Just then, Alyssa suddenly cried out from the passenger seat. "Oh no! Isaiah, what should I do? I forgot to close my window!
"The little plant you gave me is still on the windowsill, and with such heavy rain, I'll be heartbroken if it gets ruined. That's the little plant you potted for me on my birthday.
"It's the only thing that gives me hope when my depression kicks in. I treasure it more than my own life!"
Through the rearview mirror, Solana noticed Alyssa's gaze directed right at her. She suddenly realized that Alyssa was doing this intentionally.
"I'll turn around and send you home right now!" Isaiah agreed without hesitation.
"Yes! Isaiah, you're the best!" Alyssa beamed, her face lit up with the happiness that she didn't even try to hide.
Then, she looked hesitantly toward the back seat. She said uncertainly, "Isaiah, this means Sol will have to make an extra trip with us. Won't that delay her doctor's appointment?"
The car suddenly screeched to a stop on the roadside. Isaiah pointed at Solana coldly, saying, "Get out and go to the hospital yourself. There's an umbrella in the trunk."
Solana was taken aback for a moment. Nonetheless, she quickly recovered and responded, "Okay," and quietly opened the car door.
"But Isaiah, this new dress I'm wearing today was also a birthday gift from you. What if it gets soaked?" Alyssa asked this just as Solana was getting out of the car.
"We need to use the umbrella, so we can't give it to you." Isaiah didn't give her a chance to get the umbrella and drove off immediately.
The pool of water on the ground splashed as the car sped away. Solana stepped back to avoid it, only to look up and meet Alyssa's smug little face through the car window.
She sighed helplessly and quickly took shelter under the awning of a nearby shop. It was raining cats and dogs to the point that she was already soaked through just from getting out of the car.
Solana shivered from the cold. As the recent abortion had weakened her body significantly, she crouched down powerlessly and hugged herself.
Usually, it was easy to catch a ride around here. However, the sudden downpour had turned the smooth roads into traffic jams, causing the available cabs in the area to dwindle. She glanced at someone nearby who had been fumbling with the rideshare app for a while to no avail.
That was when she realized that getting a cab home wasn't a feasible option. So, she forced herself to stand up despite the cold and walked in the rain. However, she hadn't gone far when sharp pain and waves of cold hit her lower abdomen.
She hadn't eaten anything all day. Moreover, she hadn't had any time to rest after the abortion procedure that morning. Unable to hold on any longer, she collapsed in the heavy rain, her vision going black.
When Solana opened her eyes again, she saw white walls and Isaiah's grim, cold face. She was startled and quickly jumped out of bed, only to notice the IV needle still in the back of her hand.
Solana worriedly touched her lower abdomen, worried that her abortion had been discovered.
"Who told you to get out of bed? Lie back down! You're 18 years old, yet you still can't take care of yourself? Did you know your blood sugar levels dropped again?"
The second she heard the words "blood sugar," her expression softened with relief. Under Isaiah's firm gaze, she obediently lay back down. It was only then that she looked around and realized that this wasn't a hospital, but Alyssa's home.
"Isaiah, didn't you drop Ms. Hill off? Why—"
Isaiah cut her off, clearly irritated. "Why did I come back for you and bring you here, too? Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused? Grandpa went off on me like mad!"
It finally hit Solana that she had accidentally triggered her emergency protocol when she collapsed. Her emergency contact was Cedric, who had suggested that she make it him. The reasoning he gave was that everyone else in the family was busy, but he would always be free to answer Solana's calls.
She never expected this call to go through. The call connected, but Solana didn't respond. So, Cedric immediately called Isaiah, furious to learn he had abandoned her halfway.
Isaiah had hung up and turned the car around right away. He didn't even listen to a word Alyssa had said because his mind was entirely on Solana. She couldn't get hurt. If anything happened, Cedric would kill him.
Soon, he found Solana collapsed not far from where he'd dropped her off. He knew about her chronic hyperglycemia and was about to take her to the hospital.
However, Alyssa said the hospital was still some distance away, and the roads were jammed. Hence, it would be better to take her back to Alyssa's home first and call the family doctor.
That was how Solana ended up lying in the guest room at Alyssa's house. She hadn't expected this to happen and said, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I feel much better now, so I won't disturb you and Ms. Hill."
She sincerely apologized and wanted to give them space. In her past life, she'd always been jealous of Alyssa. They fought so many times because of it, and he always called her immature.
Yet, now that she was being mature, he seemed even angrier. "You're still thinking about other people at a time like this?"
