"What?!" Lilian eyed this maid from head to toe. "What did you just say?"
The maid blinked severely. Then panic slowly etched onto her face. "Let me call the doctor!"
It was only now that Lilian looked around, realizing she was in a hospital ward.
"What the…"
An abrupt commotion and a series of footsteps suddenly grabbed her attention. She snapped her head up to find the maid who'd intended to call a doctor, stop at the door. Fear was evident on her face.
She staggered back. "S-sir Stoman."
Lilian's brow cocked up. She narrowed her eyes at the figure that just walked in.
"Oh?"
Her gaze flickered from his ink-black hair down to his eyes, gray and cold almost like glass. Looking into them for too long felt like they could give one chills.
This man was very tall, at least 190 centimeters, and so the three-piece suit he wore fit him a bit too well. It was almost irritating. He was very handsome, that could not be denied at all, no matter who it was that looked at him. Not even Lilian herself.
"Ah, something is wrong with me." She rubbed her temple, chuckling. "Dreaming of a TV character, what is this? And of all the characters, it just had to be him."
She thought back to her conversation with Eric. If he hadn't provoked and made her so angry she slept, she would not be having this ridiculous dream.
And so, she intended to wake up, but just then—
"What are you mumbling about?"
Lilian raised her head. She blinked toward this man, Caesar Stoman. The male lead of the most trash TV show she'd ever seen. "Are you talking to me?"
Caesar furrowed his brows. The more he watched her seated upon that hospital bed, the angrier he seemed to grow.
"This is what you've stooped to now?" he asked. "Rather than sign the divorce papers, you'd make up this nonsense budget act to stall?"
"Huh?"
Lilian, though trying to wake up from this ridiculous dream, could still hear his words.
She drew her head back.
"Budget… w-what did you just say? Budget act?"
"Get off the bed," Caesar demanded.
Lilian paused for a moment. Then slowly, she looked at this man from head to toe and back up. "I mean… I know you're a big shot in this show, unbelievably wealthy, famous and everything, but… don't you think you're a bit too much?
This was ludicrous.
It was becoming amusing.
"Are you insane?" Caesar demanded. "I asked you to get off the bed, walk over here, and stand in front of me."
Liliana watched this man. In that moment, she'd made the decision to stall this dream just a bit more. She wanted to see where exactly this was heading.
A little smile played upon her lips.
She settled her feet on the floor into the hospital slippers, and then she stood up. Lilian walked over with her IV trolley and stood before Caesar. She asked this overbearing man, "What now?"
This behavior. This haughtiness. Caesar Stoman found himself taken aback. This woman was his wife. And whoever stood before him did not feel like his wife.
Was she truly sick? Had attempting to kill herself messed up her head?
But that couldn't be. He knew his wife. She would do anything for his attention. The woman was obsessively clingy to him, and now that he'd asked for divorce, she'd do anything to stall and cancel it.
This only made his face darken in irritation. There was even a hint of hatred in his gaze. He said, "Putting on this act will not change anything. Why can't you sign the divorce papers and leave me alone? Must you go this far? Is it until I get a restraining order against you?"
Lilian was entertained. She laughed. "If anyone deserves a restraining order, it's you. You break her and then pretend to be the victim. How does this make any sense?"
"What?"
She rolled her eyes and turned to return to her bed. Yet, Caesar grasped her arm and yanked her back around.
He glared into her face. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me, you buffoon." Lilian lowered her gaze to where he held her. She said, "She's not the one committing adultery, is she? You should be ashamed of yourself. Cheating on your wife then having the guts to play the victim."
"You–!"
A resounding slap suddenly echoed in the room. It was loud enough to instantly submerge the ward in complete silence.
This slap, however, neither came from the bickering couples. Instead, it'd come from a third party amidst the fight between the husband and wife.
The receiver of this slap, none other than Lilian, lifted her gaze to the assailant.
Oh…?
She thought.
Why did this slap hurt so much? Isn't this just a dream? Why is my cheek stinging so much?
She nearly staggered from shock.
She pathetically palmed her cheek and locked gazes with her assaulter. The person was no man, but rather a woman who Lilian instantly recognized. She was the other woman from the show whom this pathetic rich man had cheated with.
The mistress.
"What is this? Did you just…did you just slap me?" In the real world, this would cost this woman a hand. How dare she slap an heiress, the Lady Sterling?
Lilian looked from side to side. She couldn't believe this. She turned toward Caesar. "You, don't you have anything to say?"
Caesar coldly narrowed his eyes on her behind his transparent pair of glasses.
"Ah." Lilian nodded her head. "I see, I see. Very cliche. The mistress and the adulterous husband gangs up on the wife. So, that's how it is, huh? Now, please give me a moment."
They were confused. Give her a moment for what?
Lilian pulled off the IV pin. Then, she rolled the sleeves of her hospital shirt to her elbows. Tilting her head from side to side, she suddenly yelled out with balled fists.
"YOU ADULTEROUS HOOLIGAN!"
Caesar did not manage to even register this sudden turn of events. All he saw was this raging woman pounce on him. She clung to him like a koala, one arm wrapped around his neck, choking him. The other hand sank into his hair, pulling. It was almost as if she intended to rip off every hair follicle and make him bald.
"You–!" Caesar lost it right then and there. He spun around to shake her off. He staggered from side to side, violently trying to get her off, but she held on, her grips strong. "You mad woman! Get off me! You've gone insane!"
"Yes!"
Lillian yelled back at him.
"Yes, you bastard! I have gone insane! Ah, damn it! Do you have any clue how long I have been wanting to shred you to pieces every time I saw you on that ridiculous show?
Caesar pulled her by the back of her uniform to yank her off him, but she tightly held onto him. They were facing each other after all, her legs tightly wrapped around his waist. It was only for a moment, but he looked into her eyes, and he really thought this woman was crazy.
Lilian grinned at him. "What do you think this is, some soap opera? I'll show you madness!"
In the midst of their struggle, Caesar tripped on his feet and landed on the floor on his back with a heavy thud. Lilian fell above him. Her loose hair poured over her to cascade towards his face.
For a moment, these two stared at each other. His dilated gray eyes were darker than usual with confusion. "Have you truly gone mad?" he asked in the moment.
But this flicker of a moment did not last long. The mistress had stormed forward, grabbing Lilian by the hair to yank her off him.
"Get off him!" she yelled.
Lilian grunted in pain. All these really felt too real. She struggled and broke free from the mistress's grasp. And then she was on her feet.
This was the second time this woman had put her hands on her. Provoked beyond her limit, Lilian slipped off one of her hospital slippers.
"Just because you think someone's used and dropped is yours, you feel like you're on top of the world!"
Caesar looked towards her, stumped. Surely she did not just call him used and dropped…
Before the mistress could even retort, Lilian slapped her across the face with the slipper.
PAH!
It was resounding, even the maids could not help gasping.
Hissss!
That surely hurt!