Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom
Chapter 123

123 Perforated eardrum

Jeslyn's heart thumped louder and fiercer like it would fly out of her chest any minute. Maverick can't be that wicked, right? She opened and closed her mouth but no words came out of her throat.

Yes, she sought vengeance, but it wasn't against the innocent. She was only after Ray and his sister, then her Chen family.

"I'm... I'm sorry, that was all she could say. No wonder he drank so much. No wonder he sounded like a dying man.

Ray chuckled. "It's not your fault, Jeslyn. I know that you wouldn't have allowed it if you knew. You are a good person, so I'm pleading with you, do not turn evil. Do not let vengeance consume you. We will all pay for what we do. It might take a while but all evildoers will face retribution one way or the other. Just like I'm facing mine now.

The other two people, I don't know who they are but I suspect Frank is one of them."

"Yo-your friend?" She asked.

"Yes. Frank loves you and has been stalking you since forever. He became friends with me just to be close to you. He killed my sister as revenge for what I did to you.

Jeslyn, you need to know this, Frank is a psychopath. He is obsessed with you... Beware of Emilee and Fran.....” 3

Jeslyn detected the quickening of his voice, like someone who wanted to immediately pass across important information but his voice abruptly stopped and the next thing Jeslyn heard was a loud, "boom!"

The phone shook and fell off Jeslyn's hold. Her hand that was holding the phone was trembling. Her eardrum rang loudly and a throbbing headache assaulted her temple.

Jeslyn felt dizzy and her vision turned blurry. A few moments later, blood started to trail down her right ear. She fell on her makeup desk in a dead faint.

Meanwhile, in Rose City, what looked like a condemned object, or rather parts of a condemned car could be seen by the side of the road.

The folded object was so badly damaged that the officers couldn't decipher if it was a car or something else. It was only after checking the CCTV footage a few meters away that they realized it

was a car.

The CCTV footage around the vicinity of the incident was all damaged due to the shockwave of the explosion.

"Was it a missile?" One of the officers asked with his head tilted.

"A missile would have ruined the City," another sneered at the first officer's stupid question.

"But this certainly can't be a bomb."

"It is. Bombs with this kind of effect can only be found in... Country M."

Two days later...

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At the hospital, Rex sat beside a gorgeous-looking lady wearing a flowy white gown. Her sexy red lips had a sweet smile gracing her flawless face as she spoke with Rex who was drinking a canned drink. "She's so pretty. Despite sleeping, her glow could not be hidden. It's a pity. A face like hers will bring her fortune and misfortune in that toxic industry. She sighed.

"Celeste, leave Jeslyn alone. She might look weak but you wouldn't want to taste her tongue."

"Oh, that's interesting, tell me more."

"That woman is savage. If she appears to be naive and brainless sometimes, it's just a way of protecting herself."

"Hmm... white lotus... the main ingredient to be successful in the industry. Impressive. I like her." "Do you have a choice?" Rex rolled his eyes.

Celeste rolled her Charming blue eyes at Rex before she asked: "When is Chaos coming?"

"He should be here any time soon."

Just then the door clicked and opened. Maverick walked into the VIP ward. Celeste and Rex stood up and bowed slightly to greet him. "Brother you're here."

"Chaos, long time no see," Celeste smiled and Maverick nodded at her before he went to stand beside Jeslyn's bed.

"Where is the doctor?" Maverick asked.

"I'm here," a team of doctors walked into the room. Some went to examine Jeslyn while the others stood there taking records.

"When will she be awake?" Maverick asked.

"She should be awake by this evening or tomorrow morning. Her situation is not that bad. Her eardrum is perforated due to a loud explosion... " the team leader explained.

Maverick turned his head in Rex's direction. Rex nodded. He saw Jeslyn's phone on the floor and when he checked her phone, her last received call was from Ray who happened to be ki lled in an explosion. He connected the dots, that was how he guessed what happened to Jeslyn.

"Like I rightly stated, it's nothing serious to worry about. A perforated eardrum or a ho le in the eardrum as we call it goes away on its own after a few weeks. Probably two to three weeks. However, the patient has to come for checkups once a week to see if a problem is arising so we can get rid of it immediately." The team leader said again.

"What does she need to do while waiting for her ear to heal and also, will it affect her singing career?" Celeste asked.

"She should prevent anything liquid or cotton buds except eardrops that I'll recommend from entering her ear. She shouldn't blow her nose too hard. Since she's a singer, I'll say she should heal completely before doing anything with her voice, because you singers sometimes get too carried away that you stretch your vocal cord or cause vibrating sounds with your throats which might affect her ear."

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"Ok, that's doable. Aside from the eardrop, is there something else you can recommend for her to use? I believe it hurts." Rex asked.

"Yes. She should take painkillers. That's all... Ehm, I took her blood sample because our policy is to thoroughly test a patient before commencing treatment. There's a virus in her blood and it seems to be suppressed. How about you let us check what it is and immediately start treatment because... "Discharge her now," Maverick said with his voice deeper than usual.

"But..." The doctor was reluctant to let Jeslyn go. He was also a scientist and loves to experiment on new diseases. The patient seems to have that, so he was excited to test her. "Hehehe, doctor, I was here all along and you didn't ask me before drawing her blood, what if I accuse this hospital of having malicious intentions against my sister-in-law?" Rex beamed while Celestine chuckled.

The doctors looked flabbergasted at the three people in the ward. Maverick was pulling out the needle on Jeslyn's wrist.

"Th- that's not, that's not..." the doctor tried to speak but no words came out. He was stunned by that accusation. If the management found out what he did, they will fire him.

Rex stepped forward and gently brushed the doctor's white coat on the shoulder. "Don't freak, be calm. We won't hurt you." He smiled and followed behind Maverick and Celestine who had left with Jeslyn in his arms.

A while later, inside the doctor's office, the man could be seen talking to someone on the phone.

"Yes, I found a patient with a new virus in her blood bu... bang!"

The door to his office was pushed open and the doctor abruptly raised his head to see the blue-haired young man of earlier beaming at him. The doctor immediately stood up and ended the call. He looked

scared and anxious.

"You should have locked your door with a key." Rex raised the silenced pistol and pressed the trigger without a warning. A ho le appeared in between the doctor's brows. Rex smiled and waved at the man before he left the office.

In the car, Maverick stared at the woman sleeping on his lap for a long time before he brushed the strand of hair on her face away while saying: "Rossa, you don't get tired of getting into trouble, do you?" "She is a magnet that attracts trouble," Rex said from the driver's seat.

"Only a troublesome woman can stand beside Chaos, so it's a goal."

"Just like how only a cool woman like you can stand beside me." Rex winked. "Rex Lu, are you aware I'm 5 years older than you?" Celestine raised a brow. "I like older women. Being 25 doesn't stop me from being your type."

"I am taller than you," she added.

"Credit to six inches heels." Rex rolled his eyes.

While the two were bickering, Jeslyn was standing at the entrance of a hall where a grand party was

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being held. She could see a younger version of her, about 18 years old holding a knife to a tall cake decorated with cream pink color.

"Happy birthday!!" The people screamed. All of thein were teenagers the party looked to be a party for teenagers. Jeslyn saw Christine who was by her side cutting a cake and raising it to testver's lips. "Happy birthday, older sister."

Jeslyn could see herself opening her mouth to accept the cake before another young ty handed ber a glass of wine. "It's your 18th birthday today, it's time to break the rule of 'no alcohol in your life" Jeslyn could see herself avoiding the drinks she was being offered until Christine picked up a glass and handed it to her while others cheered her on.

She drank the wine even though she didn't want to and the party continued until she started to sway. Two girls who had been really close to Jeslyn offered to take her into her room, after all, the party was over. They were just having after-party fun.