No More Waiting, She Chooses Love
Chapter 721

After concluding my words, I cast a quick glance at Allen. "I'm going to replace out who's trying to harm you."

Allen chuckled softly. "First time I've heard Ms. Hudson brag."

I shot him a sharp look. "You'll see whether it's a boast or not. And... you can leave now."

Allen's performance seemed to have reached its end, and seeing no reaction from Ernest, he turned to leave, but not before throwing one last comment at me. "Ms. Hudson, he's just a stand-in. Don't fall for it again."

I ignored him, feeling a wave of relief as he left. My gaze returned to Ernest lying there; he was nobody's substitute, he was simply himself.

After a while, I leaned closer to him. "Ernest, they're all gone. You don't need to pretend anymore."

But there was no response. Thinking he was teasing me, I sneakily slipped my hand under the blanket and pinched him. "It's really just me now, no one else."

Still, no response came, and my heart began to race...

"Ernest, plea-" My words were abruptly cut off as he bit my lip, making my eyes widen in shock.

Ernest tugged gently at my lower lip before whispering, "Calling me out like that would've blown our cover."

I pinched him again, my hand still under his blanket. "That's for not responding to me."

He looked at me with deep affection. "I wanted to see how worried you'd get for me."

That jerk...

Didn't he realize how terrified I was when I worried about him?

"I'm sorry," he murmured again. "Were you more panicked than now when I faked my death last time?"

Indeed, when Yolande handed me an urn, claiming it contained him, it felt like my world had collapsed as if hit by a magnitude twelve earthquake.

I couldn't articulate the pain I felt then, so I just pinched him harder under the blanket.

He winced, "Licia, that hurts..."

Good, he should know the pain I went through, all thanks to him.

Yet, seeing him with bandages and a bloody drainage tube, I couldn't bring myself to be too harsh, and my grip loosened as I asked, "So, was everything the doctor said adie? Is this tube real or...?" Narugi

"Fake," Ernest's response didn't surprise me, but the beatings he took were all too real.

"You played your part well," I said, half in pain for him, half sarcastically.

"One can't catch a wolf without putting a sheep at risk," he quipped, earning another pinch from me.

My hand never left the warmth under his blanket, feeling the bare skin of his torso with every pinch.

Having been beaten and kicked by those thugs, and now pinched and twisted by me, his act was indeed a painful ruse. "How long do you plan to keep this up? You can't pretend forever," I questioned.

"Just a few days," he replied calmly.

Thinking of the shady dealings at the Sapphire Lounge, I pressed, "Aren't you afraid of missing out on something?"

"I've got my people in place," Ernest assured me, revealing his

established connections over the

Lounge. Narugi

past few months at Sest

on

But his words reminded me of Deborah, and suddenly, Ernest's earlier revelation about her situation hit me.

"Darn, Deborah..." I blurted out, standing up abruptly.

Ernest seemed to realize the urgency too, his fingers catching mine. "By now, it might be too late." Late or not, I had to go.

So, I left Ernest behind in the hospital and raced to the address he had given me.

As I approached, I hadn't even

stepped out of the car when I spotted a staggering figure in the distance. I floored the gas pedal, and as the car came to a stop, I hadn't even gotten out when the figure collapsed onto my car.