Chapter 513 Testing The Waters
Faced with Josephine’s kind “orders,” I replied, “I will. Let me change upstairs first, Mom. I’ll return to drink some chicken soup later.”
I shot my mother-in-law a small smile before heading upstairs. Josephine’s thoughtful actions had taken a weight off my mind.
Once I returned to my bedroom, I took a quick shower in the attached bathroom. Though there was little for me to do at the hospital, I felt more exhausted now than after a full day’s work.
Michael was home by the time I came out of the bathroom. His gaze traveled up and down my body before he approached me.
He wrapped me in his arms and asked gently, “How was your day at the hospital? Were you very uncomfortable?”
“It was fine. Other than the fact that I didn’t click with Janette, everything else was bearable. Still, I’m not sure if I can completely forgive my birth mother,” I answered him gloomily as I leaned deeper into his embrace.
He placed his chin on my head and coaxed, “Take things slowly. Everything has its own course. Even if you’re planning to forgive her, it won’t come so quickly or naturally to you.”
I sighed in resignation, realizing the wisdom in his words.
After resting at home for slightly over an hour, I set off for the hospital. Michael wanted to send me, but I firmly denied his offer. He was undeniably exhausted after a day at work, and I did not want him to expend more energy on my matters.
I understood and appreciated his concern, but I eventually emerged triumphant in our little disagreement. He conceded and allowed me to drive to the hospital alone, but not before reminding me multiple times to be careful.
I reached the hospital in no time. When I got to my mother’s ward floor, I was surprised to bump into Ronan. I had not seen him in a long time, and meeting him twice in a day felt rather odd.
“When did you become so hardworking, Ronan? Why are you still at the hospital this late at night? This sort of behavior seems entirely out-of-character for you!”
To be fair, he had matured a great deal, yet he was hardly going to be considered a workaholic. That was why I could not resist teasing him when I saw him at the hospital past working hours.
Ronan stared at me in displeasure. He rebuked me, “Can’t you give me a break? I know I can hardly compare to Michael’s dedication when it comes to work, but I’m not that bad. You’re making it sound as though I’m a slob.”
Still, the twinkle in his eyes told me that he was not angry at my words.
“You know I’m just pulling your leg. Why do you need to be serious?” I pouted before heading for Alicia’s ward.
Ronan followed me. He asked with a face of confusion, “What happened just now? You still haven’t explained anything to me. That’s the whole reason I’m still at the hospital. Why did you suddenly have a birth mother? What about your parents? Are neither of them your biological parents?”
Frankly, that was the last thing I wanted to talk about. However, Ronan was a dear friend to me, and I did not plan on hiding the truth from him forever. I glanced at him before changing direction and heading to a nearby balcony.
My prolonged silence on the balcony prompted Ronan to say, “If you don’t want to talk about it, Anna, it’s fine. I would never force you to answer my question.”
“That’s not it. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you about it; I just don’t know how to put the situation into words.”
After what seemed like an eternity, I lifted my head and met Ronan’s gaze. Then, I explained everything that had happened recently to him.
He positively gaped at me after I ended my story. A long moment passed before Ronan finally spoke up.
My friend exclaimed, “That’s so dramatic. I could write a novel out of your life story. I can’t believe your background is so complicated. You practically went from Cinderella to Snow White. What a surprise.”
He appeared to find my predicament more amusing than it was upsetting.
His cheeky response annoyed me. I chided him, “What kind of logic is that? Don’t you pity me? I’m almost thirty years old, and I just uncovered my true origins. I can’t believe I didn’t know I was an adopted child or that my birth mother would suddenly reappear in my life. I’m still struggling to come to terms with all these revelations.”
Here I am fretting over my dilemma, and Ronan’s already teasing me instead of comforting me. I wouldn’t have told him anything if he was going to react like this.
As though sensing my misery, Ronan hastily explained himself, “I know you’re feeling upset right now. That’s why I was trying to lighten up the atmosphere. As your friend, I’m also upset when I see you worrying over your situation.”
I rolled my eyes in response, having decided to brush off my earlier frustration at Ronan. Instead, I deadpanned, “Why, thank you. Thank you for making fun of my situation to lighten up the atmosphere.”
“All right. Stop worrying about your situation. In time, everything will come to pass. I know you’ll come to terms with the truth eventually; it’s just too much for you to accept right now. Why don’t you think about it from another angle? You can feel thankful that you now have a birth mother to cherish you on top of your adoptive parents. That’s not such a bad thing now, is it?”
He patted my shoulder encouragingly as he seriously doled out some words of comfort.
His attempt at coaxing me caused me to purse my lips in frustration. I wished he kept his advice to himself. My mood’s going down the drain instead of improving.
“Never mind. I’ll head to the ward for now.”
I dropped the topic and prepared to leave for Alicia’s ward.
Rather than leave me alone, Ronan said, “I’ll come with you. She’s your mother, after all. I should be more attentive as both hospital staff and your friend.”
He continued to follow me, and I paused in the middle of walking. I turned around and stared at him.
“Are you sure you want to follow me to the ward? Did you notice the girl who spoke to you in the ward this afternoon?”
I recalled Janette’s eager attempt at wangling Ronan’s phone number out of me earlier, and I decided to gauge Ronan’s feelings toward my half-sister.
“Girl? What girl?” My question confounded Ronan.
He appeared to have forgotten his earlier exchange with Janette.
I tried to jog my forgetful friend’s memory. “Her other daughter? The one who was challenging me in the ward the entire afternoon?”
“Oh, do you mean that fierce girl? I forgot her face. What’s going on? Why are you suddenly telling me about some random stranger?”
Ronan’s confusion was evident. In all likelihood, he was clueless about my motives for bringing up Janette in our conversation.
