Chapter 20 She's Gone on the Run?

• Leo kept his head bowed in silence.
• "As soon as she arrives, bring her to my office," Henry ordered icily, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the desk.
• "Will do."
• However, for two consecutive days, Leo hadn't spotted Freya at the company. His calls went unanswered, and inquiries among the secretary's office staff yielded no information about Freya's whereabouts.
• Nervously glancing at the brooding figure before him, Leo sensed an atmosphere thick with tension and hostility.
• Meanwhile, the others in the office kept their heads low, as if trying to avoid notice.
• In that moment.
• Standing in Freya's usual spot, Henry's gaze fixated on a small doll by the computer, almost as if it embodied Freya herself. His stare was piercing and intense.
• Great! Very well! How dare she vanish like this?!
• Henry's brow furrowed slightly, his jaw tightly clenched, revealing his inner restraint. His attention shifted momentarily to something beneath a nearby cactus plant.
• Reaching out, he retrieved the item, and a flash of resolve gleamed in his deep, dark eyes. Swiftly, he crumpled the paper note into a ball and tossed it into the nearby bin.
• Meanwhile, Freya lay unconscious in the hospital.
• When she opened her eyes, all she saw was the white ceiling above. Instead of the comforting aroma of home, there was the harsh scent of disinfectant.
• Shifting slightly, Freya felt her body weighed down. Looking down, she saw two small figures, one in blue and the other in pink, peacefully asleep on her legs.
• Winston, still groggy, sat up and rubbed his eyes. Spotting Freya awake, his face lit up and he crawled over. "Mommy, you're awake."
• "Winston, why am I in the hospital?" Freya tried to raise her hand to caress Winston's head, but noticed the IV drip in her arm, so she used her other hand instead.
• "Mommy, you got sick," Winston said with concern, reaching out to touch Freya's forehead.
• Joan returned with breakfast, relieved to see Freya awake. "You're finally awake. You gave us quite a scare."
• "What happened to me? "
• Freya felt groggy still. Trying to piece together her last memories of falling asleep at home, she wondered how she ended up here.
• Joan sighed. "You had a high fever and were unconscious for two days. The doctor said it was due to overwork and catching a chill from the rain."
• High fever? Unconscious for two days?
• Freya was bewildered.
• "Fae, before I arrived, you were in bed. The children, seeing you ill, tried to cool you down with a wet towel, just like they've seen on TV."
• Joan affectionately ruffled Winston's hair.
• "I should've called an ambulance," Winston lamented.
• Freya smiled gently, tilting her head to look at Winston, and praised him, "You've done a great job!"
• "Joan, where's my phone?" Freya realised she had been absent for two days without notifying the company. She needed to call Zoe and explain.
• Missing work for two days meant deductions from her salary, and she had already had been deducted one month's worth of pay. She couldn't afford another.
• Joan retrieved Freya's phone from her bag and handed it over. Freya pressed the power button and found it had run out of battery and powered off.
• After charging it, Leo's call came through as soon as she turned it on.
• Freya's hand trembled as she quickly answered.
• "Hi, Mr. Howard."
• "Ms. Lambert, where are you now? Hurry back to the office." Leo's voice sounded slightly urgent.
• "What's wrong? I had a high fever and was unconscious for two days. I just woke up, and I'm in hospital. I want to request leave so I won't be marked absent."
• Freya's voice was still hoarse from illness, and she felt a twinge of anxiety at Leo's tone. Could something significant have happened at work during her two-day absence?
• Then she decided to not care about it. Whatever happened at the company had nothing to do with her, and she only wished they wouldn't deduct her salary.
• Upon hearing this, Leo fell silent momentarily. After a pause, he asked, "Which hospital are you in?"
• "Magnolia Hospital."
• "Well, get some good rest then," Leo responded, and promptly ended the call.
• Does this mean my leave request was approved? They won't deduct my pay, right?
• Setting her phone aside, Freya noticed Jasmine was awake, sitting quietly at the foot of the bed, her big round eyes blinking.
• Unexpectedly, this little one didn't throw herself at her as usual.
• "Jasmine, come here," Freya beckoned, reaching out her hand.
• Jasmine quickly leaned in, stretching her small body and holding Freya's hand, humming softly as she nestled closer.
• "Mommy, are you feeling better now?" Jasmine asked with concern.
• "Yes. I will get better soon." Freya gently flicked Jasmine's nose with her finger. "Why did you need me to hold you to come over?"
• Jasmine pouted and looked up. "You're sick, so I can't cling to you."
• "Such a good girl." Freya stroked her daughter's face.
• These two little ones were truly angels sent to comfort her.
• "Oh, right. I haven't brought your medicine yet. The doctor said you need to take it after waking up," Joan exclaimed, suddenly remembering.
• "There's chicken soup here. You should have some first. You haven't eaten anything for two days while you were unconscious."
• "Okay, thank you, Joan. I really owe you this time. When I'm better, I'll cook a meal to thank you," Freya expressed her gratitude sincerely.
• She could only make Joan a meal to thank her. If it weren't for Joan, she had no idea what would've happened to her.
• "I won't refuse that." Joan smiled warmly. "You rest first. I'll go get your medicine."
• "I want to go too!" Jasmine sat up straight, eagerly raising her hand.
• "I'll stay here with Mommy." Winston also wanted to accompany them, but he glanced at Freya. "Mommy is ill and needs someone to stay with her!"
• "You two shouldn't go. It's crowded there," Joan gently advised.
• "I want to help Mommy get better faster," Jasmine insisted, persistently raising her hand.
• Winston nodded in agreement.
• "Yeah! Let Jasmine go!"
• Joan reluctantly looked at Freya, unable to refuse the children's good intentions.
• Freya couldn't bear it either.
• But considering Joan would be there, Freya figured there should be no problem. After carefully instructing Jasmine not to run around, she let her go with Joan.
• With only Winston and Freya left in the ward, it suddenly became much quieter. Freya felt a bit hungry and reached for the chicken soup on the side, intending to have some.
• Perhaps due to her illness and weakness, Freya's hand slipped, and the spoon clattered to the floor. She frowned. "Oh, I'm so clumsy!"
• Before she could retrieve it, Winston had already sprung to the bedside and was half-crouching on the floor, searching for the spoon.
• "Mommy, don't move. I'll get it!"
• Watching her sensible son, Freya felt warmth in her heart. She kept an eye on him and cautioned, "Be careful, Winston. Don't bump your head!"
• "Okay!"
• As Winston's voice trailed off, the door swung open from outside.
• Assuming it was Joan and the others returning, Freya didn't lift her head. "Joan, Jasmine, is it not crowded? You're back so quickly."
• No one responded.
• After a pause, Freya sensed an unusual chill in the air, not the autumnal coolness but a wintry iciness. Looking up, she was taken aback to see someone unexpected standing before her.
• Startled, her hand trembled, and the soup nearly spilled.
• Glancing down, she saw Winston already retrieving the spoon and about to climb up. Freya had no time to think further; she quickly pressed his head down and bent to tuck him under the bed.
• Without even meeting Winston's eyes, she pretended to calmly straighten up and smoothed her hair, though her complexion paled involuntarily.
• "Am I that scary?" Henry pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his long legs, his narrow, dark eyes as icy as ever.
• He wasn't scary; he was downright terrifying!
• "No ... you just surprised me." Freya forced herself to remain composed.
• Fortunately, the noisy Jasmine had gone out. But what if Winston emerged from under the bed? Even if he just called out 'Mom', everything would be exposed.
• She urgently needed to figure out how to handle this dilemma. She couldn't let them meet; one look at Winston's face, and everything would unravel!
• "Mom ... "
• Suddenly, a cry rang out, and Freya froze in place ...