Chapter 3 Red Urgent Approval

Wyatt, who was usually the calmest person I knew, cursed Brooke for nearly half an hour after seeing her message. When he looked at me, his eyes were filled with frustration. "If your mother were still here, you'd have driven her half mad too."

I lowered my head, my voice barely above a whisper. "The lawyer has already started the process. I won't give up a single thing I'm entitled to."

Wyatt sighed. "Get admitted to the hospital tomorrow first. Your health matters more. I'll pay for it. Consider it a loan."

I gave a small nod, my face burning with embarrassment and humiliation.

…

That afternoon, Wyatt accompanied me home to retrieve the documents I needed for my hospital admission.

The nerve compression had started causing numbness in my legs. I was pressing and massaging my leg when Brooke came home. She was carrying a walking cane, with Noah following behind her.

"Give Noah the original design drafts," she demanded upon seeing me.

I looked up. "What did you say?"

Her tone remained calm and steady. "This is Noah's first time leading a project. All he needs is an opportunity. This will be compensation for the things you said in the group chat earlier today."

My hand stopped moving.

Wyatt shot to his feet, furious. "Can you get any more shameless, Brooke?"

He pointed at the cane in her hand, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your company secured its biggest partner because of Alec's designs. His work got you into the top business circles, and now you're using his work again to pave the way for another man? What, you didn't come empty-handed this time? You're trading a walking cane for it?"

Brooke frowned at once, turning impatient. "What's between Alec and me is nobody else's business."

Noah hurriedly explained from the side, "Alec, don't be mistaken. Brooke bought the cane for my mother. She's getting old and has trouble walking steadily. If you need a cane, you can ask Brooke to buy you one too."

Yet his mother had still been posting videos of herself dancing in the park on social media just last week.

Looking at the designer logo on the cane, I found the whole thing absurd.

Two weeks ago, I wanted to buy a 168-dollar robotic vacuum cleaner to make housework easier. I submitted the application thrice, getting rejected each time. The reasons were the same: non-essential purchase, excessive spending, or it exceeded the budget.

The pathetic part was that when I first saw her carrying that cane, a tiny part of me had still held on to hope.

I looked at Brooke, my throat dry and painfully raw. "What color was his cane approved under?"

Brooke paused. "This is different. Stop being unreasonable."

"How is it different?"

"Noah's mother is getting old. And he's your former classmate. Can't you stop quibbling over things that don't matter?"

Looking at the righteous expression on her face, I couldn't say another word.

I pushed myself up from the sofa. "Wyatt, let's go."

I had barely taken two steps when Brooke caught me by the wrist.

Her voice softened, as though she were finally conceding. "Alec, if you hand over the design drafts, I'll immediately arrange a private hospital room for you. You can stay as long as you want. And as long as the expenses are related to your surgery, you can submit an application for all of them."

She paused, her tone taking on an almost coaxing quality. "They can be processed as red urgent requests."

Noah quickly added, "I won't hold up your applications."

Wyatt's chest began to heave. He was about to step forward, but I stopped him. I calmly reminded her, "Brooke, I could become paralyzed."

"It's only a possibility. You always make such a big deal out of everything."

A sudden spasm of pain shot through my lower back, and I nearly lost my balance. However, Brooke couldn't see my pain. She simply stood there stubbornly, waiting for my answer.

Seeing this, Wyatt stepped forward and pulled us apart. His eyes had reddened with anger as he steadied me.

Finally, I lifted my head and enunciated, "I won't give you the original drafts. And I'll still go to the hospital."

With that, I slowly walked toward the door.

Behind me, Brooke's voice turned cold. "Alec, don't test my patience, or you'll come crawling back to me."