Chapter 7She Is My Wife
At the Serenade Hospital…
Geraldhad to exert quite a bit of effort to clean out all the shardsfrom Valentina’s palm. After disinfecting and applying medicine, he carefully bandaged the wound.
“It’s rather serious. There’s a risk of infection. You’ll need to come in regularlyover the next couple of days and take some antibiotics. Take Ms. Campbell to wash the blood off her hand.”
“Yes, Director Barton…”
A nurse quickly approached. “Ms. Campbell, please come with me. We’ll get your hand cleaned up.”
Valentina took a light breath and instinctively glanced at Osvaldo, who was sitting nearby.
Osvaldo slowly rose to his feet. Noticing that she wasn’t wearing enough clothes, he casually took off his suit jacket and draped it over her
shoulders.
She had rushed out earlier and hadn’t had time to put on a coat.
A faint warmth came with the jacket, quickly wrapping around her.
Valentina instinctively wanted to refuse, but he pressed her down gently.
“Go.”
His deep voice left no room for negotiation.
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She knew it.
She didn’t bother saying more and simply followed the nurse out.
Geraldstood off to the side with his arms crossed, a teasing smile playing on his handsome face. Once Valentina left, he glanced meaningfully at Osvaldo and said with a smirk, “Don’t tell me she’s the so–called ‘Mrs. Crawford‘ everyone’s been talking about. Your newlywed wife?”
Osvaldo leaned back in his chair and lowered his eyes. His voice was calm and direct. “She is.”
At that, Gerald raised his brows in obvious surprise.
“You’re actually serious? What is it? Her looks? I’ll admitthatshe is stunning. But I don’t recall you being that shallow.”
“Nothing wrong with being a little shallow.”
Osvaldo replied without a flicker of emotion. He instinctively reached for his coat pocket, only to find it empty. Then he rememberedthat he had given the coat to Valentina. His cigarettes and phone were inside.
“No smoking. This is a hospital. Watch it,” Gerald reminded him with a laugh.
“Didn’t expect you to be so protective.”
Osvaldo remained silent.
“She is my wife now. You think I’d care about you more than her?”
His tone was detached, almost indifferent, making it hard to read his
emotions.
To him, it was just a matter of duty and obligation.
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Gerald shrugged and shook his head with a grin. “I wouldn’t dare expect your protection, Mr. Crawford. But still, itcaught us all off guard. What are you going to tell your grandfather and the rest of the family?”
“It’s just a marriage,” Osvaldo replied, his tone growing colder.
“So you’re really planning to go through with it? Not even a little. concerned about who she really is? What if she’s just a scheming social climber?”
After all. Gerald hadn’t heard anything about Osvaldo being close to Valentina before.
Osvaldo frowned slightly. An unreadable look passed through his dark eyes. He answered nonchalantly, “I’m the one who brought up marriage. I’m not stupid enough to be manipulated by a woman.”
There was a touch of arrogance and defiance in his voice. He clearly didn’t think any woman could sway him.
Gerald raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Of course not. Who’d dare try? But what’s your plan now? Are you really going to take her home. introduce her to your grandparents, your parentsas your wife?”
“I’ve already married her. I can’t just treat her like a decoration.”
Osvaldo never cared much for relationships. He didn’tworry about some woman scheming for money or power. What concerned him more was if she sought something emotional…
“Judging by the way you’re acting, this doesn’t seem like something you did just because of pressure. I just hope it wasn’t some impulsive move. That Cecilia, after all…”
Osvaldo gave a cold laugh.
“She’s not worth it.”
Gerald visibly shuddered and quickly shook his head. “Yeah…probably
not.”
“A marriage saves me a lot of trouble,” Osvaldo said coolly.
He genuinely didn’t see the need for a grand reason. If a marriage couldstop others from constantly throwing women at him, he had no problem being decisive.
He didn’t mind providing for another person.
By the time they left the hospital, it was nearly midnight. The rain and wind hadn’t let up, and the ground was wet.
Soon, the car came to a slow stop at the entrance of Riverfront Alley. Tobiasquickly got out to open the door.
Valentina took off the jacket and handed it back. “Thank you, Mr. Crawford. Sorry for all the trouble tonight, I…”
Osvaldo didn’t take it. Instead, he reached out and draped it back over her shoulders.
“Get out. I’ll walk you in.”
Valentina wanted to refuse, but before she could say a word, he had. already stepped out of the car, holding a large black umbrella in his hand.
From the entrance of the old street to her doorstep, there was still a bit of a walk. The streetlight wiring had aged over the years, and the already dim lights looked even gloomier and more lifeless on this stormy night.
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She took a breath and had no choice but to follow him out of the car.
They walked side by side. Osvaldo held the umbrella mostly over her head, shielding her completely from the rain.
Valentina wasn’t used to this. No one had ever walked her home like this before. Even during the best times with Luciano, he would stop atthe intersection.
Now, a man she could barely call familiar had so easily done this for her. She had mixed feelings. Had she been foolish all along?
Had she never noticed how cold and indifferent Luciano truly was?
And yet he was always so considerate toward Duffy. Why had she ever believed that an engagement alone meant things would naturally work.
out?
“Thank you for tonight, Mr. Crawford.”
Watching his shadow move across the wet ground, Valentina glanced up at him slightly, her voice full of gratitude.
Gazing at her, he said, “You don’t have to be so polite, Ms. Campbell. What I didwas just what I should have.”
Valentina was momentarily stunned. Suddenly, she realized that while the man before her seemed distant and aloof, he had a strong sense of responsibility.
At that thought, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh and said with a sigh, “I’m not that fragile. I’ve been used to doing everything on my own all these years, so…I’m just not used to this.”
“It’s my first time walking someone home, too.”
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Osvaldosimply said.
Valentinaremained silent.
In no time, the two of them reached her door.
Valentina pulled out her key to unlock it, but she looked a bit clumsy. with her bandaged hand.
A large hand elegantly reached over and quickly opened the door for her.
She froze for a secondandthen stepped inside. A moment later, she turned around, about to ask if he wanted to come in for a bit.
But Osvaldo had already closed the umbrella, taken two steps forward, and bent down slightly to fetch a clean pair of slippers from the nearby shoe cabinet for her.
“You sure you’ll be okay?”
Valentina nodded. “It’s fine, really.”
“Be careful with the wound. Get some rest. Call me if anything comes up.”
He looked at her, his gaze steady and calm.
Valentina responded softly, “OK. Goodnight, Mr. Crawford.”
He gave her a small nod, then turned and walked away into the night.
