Chapter 14
The medical team only returned to the base in one of the vehicles as the rescue mission at the disaster zone was wrapped up.
Pearl climbed out of the vehicle and immediately headed to the dormitory, hoping to finally get some proper rest. However, she had just made herself comfortable when someone came rushing in to wake her at Lionel’s behest.
“Where’s Mr. Lawrence?” Lionel asked in a panicked tone.
Pearl was rather confused. “You’re asking for Jonah?”
Lionel sighed in frustration. “Yes! Mr. Lawrence insisted on finding you the second he landed, and he hasn’t returned since. He doesn’t know his way around here, and he didn’t even bring a translator along with him.”
Pearl finally managed to piece the puzzles together after hearing Lionel’s lengthy spiel. Jonah was the philanthropist who had donated a million dollars to their medical relief team in Nyora.
The team placed a great deal of importance on that donation. After all, they could purchase all sorts of supplies and medical equipment with that amount of money.
After Pearl considered their options, she decided she would look for Jonah herself. She couldn’t possibly afford to let her personal affairs jeopardize such a vital sum of money.
“I’ll go with you,” Sean volunteered. “We can take turns driving there.”
Pearl knew that Sean was far better than her at speaking the local tongue, so she didn’t shoot him down.
On the way there, Pearl chatted with him to prevent him from falling asleep at the wheel. It was during this time that she brought up something that had happened back at Ethria.
“Sean, why did you donate so much blood to me when I was admitted for hemorrhaging?” she asked.
When Pearl had nearly died from a miscarriage and severe blood loss back then, Sean was the one who had donated his blood for her. He was the intern who had recklessly tried to save her.
They were merely acquaintances from the same department. Sean was a prodigy who had skipped several grades and was known for his brilliance. Plus, he had always been an aloof guy, so Pearl had never really spoken to him despite being classmates for years.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect him to save her and join her for aid work in Nyora in a short span of a month’s time.
“Isn’t it our duty as doctors to save lives?” Sean gave Pearl the formal answer before turning to look at her.
Funnily enough, the person who was so deathly worried that he would fall asleep at the wheel was already dead to the world.
He curled his lips into a tiny smile before murmuring under his breath, “Of course, it’s because I like you.”
Pearl, who had been utterly exhausted, naturally did not catch even a word of his secret answer.
When they returned to the disaster zone, they only saw workers tasked with cleaning up the rubble, as there were no longer any trapped victims waiting
for rescue.
Pearl and Sean searched the area for a long while and finally learned from the locals that an Ethrian man–Jonah–had been sent to the embassy. It seemed he had been sent there because he had fainted.
“He fainted?” Pearl blurted in bewilderment. Only then did she remember that Jonah’s hands were burning under her touch the last time she came in contact with him. I
“He absolutely cannot be allowed to fall ill!” she exclaimed in worry, her mind immediately thinking about the large sum Jonah had donated to the medical team. So, she wasted no time rushing to the embassy.
Sean, who had noticed her flustered state, assumed that she was acting this way out of concern for Jonah’s safety, and a look of disappointment flickered to life in his eyes.
They only managed to arrive at the embassy before nightfall. When they got there, Pearl was greeted with the sight of Jonah, who was drenched in cold sweat due to his high fever.
“Thank goodness someone came for him!” said one of the embassy staff,
The staff let out a sigh of relief and remarked, “He’s burning up like a furnace, but he refuses to take any medicine. We nearly resorted to giving him an injection, consent or no consent!”
Another staff member was checking Pearl’s passport when a look of surprise appeared on their face.
Then, they commented, “So, you’re Pearl? This man has been calling your name over and over while he was unconscious, you know?”
“That’s great! You must be the person he loves most in this world, then.” The staff was more than ready to foist Jonah off to Pearl after learning that.
On the other hand, Pearl only felt annoyed as she looked at the disheveled Jonah, who was left slumped on the bench.
She, for one, certainly did not think she was Jonah’s lover.
