A Spoonful of Sugar: Don't Beg for Love

But now there was a very good chance to redeem himself, so why was he shying away?

Mrs. Potter didn't understand, but that wasn't something she needed to worry about. All she needed to think about was to prepare whatever Rickard asked her to.

***

The next time Hesper opened her eyes it was already the evening of the next day.

She stirred and opened her eyes. The ceiling looked unfamiliar, so Hesper woke up immediately and propped herself up into a sitting position, but someone held her shoulders down. "Who Mrs. Potter?"

She nodded, then sat down and opened up the food container on the table. The smell of soup immediately filled the room. "You were unconscious for half a day. Have some food before you speak." "Don't worry, I've spoken to the doctor. Your legs aren't in terrible condition and it was fortunate that you were sent here in time." Mrs. Potter paused, then continued. "You can drink the soup." Hesper paused, then sat up with the help of Mrs. Potter and started looking around.

She rarely fell sick since she came to Fredonia. She would usually ask the doctor for a home visit, so she had never been to the hospital before.

"I... don't remember what happened before I fainted." Hesper took a sip of the soup and tried to recall what happened last night. All she remembered was her almost fainting at the subway station, but someone caught her so she didn't hit the floor.

The person looked like Rickard.

Hesper was silent for a moment when the help nodded. "My employer saw you, brought you home, and realized that you had a fever and your knees were swollen, so you were brought to the hospital. So it was the kind neighbor.

"Thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be lying." Hesper felt embarrassed. Her neighbor just moved in and already helped her so much. "Is your employer here? I'd like to thank her." "...Her?" Mrs. Potter blinked twice, then cleared her throat. "My employer is a man."

"Oh?"

Mrs. Potter didn't know how Hesper came to the conclusion. Hesper paused for a few seconds, then covered her eyes in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I always thought my neighbor was a woman. Did he enjoy the cake? I'm sorry for making my own assumptions."

The help shook her head and smiled. "My employer likes you a lot, but he had to work so he couldn't stay. He asked me to stay and take care of you instead." Hesper nodded.

"I still want to thank both of you. Can you get the doctor for me, please? I'd like to know more about my legs."

"Alright."

The doctor soon got there. Mrs. Potter left so they could have the room to themselves.

"You've gotten a lot better now, but I can't say that your injury was not affected." The doctor pursed his lips. "Your injury is very bad now and it's irreversible. I don't know if you need to move your legs a lot for work, but I recommend using a wheelchair."

Hesper paused. Was it that bad?

Hearing that, Hesper realized she used her legs too often and that caused abrasions. She knew very well that that was something kickboxing would cause, but she had no regrets.