Dora had no clue why Zac had said that.Patricia was one of her many patients.
If no one came to visit her, she would probably end up feeling really depressed.
Seeing her confused expression, Zac elaborated, "You aren't fully aware of the kind of people out
there.A lot of them want to hurt Patricia.The person who showed up today for instance.Do you really
think he cared for Patricia's well-being?"
Things made a lot more sense to her now.Zac probably knew what the man that afternoon was saying.
He had definitely disturbed Patricia.
She didn't want that happening again.
"Alright, I get it."
She nodded at him, assuring him that she had understood what he meant.
He felt a little more confident about leaving Patricia in Dora's care, but it wasn't going to be enough.
He would have to send down a few more to guard the hospital.
He didn't want people like Kareem or the Sampson family anywhere near her.
He asked Dora to leave him alone with Patricia for a few minutes.
He just wanted to spend some time with her.
Dora hesitated, but eventually agreed to let them be.
He sat at the edge of her bed.
She was looking a lot better now, the pink having returned to her cheeks.
His fingers automatically traced along her skin and he felt the dull ache returning inside him.
"You silly woman!"
He murmured more to himself than her, but felt a shiver through his body.He didn't want to leave her
side.
She was precious to him.
Zac had never imagined her bowing down to anyone.
He assumed facing the hostile Sampson family at Sullivan's birthday party, she would back off a little.
She had turned out to be a lot more stubborn than he knew.
They were very similar in that way, like two peas in a pod.
This thought made him smile.
Finally, he had known a little about her.
He looked closely at her face, for the very first time.
She had perfect features, as though drawn on by an artist.
Her beautiful eyes, slender nose, soft lips and a rosy face.
She looked delicate, but unlike the other rich and pretty girls, Patricia had a heart as bold as any man's.
Nevertheless, even the strongest of people were vulnerable at times.
Zac was pleased that he was by her side when she was vulnerable and fragile.
Did this mean that he was meant to be with her? He already knew the answer to that question.
If only he had realized this earlier.
For so long Patricia had been in love with him without him even knowing it.
She had worked so hard to make herself worthy of him.
She had grown to become an extremely capable woman.
But she had kept all of this to herself, never letting Zac see even a hint of what she felt.
Tiredness took over Zac as he sat beside her.
After having stayed up the entire night, he finally rested his eyes and was asleep at dawn.
Patricia woke up whimpering in pain.
There was a sharp pain in her back that was itchy as well, and that made it all the more uncomfortable.
It was impossible for her to go back to sleep now.
Once her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the room, she spotted Zac next to her.
For a moment she was surprised, but her amazement was soon replaced by confusion.
The last thing she remembered was blacking out on the side of the road.
The pain had been unbearable.
She vaguely remembered hearing Zac's voice as she had phased in and out of consciousness over the
last few hours.
It was Zac's smell, something that was so familiar to lames her, that had made her feel peaceful and
sleep sound.
Despite not knowing what exactly had happened, but she had no doubt about the fact that she was
safe thanks to Zac.
She attempted to raise herself from the bed but her body felt like a slab of stone.
She really needed to get to the bathroom.
But her feet seemed to have no strength whatsoever.
Eventually, she lost her balance and stumbled to the floor.
The pain that shot through her back made her scream, "Ah! Zac!"
Zac jerked out of his slumber and was immediately by her side to help her up.
He tried to hold her against his own body to support her.
But Patricia had absolutely no strength to pull herself up, and the two of them collapsed together.
"Are you alright? Patricia?"
Patricia had been a bit dazed because of the pain.
But hearing the concern in Zac's voice, she was taken aback.
Zac didn't seem to be thinking about himself at all.
In fact, Zac had cushioned her fall.
She was not hurt at all by the fall itself.
"I should be asking you that, Zac.Are you okay?"
She looked at him, worried.
Zac grimaced due to the impact of the fall.
He had borne the weight of two people and it hurt him a bit.
But he didn't complain one bit.
He smiled at her and said, "Of course, I'm alright."
Zac seemed like a very different person to her all of a sudden.
Before she could dwell on that further though, he had managed to pick her up and place her gingerly
on a chair.
"You've just come out of a surgery, you shouldn't move."
His voice was firm, but there was a hint of tenderness there.
Patricia was unsure of how to react to this version of Zac.
She didn't really recognize this person too well.
"Zac?" she began tentatively, "Are you sure you're alright?"
His impulsive reaction was to glare at her, and the tiredness in his eyes became more pronounced.
But he didn't want to be arguing with her in this condition.That could wait for after she recovered.
He chose to ignore her question and instead he said, "The doctor has asked you to avoid any physical
stress for a while."
Patricia paused as she carefully thought of an appropriate response.
Finally she looked up, her cheeks rosier than ever and asked, "What if I need to get to the bathroom?"
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