no threat to Serena, Xavier smirked, his face full of amusement, and said, "Don't back down now, weren't you full of energy a moment ago? I haven't seen a good fight in ages, so don't disappoint me!"
Realizing she couldn't count on Xavier, Poppy gritted her teeth and tried to pry Serena's hand off her hair.
The harder she pulled, the tighter Serena's grip became.
"Stop wasting your energy! If you want me to let go, apologize properly!" Serena sneered.
"Apologize?! To you?! In your dreams!" Poppy refused to give up. "You seduced Clint, you're the one who should apologize!"
"Hopeless!" Serena sighed.
"Ahhh!" Poppy cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face. "Serena, you ... you're just as shameless as your father! On the surface, you're all noble and virtuous, but behind the scenes, you're nothing but dirty and despicable!"
Slap!
Serena swung her hand and slapped Poppy hard across the face.
***