"It'll take nearly two hours for both bottles to infuse," Julia Bluen estimated, glancing at Adele Horne's IV drip. There was a lot of fluid, and it wasn't dripping very fast.

"I'll come pick you guys up later," Glades Horne said, checking the time.

"There's no need..."

"Julia," Glades Horne suddenly lowered his voice, his tone deep, husky, and magnetic. It exuded an enthralling, almost demonic charm that captivated Julia Bluen.

What Julia Bluen feared most was when he called her name like that; she would invariably succumb to the alluring charm in his voice, unwilling to refuse him anything. She pursed her lips, smiled, and responded, "Alright then, I'll wait for you. You go ahead and get busy; I'll get Adele another glass of water." With that, Julia Bluen ended the call.

Glades Horne stared at his phone, which was emitting a BEEP BEEP sound, his eyes blazing as if he were looking at Julia Bluen herself through the device.

Suddenly, a folder was thrust before him, blocking his view of the phone and brutally severing his intense gaze.

Looking up, displeased, he saw Hansen Ruiz with a pleading expression.

"Just one phone call and she has you completely spellbound. It's not like she can run away; she's already your wife," Hansen Ruiz said, looking exasperated.

This towering man before him was held in high esteem by outsiders, someone everyone desperately tried to curry favor with. Who would have guessed this fellow was actually a henpecked husband?

"If you ever truly fall in love with a woman, and she becomes your beloved wife, then you'll understand how I feel right now. I can't be bothered to explain it to an old man who's clueless about love," Glades Horne retorted sharply to Hansen Ruiz.

An image of an ordinary yet vibrant face flashed through Hansen Ruiz's mind.

He immediately exclaimed, "I'm only three years older than you, aren't I? If that makes me an old man, then what does that make someone in their seventies or eighties?"

Glades Horne pursed his lips and chuckled.

The two men looked at each other and laughed.

After a moment, Hansen Ruiz settled into his chair. He spun it leisurely, his demeanor relaxing into its usual gentle, slightly languid state, and said, "The Griffin Family taking on Cosmos... that was your doing, wasn't it?"

There was nothing in the business world that Hansen Ruiz didn't know about.

"What's wrong? Are you thinking of pleading Cosmos's case?" Glades Horne shot him a stern look, so severe that it momentarily stunned even someone as mentally formidable as Hansen Ruiz.

Hansen Ruiz smiled, his expression as warm and gentle as sunshine in a spring breeze. He retorted irritably to Glades Horne, "What dealings do I have with Cosmos? Why would they expect me to plead for them? If it were me, I would've acted much faster than you." Whatever pushed Glades Horne to act so decisively against Cosmos again, even during his honeymoon, definitely had something to do with Julia Bluen.

"Killing someone outright is too lenient. The cruelest revenge is making them slowly lose everything they've desperately fought for, until they have nothing left and their reputation is in ruins," Glades Horne uttered coldly, his eyes flashing with merciless intent towards Nicholas Coldwell.

"Good thing I'm not your enemy," Hansen Ruiz murmured, genuinely startled by the ruthlessness in Glades's eyes and feeling a wave of relief.

Glades Horne glanced at him and said irritably, "That's the pot calling the kettle black." Hansen Ruiz was hardly a saint himself; over the years, he had relentlessly crushed competitors in their line of business until they could barely breathe.

The two men smiled at each other again.

「The hospital.」

Orlando Evans arrived at the hospital. She wore a silver backless dress. Her captivating eyes constantly cast enticing glances. Her eyelids shimmered with silver eyeshadow, and her silky, seductive hair flowed down her back. She had on a pair of white boots, looking chic yet undeniably alluring. From the moment she appeared at the hospital entrance, she drew appreciative glances from many men as she walked in.

She carried a fruit basket and a bouquet of flowers.

When she saw Julia Bluen sitting at Adele Horne's bedside, she paused, momentarily taken aback. She hadn't expected Julia Bluen to be the one accompanying Adele to the hospital.

Before Adele Horne and Julia Bluen noticed her, Orlando Evans shot a fierce glare at Julia's back. Perhaps her jealousy was so palpable that Julia felt a sudden chill run down her spine, prompting her to turn and look towards the ward door. Only then did she see Orlando.

Julia Bluen merely glanced at her and didn't offer a greeting. Orlando Evans was her romantic rival, the woman who coveted Glades Horne. It felt perfectly natural to Julia not to greet such a person.

"Orlando, you're here!" Adele Horne exclaimed upon seeing her, gesturing for Orlando to sit on her bed. She clearly didn't want to face Julia Bluen. Before Orlando's arrival, ever since Julia had finished her call with Glades Horne, Adele had been giving Julia the silent treatment. For someone as talkative as Adele, the silence was suffocating, and she had been inwardly desperate for Orlando to arrive quickly.

"Adele, are you alright? How did you suddenly come down with a high fever?" Orlando Evans asked with concern as she entered the ward. She placed the fruit basket and bouquet she was carrying on the nightstand. Adele Horne just had a cold; she would go home after the IV drip and wouldn't need to be hospitalized. Orlando had brought the fruit basket and flowers merely for show, knowing Adele wouldn't accept them. In the end, she'd get to keep the fruit herself.

While expressing her concern, her eyes also held an unspoken question for Adele: Why is Julia Bluen here?

"Who knows? Probably from anger," Adele Horne said, shooting a sidelong glance at Julia Bluen and deliberately playing along with Orlando Evans. She couldn't take on Julia alone; surely the two of them together could provoke Julia to her breaking point?

"But you're the precious princess of the Horne Family! Who would dare to upset you?" Orlando Evans exclaimed, feigning indignation.

"Getting a fever just from being angry? That shows an extremely weak constitution. Adele, maybe I should pay for a full physical for you," Julia Bluen remarked nonchalantly, ignoring their little performance.

Adele Horne's face instantly contorted with fury. "Your constitution is the one that's extremely weak!" she spat. "Try sleeping all night with the AC at eighteen degrees Celsius and see if you don't catch a cold..."

Adele stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing she had blurted out the real reason for her cold.

She quickly cut herself off and changed the subject. "Orlando, I'm starving!" She hadn't eaten all morning.