Chapter 499 Breakdown
As Colton continued to support Anna, he called out to Edith and said, “Edith, take my mother upstairs for her rest.” Then, he turned his attention to his mother.
“Mom, since you’ve just recovered, you can’t be too strenuous on your body, so you should quickly go back to your room and rest. I’ll notify you the moment Hayden has recovered.”
Without being obstinate, Anna nodded and went back upstairs. After Anna left, the four of them stayed silent. Suddenly, Nicole became weak on her knees and almost fell to the ground.
However, Colton realized what was happening and managed to catch her from falling. With his arms around her waist, he comforted her in a soft voice, “It’ll be alright.”
Looking at how warm the man was treating her, Nicole couldn’t hold herself back any longer as she broke down into tears. “Hayden… Hayden might become a demented child. W-What should I do?!”
Hearing the woman’s cry, Colton was taken aback. His expression grew stern, and he looked at Julia. “Why would he become a demented child?”
Looking at the man’s darkened expression that was so frightening that it felt like it could swallow someone up, Julia bit her lip and gulped before she explained cautiously, “This drug was developed with the intention to kill. Although Hayden had only inhaled a small amount and was given prompt treatment, there is a high probability that he would have dementia.”
At Julia’s words, Colton subconsciously tightened his arms around Nicole. After a brief silence, he asked, “What are the chances of a full recovery?”
Julia lowered her eyes and calculated the probability inwardly for some time before she finally said slowly, “10 percent.”
Colton’s expression grew unpleasant at what he had heard. However, he forcefully suppressed his sadness after he looked at the woman in his arms. Then, he nodded and said, “I understand. The Gardner Family will do everything in our power to treat Hayden. Nicole, there’s no need for you to worry.”
Perhaps because Nicole had received too much of a shock, she was muddleheaded right now. Tightening his arms around her, Colton glanced at Richard and said, “Richard, you keep watch over Hayden here. I’ll take Nicole to go rest for a while.”
Having said that, he was about to escort Nicole into one of the rooms when the latter held him back. With her face pale, she shook her head and said, “No, I want to stay. I want to watch over Hayden. Otherwise, I’ll only feel uneasy.”
As Colton didn’t object to Nicole’s wishes, he glanced at Richard and Julia, to which the former was sensible enough to pull the latter away from the area. After he had successfully escorted Nicole to the nearby bed, he said, “Have some rest. Let me watch over Hayden.”
Closing her eyes with fatigue clearly written on her face, she couldn’t help but sniffle upon the indescribable despair she saw when she closed her eyes. Sobbing, she said, “When I close my eyes, all I see is Hayden lying on the floor with his body spasming and him foaming at his mouth…” She covered her face and cried in heartache.
This was the first time Colton had seen Nicole break down in tears with a touch of despair. It was as though the radiant woman he knew had transformed into a girl who needed comfort.
With his eyes tinged with heartache, he reached his hands out and pulled her into his arms, so that she would lean against his chest. She didn’t hold her feelings back as well, as she stayed nestled in his arms and cried her heart out.
Nicole cried for a very long time. Perhaps due to her suppressing her emotions for a long time, she let out all of her emotions in one go. Colton continued to have her in his arms for a long time to the extent that he couldn’t remember just when the person in his arms fell asleep.
Gently laying her down on the bed, Colton noticed that there were still tears in her eyes even though she was already asleep. Due to the tears in her eyes, her eyelashes were stuck together. Not only her nose, but even her cheeks had reddened from crying. He reached his hand out and held her cheek before he gently traced her face with his fingertip.
