Love's Redemption

Redmption 167

I didn’t ask Derick who he was with. Judging from her heavy makeup and flamboyant outfit, she was clearly a fling of his and not a serious girlfriend.

As Derick disappeared into the night, I noticed that my bowl was empty. Brandon had eaten all my shaved

ice.

“Let’s grab something else to eat,” Brandon said shamelessly.

Gritting my teeth, I said, “Sure.”

Brandon led me to a spaghetti stall and ordered two plates. This time, he didn’t steal my food because the food was warm. Apparently, it wasn’t because he liked shaved ice that he ate it; he simply didn’t want

me to have too much.

He was annoying, but it stemmed from a place of genuine care.

After we finished eating, we continued our stroll. We saw a stall selling pets, while another stall sold plants.

In the end, I purchased two potted plants for Brandon. “Your place seems a bit empty. These will add a touch of life. A gift from me.”

Am I not vibrant enough for your liking?” he teased. If he was the epitome of vibrancy, then there was no hope for any man on earth.

“Think of them as perfumes–a surefire way to enhance your romantic prospects,” I countered. Brandon chuckled upon hearing me. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

”

I had a strong feeling that there was another meaning behind his smile, so I raised a hand in warning before he could speak. “Not a word.”

He listened to me and stayed silent..

We continued to stroll around with Brandon carrying the potted plants. We walked until midnight, but the streets were still bustling.

Remembering that he had to work tomorrow, I said, “Let’s head back.”

“Don’t you want to walk around anymore?” Brandon asked.

1 feigned exhaustion and yawned. “No, I’m tired.”

We turned around and made our way back. Brandon kept quiet the entire time, but I didn’t notice because my attention was on the various trinket and snack stalls lining the street.

When I spotted a display of colorful flower headbands, grabbed one and put it on my head.

mischievously. “Does it look good?” I asked.

When I didn’t hear a response, I turned around, only to see his face drained of color. Despite his obvious discomfort, he still nodded as he looked at my head.” Looks good.”

“You don’t look good though, I said, striding toward him. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

I saw beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He was sweating profusely. I held his wrist and asked, Are you sick?”

“My stomach doesn’t feel right,” he said honestly.

The image of him eating shaved ice flashed before my eyes. “It was the shaved ice, wasn’t it?”

He hesitated. I tightened my grip on his wrist in response. Finally, he said a soft “Yeah.”

I was furious all of a sudden. “How long has it been bothering you?” I demanded.

“Since we started walking back…” I really wanted to smack him, but upon seeing his pale face, I pulled him along instead. “I’m bringing you to the hospital.”

But Brandon resisted and pulled me back. Before I could react, he had already whipped out his phone and paid for the flower headband.

I had only tried it on for fun, with no intention of buying it. But now that he had pald, I had no choice but to keep it.

Seeing how much discomfort he was in, I decided against arguing and focused on getting him to the hospital.

Since it was late, I wasn’t sure if a regular doctor would be available, so I called Lisa. Unfortunately, she didn’t pick up my call. I had no choice but to take Brandon to the emergency–room.

After a thorough examination, the doctor diagnosed him with stomach flu. He needed an IV drip. Brandon had gotten sick because of me, so I couldn’t just leave him alone, I kept him company in the infusion room. Brandon was usually stoic, but now, he looked both pitiful and comical as he battled the stomach cramps.

Unable to resist it, I took out my phone and snapped a picture of him. Brandon noticed and reached out to stop me. “Stop messing around.”

“You stop messing around.” I dodged.

He tried to take my phone, and I dodged again. Although he was on an IV drip, we messed around happily until someone came in.

We both stopped. When I saw who it was, my smile faded away.