Chapter 5

Ever since his open-heart surgery, Joseph had been bringing his medication everywhere he went.

He only had a handful of episodes over the last few years.

Chloe swiftly went through Joseph’s bag to look for the medicine. Just then, she heard a dull thud outside the tent.

Stephen had collapsed on the ground. He had a pained expression on his face as he clutched his chest, panting hard.

“Chloe, is this where the heart is at? Why does it hurt so badly…” Stephen started tearing up. “Am I having a heart attack…?”

Chloe’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing, being in a daze? Quick, give Joseph his medicine…” Stephen nudged Chloe by her arm.

Chloe hesitated for a second before popping the bottle open and pouring out some pills.

She was stunned.

Only four pills came tumbling out of the bottle, which was now empty.

Due to Joseph’s heart issues, she knew that a minimum of four pills was needed for the medication to take effect.

“This…this is Joseph’s medicine. Give it to him,” Stephen said as he clutched his chest with trembling hands. “I’m fine…”

“Stephen…”

Chloe looked at him with tenderness and heartache. Then she turned to look at Joseph, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat.

She looked like she was faced with the toughest dilemma.

“Chloe, this is my medicine. Quick, give it to me.”

Every word Joseph spoke felt like a sharp piercing of a needle.

He struggled to move his body in an attempt to snatch the pills from Chloe’s palm, but failed.

“Joseph, you went for surgery before. I’m sure this is just an ordinary throbbing pain. You’ll be fine after a while. Let Stephen have the medicine, okay? He looks like he can’t take it any longer.”

With that, Chloe immediately stuffed all the pills in her palm into Stephen’s mouth which was slightly open.

She instructed him gently, “Chew them and hold them under the tongue.”

Joseph looked on quietly as the pain in his chest seemed to have turned numb.

A few minutes later, his brows relaxed and he said weakly, “Chloe, I feel much better now. Thank you.”

Chloe heaved a sigh of relief, but at the next moment, her body stiffened up when she saw from the corner of her eyes Joseph’s lips turn purple and his eye lids shutting.

She was so shocked that the color drained from her face. “Joseph! Joseph, don’t scare me! I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”

The nearest hospital from the mountain was at least half an hour away.

When they finally made it to the emergency room, Chloe explained the situation to the doctor.

She watched on as Joseph was wheeled into the emergency room. She paced up and down the corridor, the look on her face solemn.

Meanwhile, Stephen was undergoing detailed checks. Nothing out of the ordinary was found.

“You shouldn’t have given me the medicine…” he said, guilt written all over his face.

Chloe thought back on Joseph’s deathly pale face and said, “Don’t blame yourself. I’ll bear the consequences if anything happens.”

An hour later, Joseph was wheeled out of the emergency room.

“He's fine for now. Please remind the patient not to get too agitated or it might trigger his heart problems.”

“Alright. Thank you, doctor.” Chloe finally felt a wave of relief.

Joseph was wheeled into the ward; his eyes were half open, and he was still in a daze.

“This is great, Joseph. I knew you’d be fine!”

Chloe held his clammy hands, the tension in her shoulders relaxing.

Joseph’s throat was parched as he tried to speak, “How are you so sure that I’d be fine? What if I had died?”

Fear filled Chloe’s eyes at the mention of death.

Naturally, she could sense the anger in Joseph’s words.

Chloe gently rubbed the back of his cold hands.

“Stephen has a family history of heart disease, and his elder brother died because of a heart attack. You saw for yourself how he was in such pain he couldn’t even breathe. I didn’t have the capacity or time to think too much. I thought since you went through a surgery before, it was better to give him the medicine instead.”