Chapter 184 - 180: Roy Lewis, You Big Fool!
Richelle Dunn only got home a bit past 2 a.m., and after stepping through the door, she cleaned herself up with a bath. As she lay in bed, she finally turned on her phone, which she had left shut off for nearly half a day.
Her first notification was a WhatsApp message from Roy Lewis.
“Let me know when you get home.”
Roy sent the message at 11:50 p.m., presumably just before he went to bed.
But now, it was pushing three in the morning, a time when Roy Lewis would usually be asleep.
Richelle hovered over the reply box, hesitating for a moment before eventually locking the phone and setting it aside, ready to sleep.
Before she offered him medical help, Roy had been taking sleeping pills for many years.
For somebody with insomnia, any disruption to sleep would be a cardinal sin.
But just minutes after putting away her phone, it rang.
Who could that be at this late hour?
Richelle was dumbfounded for a moment, her first guess being her unbridled mentor.
This person, who never cared about the time, would call whenever she needed to reach someone.
Richelle reluctantly picked up her phone. If it were her crazy mentor, the call would be for an hour or two, meaning she could kiss her sleep goodbye for the night.
But when she looked at the caller ID, it wasn’t her mentor but Roy Lewis, who she had thought was deep in slumber.
Could it be he hasn’t slept yet? At this late hour?
She hurriedly picked up the call, “Mr. Lewis, you’re not asleep yet?”
“Hmm,” Roy hummed in response, “I figured you would be home by now.”
His voice was clear, a sign of alertness.
Richelle couldn’t help but worry for him, “Are you having trouble sleeping again?”
Roy Lewis was silent for a moment. Pondering over his thoughts, he abruptly ended the call, only to start a video call afterwards.
Only when Roy’s face appeared on the screen did Richelle realize the shock.
Damn it!
What have I done?
Why did I impulsively start a video call with him?
Richelle wishes she could crash herself into a block of tofu and die. Then she heard Roy Lewis ask her.
“Did you wash your hair?”
“No…” Richelle answered, bewildered. She subconsciously reached for her hair and felt the wetness.
“I didn’t wash my hair, it just got wet while I was showering.”
Roy’s eyes twinkled with a smile, “Well then, go blow dry it, otherwise, you might catch a cold.”
Richelle rolled her eyes, “As if you’re the doctor here. Only the ends of my hair are wet, my entire head isn’t soaked.”
As she muttered sullenly, she stood up and grabbed a towel to dry the dripping ends of her hair, phone in one hand, towel in the other.
Roy teased her, “There’s no evidence to suggest that doctors know how to take care of themselves better than others.”
Richelle clicked her tongue, “Roy Lewis, so you’re calling me late at night just to remind me that I can’t take care of myself?”
The smile in Roy’s eyes grew even fondly, “That’s just one of the reasons. Besides, I wanted to remind you that you also have a severe case to treat, so you need to take good care of yourself.”
Richelle was both annoyed and amused, “Isn’t that the same thing?”
Roy chuckled, “Not exactly. The former is out of concern while the latter, is purely for my own selfish reasons.”
Damn him!
Talking so intimately in the dead of night, doesn’t he want people to sleep at all?
Richelle felt her ears burn upon listening to his low, magnetizing voice.
She really asked a stupid question.
No, she shouldn’t have impulsively video-called him.
Richelle felt her heart fluttering even as she maintained a stern exterior.
“Mr. Lewis, as your doctor, I must ask, are you deliberately disregarding medical advice by staying up so late?”
Roy didn’t lose his smile, and from the looks of it, he probably noticed all of Richelle’s reactions.
“Doctor Dunn, I do want to sleep, I just can’t.” Roy said innocently, “After messaging you, I went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I rang you once but your phone was turned off. At two, I tried calling again, but your phone was still off. At three, your phone was finally turned on.”
He implied that if Richelle didn’t turn her phone on until 7 a.m., he might stay up all night and call her every hour.
As a doctor, Richelle desperately wanted to chastise him.
But instead, she felt a knot in her heart.
All the scoldings she was supposed to say as a doctor, she couldn’t voice out any.
She stared at Roy for a while, blurred vision occupied the lines of his face before finally scolding,
“Roy Lewis, you big fool!”
Roy held her gaze for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“I may be foolish, but you’re not any smarter.”
Richelle was immensely distressed, yet again she wanted to lay all her cards on the table, reveal the whole truth to him.
However, just as her decision wavered, Roy said,
“I once lost all interest and desire in women because of Kiara Dunn. I thought that was how it would be for the rest of my life.”
Roy’s delicate words would have moved any woman to tears.
But Richelle felt as if she had been doused with cold water, chilling her from the inside out.
Roy said something further, but none of it registered in her mind.
Roy Lewis lost his interest in women due to Kiara Dunn, but the Kiara Dunn he greatly despised was actually her, Richelle Dunn!
In other words, that night was a humiliating and painful memory for him!
Richelle was thankful that she held back her words for a few more seconds. Otherwise, she would have become the shameless manipulator in his eyes, responsible for the disgraceful event that he couldn’t bear to think of.
And her relationship with Roy would probably come to an end.
With the little rationality and courage she had left, she tried to maintain her composure and reminded Roy.
“Mr. Lewis, it’s getting late. You should sleep.”
Seeing her unresponsive to his hints as if she’s regressing back into her shell, Roy sighed. It was indeed late, she had worked all day and must be tired.
“Hmm, you’re exhausted too. Make sure to dry your hair and go to bed. You can wake up a bit later, needling an hour or two later wouldn’t make much difference.”
Right now, all Richelle wanted to do was pull the covers over her head, avoid seeing or thinking about anyone.
As for tomorrow’s procedures, she’d deal with it later.
“Hmm, let’s get some sleep. Good night!”
She didn’t wait for Roy’s response and immediately hung up.
Moments later, Roy stared at the suddenly dark screen, beginning to sense something was amiss.
Initially, the atmosphere between them was quite good, which led to him wanting to make suggestive remarks, triggered by the late-night intimacy, and to act upon it.
But once again, he scared her away!