The sound of shattering glass made all the partygoers turn their heads. They were all shocked to find a girl sitting on the floor, clutching her chest. One of the men walked over, checking to see what had happened.
"Miss! Are you okay? What happened?" asked Evan, the event owner.
The girl in question continued to clutch her chest, her breath coming in short gasps as she pointed to a small plate that had been broken and had pieces of cake all over it.
Evan began to understand what made this girl suddenly make a scene; maybe the food she pointed to just now made her allergic to the ingredients in it.
"Luke, call an ambulance!" he ordered his assistant, who immediately obeyed.
Since the hotel where the party was held was not too far from the hospital, it only took a few minutes for the ambulance to arrive at the hotel and take the poor girl to the hospital for immediate treatment.
In addition to her labored breathing, Evan also noticed that a rash had appeared and the girl's face had begun to swell. As the event organizer, he took full responsibility for the incident. The party was in chaos for a while because of the commotion, with everyone thinking the poor girl might have been poisoned by the food served around them. But Evan continued to assure them that the incident was definitely not caused by the food.
Of course, as a well-known businessman, Evan didn't want this incident to affect his business. Especially since this was the inauguration of his new hotel, he didn't want to lose the trust of the invited guests before the hotel officially opened.
"Has the girl been dealt with?" Evan asked Luke.
"Already, sir. Her allergy is quite severe; it's lucky we're not too late to help her.”
Evan sighed; he didn't expect this incident to happen at his party. He had also checked to see if the girl had taken the cake herself or if someone had given it to her. As it turned out, the girl did take it herself, which means she didn't know there were allergens in the food she took.
In another corner, a man was seen looking for someone in the crowd. Steve was searching for his girlfriend, who had stayed behind to taste the cake served at the party, but when he returned, he didn't find Alodie anywhere.
"Why are you doing nothing? Help me find Alodie!"
A worried Steve accidentally snapped at Anna, his secretary, whom he had also taken to his business partner's hotel inauguration party. Anna splashed out, forced to help Steve find his troublesome girlfriend.
But in reality, Anna isn't really looking for Alodie. Instead, she went around the back to meet someone who had helped her get rid of Alodie a little. It was someone who had disguised herself as a waitress and placed a cake near Alodie for the girl to take and eat.
"Good job!" said Anna as she handed over an envelope with a dollar bill inside.
The fake waitress accepted it and left, as her job was done. Anna also went to keep herself busy because she didn't want to hear Steve's anger. Meanwhile, Steve was even more worried because he couldn't find Alodie.
He asked the party guests whether or not they had seen the girl he mentioned, but they said they didn't know. Just when Steve was about to give up, someone told him that the same girl he mentioned had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. However, he was not sure where the hospital was.
Steve frantically dialed Alodie's number, but it went unanswered.
.
.
"How did it get like this, Al?" Maria Winston looked worried when she heard that her daughter had been rushed to the hospital.
Someone contacted her on Alodie's cell phone, informing her that her daughter was in the hospital.
"You didn't eat the peanuts on purpose just because you had a fight with your boyfriend, did you?" Maria accused.
Alodie said nothing, although she was quite offended by her mother's accusation, which, unfortunately, was true. Alodie glanced at the door, seemingly waiting for Steve's presence, even though she had been sober for quite some time.
Alodie sighed, squeezing her head tightly. Her breathing was still a little labored from the allergy that had developed after she had eaten the cake at Steve's business partner's hotel inauguration; she really didn't know there were peanuts in the bread.
"Mom," Alodie called softly, making Maria turn around. "Didn't you tell Steve that I was in the hospital?"
Alodie's question made Maria's face sour. "Why would you care about someone who doesn't even care about you? He didn't even bring you to this hospital, even though you went with him earlier. I don't know what that man is doing; he doesn't care about you, Al."
"Mom, Steve's not like that. He must just be confused about where to find me. I'd better call him."
"No need," Maria snatched Alodie's cell phone from the nightstand, giving her daughter a pained look. "Do you remember when you were hospitalized with allergies? He even called and didn't answer your call. "If you call him now, he might think you're a weak person because you're always hospitalized for careless reasons.”
Alodie was silent after hearing her mother's words. Although she still wanted to tell Steve to come, what her mother said was not entirely wrong. Alodie remembered that at the party, Steve left her because he wanted to discuss cooperation with other business partners who happened to be at the party.
One thing Alodie noticed was that Steve didn't invite her or check on her. At first, Alodie thought that maybe she could interrupt Steve and his coworkers' conversation. But after what her mom said, why did Alodie think Steve didn't care about her?
This wasn't the first time Alodie had been hospitalized for allergies while out with Steve, when she should have been safe with him since he knew she was allergic to some things.
The open door distracted the attention of the two women inside. A man who still looked dashing for his age walked into Alodie's ward with a sour face.
"I thought this would happen again. He's incompetent to take care of you!" said Mr. Winston angrily.
"I warned Alodie too, but she's almost like your father—very stubborn," said Maria.
Mr. Winston looked at his daughter, who looked a mess. Her face was still slightly swollen and reddish, and her breathing was also irregular. The old man sighed; it was enough for him to free his daughter from the hands of an irresponsible man.
"End your relationship with that useless man, Al. I'll set you up with my coworker's son. I'm sure he can take care of you better than that ignorant man."
"Dad, I can't—"
"I don't accept rejection. Instead of being stuck with a man like him for the rest of your life, it's better to obey your parents," broke in Mr. Winston. "Even after eight years of dating, he won't marry you," He grumbled.
