Chapter 23: Miss Sophia, Your Face
In the VIP ward, Tina took out the prepared ointment and asked Mrs. Brown, “Did you make sure she hasn’t eaten or drunk anything from yesterday until now?”
“Nothing at all,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Our Miss Sophia is very sensible; even though she was terribly hungry, she refused to eat a bite.”
Tina nodded and then turned to Sophia, trying to soften her tone, “We’re going to start applying the ointment. You must hold on, and if it really hurts, you can bite me.”
Sophia was nervous, but she gritted her teeth and said, “Don’t worry, Miss Reed, I will persevere.”
Without saying anything more, Tina had Sophia take off her clothes to begin the application of the ointment. It was applied from her face all over her body.
At first, the cool sensation was quite comfortable for Sophia, who gave Tina a sweet smile. “Miss Reed, are you trying to scare me? This ointment feels very comfortable… Ah!”
Her words were cut off abruptly as Sophia suddenly screamed, but remembering something, she immediately closed her mouth. Her body covered in the ointment and shaking uncontrollably, began to sweat profusely, soaking the ointment.
Sophia was in so much pain she couldn’t speak and dared not scream, resorting to biting the pillow instead.
Seeing her distress, Mrs. Brown’s heart ached. “Miss Sophia, are you alright?”
“I, I… No, no problem… just a bit… painful!” Sophia managed to gasp out, feeling as if all her strength had been sapped.
Mrs. Brown noticed Sophia’s condition was seriously wrong and quickly asked Tina, “Miss Reed, there won’t be any problems with my Miss Sophia, right? She seems to be in so much pain she can barely breathe.”
She was worried; if anything happened to Sophia, how would she explain it to Young Master Jared? Should she call him?
Tina glanced at Sophia’s condition and asked softly, “Can you still hold on?”
“Miss Reed, I… Ah!” Sophia couldn’t endure the pain any longer, rolling on the ground, her cries of agony filling the ward.
Fortunately, this ward was on the top floor of the hospital, where few people roamed and the soundproofing was good.
After checking the ointment, Tina said to Sophia, “Can you hold on for one more minute?”
Just as Mrs. Brown was about to message Jared, she heard Tina’s words and put away her phone.
Sophia felt like she was about to faint, but hearing Tina’s voice, she felt a strange sense of security. Despite the pain, she bit down hard, trying not to make any sound.
Miss Reed had said she didn’t want others to know she was treating her. So she couldn’t let her pain attract anyone else.
A minute later, the pain on Sophia’s body finally ceased, and she took a long, relieved breath. Once the pain subsided, she felt incredibly comfortable, as if she were soaking in warm water.
With a smile, Sophia said, “Miss Reed, did I do okay?”
Her face still covered in the ointment, she could only show two rows of white teeth as she smiled.
Tina patted her head and chuckled, “You did great! Not many people can endure this ointment.”
She had treated others with similar poisons before, which required this ointment. Not even adults in their thirties and forties could bear it, let alone a child as old as Sophia. That’s why she often changed treatment plans, although the ointment was the most effective.
Tina stood up and said to Sophia, “Let’s go, I’ll take you for a bath.”
Sophia obediently followed her into the bathroom. Tina had Sophia sit in the bathtub and then took out a medicinal solution she had formulated and dropped it into the water.
Sophia asked curiously, “Tina, aren’t we going to shower?”
Wouldn’t the water get dirty with all the ointment on her body?
“No need,” Tina explained softly. “The ointment needs to combine with my medicine to heal completely.”
Sophia nodded and settled into the bathtub. As the water temperature rose, she gradually fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long she had slept, feeling as comfortable as if she were in a hot spring.
“Sophia? Wake up!” Tina called softly.
Suddenly, a gentle voice reached her ears, and Sophia slowly opened her eyes, looking at Tina in confusion. “Did I fall asleep?”
Tina smiled and said quietly, “Go look in the mirror.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
Puzzled but obedient, Sophia went to the mirror. The reflection revealed her eyes widening in shock, and she exclaimed with a loud “Ah!!!”
The scream startled Mrs. Brown, who was outside the bathroom. She rushed into the ward, butwhen she saw the scene in the ward, her mouth fell open in astonishment. “Miss Sophia… your face, your body…”
Mrs. Brown was so shocked she couldn’t close her mouth. Could this really be the same Sophia, once so hideously ugly that everyone shunned her? Surely not. Was this a different person? But the bathroom was only so large, and the ward was on the fifteenth floor. It wasn’t possible someone had climbed up to replace Miss Sophia, was it?
Mrs. Brown glanced at Sophia, then at Tina, and cautiously approached the window, sticking her head out to look. She wanted to see if there was a child’s body below. But there was nothing, just empty space.
Confused, Mrs. Brown retreated and approached Sophia, asking tentatively, “Miss Sophia? Is that you?”
Sophia, recovering from her shock, grabbed Mrs. Brown’s hand, exclaiming excitedly, “Mrs. Brown, it’s me, I’m cured, I’m really cured!”
Sophia, overcome with emotion, kept jumping. “Do you see? In the mirror, that’s me, I’m beautiful, aren’t I?” As she spoke, Sophia burst into tears. “I’m not ugly, not at all. Everyone called me a monster, but I…”
Mrs. Brown, with tears in her eyes, hugged Sophia tightly, “Yes, Miss Sophia, you’re not ugly. You are the most beautiful child in the world.”
Tina, seeing their happiness, didn’t interrupt. She packed up her things and left the room.
After Tina had gone, Sophia suddenly realized, “Where’s Miss Reed?”
Mrs. Brown also snapped back to reality, slapping her forehead, “Oh, Miss Reed left.”
“Mrs. Brown, quickly go find Miss Reed; I haven’t thanked her yet,” urged Sophia.
Mrs. Brown nodded and hurried off to find Tina. But as soon as she opened the ward door, she saw Jared, Hayden, and Nathan entering.
“Mrs. Brown, you look so rushed; did something happen to Sophia?”
Hayden looked into the ward and saw a very pretty, porcelain-white little girl but did not see Sophia. He immediately rushed in, “What’s going on? Where’s Sophia? Where did she go?”
“Miss… she…”
Just as Mrs. Brown was about to speak, Hayden grabbed her arm, growling, “Speak up, what happened to Sophia?”
“Heyden, I’m here!” Sophia called out sweetly from the side.
Hayden was stunned, turning to Jared, “That’s Sophia’s voice? Where is she? Why can’t I see her?”