"The patient's injuries are extensive," the doctor replied. "We need further examinations before surgery and plan the surgery accordingly."It was certainly better to be safe than sorry. "Thank you," Irene said. "I'll do my best to treat her since I took her in as a patient." The doctor smiled. "I'm a perfectionist—I don't know what she looked like before or whether I can restore her face to the way it was, but I'll definitely make her look good."Irene agreed—it was fine not to reconstruct Lulu's original appearance as long as the plastic surgery was a success.After Lulu stayed at the hospital, it was medical examinations and planning the surgery over the next few days.Plastic surgery was not Irene's speciality, but she was allowed to be present and judge the success rate of the surgery with her own knowledge.After days of discussion, they planned over a dozen surgeries, both major and minor.It was possible for changes too, and Irene understood that.When she told Lulu

"Just tell me," Irene said—she did not have to worry about money with a backer like Isaac.She was just concerned that Eagle's idea might not be reliable, and Lulu was very weak at the moment—there must be no slip-ups."There's this female colleague of mine who is strong and shows a strong sense of duty," Eagle explained. "However, hiring her is expensive, though I could ask her over if you're willing to keep an eye on Ms. Adams. She might not be meticulous as a care worker since her expertise is combat, so you can hire a care worker in addition to her so Ms. Adams would have both care and protection. What do you think?""Let me think about it," Irene replied.Money was not a problem—the problem was that she did not know a thing about the woman Eagle was talking about, making her no different from a stranger.On the other hand, it might be ideal if she had Eagle stayed instead and hired an additional care worker as he suggested."It's late, you should get some sleep. There's no d

"I'll stay here and take good care of Miss Adams," Eagle assured Irene. "You have nothing to worry about."Irene was certainly assured with Eagle around.Meanwhile, she still had not called Isaac as she was heading home to surprise him. It was daytime when she arrived at Franconia due to the time difference, and took a cab home from the airport.She checked her wristwatch to see if he would be at home, and decided that he would still be home.She could not help feeling thrilled at the thought of seeing him again, her drowsiness fading just then as she was eager to get home sooner to see him and their children.She looked out at the scenery. Unlike Zidonia's green zones, most of the area was urbanized, but the buildings themselves made for great scenery too, if different. She alighted once her cab arrived outside the castle, and headed inside.Pierre was the first to see her, and he appeared surprised. "Ma'am…"Irene smiled at him and asked, "Has he left for work?""He just

Irene simply smiled while Zachary was left seething. "I'm not talking to you. All you people ever do is bully me."He strode off, but he had not walked more than a few paces when he stopped and turned since Irene was not stopping him. "Aren't you going to sweet talk me? Are you actually my friend?" Irene simply remained where she was. "Sweet-talk you?"Right now, she was at a loss of how to sweet-talk Isaac—did she even have time for Zachary?"Sweet-talk yourself. I'm busy," she said bluntly.Zachary was left speechless. "You people have no conscience and don't care about me. Fine! Playtime is over—I'm taking my daughter home.""See you," Irene said without even looking his way.Zachary was left speechless again, but he soon returned and sat beside her. "I refuse to leave just because you want me to."Irene simply got up and left him alone to play with her children, though Zachary did not seem upset and simply watched quietly.After a long while, Mrs. Watson arrived outside w

Isaac paused at the door before walking up to the bed.He could smell the faint scent of alcohol even though Irene did not drink that much. He frowned. "Were you drinking?"Irene sat up and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his abdomen. "Yeah, a little," she purred, half-asleep as she looked up with a dizzy gaze. "Are you upset with me?"Isaac certainly had been at first—he would never stop her from helping a friend, but should she not think of family too? Did she not miss them after being gone for so long?Did family not matter to her?Still, he was surprised to receive a call from Pierre that she came home out of the blue.He was quite curious as to why she would suddenly return out of the blue, but he canceled his business trip anyway. Still, he did not turn around right away, instead heading to his office and arranging for Stan to represent him on the business trip.While he tended to his other work, he never quite calmed down, since he felt