Dorian took a deep breath and said, "It was one of the assistant directors who deliberately made things difficult for Mrs. Avery. There was a scene where she had to get slapped and jump into the river. Even though she performed perfectly, he kept making her do it over and over again. She got slapped several times and jumped into the cold water multiple times. Given the current weather, it's no wonder she has a fever now."
Of course, Dorian couldn't find any evidence that Bailey had instigated this. After all, no one saw or heard Bailey talking to Assistant Director Nick about it. Most people just assumed that Nick was trying to curry favor with Bailey by making things hard for Julia.
Royce nodded slightly, his words coming out through gritted teeth. "Very well."
Dorian looked up at Royce's darkened face, feeling a bit scared. He had been with him for several years, and this was the first time he had seen him so angry over a woman.
"You know what to do next. The usual method," Royce said.
Dorian nodded, "Understood. I'll take care of it right away. Also, Mrs. Avery's... um, her period stained her costume, and someone took a photo and posted it online. This matter..."
Dorian's face turned a bit red as he spoke. After all, he was a young man himself.
Hearing this, Royce's face grew even darker.
His wife's embarrassing situation being exposed like this would make any man furious, even if no one knew she was his wife.
"Get those photos deleted. All of them!"
"Yes, sir." Dorian didn't dare to delay. Since last night, when Royce had carried Julia into the hospital, Dorian had noticed that Royce was starting to care about his wife.
As Dorian turned to leave, Royce suddenly called out to him.
"Arrange for someone to keep an eye on the film crew. I want reports on my wife's every move."
"Understood, President Butler."
With a wave of Royce's hand, Dorian nodded and left.
Back in his room, Royce glanced at Julia. She was still asleep, but her complexion looked much better now.
He finally let out a sigh of relief.
Julia's condition had been quite serious this time. Her previous cold hadn't fully healed, and with the added stress of being soaked and her period, she had been in a daze for three whole days and nights.
On the fourth day, her fever finally broke, and she seemed more spirited.
When she opened her eyes for the first time, Julia saw—Zoey.
Zoey still had that arrogant and domineering look. There was a thermos on the table, likely containing some food.
"Hmph—you finally woke up! Get up and eat something!" Zoey said impatiently, taking a bowl of porridge out of the thermos.
Julia's hand was still hooked up to an IV, one arm restrained.
She tried to sit up but found she had no strength at all.
"What? You want me to serve you?" Zoey's irritation flared as she saw Julia not moving.
If it weren't for her, how could she have gotten scolded by Mr. Butler?
"No need, just leave it there. I'll drink it myself after the IV drip," Julia said coldly.
"Hmph! Let me tell you, Julia, you better not be ungrateful! Do you even know you had a fever of 104 degrees? 104 degrees! If it weren't for me, you might have burned to death at home. I saved your life!" Zoey puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm your savior! You better treat me better from now on!"
Julia had closed her eyes, but she opened them upon hearing this. Besides this little maid, there was no one else at home. It must have been Zoey who discovered her fever and brought her to the hospital.
"Thank you."
Even though she didn't like Zoey's attitude, Julia wasn't the type to be ungrateful.
Seeing that Julia believed her, Zoey became even more emboldened. "Just a thank you? Shouldn't you give me a bonus this month?"
Julia didn't usually handle Zoey's salary and had no idea how much she earned per month. "How much do you make a month?"
"Eight thousand," Zoey replied.
Julia was a bit taken aback. A maid earning eight thousand dollars a month? She didn't think Zoey was worth that much. But she was too weak to argue. "Fine, when I get better and go home, I'll give you a two thousand dollar bonus."
"Your life is only worth two thousand dollars?" Zoey said, glaring and holding up two fingers.
Julia was at a loss for words. "What, do you want me to give you a life in return?"
This time, it was Zoey who was at a loss for words. She had planned to extort a bit more money, but Julia didn't play by the rules.
"Two thousand it is, then!" Zoey muttered to herself, "Don't back out now, I've got it noted!"
Julia ignored her.
At that moment, a young nurse pushed a small cart filled with medications into the room.
"This is a hospital room, no loud noises allowed!" the nurse shouted at Zoey.
Zoey, realizing the nurse wasn't someone to mess with, shot her a glance.
"I don't even want to be here! The smell of medicine is awful!" With that, she stormed out.
The nurse turned to Julia and touched her forehead.
"Hmm, the fever's gone down. How are you feeling now?"
Julia slowly opened her eyes. "Just feeling weak."
"That's normal after a fever. You'll feel better once you eat something. Let me change your IV."
The nurse replaced the IV bag with a new one. "This is the last one. Once it's done, you'll be free."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." The nurse glanced at the thermos. "Do you want something to eat? I'll help you sit up."
With that, the nurse helped Julia sit up, propping a pillow behind her back. She set up a small table and placed the porridge from the thermos in front of Julia.
Julia had one hand hooked up to the IV, but her other hand was free to move.
The young nurse sat on the chair beside the bed. "That maid is so arrogant! I've seen masters getting angry at their maids, but never the other way around! I've disliked her for a long time. She must bully you a lot at home."
The young nurse spoke indignantly.
Julia smiled slightly. "She's just here to work. I don't like to stoop to her level."
"But you shouldn't let her bully you either!"
The young nurse looked at Julia, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned on the bed. "Your husband is really good to you."
Julia had just scooped up a spoonful of porridge, ready to take a sip, but she froze at the nurse's words. "My husband?"
"Yes!" The young nurse looked at Julia with envy. "I wish I had such a good husband."
"You mean my husband?" Julia doubted her ears, but the nurse had clearly said it twice!