The loud noise startled everyone.
Damian's face immediately turned dark when he saw Cheryl lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
"Natalie Underwood! You're really asking for it this time!"
He then hurriedly picked Cheryl up in his arms and ran out the door.
The banquet ended on a sour note, and Damian's bodyguards brought Natalie along to the hospital too.
When Damian heard that Cheryl had lost a lot of blood and that she had the same blood type as Natalie, he immediately ordered that Natalie donate her blood to Cheryl without any hesitation.
Natalie needed to undergo a simple medical examination before she could donate her blood, and that meant her past surgeries and medical history would then be revealed. She couldn't possibly let Damian find out right now that she had donated a kidney to him in the past.
At this, though, she purposely put on a cold, indifferent look and said, "I'm not donating anything. It's not like her blood type is rare. Why are you insisting that I must donate blood to her?"
Damian then grabbed a thick bundle of cash and slapped it in her face.
"You love money, don't you? How much do you want? I'll pay you! Will you finally donate your blood now?"
She stared blankly at Damian, who was still throwing more and more banknotes in her face. She felt as though a knife was slashing right into her heart.
After Damian had impatiently slapped her with six or seven bundles of cash, Natalie finally crouched down and picked up all of the fallen banknotes on the ground. Then, she smiled and looked at him.
"You should have just given it to me earlier instead of wasting my time like that."
Then, she went straight to the blood donation center in the hospital.
After the medical examination, the doctor looked at the report and shook his head, saying, "This young woman has had surgery before and is missing a kidney. She also has a history of severe bleeding. It's highly recommended that she not give blood at all."
Damian frowned hard. "What do you mean by her missing a kidney?"
Before Natalie could say anything, he continued coldly, "What's the point? Are you going to try and lie to my face, saying that you're the one who donated your kidney to me after all, just so that you can try to extort more money from me?"
Natalie felt her heart clench in her chest. Yet, she forced a smile and nodded.
"Bingo. But I didn't think you'd see right through it."
Damian's face turned even darker than before. He grabbed the doctor by his collar and gritted his teeth in anger.
"I don't care how much she paid you to lie to me, but I will pay you double that amount. Draw as much blood from her as Cheryl needs."
The huge needle pierced into Natalie's vein, making her tremble involuntarily. Blood slowly drained away, and she could feel her body grow colder and colder.
Her vision began to blur. Natalie didn't know how much blood she had given, but she eventually couldn't hold out anymore and fainted.
When she finally woke up, the sun had already set, and it was dark outside. Yet, there was a warm chocolate chip cookie waiting for her next to her hospital bedside table.
In the past, Damian would always brave the wind and rain to buy her favorite chocolate chip cookies for her if she wasn't feeling well, just to cheer her up.
He once told her that he didn't have a lot and could only afford to buy her cheap cookies like these. However, he promised that he would buy her more premium and luxurious ones in the future when he could afford them.
Natalie recalled how he used to hug her and comfort her gently, and she felt her heart throbbing painfully in her chest. It hurt so badly that she could barely even breathe.
She reached up and took the cookie, biting into it robotically until she finished the whole thing.
When she went out, she happened to see Cheryl in the ward next to her, lying in Damian's arms while flirting and speaking coquettishly with him.
"It's too warm, Dam. Cool it off for me, please?"
Damian then brought the spoonful of soup to his lips, blew on it gently, and brought the spoon back to Cheryl's lips.
She took a small sip and pouted hard. "This tastes horrible."
Damian didn't look the least bit impatient or offended by her words. He just smiled at her and retrieved a piece of candy from his pocket. He tore off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth.
Cheryl blinked again and said, "This still tastes bad."
This time, Damian set down the bowl, cupped Cheryl's face in his hands, and kissed her softly and gently on the lips.
A short while later, they separated, and Cheryl leaned into his arms, speaking in a soft, coquettish voice.
"Dam, can't you stop loving Natalie and love me instead?"
Damian happened to look out at that moment and met Natalie's eyes outside the door.
There was a moment of silence in the air. He stared at Natalie, his eyes cold and indifferent.
"I won't love her anymore. Not for the rest of my life."
Natalie didn't say anything. She just smiled bitterly to herself and turned to leave.
