The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1538

“Yes.” Dr. David’s voice came quietly from the other end. “Emily took more than we thought.”

“What’s the treatment plan?”

Charlotte’s eyes iced over. She grabbed her mug of warm honey water and took two long sips, her expression steady.

“I sent it to your email,” Dr. David answered, sounding all business. “There are parts the lab can’t figure out. We need you to fill in the blanks.”

“Three minutes.”

Setting down her mug, Charlotte tapped into her iPad. In no time, she spotted the problem areas and her fingers danced across the keyboard.

Three minutes later, she hit send. The revised plan shot back to the institute.

“The medicine’s not hard to find, but collecting everything takes time,” Dr. David admitted.

Some ingredients would need serious refining skills.

“Three days.” Charlotte looked up, voice a bit scratchy. “Can you manage it?”

“Well...” Dr. David held the phone tight. His hesitation was obvious. “That could be a little...”

“Twenty million more for your project.” Charlotte arched a brow, sounding relaxed. “I’ll give you a shot at answering that again. Can you get it done?”

“Yes. Absolutely, yes.” Dr. David was nodding so hard, Charlotte could almost hear it through the phone. “I’ll go without sleep or food if I have to. I’ll have it all within three days.”

“Finish it in two, and I’ll add another ten million.”

Dr. David clicked off without another word. In the lab, he went into command mode. “Listen up! Everyone drop what you’re doing. Everything except research on genetic mutation stops right now.”

Inside the villa, Kenneth sat hunched over his phone, the worry on his face hard to hide. He couldn’t sit still for longer than a second.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about you.” Kenneth kind of laughed, a little at himself. Hearing her had finally calmed his nerves. “What about you? Did you miss me at all?”

Her cheeks flamed at his straightforwardness. That unfamiliar, fluttery feeling grew a little brighter, blooming quietly in her chest.

His face lingered in her thoughts, impossible to shake. For the first time, she really got why she’d spent ten years crushing on this man.

“It’s fine if you didn’t,” Kenneth said after a moment. Her silence twisted at him. There was a hint of disappointment in his voice, a raw edge she hadn’t noticed before. “Whether you remember or not, I’ll win you back. It’s just a matter of time.”

Emily listened, her heart catching at the sound of his sadness.

“If my mom doesn’t approve, what then?”

She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but there it was, tumbling out before she could stop herself.