Chapter 229

Kathy's face turned even angrier at my words.

"Caroline, what do you take me for?"

"Do you think I wouldn't support you?"

I quickly stepped forward and hugged her. "I really messed up. I didn't mean to hide it from you. I realized something was off and wanted to come clean, but I couldn't find the right moment. It felt weird to bring it up out of nowhere, so I didn't say anything."

Kathy pushed me away in anger. "Get up. I don't need a friend who hides things from me."

Seeing her genuine anger, I held onto her tightly. "I was wrong, Kathy. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I messed up big time. Please forgive me?"

Kathy let out a cold snort. "Why should I forgive you? You hid this from me. You didn't treat me like a friend at all. Do I even need to forgive you?"

With that, she pushed me away and got up to leave.

I fell back onto the bed, panicking as I saw her about to walk out. "Kathy, I'm feeling really dizzy."

Sure enough, Kathy stopped and turned to look at me.

I quickly lay back on the bed. "I'm so dizzy. I can't take it."

Kathy watched me for a moment, then reluctantly came over. "Do you need me to call a doctor?"

I covered my forehead, not saying a word. Kathy's expression grew serious as she saw I wasn't faking it. "Are you serious, Caroline? Are you really dizzy?"

I didn't respond, just held my head and closed my eyes, looking very uncomfortable.

"What's going on? Didn't you just get back from the hospital? Did the doctor give you any medication for dizziness?"

She started rummaging through my bag. I took the opportunity to grab her hand and sincerely apologize. "Kathy, I really messed up."

"If I had to choose the most important friend in the world, it would definitely be you."

"I didn't hide it from you on purpose. I know I shouldn't have. I wanted to tell you, but there was never a good time. I didn't know how to bring it up..."

"The more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed."

"But not telling you doesn't mean you're not important to me. You're my most important friend. Please don't be mad at me."

She stood with her back to me, not moving. I tugged at her hand. "Kathy?"

After a moment, she turned around, looking at me with a mix of frustration and concern. "Get up. Are you faking it?"

Seeing her expression, I knew she had calmed down. I quickly nodded and got up from the bed.

"I'm fine now. I'm not dizzy anymore, see?"

I said, bouncing a little on the bed. But to my surprise, the bouncing made me really dizzy.

I quickly held my head. "No, no, I'm really dizzy this time."

Kathy looked at me with exasperation and helped me up.

"Don't hide things from me again, got it?"

I nodded immediately. "Don't worry, from now on, I'll tell you everything first. I won't hide anything from you."

Kathy seemed amused by my words and rolled her eyes.

"Now tell me, what's going on with Alfonso?"

I recounted what happened in the private room today. Kathy was so angry she slapped her thigh.

"Brandon is such a jerk, sending his own child away."

"Letting Alfonso know is like handing his child over as a hostage."

Seeing her animated expression, I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry, Royce already told me at the hospital that he's found some leads on the child. It just needs a bit more time. He'll contact me as soon as he has news."

Kathy suddenly looked at me suspiciously. "Wait, when you mentioned the hospital, your eyes flashed. Did something happen between you and Royce at the hospital?"

"No, nothing happened."

I couldn't help but give her a little shove.

But Kathy kept looking at me. "And when Royce came in earlier, his lip was busted. How does a guy bust his lip for no reason? Unless someone else did it."

"What did you two do at the hospital?"

I had to admire Kathy's detective skills. Her intuition about gossip was spot on.

I had to admit, it was a talent. Even Savannah didn't notice what happened between Royce and me at the hospital.

"Nothing happened. Don't tell Savannah anything."

I rolled my eyes at her and left her room.

In the living room, Kelly was chatting with Royce on the couch.

Royce sat upright, looking very serious.

"Caroline, how did you end up coming back with Royce?"

"We just ran into each other. He said he hadn't seen you in a while and wanted to come back with me to see you."

Royce's face was full of apology. "Mrs. Sharp, I'm really sorry. I came in such a hurry this time, so I didn't prepare much. Please forgive me."

Hearing this, I looked at the coffee table and saw it was filled with gift boxes.

There were high-end cashmere coats, tea, imported fruits, and more...

I was stunned, looking at Royce in disbelief.

He had been with me the whole time. When did he buy all this?

And he called this unprepared? This was more than prepared.

Kathy went through the items and sat on the couch.

"This is unprepared? Anyone would think you're here to propose to Caroline."

I glared at Kathy, signaling her to stop talking nonsense.

Royce smiled. "No, these are just small tokens of my appreciation for Mrs. Sharp."

Kathy smiled warmly. "Royce, you always bring so many things. It's too much. Next time, don't bring anything, okay?"

"If you bring something next time, I'll pay you back."

"I'll hold onto the money for this time."

Royce quickly waved his hands. "No, no, Mrs. Sharp. I have to go now. I have some things to take care of. Please don't be so formal with me."

He stood up to leave, and my mom gave me a look, signaling me to see him out.

I had no choice but to get up and walk Royce to the door. A car was already waiting for him at the end of the alley. He must really have something urgent, or he wouldn't leave so quickly.

I looked at him curiously. "When did you prepare all this? I had no idea."

Royce smiled helplessly. "When you were unconscious, I asked Savannah to go downstairs and buy them for me. I put them in the car's trunk. I couldn't come empty-handed, could I?"

"Mrs. Sharp wouldn't be happy about that."

"You overthink it. She likes you a lot. She wouldn't mind if you came empty-handed."

"That's different. The past is the past, and now is now."