Chapter 179 Not Because Of You
At that time, Kallum was still upset. What happened earlier was truly a blow to his pride. Flow am I supposed to wear the pants in the family in the future?
It seemed as though she could sense what he was thinking. Calista raised her eyebrows slightly. “What’s the matter? Are you displeased because I carried you?”
Kallum turned his head to the side, holding back the pain as he muttered, “No.”
Seeing him throw a tantrum, Calista found it quite amusing. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she climbed onto the bed and lowered her voice to say, “Should I let you carry me back?”
Kallum looked at her, surprised. However, he wasn’t one to turn down a good thing when it was offered. Most importantly, when he was feeling down, holding her seemed to make everything much better.
Yet, Calista refused to let him hold her. Chuckling slightly, she asked, “What’s the matter? Aren’t you going through the documents anymore?”
Upon seeing her disobedience, Kallum decided to remind her, “Today is my birthday!”
“So what?” Calista tilted her head.
Kallum displayed a complex expression. Am I not entitled to some perks? We were clearly close during the day. Indeed, a drunk Callie is more endearing.
Right then, she saw him frown and thought he was in pain again. Without thinking, she pressed her hand. against his stomach and asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Most of the time, Kallum wouldn’t show any signs of pain. Hence, if something made him furrow his brow, it had to truly hurt.
All was well until Calista touched it. The pain that Kallum had been enduring suddenly heightened upon
contact.
He didn’t want to worry Calista and was ready to assure her he was fine. However, a sudden surge of pain hit him, as if it was drilling into his bones, causing his body to shudder slightly.
The stomach pumping he had undergone during the day had intensified the viral outbreak by night. His fists gradually tightened, and he experienced an alarming sensation of breathlessness.
“Lie down!”
Seeing him looking as if he was having an outbreak, Calista quickly set the documents aside. She then took out the silver needles to administer acupuncture, a treatment that was originally scheduled for the third day. But under the circumstances, she couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
When Calista turned Kallum over, he curled up slightly. He didn’t utter a sound, but his body was trembling.
It was his own competitive nature to blame. Even after going through stomach pumping, he didn’t take the proper rest and continued to roam around.
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Chapter 179 Not Because Of You
Thanks to the silver needles, some color gradually returned to Kallum’s face. He soon realized that it wasn’t the third day yet. She had to perform acupuncture in advance because of what he ingested during the day. Needless to say, he was frustrated.
After the acupuncture, Kallum’s complexion had returned to normal. However, Calista’s lips turned pale. She gritted her teeth and collected all the needles, but she no longer had the energy to sterilize them.
Kallum sat up. Seeing her discomfort, he quickly held her in his arms. “Are you all right?”
Calista closed her eyes, momentarily lacking the strength to push him away.
“I’m sorry.” Kallum held her close, his heart aching. Every time it came to this, he despised himself. I’m the cause of Callie’s distress!
After a long while, Calista finally said, “I don’t blame you. If I hadn’t stopped you from taking the painkillers, you wouldn’t be in such distress.”
She took a deep breath, realizing that she simply couldn’t pull herself away from Kallum’s embrace. So, she decided not to get up at all. Over the past year, they had shared a bed every night. Although we’ve never been intimate with each other, he has seen it all. There’s no point in being pretentious now.
Kallum shook his head. “I know you mean well for me.”
Calista hummed in agreement. “Those pills have strong side effects. At first, taking one a day could relieve your pain, but eventually, you would need more and more. In the end, you could consume a whole bottle in a day, yet still not find relief from the pain. If that were to happen, your body would be in a terrible state. I don’t want that for you.”
A flicker of doubt flashed through Kallum’s purple eyes when he heard those words. He wondered why Callie spoke with such certainty as if she had seen it with her own eyes or experienced it firsthand.
Obviously, it was actually her personal experience. As Calista closed her eyes, the chill enveloping her body seemed to bring past memories into sharp focus.
Back then, she was afraid of pain. At first, she could bear it, but eventually, she started taking painkillers. She began with one or two pills, but it escalated to entire bottles. Gradually, she couldn’t afford those expensive drugs anymore, so she resorted to cheaper alternatives, which were utterly ineffective. The long–term consumption of painkillers could cause irreversible damage to the body, a cruel reality she had come to understand all too well.
“Don’t worry, I’ll soon be able to create a more effective painkiller with fewer side effects,” she assured. It seemed as though she was afraid that Kaiser might overthink, so she quickly added, “That’s just my new research project. I’m not doing that because of you.”
Hearing that, Kallum couldn’t help but laugh. With his arms wrapped around Calista’s waist, he found her awkwardness absolutely endearing/
“Not because of me? Really?” Kallum deliberately provoked her.
“You’re just an afterthought.” Even though Calista was out of breath, her tone remained cold and resolute. It seemed as if whatever she was about to do had absolutely nothing to do with Kallum.
Had he not overheard her conversation in the research lab, perhaps Kallum would have believed her.
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Chapter 179 Not Because Of You
At that time, they shared the same bed, their intimacy rivaling that of a typical married couple. The only difference, it seemed, was his physical condition.
“I will definitely get better.” That was the first time Kallum made a promise in front of Calista.
Somewhat taken aback, Calista looked up at him, catching sight only of his chin. “Why this sudden surge of confidence?”
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