Chapter 253 Planning On Leaving
“Oscar, Mom isn’t going to be happy with us like this,” Amelia exclaimed after entering the bedroom.
“Mom isn’t such a petty person. All you have to do is take good care of yourself so I don’t have to keep worrying about you. Don’t think I’m not mad about you repeatedly getting yourself injured. I’ll punish you after Dr. Johnston gets your arm bandaged up,” Oscar replied while examining her arm thoroughly.
Amelia broke into a faint smile after hearing that.
I really love this side of him when he is down to earth. It gives me the illusion that he loves me deeply and will treat me well even if I’m old and blind. However, I can’t bring myself to let a man this excellent be stuck with a visually impaired wife as I am unworthy of his love!
Amelia wrapped her uninjured right arm around Oscar’s neck and gave him an affectionate nuzzle on the nose. “Oh dear, I just realized that I’m finding it increasingly difficult to leave you now. What should I do, Oscar? What would you do if I really did leave you someday? Would you miss me when you’re free and bored?”
The look on Oscar’s face turned gloomy instantly. He gave her a light pinch on the cheek as he said, “Do not talk about leaving me ever again, you hear? You’ll be getting more than just a reminder if you do that next time. Is that clear?”
There was a hint of sadness in Amelia’s eyes when she giggled in response, but she hid it so quickly that Oscar didn’t notice anything at all.
After a playful exchange, the two of them heard someone knocking on the door. Oscar went to open the door and saw Dr. Johnston standing there with his medical kit in hand. “Hello, Mr. Clinton,” he greeted Oscar politely.
“Come on in, Dr. Johnston.”
Dr. Johnston nodded and brought his medical kit inside the room.
“Sorry to trouble you at this hour, Dr. Johnston!” Amelia greeted him softly with a smile.
Dr. Johnston shook his head. “It’s only eight in the evening right now, so it isn’t that late. Mr. Lancester told me that your arm is injured. Let me have a look at it.”
“Thank you, Dr. Johnston.”
After taking a moment to examine her injury, Dr. Johnston helped bandage her arm and suggested, “Mr. Clinton, I think her injury is a little severe. I believe she did some rigorous exercise with this arm earlier, so you should get her checked at a hospital or it could lead to long-term effects later on.”
“Is her arm that badly injured?” Oscar asked sternly.
“Don’t worry too much about it, Mr. Clinton. I only suggested getting a thorough examination to play it safe. She should be able to recover in about two to three months,” Dr. Johnston replied calmly.
The look on Oscar’s face only seemed to worsen after hearing that.
Afraid that he would take his anger out on Dr. Johnston, Amelia quickly interrupted their conversation. “Thank you for coming over, Dr. Johnston. I’ll get Oscar to wire you the money for making this trip by tomorrow.”
“I’m just doing my job, Mrs. Clinton. The amount that you guys pay me every month is pretty huge, and I didn’t really do much for you anyway. I can’t ask for any more than this,” Dr. Johnston said while placing his stuff back into his medical kit.
Dr. Johnston sure is a funny one!
Amelia burst out laughing after hearing what he said, and Dr. Johnston left after having a brief chat with them.
Oscar waited till he was gone before scooping Amelia up into his arms. “Oscar, what are you doing?” she exclaimed in shock while wrapping her uninjured right arm around his neck.
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Noticing that Amelia was about to protest, he added, “You are not telling me that you don’t want to go to the hospital.”
Amelia could only keep quiet and swallowed those words that almost escaped her mouth.
Owen and Olivia were still around by the time Oscar carried Amelia downstairs, but Stephanie was nowhere to be found.
“Where are you two going?” Olivia asked with a conflicted look in her eyes.
“Her injury is a little serious, so I’m taking her to the hospital,” Oscar explained calmly.
Olivia got up from the sofa. “I’ll go with you.”
“It’s all right, Mom. Just let Oscar take me there,” Amelia said apologetically.
Noticing the look in Olivia’s eyes turn gloomy, she quickly added, “I’m sorry about hitting Stephanie earlier, Mom. I’ll apologize to her tomorrow. We shouldn’t have worried you elders with our petty squabbles. Oscar didn’t mean what he said about moving to the city, so please don’t take it to heart.”
Olivia broke into a faint smile. “All right, then. You two be careful on the road. I’ve given Stephanie a lecture earlier, so you two just have to talk it out yourselves tomorrow.”
“Mom, Dad, I’ll be taking Amelia to the hospital now,” Oscar said politely before carrying her out of there.
Olivia couldn’t help but sigh as she watched them leave.
Owen placed his arm around her shoulder and said, “Olivia, what you did today was a little overboard. Forcing them to stay with us will only lead to everyone being unhappy. Amelia and Stephanie are only going to hate each other even more if they continue living together like this.”
“What should I do, then? Knowing how protective Oscar is toward Amelia, it’s highly possible that he would just ignore Stephanie completely if she really did offend Amelia. Besides, you know how stubborn and arrogant our daughter is. Without Oscar’s protection, she’s definitely going to suffer when she marries someone later on!” Olivia exclaimed helplessly.
Da*n, I’ve never thought about it that way. Still, Stephanie did ruin her relationship with Oscar, so she has only herself to blame.
With that in mind, Owen replied, “They’re all adults now, Olivia. You can’t be interfering in their affairs forever. Besides, you’ve been spoiling Stephanie for over twenty years. It’s time to let go and let her suffer a little. Otherwise, she’ll keep going on thinking she can have everything her way.”
Olivia flashed him a surprised look.
Owen gently ran his hand through her hair as he continued, “It’s true that I didn’t like Amelia all that much before, but I am well aware of her character. I believe she isn’t the only one at fault for beating up Stephanie. In fact, our daughter probably orchestrated the whole incident. Stephanie isn’t as pure and innocent as we think. We’ve been spoiling her so much that we forgot her true nature.”
Olivia frowned as she began to figure out what actually happened between the two.
“You’re a smart woman, Olivia. I’m sure you know Stephanie isn’t as dumb as we thought. She must really hate Amelia if she’s doing all this to make us hate her as well. The relationship between them has worsened to the point where they’re practically arch-enemies. Knowing that, are you sure you still want them both to stay under the same roof?”
Olivia’s lips twitched slightly as she prepared to argue, but Owen cut her off by saying, “I’m sure you already realize the seriousness of this situation, Olivia. You’re refusing to accept that fact, just like how you defended Stephanie when she hired someone to run Amelia over. Don’t make them hate you any further or you’ll lose them forever.”
“Are you asking me to give up on Stephanie?” Olivia asked bitterly.
“I’m not heartless enough to have you choose between Oscar and Stephanie. I’m just asking you to not be biased and jump to the weaker side like you always do. It’ll be a lot easier for you to make fair decisions if you remain an outsider,” Owen replied.
Olivia kept quiet and seemed to be in deep thought, so Owen decided to leave her be.
Meanwhile, Oscar was driving so fast that it felt like the car was flying.
Amelia tightened her grip on the passenger seat. “Slow down, Oscar! I’m scared!”
Oscar didn’t say anything in response, but he slowed the car down slightly anyway. Even so, the drive to the hospital that would usually take them an hour or two was cut short to about forty minutes.
Amelia breathed a huge sigh of relief when the car finally came to a stop outside the hospital.
Oscar had a grim expression as he got out of the car and gently scooped Amelia into his arms from the other side.
Amelia wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, “Oscar, are you angry?”
Oscar nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
Oblivious to what he was mad about, Amelia pretended to act submissive as she said, “Don’t be like that, Oscar. I get scared when you have that mean look on your face. Will you please smile for me?”
Oscar ignored her request and maintained that gloomy expression as he brought her into the hospital. It wasn’t until the doctors guaranteed she would be all right after three to four months that Oscar eased up on his frown a little. Even so, he still wasn’t talking to Amelia until they got into the car.
Terrified by his silence, Amelia asked cautiously, “Will you please tell me what you’re mad about, Oscar? It hurts me a lot when you ignore me like this.”
Oscar’s tone was still cold as he looked at her and said, “I want you to think about it and figure out why I’m mad, Amelia. I’m willing to spend my entire life to prove that I care about you the most. We’ve missed out on a lot back then, but it’s not too late to fix it now. I will prove to you that I really do care about you.”
Having understood what he meant, Amelia felt a warm sensation in her heart and instinctively looked down to avoid his gaze.
Oscar then started the car, and neither of them spoke throughout the entire drive home.
Although he was angry at her, Oscar still took great care of her. He helped to shower her and carried her to the bathroom in the morning. He even went as far as helping her squeeze the toothpaste out when brushing her teeth. Just like that, he looked after her like she was a newborn baby.
Although Oscar didn’t think much of it, Amelia was enjoying it while also fearing that she would end up being dependent on him.
In that whole month, Oscar had his staff take care of everything at work for him apart from the more urgent documents that needed his attention while he kept a close eye on Amelia. Unbeknownst to him, his actions made her feel uncomfortable as she didn’t want to be a burden to him.
If he’s looking after me like this just because I fractured my arm, is he going to throw everything away to look after me if I end up losing my sight someday?
Amelia felt her heart sink at the thought of that. While his love toward her was sweet and filled her heart with happiness, it would become a burden for him if she went blind.
Oscar is an excellent man. He should stand tall and proud while dominating the corporate world like a king instead of having his wife and child get in the way of his success.
Amelia could feel her vision slowly deteriorating over time and could barely see anything far away. However, she pretended to be all right as she didn’t want Oscar to find out and get worried about her.
“What’s on your mind?” Oscar asked when he came out of the shower and pulled her into his arms that night.
Amelia leaned against his chest as she replied, “Nothing. I just feel like you’re being so nice to me that I couldn’t possibly ask for anything more.” I wouldn’t be alone even if I were to leave you after losing my vision…
She had started thinking about how she would leave Oscar in that one month, but she wasn’t sure how she would feel about it if she were to leave him.
