Chapter 5

Tiffany woke up from her dream with a start. As she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. The vision of Vincent had vanished. The elderly lady in the neighboring bed smiled and asked her, "Dear, did you have a nightmare? I saw you gripping the sheets tightly while you slept. What was the dream about?" As a child, Tiffany had heard that talking about a bad dream prevented it from coming true. So, she replied, "My boss." The elderly woman, Anna Keller, was surprised. She shook her head and sighed. "Your boss must be frightening." Just then, the door was pushed open from outside. A tall, slender figure entered. Tiffany had been about to use the bathroom. She had just slid one foot into her slippers, but when she saw who it was, she nearly fell off the bed. Vincent was dressed in a white shirt with the collar slightly open. His black trousers showed off his long legs. He was carrying a thermos in one hand, while his black suit jacket was draped over the other. He exuded an air of elegance. As Tiffany met his gaze, a wave of guilt washed over her. Without realizing it, she clenched her fingers into a fist. But Vincent walked right past her to Anna's bed. He bent down. "Grandma." Tiffany looked up. She was surprised to see Anna patting Vincent's head tenderly. Vincent, who was an imposing man in the office, was now acting like an obedient grandson in front of Anna. It turned out that he was her actual grandson. Tiffany looked on in surprise as Vincent opened the lid of the thermos and poured some soup to feed Anna. She had never expected that the usually stern CEO could be so gentle and caring. Anna waved her hand, saying, "I just had an apple, so I'm quite full." Turning to Tiffany, she continued, "Dear, you haven't eaten yet, have you? My grandson made some tomato soup. Would you like to try some?" Vincent looked over at her as well. Seeing that, Tiffany shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, thank you. I'm not hungry." But Anna insisted. "I haven't even touched it. You're not going to reject me, are you?" "Of course not." "That's good." Anna's mood changed rapidly as she pushed Vincent's shoulder. "Go on. The poor thing; it's been a while, and no one has come to see her. She even had a nightmare about her boss just now. She seemed so scared. I bet her boss is no good." Tiffany tried to stop Anna, but she couldn't get a word in. Anna had blurted out everything! Vincent raised an eyebrow at Tiffany. "Is that so? What's eating at you that you're so afraid of your boss?" Tiffany said nothing. There was no way she could explain it, no matter what she said. Vincent kept staring at her as if he could burn a hole through her face. "I... I need to go to the restroom. I'll be right back." With that, Tiffany fled into the restroom. Anna smacked Vincent's arm. "Look what you did! You scared her off!" Vincent chuckled helplessly. "Grandma, am I that scary?" Even though he might be strict at work, there was no reason for Tiffany to be that afraid of him. Anna scrutinized him seriously. "You don't look scary, but you always have a cold expression, which is rather intimidating. That young lady is timid, but she seems kind—not like those arrogant or pretentious women. I quite like her." "Okay, that's enough." Vincent cut her off before she could say more, feeling a headache coming. "She has a boyfriend, Grandma. Don't get any ideas." But Anna didn't believe him. "A boyfriend? How do you know?" "Because she's my employee." "Huh?" … When Tiffany came out of the restroom, Vincent was alone in the room. As she emerged, Vincent's gaze locked on her. Tiffany's steps stiffened as she awkwardly walked to her bed. She was still on the IV drip, with the IV lines taped on the back of one hand and the other holding the IV bag up. She stood on her tiptoes and tried to hang the bag up. However, she found it difficult and struggled because of her height and limited mobility. "Give it to me." A deep male voice came from beside her. Tiffany turned her head in a daze as a cool scent hit her nose. At the same time, Vincent took the IV bag from her and easily hung it up. "Thank you, Mr. Lewis," Tiffany said, keeping her head down. She didn't dare make eye contact with him. Once she settled back on the bed, Vincent brought over the thermos and set it on her bedside table. "This is for you." Tiffany looked up at him in surprise. When their eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing red. Vincent found it amusing. He had seen many women before, but none as bashful as Tiffany. He found her rather entertaining, given how she turned beet red at the slightest thing. To avoid any misunderstandings, he added, "It's from my grandma." "Oh, I'll thank Mrs. Lewis Senior later then," Tiffany said. Vincent stood by the bed for a moment. "There's something else I want to ask you." "Go ahead," she replied. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it in front of her. "Have you seen this before?" Tiffany's eyes widened with shock. It was her pearl bracelet! How had it ended up with Vincent? Vincent observed her expression. "Have you seen it?" Tiffany snapped out of it and shook her head. "N-no. I'venever seen it before." A hint of disappointment flickered in Vincent's eyes. "Are you sure you've never seen it?" "Yes." Tiffany clenched her fists tightly. She feared they might break under the pressure of her anxiety. "I've never seen it." "Alright." Vincent pocketed the bracelet. Tiffany's heart was in turmoil. She couldn't believe she had dropped something so important in Vincent's tent! As a child, Tiffany had often been sick. Teresa had climbed 999 steps up a mountain trail to reach a church, all so that she could get this pearl bracelet blessed for health and give it to Tiffany. Tiffany had continued to wear it all these years. Yet, it was often hidden under her sleeves, so no one besides those closest to her knew about it. She kept to herself at work and didn't have any friends at the company, so no one there knew either. Hence, she didn't need to worry about Vincent finding out that it was hers. What concerned her was how she would get the bracelet back from him. … In the afternoon, Kelly sent Tiffany several messages asking how she was doing. Out of courtesy, Tiffany replied briefly. They weren't close, so the conversation should have ended after a few messages. However, Kelly sent another message. "Tiffany, has Mr. Lewis been to the hospital?" Since both of them worked in Lewis Group's executive department, Tiffany wasn't sure if Kelly might have something to say to Vincent. So, she replied honestly, "He came by at noon." The next moment, Kelly call her.