The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 243

Had she not run off with Magnus on their engagement day, how would Cal have ended up in such a state?

She heaved a sigh, her voice soft with regret. "Cal, it's all my fault. If I hadn't left you at our engagement party, you wouldn't be like this."

"Cough, cough..." Callum coughed a few times, waving his hand to dismiss Natalia's guilt. "It's not your fault, Buttercup. I was just afraid you wouldn't come back, and life would lose its meaning. You know, without you, I don't see the point of anything."

"Cal, I'm back now. You need to take care of yourself. Are you hungry? I'll ask Rita to whip up something for you."

With that, Natalia stepped out of the room, instructing Rita to prepare some stomach-friendly food.

In no time, Rita brought over a bowl of hearty chicken soup. Natalia carefully helped Callum sit up in bed, propping up his back with pillows. "Cal, have some soup, it'll settle your stomach. Then we can give you your medication and hopefully get you on the mend soon."

Callum obediently sat up, staring at Natalia as he sipped the soup she had brought him. However, he had been ill for too long, and his body was extremely weak. He struggled to finish even half of the bowl.

"Cough, cough, Buttercup, I'm full." Callum coughed a few times, placing the bowl on the bedside table.

Natalia glanced at the mostly unfinished soup, realizing how seriously ill Callum was. Now that she was back, she was determined to take good care of him.

Once Callum had eaten something, Natalia waited a while before letting him rest.

Callum's energy was extremely low, and he quickly fell asleep. He had a smile on his face in his dreams, seemingly thrilled at Natalia's return.

Natalia sat by his side, watching the time, waking Callum after an hour to persuade him to take his medication as Rita had instructed earlier.

Callum reluctantly took his medication; nobody would have guessed that the imposing duke was afraid of taking medicine.

But Natalia was insistent, stating that she would leave if Callum didn't take his medicine. With that, Callum obediently swallowed the pills. Of course, he grimaced as he took the medication. It was as if he preferred to throw the pills away.

And so, Natalia devotedly cared for Callum until nightfall, unaware of the passing time.

Callum's energy was extremely low, drifting in and out of sleep. When he woke again to find Natalia dozing off, he couldn't stand it anymore. His voice was hoarse. "Nat, I'm fine. You don't need to stay with me. Go rest."

Natalia shook her head. "But you're still feverish, Rita said tonight is crucial. If your fever breaks, you're safe. If not, it could be life-threatening."

Callum felt his face burning with embarrassment. How could he have made such a fool of himself? He had no strength left in him.

But to save his image in front of Natalia, he wouldn't admit that he had fallen. "Um, if I said I wanted to lie on the floor to feel the temperature of the wooden planks, would you believe me?"

In the middle of the night, Natalia couldn't help but laugh at his words. She wiped away the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes and walked over to help Callum up.

Even though Callum had lost a lot of weight, he was still tall. With all her strength, Natalia finally managed to help him sit on the edge of the bed. Then, with a push, they both fell onto the bed.

Natalia landed on top of Callum and quickly tried to get up, finding their position somewhat intimate, but Callum's hand was tightly wrapped around Natalia's waist, begging, "Buttercup, lie next to me, watch me sleep, please?"

Natalia instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing Callum's haggard appearance, the words of refusal were stuck in her throat. "I..."

"Sweetie, just lie next to me, okay? I'm really weak right now, I just want you to lie next to me for a while, is that okay?"

Looking into Callum's sincere gaze, Natalia could no longer voice her refusal and obediently lay next to Callum. Fortunately, the bed was spacious enough. She moved as close to the edge as possible, keeping a good distance from Callum.