chapter473

Karen recognized him instantly, but she turned her face away with lightning speed, hoping to remain unnoticed.

“Could you step on it, please? Thank you!”

As the taxi pulled up to the entrance of the private hospital, Karen was already poised to dash inside, not even waiting for the car door to swing fully open. However, her way was blocked, and in turn, her presence at the gate meant Jeffrey’s car couldn’t get through either.

“You really can’t come in here. This is private property, and trespassing is against the law!” The security guard at the gate was clearly at his wit’s end.

“I can’t go in, but why can he?” Karen pointed at Jeffrey in the car behind the taxi. “He’s one of Heather’s friends! Everett getting hurt was all Heather’s fault. For all I know, Jeffrey was in on it with her!”

The guard was flustered, not quite catching the full weight of her accusations. But Jeffrey, sitting inside the car, could hear her loud and clear. He hurriedly got out, striding over with long steps and clamped his hand over Karen’s mouth to stop the outburst.

“Would you mind not spouting nonsense?” Jeffrey hissed. This was the Lopez family’s turf. If Everett’s parents heard such wild accusations, they might get the wrong idea.

“Mmmph! Mmm!” Karen’s muffled protests rang out as she glared daggers at him, thrashing her arms in defiance. Jeffrey didn’t need to let go to know she was spitting fire with her words.

“Let me make this clear: cut the chatter, or I’ll have you escorted away.”

Karen was livid. In a flash of inspiration, she leaned forward and bit down hard on the edge of Jeffrey’s palm.

“Ouch!” Jeffrey yelped, instinctively stepping back. “Are you a dog or something?”

“You started it! I was about to suffocate!” Karen’s face was flushed from the struggle, but her feisty spirit didn't dim. “You and your pals were picking on Dorothy, and now you’re after me? You think Dorothy is easy to push around, but I’m not letting anyone walk all over me!”

“Who’s picking on you?” Jeffrey was at his wit’s end. If only he hadn’t told her who he was earlier! “You’re the one blocking my way, not the other way around.”

Karen glanced at the gates, then back at him, raising an eyebrow. “You want me to shut up? Fine. But then you’ve got to take me inside with you.”

Jeffrey’s mouth twitched in annoyance. Who knew what kind of scene she’d cause inside? “No way.”

“Fine!” Karen nodded, turned back to the gates, and cleared her throat, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Jeffrey! He’s in cahoots with Heather! He's the one who pushed Everett to dump Dorothy and—”

Before she could finish, the same hand she had just bitten was covering her mouth again.

“I can’t even deal with you! Fine, I’ll take you in, okay? But you have to promise me: once we’re inside, no wandering off, and no nonsense! You just want to be with Dorothy, right? Then stick by her side and behave. You don’t know the whole story, so stop making things up.”

Karen, satisfied with the deal, quickly nodded her agreement. Jeffrey finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he let go, Karen muttered under her breath, “Not much of a man, huh?”

“What did you say?”

“I was talking about you. Too chicken to admit your feelings for Heather, weren’t you?”

“That was in the past! A long time ago!” Jeffrey snapped. Now, just the thought of Heather made him wish he had never met her. Heather used to seem gentle and caring—a real catch—so it had been natural for him to have a crush on her back then.

“So, you’re over her now?”

“What’s it to you?” Jeffrey grabbed her by the arm and turned to the hospital guard. “This is a friend of mine. We’re going in together. Open the gate.”