Bennett examined Claudia's face and noticed the tear at the corner of her eye.

He remembered the pained expression on her face from earlier as he reached out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear.

It took her nearly two hours to get the contents of two IV bags into her vein. The nurse was removing the needle from the back of her hand when Claudia woke up. She looked around, a bit disoriented,

Soon, the nurse left, and Bennett pressed his fingers on the spot where the needle had been inserted. Only then did Claudia remember that she had food poisoning and was taken to the hospital in the middle of the night.

She opened her mouth to say something but ended up yawning instead. She then turned to Bennett.

"Can we go home now?"

"Yeah."

Bennett knelt down, picked up her slippers, and tried to fit one of them on her right foot.

"I can do it myself," Claudia said as she moved her feet away from his reach.

Bennett grabbed hold of her ankle and slipped the slipper onto her right foot. He did the same with her left foot.

The action instantly made Claudia feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“There you go."

He stood up and grabbed the small paper bag containing the medicine the doctor had prescribed for Claudia, “Can you stand?"

Claudia nodded, peering shyly at him.

"I can also walk now."

She felt much better after the infusion. The discomfort in her stomach had subsided,

Bennett stared at her for a few seconds before offering his hand to her. He supported Claudia as they exited the hospital.

It was already four o'clock in the morning. On the ride home, Claudia dozed off again.

Everything after that was a haze to her. Claudia had no idea if Bennett carried her or if she made her way to the master bedroom on her own.

She remembered Bennett waking her up, giving her a glass of water and asking her to take the medicine, which she obeyed, Afterward, she lay on the bed.

She was so exhausted that she promptly fell asleep again as soon as she closed her eyes.

At eleven in the morning, Claudia awoke, feeling like all her energy had been sucked dry.

First and foremost, she was famished.

It was the first time in her life that she felt as hungry as she did then. Her legs felt like jelly when she finally got out of bed.