Love My Friends with Benefits

May had to give in to my firm attitude. "Fine, I'll help you."

May went back to the company and asked for a day off before heading back to my apartment.

On the way, she told me that she'd headed to the cafe to see how Austin and I were getting along.

"I didn't expect you to get in a fight..." May sighed. "How annoying can the Jones family be, showing up everywhere we go?"

I blinked. "You sound disappointed."

"Of course!" May said bluntly. "If it weren't for your stepmother, maybe you and Austin..." She laughed slyly.

I couldn't help laughing. "Look, it's not happening. I don't have any feelings for him."

"You will, with time." She waved a hand dismissively.

I didn't say anything.

Honestly, May's words made sense. I didn't have feelings for Leonard when things first kicked off either.

However, I was completely focused on getting revenge on the Jones family at the moment. There wasn't any room for anyone or anything else in my heart and mind.

All I could say was that Austin had shown up at the wrong time.

When we got back to my place, my mobile phone started ringing like mad.

I glanced at it and found several missed calls. They were all from Bell.

I hesitated before answering the phone. "Hello."

"Queena, you b*stard! How could I have had a daughter like you? I should've strangled you the moment you were born!"

The moment the call was connected, Bell started cursing at me.

How could he have the nerve to say this to me?

"I'm sorry. I probably didn't inherit your genes," I replied coldly. "I'm a b*stard? I'm nothing in comparison to you."

Bell fell silent for a moment before continuing with his cursing and swearing.

I didn't want to deal with it anymore, so I cut him off. "Bell, why do you have the nerve to call me a b*stard? You kicked me out of the Jones family when I was still a minor and you've ignored me for the past ten years. Just yesterday, you allowed Gail to make my grandmother end up in the hospital. Who's the b*stard here?"

Bell didn't say anything. I could only hear an odd noise coming from the phone.

I listened carefully and found that Bell was panting heavily.

He was probably losing his mind with rage.

"Just you wait." I didn't want to waste time getting entangled with him. "Bell, we have a long way to go. Let's see who's the last one standing."

After that, I hung up without waiting for a reply.

May applauded me. "That was great, Queena!"

"That was just a battle of the tongues. The main act's yet to come."

I shook my head and dialled Aunt Nancy's number.

At this moment, she was my only point of contact with the Jones family.

When the call was connected, Aunt Nancy's voice rang out. "Hello?"

She sounded exhausted. Grandma's illness and my revenge were probably taking their toll on her.

I started to tear up. "Aunt Nancy..."

"It's you?"

She said in surprise.

"Yes, it's me." I bit my lip and gathered up the courage to ask, "How's Grandma doing?"

She didn't answer me. Instead, she raised her voice and said, "I've already given you the lowest price possible for that project in J City. I won't go a single cent lower." Other than her voice, I could also hear the sound of her hurrying away.

I realised that she was trying to mislead the others so that they wouldn't know I was the one calling.

This meant that there were others with her, and it was likely that they were from the Jones family.

"No means no!"

Aunt Nancy continued, which was followed by the sound of a door being slammed shut.

After that, she asked in a hushed voice, "Queena, how are you doing? I heard that you got in a fight with Gail."

"I'm fine." I didn't want her to worry, so I answered her perfunctorily before asking, "How's Grandma doing?"

Aunt Nancy fell silent for a moment before speaking again, sounding choked up.

"I shouldn't have left Mum with that shrew, Gail... If anything happens to her, I'm going to kill Gail!"

My heart leaped to my throat and I asked frantically, "What's going on?"

"Your grandmother had a heart attack and is in the ICU now." Aunt Nancy sniffled. "It's not the ICU's visiting hours yet, so we're just waiting around outside."

Sure enough, the Jones family was there.

I asked, "Aunt Nancy, is there any way that I can go see Grandma?"

"No, Queena." She tried to talk me out of it. "The Jones family absolutely loathes you now. They'll rip you to shreds if they see you."

"But..."

Aunt Nancy's tone was firm. "Listen to me, Queena. Don't come."

I didn't speak. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"All your grandmother wants is your safety. If you were to come here, Gail will definitely find a way to get back at you. And your father..." She sighed. "I finally know what people mean when they say that with every stepmother comes a stepfather."

I refused to give up. "Isn't there any way for me to get past them so I can see Grandma?"

"Don't take the risk, Queena. Look, I have to go take care of something. Bye." She hung up hastily.

I listened to the dial tone and stood there dazedly. I didn't know what to say or do.

May had been by my side this whole time and had probably heard most of our conversation. "Your aunt's against you going to the hospital?"

She knew all about my family.

I couldn't hold my tears back anymore. "Everyone in the Jones family is at the hospital... Aunt Nancy said that there's no way for me to go."

"What? How can that be?" May complained glumly. "They made her end up in the hospital, yet they're pretending to be kind now. What nonsense is this?"

I grabbed a tissue and wiped my tears away. "I have to go even if there's no other way."

May glared at me incredulously. "Do you have a death wish?!"

I knew what she wanted to say, and I knew what I was in for with the Jones family being at the hospital. However, there was no way I could just ignore the fact that Grandma was in the hospital.

I gritted my teeth. "I can't let that stop me. I have to go."

May shook her head, looking like she was heading into battle. "I'll go with you, then."

Thirty minutes later, May and I arrived at the hospital's entrance. We were both wrapped in black coats and had huge sunglasses on.

I asked the nurse where the ICU was and took the elevator up.

The ICU was located on the 13th floor. It wasn't exactly the luckiest number.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐