Ryan’s expression changed as he sat straight up, causing the infusion stand to sway.
“Hey!” An agile Jolly quickly extended her hands and stabilized the stand. “What are you doing? Are you sick of living?”
Ignoring the pain he felt on the back of his hand, Ryan pulled the infusion needle out and asked with difficulty, “What did my mother do? Did she look for you?”
Although Jolly didn’t have the heart to see him suffer, she still felt her blood boiling when she recalled what she had gone through. “She didn’t just look for me; she brought more than ten burly bodyguards with rods in their hands to stop our car. She threatened that she would bring Samuel away regardless of whether I was willing to let him go! If Justin and the others hadn’t come to my rescue in time, Chris and I would’ve been badly injured by your mother.”
Ryan searched for his phone on the bed with shaking hands, his expression livid. Then, he made a call right in front of Jolly. When the call connected, he roared in a voice so loud that the entire ward seemed to be trembling, saying, “What did all of you do today?! My mother is senile due to her old age, but are all of you dumb as well? What’s the point of me paying your salaries? If any of you dare to touch Jolly and the others again, I’ll cut off your hands!”
He then started coughing violently since he was speaking too quickly.
Unable to take it anymore, Jolly said, “That’s enough. What’s the point of you saying all this to them? Who cares if you can discipline them? Won’t your mother look for other thugs?”
“I’m sorry.” Ryan was coughing while clenching his phone.
“If you’re really sorry, get well soon and let the old bat know that it’s not the end of the world for your family without my son. You can just look for a woman and get the old bat more kids.”
When he heard that, Ryan coughed even more intensely. “Did you come all the way here to make me mad, Jolly?”
“I’m just speaking the truth. I’ve never been a kind-hearted person, so I won’t treat you differently just because you’re ill. We have nothing to do with each other anymore, and I hope that today’s incident won’t happen again.”
“I’m sorry for what happened today. I’ll handle it.”
“That’s great. I have nothing else to say.”
Jolly was supposed to be leaving at this hour, but her feet seemed to have gotten stuck to the ground against her will; she was unable to drag her feet away. She secretly chastised herself as she eventually conceded to her kindness. “When is the operation?”
Ryan was startled for a moment when he heard that. “It hasn’t been decided yet. The doctor said the sooner the better, but I want to wait a while longer.”
“What are you waiting for? Are you going to undergo the operation only when your disease strikes again?”
“I’m waiting for Samuel to grow up a bit more.”
Jolly was startled as she fell silent for a while. Then, she snapped, “What’s wrong with you? It has nothing to do with you. Listen up, Ryan- Samuel and I can live a good life without you, so you just have to mind your own business. It would be best if you can survive. Even if you pass away, it has nothing to do with us. Whatever decision you make, it’s for yourself.”
“I know.”
“Get prepared for the operation sooner, then.”
“I…” Ryan drew a deep breath. “Alright.”
“I’ll take my leave if there’s nothing else.” Although Jolly was furious, she couldn’t vent her anger on a patient. Left with no choice, she strode out of the place while suppressing her fury.
After closing the door, she let her hands hang loose. The next moment, she randomly caught a nurse and asked, “Where’s his attending physician?”
Rachel and the others waited in the car park for a long time. What surprised them was that Samuel had come back while Jolly was nowhere in sight. With his favorite game console in his arms, he sauntered toward them like an old gentleman.
“Where’s your godmother, Samuel?” Rachel asked. Samuel pouted at the building behind him. “She’s still inside.”
Rachel and the others exchanged glances. Gloria spread her palms and said, “Well, it seems that she’s not coming out any time soon. Why don’t we go back and have lunch first? She can get a taxi later.”
Victor reminded her by saying, “It’s not easy to get a taxi at this hour.”
“It’s easy.” Gloria pointed at her car. “My car is small, so I’ll leave it to her. We can go back in this car. What do you think, Rachel?”
“I think it’s a terrible idea.” Rachel took a glance at her watch. “All of you should go back first with the kids. I’ll wait for her here.”
Just when Gloria wanted to say something, Victor gently pulled her and motioned for her to look at Justin. She instantly got the hint..
“Well, I suppose you’re right. We can’t starve the kids, can we? Victor and I will leave with the kids now. Rachel, we’ll drive your car while you wait for Jolly here. By the way, there are safety seats in Rachel’s car, so it can’t accommodate a lot of people. Please stay here as well, Justin.”
Upon finishing her words, Gloria urged Victor to get the kids into the car. As the sound of the car engine faded, only Gloria’s yellow car was left in the car park. In front of the vehicle stood Rachel and Justin.
Presently, Rachel was apprehensive since Jolly hadn’t come out of the hospital by now. Just then, Justin was heard asking, “What are you worried about?”
Rachel came to her senses and took a deep breath to pull herself together. After letting out a breath, she replied, “I’m worried that a misunderstanding really caused Ryan and Jolly to break up. If it’s indeed because of his heart disease, Ryan would’ve done Jolly a favor by breaking up with her. However, I’m worried that this misunderstanding would make her feel apologetic.”
“Maybe Ryan won’t tell her about it.”
Justin reckoned that Ryan wouldn’t break it to Jolly at this point since he had decided to keep it a secret six years ago.
On the other hand, Rachel shook her head. “You don’t understand Jolly. It wouldn’t have mattered if she hadn’t found out about it. Now that she’s aware of Ryan’s heart disease, she’ll look for his attending physician and ask questions such as his family’s medical history, the first time he was struck by the disease, and a detailed account of his current condition.”
At the thought of this, she knitted her brows.
In fact, Jolly wasn’t as carefree as she appeared to be. It took her a long time to get over Ryan. If she hadn’t come across Leroy, it would’ve been an eternal trauma in her heart.
“Let’s not forget about Leroy.” Rachel lifted her head and gazed at him. “Why isn’t there a single thing that’s going well for her?”
“Stop worrying about it. Things will eventually work out for the best. Perhaps it’s not as terrible as you think. Let’s have some snacks.” Justin fished out a packet of chocolates from his pocket. Rachel asked with surprise, “Where did you get it from?”
“It belongs to Charlotte.”
“If she finds out that you’ve taken her strawberry chocolate, she’ll get mad at you.”
“If she finds out that her strawberry chocolate helped her mommy to cheer up, she’d be happy.”
It seemed that Justin knew his daughter well. Charlotte was very protective of her food, and no one else could touch her things without her permission. Otherwise, she would throw a tantrum. Certainly, the people she loved were an exception.
Rachel took a piece of chocolate and tore the wrapper apart before putting it into her mouth. As the bitterness of chocolate dissolved on her tongue, the sweetness of strawberry then lingered in her mouth.
“Do you have more?” Rachel asked. “I suppose that lady over there will need some chocolate as well.”
At this moment, Jolly stepped out of the inpatient department.
