Athena\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned to look at Sarah and me, his eyes assessing us both professionally, and I saw him take\u00a0<\/p>\n
in the cut on Sarah\u2019s arm that was still bleeding through the bandage Kiara had wrapped, the bruises\u00a0<\/p>\n
forming on her face, and then his eyes moved to me taking in my neck, my face, the way I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pregnant,\u201d he said to me, and it wasn\u2019t a question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cAbout two weeks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His expression became even more focused. \u201cThen you go first,\u201d he said firmly. \u201cSit down on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
bed, please.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah\u2019s arm needs stitches,\u201d I protested. \u201cShe should go first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah\u2019s arm will wait another few minutes,\u201d Dr. Chen said, his tone brooking no argument.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pregnant and you were just in a physical altercation, that takes priority, now please, sit\u00a0<\/p>\n
down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan guided me to the daybed and I sat down, suddenly feeling how exhausted and sore I\u00a0<\/p>\n
really was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen pulled up a chair in front of me while Tristan pulled up another chair right beside me,\u00a0<\/p>\n
taking my hand in his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me everything,\u201d Dr. Chen said. \u201cWhat happened during the fight? Did you take any hits to\u00a0<\/p>\n
your abdomen?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cI was very careful about that, I kept my body turned, kept my front\u00a0<\/p>\n
protected.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you take hits?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy ribs, my back, my shoulder,\u201d I said. \u201cSomeone choked me, that\u2019s where these bruises on my\u00a0<\/p>\n
neck came from.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
III\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
1837 Tue, Jan 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 277\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw Tristan\u2019s hand clench into a fist at that, but he didn\u2019t say anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnywhere else?\u201d Dr. Chen asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a5\u5b8832%\u552e\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wrist where someone grabbed me,\u201d I said. \u201cBut that\u2019s it, I don\u2019t think anything is broken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see about that,\u201d he said. \u201cAre you experiencing any cramping? Any bleeding?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cNothing like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s good,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s very good, but I still need to examine you thoroughly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He started with my neck, his fingers gentle as he probed the bruising.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis looks worse than it is,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bruising is superficial, there\u2019s no damage to your\u00a0<\/p>\n
trachea that I can feel, but there is some swelling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that dangerous?\u201d Tristan asked, his voice tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at the moment,\u201d Dr. Chen said. \u201cBut it\u2019s something we need to monitor, Athena, can you\u00a0<\/p>\n
swallow for me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried and winced at the pain. \u201cIt hurts but I can do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d he said. \u201cCan you take a deep breath?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I breathed in and felt the pain in my throat but could do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAny trouble breathing at all?\u201d he asked. \u201cAny feeling like your airway is closing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cJust pain when I swallow and breathe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled out a small light and had me open my mouth so he could look at my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some inflammation but nothing that looks immediately concerning,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, if you notice any increase in swelling any difficulty breathing, any feeling like your throat is closing up, you need to tell someone immediately, understood?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
110.37 Tue, Jan 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 277\u00a0<\/p>\n
side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He moved on to my ribs next, and his expression became more serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to need to lift your shirt to examine your ribs properly,\u201d he said. \u201cIs that alright?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded and he carefully lifted the hem of my shirt, exposing my ribs and stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard Tristan suck in a sharp breath and when I looked down, I saw why.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bruising on my ribs was extensive, dark purple and blue spreading across my entire right\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to touch these,\u201d Dr. Chen said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to hurt but I need to determine if anything\u00a0<\/p>\n
is broken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pressed carefully along my ribs and I tried not to make any sound but I couldn\u2019t help the\u00a0<\/p>\n
small gasps of pain that escaped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan\u2019s hand tightened on mine with each sound I made, and when I glanced at him, I saw his jaw was clenched so tight I was worried he\u2019d crack a tooth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 277 Athena\u00a0 He turned to look at Sarah and me, his eyes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}