Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Walker Takes Your Punishment

The familiar scent wrapped around her, and she instantly knew who was beside her.

She shot up and flicked on the light, only to see Walker Grant lying facedown on the bed. A blanket was thrown over him. His face was an unnatural shade of red, and with his eyes half-closed, he looked delirious.

"If you’re going to die, go die somewhere else."

Chloe Reed was furious the moment she saw him. He had lied to her time and time again, and now he was trying to scare her!

However, the man lying prone didn’t respond, his breathing labored.

Chloe Reed’s brow furrowed tightly.

She remembered the heat she’d felt when his arm brushed against hers just moments ago.

She pursed her lips, then reached out to touch his forehead.

Burning hot!

As she drew closer, she could faintly smell the scent of blood.

Her lovely brow furrowed even deeper, and she ripped the blanket off him.

The sight made her pupils contract sharply.

His torso was wrapped in layers of gauze, and blood was already seeping through on his back!

It covered almost his entire back.

Chloe’s heart clenched. She frantically pulled out her phone and called their family doctor.

The family doctor arrived quickly. He examined him, cleaned and redressed the wounds, and set up an IV drip beside the bed.

Chloe stood to the side and watched the entire process. When the gauze was removed, she saw the crisscrossing, bloody wounds covering his back.

For a moment, she could hardly breathe.

The family doctor was also sweating profusely. After finishing, he handed her several boxes of medicine and said, "Mrs. Grant, give these to Mr. Grant when he wakes up. I’ve numbered the sequence for these IV bags, so please remember to change them for him. His diet should be light, and his wounds must not get wet."

Chloe’s expression was complicated as she took the medicine. After the family doctor left, she dialed Nathaniel Monroe’s number.

"Chloe," Nathaniel Monroe answered quickly.

"How did he get injured?" Chloe asked.

Nathaniel Monroe hesitated. "Well... Chloe, it’s better if you don’t ask. I..."

"Then come get him and take him away," Chloe’s tone turned cold.

"No, no," Nathaniel Monroe said, clearing his throat a few times before speaking. "The old madam found out about Sunny Reed and Noah falling into the water. Noah is the Grant family’s only heir now, and she was incredibly distressed. She originally wanted to summon you, but Walker took all the blame himself, so the old madam enacted the family punishment."

He paused, then couldn’t help but add cautiously, "Chloe, you saw the wounds on Walker’s back, didn’t you? I glanced once and couldn’t bear to look again. I don’t know how he endured it. It hurts just to look at!"

Chloe clenched her phone, her tone laced with mockery. "Doesn’t he deserve it?"

’If he had just divorced her sooner, why would she have ever done these things?’

’She was only trying to force his hand.’

’One, to force him to grant the divorce. Two, to force him to see his own heart clearly.’

’She could see it clearly. His heart had already strayed.’

’He was just unwilling to admit it himself.’

’So she decided she would just help him along.’

"Sigh..." Nathaniel Monroe sighed. "Chloe, you and Walker have been together for eight years. I’ve seen everything you two have been through to get here. There’s no way he’d fall for Sunny Reed. He’s only thinking of Noah. Can’t you give him one more chance?"

"No."

Chloe said, then hung up the phone.

It was late at night. Moonlight, like liquid silver, poured in through the window, but the atmosphere in the bedroom was heavy and oppressive.

Chloe stared at the man, unconscious from his fever, then picked up a pillow and walked toward him.