Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Chapter 335: Chapter 334: I Am His Family

“To the hospital.”

Joanna Kennedy said it so lightly, as if it were as simple as eating a meal or drinking some water. Howard Thorne looked her up and down, a throbbing pain starting in his temples.

“Going out dressed like that?” The words were practically squeezed from between Howard Thorne’s teeth. “Are you afraid the reporters won’t have anything to talk about?”

Joanna Kennedy was still wearing her blood-stained school uniform jacket. After a night, the bright red stains had darkened, a shocking sight to behold.

If Joanna Kennedy went out like this and was seen, Howard Thorne had no doubt she would blow up the trending topics.

Following Howard Thorne’s gaze, Joanna Kennedy seemed to finally realize her attire was indeed inappropriate. ‘How can I go see Simon Lockwood looking so dirty and disheveled?’

Simon Lockwood was always impeccably clean and handsome whenever he appeared before her. She had to look her best to see Simon Lockwood, too.

Joanna Kennedy turned around. Howard Thorne thought she had seen reason, but then he saw her put down the things in her hands and start to change her clothes.

The school uniform came off, then the jacket underneath, revealing an ivory, form-fitting sweater.

Joanna Kennedy was changing right in front of him, as if she’d completely forgotten he was there. Even though she still had clothes on underneath, it was more than enough to be startling.

Howard Thorne’s mind went blank with a BUZZ. He hurriedly spun around, roaring, “Joanna Kennedy! What are you doing?!”

“Why are you suddenly changing?! Couldn’t you give me a heads-up?!”

Howard Thorne was furious. In front of Simon Lockwood, Joanna Kennedy was all shy and coy like a coquette, but why was she so brazen in front of him?!

Joanna Kennedy didn’t say a word, and he didn’t dare turn back around. He flushed red from his neck to the tips of his ears, frozen stiff.

Hearing the bathroom door open, he finally dared to look up. Seeing Joanna Kennedy fully dressed and washing up, Howard Thorne breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt even more frustrated.

‘Joanna Kennedy doesn’t even see me as a man.’

Howard Thorne took a deep breath, feeling the urge to smoke, but ultimately he refrained. A faint sound came from the bathroom, and he forced himself not to look.

His gaze fell upon the bed, where a dark gray scarf lay quietly. Just moments ago, Joanna Kennedy had been clutching it to her chest, treasuring it like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Howard Thorne walked over for a closer look. It was just an ordinary scarf, with some loose threads in places. ‘She probably doesn’t even know she got ripped off when she bought it, wherever it was from.’

Catching Joanna Kennedy coming out of the corner of his eye, he immediately stood up straight. But Joanna Kennedy didn’t even look at him; she just picked up the scarf and her laptop and headed for the door.

‘Again?!’

‘How can she be so stubborn?’ Howard Thorne was at a complete loss for words. He blocked Joanna Kennedy’s path and suppressed his anger. “What in the world are you trying to do?!”

“I’ve said it many times.” Joanna Kennedy looked at him calmly. “Move.”

“I won’t move! And I’ve told you many times, there are reporters everywhere outside. The second you step out of this hotel, you’ll be swarmed!”

“Besides, what good would it do for you to go?” Howard Thorne was getting angry, especially with Joanna Kennedy’s completely impenetrable expression. His temper flared, and he spoke without thinking, “Simon Lockwood has the Sinclairs looking after him. They are his real family. You’ll go there and won’t even be able to get past the hospital gates!”

“No,” Joanna Kennedy’s voice was clear.

Howard Thorne was taken aback. “What?”

“The Sinclairs are not his family.” Joanna Kennedy looked up, her tone calm. “I am.”

“…”

Howard Thorne was stunned. He thought Joanna Kennedy must have been so traumatized that she’d lost her mind.

“I’m not crazy.” As if reading his thoughts, Joanna Kennedy said calmly and clearly, “I’m perfectly sane.”

‘In this world, Simon Lockwood only has me.’

‘No family, no friends. Only me.’

Joanna Kennedy let out a slow breath. Her eyes were a little red, and her voice was very soft. “He’ll be sad if he wakes up and I’m not there.”

‘Simon Lockwood, who gave up everything for me, who came to Jornheim for me, who got hurt and ended up in the hospital for me… if he wakes up and doesn’t see me, he’ll start overthinking things, won’t he?’

‘He’ll be sad, he’ll be disappointed, won’t he?’

She hated seeing Simon Lockwood sad more than anything.

“…” Howard Thorne opened his mouth to speak, his tone complicated. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying?”

Joanna Kennedy didn’t answer, walking past him toward the door. The moment she pulled the door open, Howard Thorne’s hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into tight fists. He tried to persuade her one last time, “You won’t get in.”

Joanna Kennedy glanced at the laptop in her hand. It was Simon Lockwood’s. He never set a password.

Thinking about its contents, Joanna Kennedy slowly lifted her gaze, her eyes turning cold. “I can.”

‘I’ll make Jasper Sinclair wait for me at the hospital entrance himself.’

Joanna Kennedy had always been like this. She seemed easygoing, but in reality, she was stubborn as a mule, the type to never give up until she hit a dead end. Howard Thorne knew he could never stop her. After a long silence, he said, “I’ll go with you.”

They left through the back door and got in the car. Joanna Kennedy seemed to remember something and looked up at him. “Do you have a baseball bat?”

He loved sports, especially baseball. He always kept one in the trunk.

“…Yes,” Howard Thorne said, confused. “Why?”

There was no emotion in Joanna Kennedy’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes. “Let me borrow it for a bit.”

*

「At the hospital’s nursing station.」

A few young nurses had just finished their work and finally had a moment to rest. One whispered, gossiping, “How are those patients on the fifth floor?”

Another young nurse glanced left and right, only daring to speak after seeing no one was passing by. “Except for the most seriously injured one who hasn’t woken up yet, the others should be fine.”

“Those bodyguards are standing watch outside every day. I was so scared when I came to work today I didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.”

“I know, right? The Sinclair family’s young master gets into such a huge incident, and the internet is going crazy over it. Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

“Seriously. If someone hadn’t exposed it, who would’ve known Joanna Kennedy was dating the Sinclair’s young master and that this whole mess would happen?”

“Everyone else filming the show got hurt, but there’s no sign of Joanna Kennedy.” The nurse who was speaking rolled her eyes and speculated, “Could it be because of Joanna Kennedy?”

The public didn’t know whether Joanna Kennedy was injured or not, but as nurses at the hospital, they knew a little something. After all, they had gone out with the ambulance to the rescue that night.

Eight people, and Joanna Kennedy was the only one completely unscathed. That didn’t make any sense, no matter how you looked at it.

The internet was in an uproar over the news of Joanna Kennedy dating the young master of the Sinclair family and the other guests being injured in an explosion during the show’s filming. They were incredibly curious too.

Unfortunately, the fifth floor was under tight control, making it completely inaccessible. The only ones allowed in were senior nurses, and each one was more tight-lipped than the last.

The group was so busy whispering and gossiping that they didn’t even notice the head nurse walk in.

“Is work time for you to be shooting the breeze?! Got nothing better to do, huh?! Gossiping about patients right here—if someone else overheard you, who do you think could protect you?!”

The bodyguards were still on watch, and neither the Sinclair family’s eldest young master nor Old Master Sinclair had left. These were not patients they could afford to gossip about.

The nurses’ faces paled as they realized what they had just been saying. They all fell silent.

“Do your jobs, and keep your mouths shut.”

The head nurse spoke in a stern tone before leaving. The remaining nurses didn’t dare to gossip anymore.