Chapter 272

Royce's words snapped me out of my thoughts.

I couldn't even remember what Maeve had just said to him.

I widened my eyes and looked at Royce standing in front of me. "Why are we rushing to get the test done now?"

Royce frowned. "Do you really want to wait until the preliminary test to find out the results?"

I bit my lip.

Royce was right. Since we were now certain that Maeve and Ronnie had an inappropriate relationship, it was best to get Joanna tested as soon as possible.

And today, while talking to Kathy, I remembered that the first person to show symptoms of those nasty diseases was actually Brandon.

Back then, I hadn't managed to escape from home yet. Under his confinement, he suggested we share a room to keep an eye on me. The scars on his body were so obvious...

It hadn't been that long, and I had almost forgotten.

I even suspected that Maeve had transmitted the disease to Brandon.

But thinking about Maeve's calm demeanor when facing me, she didn't seem to have any special feelings for Brandon. I worried that both of them might be carriers of some kind of virus.

"What are you thinking about?"

Royce seemed to notice I was lost in thought and waved his hand in front of my face.

He pulled me out of the café, his warm hand tightly wrapping around mine.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a sense of peace.

Royce was such a clean-living person; he would never get involved with someone like Maeve.

I smiled. "Nothing, just suddenly thought of something."

"What is it?"

We had been talking about Joanna's blood test, but now that I mentioned something else, Royce followed my lead and changed the topic.

I told him about my conversation with Kathy today, without mentioning my talk with Maeve.

Royce nodded. "I actually knew about Brandon's illness too. I heard it from someone else."

"It's understandable that you forgot. After all, he should have been undergoing treatment since it was exposed at home, trying to cover it up a bit. But..."

Royce paused slightly. "According to what you said, his prison health report showed no issues. I suspect someone is protecting him behind the scenes."

I was a bit surprised. "Even someone like him has an invisible hand controlling everything?"

"And if he knew someone was protecting him, why would he be so desperate to call Maeve?"

Royce shook his head. "I don't know... It's just a guess."

"And right now, this whole thing is getting more and more complicated."

He brought the topic back to Joanna's test, saying we should get it done as soon as possible.

"Honestly, it's best to get Joanna tested quickly. I can't approach her, so it's up to you and Kathy."

I bit my lip. "You're right. I'll discuss with Kathy how to handle this."

Royce nodded and added, "And it should be done naturally... or at least get a blood sample from her."

The detailed description from his mouth made me very nervous. "Do we really have to go that far?"

I thought we could just come up with an excuse to trick Joanna into going to the hospital.

Royce sighed. "Why are you so scared of blood? It's hard to imagine you used to share a bed with someone like that."

Hearing Royce bring up Brandon, I immediately felt uneasy.

Since I met Royce, I rarely talked about Brandon.

At most, I mentioned I had a failed marriage and that Brandon was a jerk.

But Royce knew all about it, and he helped me with many things.

He probably knew a lot about my interactions with Brandon.

I thought about it and realized I rarely mentioned Brandon because I didn't want to face that past.

That's why I've been so desperate to find my lost child and resolve everything...

I wanted Brandon completely out of my life, to get the punishment he deserved, to rot somewhere.

So I rarely brought it up with Royce.

Now, hearing Royce mention Brandon, I remembered our earlier conversation and suddenly realized something. "Do you think I might have that disease too?"

I heard that disease had a long incubation period.

I couldn't imagine how long Brandon had been carrying the virus before showing symptoms after we got married...

After all, he used to be a male escort!

Thinking about that past, I felt ashamed and quickly looked away after speaking.

Royce saw my distress and hurriedly pulled me into the car, asking the driver to step out.

"Caroline, you're not in the right state of mind. You need to calm down."

But I didn't know how to calm down.

After finding out Brandon was sick, how could I not worry about myself?

During the time I left home, I went to the hospital for tests whenever I had a chance, almost obsessively.

Every time the results came back clean, I felt relieved for a moment, but then I'd fall into deep doubt again.

Later, so many things distracted me that I subconsciously beautified that past and almost forgot about it...

My friends understood my fear, so when Joanna approached Maeve, Kathy and the others hid the dirty disease from me.

Maybe they were afraid I'd remember those dark days.

Tears suddenly streamed down my face. "I got tested before. I'm definitely fine. I just had a few kids with him..."

I felt scared. "Do you think I need to get the kids tested too? But they're so young..."

Maybe my anxious state made Royce feel sorry for me. He grabbed my hand. "Caroline! I only mentioned that because I was jealous of you having feelings for another man before..."

"I was jealous! And thinking about such a despicable man having you made me feel worse."

"But I never doubted you had any disease. I like you, and it has nothing to do with that."

Hearing Royce's words, I slowly calmed down, staring at him without blinking. "Really?"

Royce sighed. "Of course it's true."

"But you just said..."

Mentioning sharing a bed was probably what triggered me.