His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 101: An Unexpected Encounter

Julian peeled his egg and took an elegant bite. "It's fine. Just finish up."

Iris took a slow sip of the warm ginger tea.

Starting the morning with something sweet and soothing lifted her mood at once.

"You heading back to the research institute?" Julian asked.

"No. Professor Climer and the others have the lab covered. I need to go to the hospital to take care of Frank. Ethan's way too busy. He can't manage it."

"I'll go with you."

"No need. Frank's doing better now. He should be out of the hospital in a couple days."

Julian's face fell a little. He went quiet for a minute, then bowed his head and kept eating the breakfast on his plate.

Iris ate quietly, totally missing the change in his mood.

Julian finally spoke up. "After breakfast, I'll drop you off."

Iris glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already eight in the morning.

It took at least 30 minutes to get from home to the hospital, and another hour or more from there to Julian's company. The trip would cost him at least two hours.

Iris didn't want to mess with his work. She said gently, "No need to drop me off. There's a bus right at the stop outside the community that goes straight to the hospital gate. It's easy."

"A bus isn't as comfortable or fast as a car."

"Really, it's okay. I don't need a ride." Iris stood her ground.

She couldn't just think about her own comfort and waste so much of Julian's time. If there were traffic, he'd probably end up losing three hours.

Julian respected her decision and didn't push it.

After breakfast, Julian cleaned up while Iris headed out first.

The bus stop was just a hundred yards down the road from the community.

Most office workers took the subway in the morning, so the bus stop was pretty empty.

Iris slung her bag over her shoulder and stood off to the side, waiting.

"Iris."

A soft voice came from beside her. Iris turned to see who it was.

A handsome man walked toward her. He wore a pair of sleek wire-rimmed glasses, was tall and lean, and had on a loose sweatshirt with gray jeans and white sneakers.

He looked gentle and warm, like a really nice guy.

It was Arthur Ellison—Zoe's older brother.

Iris smiled politely. "Long time no see, Arthur."

"Long time no see." Arthur stopped in front of her. "You heading to work? I'll give you a lift."

"No, thank you." Iris turned him down right away.

Arthur pointed to the car up ahead. "I'm dropping Zoe off at work and passing by here anyway. It's on my way."

Iris looked where Arthur was pointing. Not far away, an electric vehicle was parked. Zoe was in the passenger seat, waving at her with a big smile.

Iris smiled and waved back.

She turned back to Arthur. "I'm not going to work today. My nephew's in Riverfront Hospital. I need to take care of him."

"That works out. After I drop Zoe off, I'm heading back to the hospital for work." Arthur glanced at the bus stop sign nearby. "Only one bus comes here, and it's every 20 minutes. You'll be waiting forever."

Iris shook her head, a little awkward. She still felt weird about it. They weren't that close, after all.

"Come on. If I don't give you a ride when we're going the same way, Zoe won't let me off the hook." Arthur reached out and took her wrist, pulling her toward the car.

Iris tried to pull her hand free, but he held on tight. "Arthur, really, it's fine. I can take the bus."

"Don't be like that." Arthur opened the back door for her.

In the passenger seat, Zoe faked being upset and joked. "Iris, did you get used to your husband's two-million-dollar Mercedes and start looking down on Arthur's electric car?"

"That's not it at all."

Iris stopped being stubborn and got into the back seat.

She still felt a little off—she really wasn't that close to Arthur, after all.

Not far away, Julian drove out of the community. He stopped a hundred yards from the bus stop, watching as Arthur held Iris's wrist and helped her into the car. His face was calm, but his eyes were cold.

The car ahead drove off, but his car stayed right where it was.

He was as still as a statue.

He didn't move. His eyes were empty and lifeless. His big hand on the steering wheel went limp and slowly slid off.

*****

At Riverfront Hospital...

Iris got out of the car and thanked Arthur politely. "Thank you, Arthur."

Arthur locked the car and walked over to her. "I should be thanking you. If it weren't for your help, I never would've gotten the chance to study abroad for two years. As soon as I got back, I got promoted to deputy director."

Iris was genuinely happy for him. "Congratulations."

"Back then, after I turned in my thesis, I passed the hospital's review and left for abroad right away. I never got to thank you properly." Arthur's eyes darkened a little, and his smile softened. "When do you have time? I'll buy you dinner."

Iris looked around. When she saw no one nearby, she lowered her voice. "Arthur, let's not talk about the thesis."

After all, academic fraud wasn't something to be proud of.

Two years ago, after Zoe begged her repeatedly, she'd crossed a line to revise Arthur's thesis.

It was called revision, but in truth, she'd written nearly 80 percent of it for him. And with that thesis about drug side effects causing mental disorders, Arthur beat out all the other doctors in the hospital and got the only spot to study abroad.

Arthur knew how serious this was. If it got out, it would ruin his career. He nodded.