Chapter 13

"Keep looking. She can't just vanish into thin air," Christopher said through gritted teeth. Sheldon had halted every method he could think of, and made several calls, but Melody wouldn't answer. Just as he was about to lose all hope, the line finally connected.

"Mrs. Fuller, where are you right now?" he asked, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Why are you looking for me?" Melody asked coldly from the other end.

Sheldon instinctively started to say, "I'm Mr. Fuller," but stopped himself. He quickly fabricated a reason, saying, "He asked me to find a document. I couldn't find it and thought you might know. I'm naturally...inquisitive..."

Melody was speechless. Christopher had lost something and expected…

"Tell him to find it himself," she replied in a frosty tone.

Mr. Fuller had been in meetings all day. He was unsure what to do; he sounded desperate and panicked, as if…

Although Melody hated Christopher, she couldn't be cruel to his assistant. She reluctantly said, "Check his study again. Look in the cabinets or on the floor."

"But I don't dare to go through his things. Could you perhaps…" Sheldon said with a trembling voice.

"I don't have time for that. I'm at the hospital. Just do it," Melody said curtly.

Sheldon quickly agreed. After hanging up, he immediately told Christopher, "Mr. Fuller, I've found her. She's at the hospital."

At that moment, in the conference room, Christopher's phone, which was on the table, buzzed. He glanced at it and froze. He stood up abruptly, grabbed his phone, and walked toward the door.

"Carry on without me. I have something to attend to," he said.

In his office, Sheldon was still checking hospital records when the office door slammed open with such force it nearly broke.

"Where is she? Which hospital?" Christopher demanded, storming to Sheldon's desk with an oppressive air. How could he forget? Melody had been injured. She was at the hospital, not running away. For some reason, his anger dissipated.

"M-Mr. Fuller, I'm still checking…" Sheldon's voice shook in fear.

Christopher calmed himself, regaining his composure. He recalled something and said, "Start with the hospitals near my house in Clinton."

Sheldon nodded quickly, but Christopher couldn't wait. He dragged Sheldon along to check the hospitals as they moved.

"I've found it! It's indeed the hospital closest to your house. Ms. Fuller is in Room 31," he reported.

"Drive faster," Christopher commanded, his lips pressed into a thin line, his expression stiffened.

"How did you find out she was at the hospital?" he asked after confirming her location.

"Mrs. Fuller answered the phone and said…" Before Sheldon could finish, he heard a loud thud from the backseat and immediately stopped speaking. Christopher had slammed his fist against the seat. His face darkened, and anger consumed him again. He couldn't wait to confront Melody.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Melody lay on her stomach, still in pain from her injured tailbone. She was chatting with a fellow patient to distract herself from the pain. Their conversation was soon interrupted when the door burst open with a loud bang. The patients were all frightened, including Melody. She turned her gaze toward the door.

Instantly, the faint smile vanished from her face. Her gaze grew cold as she clenched her fists tightly.

Seeing her cold expression, Christopher became even angrier. Moments ago, she had been smiling, but now, she was giving him the cold shoulder.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Did you say your phone was broken? If it's broken, how did you answer Sheldon's call?" Christopher shouted. The thought of her ignoring his countless calls but answering one from Sheldon was enough to drive him crazy.

"You're insane, Christopher. This is a hospital. Are you here to make a scene?" Melody retorted coldly, glaring at him.

"A hospital? You know it's a hospital. Are you pretending to be dying just to stay here?" He sneered.

Melody tightened her fists at his words. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her tailbone made her wince.

"Keep pretending! Make it more convincing!" Christopher spat, striding forward. He grabbed her by the collar and forced her into a sitting position. "It was just a bump on your foot! Did you really need to be admitted? Who are you trying to fool?"

Seeing how crazy he was, Melody could no longer hold back. She raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the room. Christopher froze for a moment before anger took over. He shoved her back forcefully. Melody fell to the edge of the bed, curling up in pain. Her tailbone felt like it had shattered. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"You've forgotten who you are! How dare you hit me?" Christopher growled through his gritted teeth, stepping toward her again. But the other patients tried to block him.

Chapter 17 "Stop! What are you doing to a patient?" A nurse rushed in after hearing the commotion.

"Get out of my way! I'm her husband! She's perfectly fine and faking it. I'm taking her home right now!" Christopher yelled.

"Husband? What kind of husband are you? Don't you know she has a fractured tailbone? How is she supposed to recover without staying here?" the nurse shouted back at him.

Christopher's rage extinguished immediately at the mention of a fractured tailbone. He stared blankly at Melody, who curled up on the bed.