How could Natalie possibly be willing to give the hospital bed back? She would definitely let Roschelle decide.

Next, Roschelle would bring Kieran to speak for her.

So, when Alarieka turned around to look, she unsurprisingly saw Kieran and Roschelle standing together.

There were quite a few people in the ward, coming and going, almost filling up the hallway.

Kieran frowned a little and reached out to carefully protect Roschelle, letting her stand peacefully in the aisle.

Alarieka slowly stood up, looked over their shoulders, and saw Natalie wiping her tears behind Roschelle.

Natalie noticed her staring, looked up, and shot her a fierce, smug glare.

Alarieka pulled a smile. “What brought you two here?”

Roschelle pressed her lips together, looked at her with difficulty, and said softly, “Can we talk outside?”

Alarieka stood still and said calmly, “Is there anything that can’t be said here?”

Maybe Roschelle also noticed that everyone in the room was looking at her with unfriendly eyes.

Roschelle was kind of "scared" and pushed straight into Kieran’s arms, looking up at Kieran with weak eyes. “Kier…” The voice twisted and turned a thousand times, soft and melting to the bone.

Kieran lifted his eyelids, his long, dark eyes swept over everyone there, looking neither warm nor cold. There was a lot of pressure in his gaze, and his whole vibe just looked scary. It made people lower their heads without thinking and not dare to look at it again.

Alarieka looked at Kieran’s dark eyes.

Roschelle leaned against Kieran, like she had someone to rely on, and blinked her innocent eyes, saying, “Alarieka, you got us wrong, we’re not taking over your place.” She looked a bit troubled, just with a hint of pride and contempt in her eyes.

“It’s just, the hospital said you guys couldn’t pay the hospital fees, so we took the bed. Natalie’s family wasn’t super rich, but they could afford the medical bills.”

Roschelle went on, “And, even though the hallway wasn’t as good as a ward, at least it was a place to stay. It was still better than being kicked out of the hospital for not being able to pay. Don’t you think that makes sense?”

A paragraph, openly and subtly, just mocked Alarieka and Jaylene for being poor and not being able to pay the hospital bill, while Natalie just didn’t care about the bill at all.

Jaylene’s face turned a bit pale. She really couldn’t afford the hospital bill.

Alarieka sneered. “How could I not afford it? I just transferred a hundred thousand to the hospital account. I can stay as many days as I want. Is that any of your business?”

Jaylene looked up at her in shock.

Roschelle’s face suddenly went pale, and she grabbed Kieran’s sleeve.

Kieran frowned and said in a calm voice, “Did you have to be so aggressive?”

Roschelle had someone put Lorelai, an old lady with late-stage uterine cancer, in the hallway, so how come Kieran didn’t remember calling her pushy?

Kieran was calm and smart everywhere else, but somehow, when it came to Roschelle, he just turned into some clueless kid.

Was I just blinded by love and my white moonlight?

Alarieka clenched her fists and gave a cold smirk, “I’m not as crafty as her. She could even bully an old person.”

Roschelle’s face went pale again.

She relaxed her body and leaned into Kieran’s arms, her slender, boneless arms resting on Kieran’s waist, her voice thin and trembling: "Sorry, I didn’t know about these things, Kier… what should I do?"

Natalie seemed like she just couldn’t take it anymore and stood up, pointing at her and said, “Why are you getting mad at Rose? Rose didn’t even know about this. If you’re angry, take it out on me. She’s innocent!”

Innocent?

If Alarieka didn’t see the provocation in Roschelle’s eyes, she might really have thought Roschelle was innocent.

A tear fell from the corner of Roschelle’s eye, Kieran’s eyes instantly turned dark, his thin lips pressed together. He looked up, his dark eyes full of pressure as he looked at her, unhappy that she made Roschelle cry.

Jaylene stood up with a cold laugh, “And to think I thought you guys were good people. I didn’t expect you to be so clueless about right and wrong, pretending to be innocent right in front of me.”

Natalie immediately shot back, “If you want to blame someone, blame your own family for having no money or connections. What does that have to do with me?”

Her words stirred up the emotions of the other patients and their families in the ward.

Everyone crowded around again.

Natalie’s face changed, and she muttered, “A bunch of troublemakers.”

Kieran raised his hand and put his arm around Roschelle’s shoulders, his palm pressing gently on her shoulder, like he was giving Roschelle some support.