Ethan stormed out of the hospital, his expression dark with frustration.

Benjamin, ever watchful from a distance, noticed his boss’s abrupt exit and rushed over. “Mr. Blackwood.”

He was confused. Ethan had entered the hospital just ten minutes ago. What could have made him leave so suddenly?

Ethan kept walking, offering only a curt “Hmm” in reply.

“Mr. Blackwood, I have the soup,” Benjamin said, following him with a thermos in hand. “This morning, you instructed the chef at Hawthorne Residence to prepare it for Mrs. Blackwood. You left it behind when you went inside, and now you’re already leaving…”

“It’s unnecessary now. Discard it,” Ethan stated dismissively.

Benjamin hesitated before asking, “So, I shouldn’t deliver it to Mrs. Blackwood?” Ethan massaged his temples, his weariness palpable.

“Just throw it away,” he ordered firmly.

Before Benjamin could respond, Ethan stopped abruptly. His tone unexpectedly softened. “Wait.”

Benjamin tensed, watching Ethan anxiously.

“Take it to the nurses’ station,” Ethan commanded, his voice still cool but slightly gentler than before.

“Right away, Mr. Blackwood,” Benjamin responded promptly, though he silently wondered what recent event had caused this shift in Ethan’s mood.

Ethan strode quickly to the curb where his sleek black Maybach was parked. He yanked the door open and settled into the back seat.

Inside, the chill from the air conditioning did nothing to calm his agitation. With his eyes closed, images of Isabella’s desolate expression and her tight grip on Lucas’s sleeve haunted him.

A sudden, fierce wave of irritation washed over him. He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and penetrating.

“To the office,” he instructed the driver sharply.

The driver, without a word, started the engine and pulled away smoothly from the hospital.

As the car moved, Ethan’s fingers tapped a steady rhythm on the armrest. He replayed Isabella’s biting words, the venom in her eyes, and her apparent reliance on Lucas in his mind.

His hands clenched into fists, the skin over his knuckles stretching taut.

Why did this anger consume him so completely?

He had only meant to intimidate her into submission.

Yet, seeing her so broken and dependent on someone else felt like a vice grip on his heart, making it hard to breathe.

In frustration, Ethan loosened his tie, but the tightness in his chest remained.

What had he been hoping for? Did he expect her to yield? To beg him?

No, that wasn’t his desire. But what did he truly want?

The pungent smell of disinfectant filled the air around Sophia. She adjusted the IV needle in her arm, her face a mask of annoyance.

“Why isn’t he here yet?” she muttered under her breath, her eyes darting toward the door.

“Miss Reed, there’s no need to worry. Mr. Blackwood has many responsibilities; his delay is likely due to urgent matters,” the caregiver reassured her, offering a freshly peeled apple.

Sophia took the apple and bit into it, but it tasted like nothing to her.

“Doctor, I’m still not feeling well. Is it possible to extend my stay here for further observation?” she asked the doctor making his rounds, her voice soft and delicate.