"No way. I'm afraid you'll get bitten by a stray dog," Claire retorted.

She was someone who held grudges fiercely.

The mere sight of Seth triggered memories of how utterly broken Noreen had been after their breakup.

She had to protect Noreen.

Unable to argue with her, Noreen finally caved.

Even though Seth was the injured party, he was relegated to the passenger seat.

Claire sat in the back, using her hands to measure the distance between the two of them in the front, complaining loudly that the car was too small and they were sitting way too close.

Noreen could do nothing but shake her head in amusement.

Fortunately, the hospital wasn't far. Noreen had initially planned to just drop him off and leave.

After all, he was a grown man; he could take care of himself.

But seeing his swollen, bruised jaw, her resolve softened.

Ultimately, she escorted him inside the clinic to get his wounds treated.

When the doctor asked about any medical conditions, Noreen subconsciously rattled off a few points.

For instance, she noted his allergy to alcohol, advising that they use saline or iodine to clean the cuts.

The doctor nodded approvingly and looked at Seth. "You better cherish your girlfriend, young man."

Noreen opened her mouth to clarify that they weren't together.

But Seth agreed before she could.

He agreed with absolute certainty.

Noreen frowned and stepped out into the hallway before Seth's treatment was even finished.

It wasn't long before Jude arrived.

Noreen had texted him the location, telling him to come take over.

He had made good time, sprinting through the doors and panting heavily. "Where's Seth?"

"Inside. The doctor is cleaning him up," Noreen replied, her tone as detached as if she were talking about a complete stranger.

Jude nodded and moved to go in.

Noreen stopped him with a question. "Who did he get into a fight with?"

Jude scratched his head nervously. "Healy."

"Healy?"

"Yeah."

"Over what?"

Jude's eyes darted around, his words evasive. "We were just hanging our today and Healy

Healy's fiancée showed upel

Noreen's heart skipped a beat.

She remembered what Tiana had told her.

Tiana had mentioned that Healy's fiancée looked exactly like her.

So, Seth and Healy had fought... indirectly because of her?

After a brief exchange with Jude, Noreen left without saying goodbye to Seth.

Claire was practically asleep in the car by the time she returned. She rubbed her drowsy eyes. "All done?"

"Yeah. Let's go home."

"Okay." Claire leaned against Noreen's shoulder, her head nodding as she dozed off.

The car had been driving away from

bet

the hospital for a while when Claire,

half asleep, 1

heart is beating so fasreen,

Jude pushed the door open and breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing that

Seth was in one piece.

He was just about to ask how he was doing.

But Seth beat him to it, frowning. "Why are you here?"

Jude's eyes widened. "To take care of you, obviously!"

Did he think he just gave up his sleep in the middle of the night to come sniff

hospital disinfectants for fun?

Seth's frown deepened. "Noreen called you?"

"Yeah.

Jude looked like a det

Cond I saw her text, I

rushed over. Pretty good friend, huh?

expecting a treat

Instead, Seth's expression instantly cooled. "You seem to have a lot of free time," he

remarked flatly.

Jude stared at him in utter disbelief.

Free time?

He was practically working himself to the bone!

He had to babysit Seth while simultaneously managing the entire company's daily operations.

Meanwhile, Seth, the actual boss, had washed his hands of everything just to chase Noreen around the globe.

If anyone was suffering here, it was Jude!