Chapter 340 A Friend\u2019s Arrival\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f62\u0f71 (63 )\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the winter chill, Claire\u2019s face was glistening with sweat by the time she reached the hospital room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she saw Scarlett\u2019s bruised and swollen face, she froze in the doorway. \u201cMy God\u2026 what happened to you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett managed a faint, strained smile. \u201cI\u2019m alright.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire could see right through the brave front. Her own eyes welled up, and heavy tears began to fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlett, tell me who did this to you,\u201d she demanded, voice trembling. \u201cI\u2019ll go find them myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing Claire so upset, Scarlett quickly reassured her, \u201cReally, Claire, I\u2019m okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Claire\u2019s tears kept coming. In all their years of friendship, she had never seen Scarlett like this\u2013and she knew Scarlett was holding back to protect her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment, Claire forced her raging emotions down. She walked back to the bedside, gently smoothing the blanket. \u201cYou must be starving,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett nodded, her own eyes growing damp. \u201cI am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go get you something to eat right now. Wait for me,\u201d Claire said, already turning toward the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once outside the room, she let the tears flow freely again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was still crying quietly when the elevator arrived, and she stepped inside without looking up, not wanting anyone to see her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because her head was down, she didn\u2019t notice Zachary standing in the corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He saw her, though. \u201cClaire?\u201d he said gently. \u201cWhat a coincidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lost in her thoughts, Claire didn\u2019t hear him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing her tear\u2013streaked cheeks, Zachary felt a pang of sympathy. He pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still not looking up, Claire assumed he was a fan asking for an autograph\u2013something that happened occasionally as a food blogger with a modest following.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took the handkerchief and, out of habit, signed her name neatly in one corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:12 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340 A Friend\u2019s Arrival\u00a0<\/p>\n
0:0\u00a0<\/p>\n
63\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as she finished, the elevator doors opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire quickly pulled her mask up and hurried out, leaving Zachary standing there, holding the signed handkerchief, utterly bewildered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, slowly, he began to smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t help thinking how unexpectedly\u2026 cute she had been in that moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Claire returned with food, she helped Scarlett sit up and fed her carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Scarlett had eaten, Claire tidied up the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Scarlett\u2019s new phone rang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was her department head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlett, you didn\u2019t show up for your shift today. Care to explain?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett replied hoarsely, \u201cI\u2019m not well, Dr. Jenkins. I need to take a few days off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing another leave request, he snapped, \u201cYou do realize you\u2019re supposed to request leave in advance?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Scarlett could respond, Claire snatched the phone. \u201cDo people schedule when they get sick?\u201d she fired back. \u201cTell me, how do you plan ahead for that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence on the other end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Claire was only getting started. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to be a decent supervisor, then act like one. Otherwise, step aside. Either approve the leave and dock her pay, or fire her. But stop with the pointless lectures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that, she ended the call and tossed the phone onto the bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turning back to Scarlett, her expression softened into one of pained protectiveness. \u201cWhat a terrible boss. You don\u2019t need that job anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a doctor, Scarlett was used to being reprimanded by superiors. But seeing Claire so fiercely defensive of her made her want to cry all over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment later, the phone rang once more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thinking it was the hospital again, Claire grabbed it, ready to unleash another round\u2013but\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:12 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
63\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340 A Friend\u2019s Arrival\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
stopped when she saw the caller ID. The anger in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes\u00a0<\/p>\n
faded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Violet,\u201d she said, handing the phone to Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At those words, Scarlett\u2019s expression changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A wave of unease washed over her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did Violet already know something? Why was she calling now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a nervous heart, she answered, \u201cHello, Violet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Violet\u2019s tone wasn\u2019t what Scarlett had feared. It was calm, even warm. \u201cAre you coming back for dinner tonight? I\u2019m not on set today, so I thought I\u2019d cook at home. I remember you like shrimp cakes\u2026 I was planning to make some for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing Violet\u2019s gentle words, Scarlett\u2019s nose stung. Heavy tears rolled silently down her cheeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\u00a0<\/p>\n
..\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board: Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 340 Chapter 340 A Friend\u2019s Arrival\u00a0 \u0f62\u0f71 (63 )\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Despite the […]<\/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":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-impossible-condition-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27704","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=27704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}