"Sir, please let me be your student!" Dr. Martinez practically worshiped the ground Hudson walked on. He looked at him with pleading eyes, full of excitement and admiration.
Anyone who witnessed Hudson's treatment of Mr. Lewis could easily see who had the superior medical skills. Dr. Martinez might be old enough to be Hudson's grandfather, but in his eyes, age didn't matter when it came to medicine—whoever had the greater skill was worthy of respect.
Dr. Martinez knew very well that if he didn't take this chance to connect with Hudson—and hopefully get forgiven—he might never learn the legendary Needle Technique.
He'd spent most of his life searching for this technique. At this point, kneeling was nothing—he'd even eat dirt if Hudson asked. But ironically, Hudson didn't ask for anything at all.
His sudden kneeling caught Hudson completely off guard. He hadn't expected Dr. Martinez to put his pride aside so quickly. The man who was arrogant just minutes ago—acting like he owned the room—had now realized the gap in their skills and was groveling on the ground.
"What on earth are you doing?"
Mr. Lewis, now propped up and sitting on the bed, had just opened his eyes and caught sight of the scene, looking confused and a little shocked.
"Dad, well…" Adrian quickly explained what had happened. The moment his father heard it, his face darkened. Without hesitation, he smacked his son across the face and snapped,
"You fool! Look what you've done! I told you from the beginning to let Hudson treat me. But no—you judged him based on his age and treated him like he wasn't worth anything. If he hadn't been here today, do you even realize what would've happened to me?"
Adrian clutched his cheek, too ashamed and scared to say a word.
Still kneeling on the floor, Dr. Martinez noticed that Hudson didn't even look his way. Thinking the young man must still be angry—especially after he had unfairly tried to shift the blame onto him earlier—Dr. Martinez took a deep breath and said with all sincerity, "Mr. Brown, I know I was wrong. Please give me a chance to make it right."
This was a man widely respected in the medical field—practically a legend—now kneeling in front of a young man, begging like a child for forgiveness. Everyone in the room, including Ivory, was stunned.
Yes, Dr. Martinez had made a mistake earlier, but out in the world, he was still a big name. Countless people dreamed of seeing him for treatment, let alone receiving it. He was someone not easily moved or humbled.
And yet, here he was, humbling himself completely.
Ivory couldn't help but think—if someone captured this moment on video and shared it with the world, the shockwaves would be massive.
She was also very curious: would Hudson accept Dr. Martinez's apology? Would he give him a chance?
So, she said nothing. She just watched.
Hudson, on the other hand, rolled his eyes at the sight of Dr. Martinez still kneeling.
'An apprentice? Not happening.' he thought.
The path Hudson wanted to walk was that of martial arts. Medicine was just something he picked up along the way to pass the time while living in the mountains.
So he didn't bother acknowledging Dr. Martinez. Instead, he turned to Mr. Lewis and said,
"You lost a lot of blood earlier. Get some rest for now—we'll talk more later."
"Alright!" Mr. Lewis nodded with a smile, then turned to his granddaughter. "Ivory, it's getting late. Hudson used a lot of energy treating me just now. Help him get settled and take care of him for me."
Dr. Martinez was left frozen on the floor, feeling like a complete fool. He'd honestly thought that as a respected doctor—kneeling and admitting fault to someone much younger—Hudson would at least throw him a bone.
Clearly, he'd been too optimistic.
The room fell silent. The atmosphere grew tense.
Adrian glanced at Dr. Martinez still kneeling, and despite the frustration he felt over how things had turned out earlier, he sighed. After all, Dr. Martinez was still technically a guest—he'd invited him here. Letting him stay on the floor like this felt inappropriate.
"Dr. Martinez," he said carefully, "you know, a forced relationship doesn't bring good results. You should get up now."
Hudson had already left, and Dr. Martinez couldn't keep kneeling forever. So, he took the opportunity to stand up, brushing it off as naturally as he could.
He'd already figured out that Hudson had a good relationship with Arlo. If he wanted to make amends, approaching Arlo seemed like his only shot. He quickly stepped up to the bedside and said apologetically, "Mr. Lewis, I'm truly sorry for what happened earlier. I failed to treat you properly, and things didn't go as planned. I'll return most of the consultation fee and personally compensate you with one million dollars for the trouble. Would that be acceptable?"
Money wasn't something the Lewis family was lacking at the moment.
Arlo waved his hand and replied, "Dr. Martinez, there's no need for that. I know my condition well. If it were easy to treat, we wouldn't have waited this long. Thankfully, things are back on track now. Let's not dwell on the past."
You never know when paths will cross again. Better to leave things on good terms.
As for Dr. Martinez, his reputation as a medical master was well known to Arlo. Even though this particular treatment went wrong, that didn't mean Dr. Martinez lacked skill. Mistakes happen, even to the best.
Besides, Hudson wasn't going to stay with the Lewis family forever. Arlo knew that clearly. So rather than burn bridges, it was smarter to stay on good terms with Dr. Martinez—just in case someone else in the family needed help down the road.
Seeing that Arlo wasn't angry and was even understanding, Dr. Martinez felt a wave of gratitude. But he still hesitated, then said, "Mr. Lewis, I have one more humble request. I..."
Before he could finish, Arlo cut him off directly. "Dr. Martinez, I know what you're about to say. But I'm afraid I can't help you. I haven't known Mr. Brown long enough to speak on your behalf."
"If you want his approval, you'll have to figure that out on your own."
Once again hitting a wall, Dr. Martinez looked visibly deflated. He nodded quietly, said his goodbyes, picked up his medical kit, and left.
He knew he needed time to think. If he really wanted to earn Hudson's respect, he'd have to come up with another approach.