Chapter 38
Chapter 38
When Shane entered the ward with Ruben and Jeanne, Edith had just calmed her emotions.
She looked at them and asked, “Why are you guys here?”
Shane placed a basket of fruits and flowers on the table and gently explained, “Victor was worried about you being alone in the hospital, so he called me.”
“Mommy, I was so worried about you!”
Jeanne, with tears in her eyes, rushed to embrace Edith’s arm, sadly saying, “If something happened to you, Ruben and I would be orphans!”
Edith was somewhat speechless. Jeanne overreacted a bit.
Ruben also looked at her with a worried expression.
“It’s alright, I’m fine. You two aren’t going to be orphans just yet,” Edith said, pulling the two little ones into her arms.
Shane watched them with a smile, quietly peeling an apple at the side.
Jeanne kicked off her pink Mary Jane shoes and climbed onto the bed, snuggling into Edith’s embrace.
It was the only way Jeanne felt safe.
The nurse came in to check up. Seeing Edith in good condition, she smiled, “This afternoon, when you were unconscious, Mr. Peterson was almost out of his mind with worry. Oh, and your medication was personally fed by him.”
Edith was eating the apple Shane peeled and choked when she heard this, causing her to cough violently.
Ruben quickly patted her back while Jeanne instinctively passed her water.
They were used to their mother often choking like this.
After catching her breath, Edith asked the nurse, “He fed me my medicine? Are you sure about that?”
“He is Mr. Peterson! How could I be mistaken?”
The nurse wore a strange expression. “You needed to drink an oral rehydration solution, and I was. about to wake you up, but Mr. Peterson said to let you rest and that he had a way to feed you the medicine and asked me to leave.
“Look! The paper cup used for the medicine is still on the table.”
Looking where the nurse pointed, Edith saw an empty paper cup.
So, how had Gideon managed to give her the medicine?
Edith hadn’t felt a thing!
The nurse recorded her temperature in the medical chart before she left. Edith sat on the bed, scratching her head in confusion.
Jeanne swayed Edith’s arm. “Mommy, we saw Gideon on our way here. He said he wasn’t here to see you. Why did he lie?”
“Let’s not talk about him,” Edith said, her face showing deep resentment.
Shane lifted Jeanne off the bed, saying softly, “Jeanne, how about we let Edie rest a bit.”
After settling the kids, he turned back to Edith, speaking earnestly. “Just focus on resting for now. I’ll
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take care of you and won’t let Gideon trouble you.”
Edith waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. He can’t trouble me. He’s just worried that if something happens to me, it will affect the reputation of the Peterson Group, especially with all the news about employees dying from overwork in recent years.”
Unable to understand Gideon’s motivations, Edith could only link his actions to the company’s reputation.
She didn’t want to trouble Shane by making him run back and forth.
Shane was busy mentoring graduates and was overwhelmed with their thesis during this period.
Shane wasn’t surprised about his suggestion being rejected again. His eyes, hidden beneath the gold–rimmed glasses, were downcast.
He sighed, “Edie, you’re always so strong. Sometimes, I just don’t know how to help you.”
Edith always felt that there was more to Shane’s words, but they were too subtle for her to grasp.
She smiled faintly, “You don’t have to do anything for me. We’re good friends, and I like how things are between us.”
‘Good friends… he thought.
The disappointment in Shane’s eyes grew even stronger.
He wanted more than friendship, but why couldn’t Edith see that?
Shane was about to say something when Jeanne suddenly announced, “Mommy, I’m taking Ruben to the bathroom!”
Edith peeked out, amused by Ruben doing the pee dance and his tiny clenched fists.
He must have held it for a long time..
Edith pointed toward the door, instructing, “The bathroom is in the small room to the left.”
Although her ward was a single room, the bathroom was shared with the next ward. There were no independent suites in the hospital due to the shortage of rooms.
Ruben, with tense legs, walked out, followed by Jeanne.
After Ruben finished using the bathroom, Jeanne said, “Ruben, next time you need to go, just say it. Your voice is charming, and speaking is the quickest way to express yourself.”
Her main concern was that holding it in was bad for Ruben’s health.
Ruben looked at Jeanne’s serious face, remained silent momentarily, and then nodded, emitting a faint sound.
“Um…”
He would try, but speaking was somewhat difficult for him..
Jeanne clapped her hands joyfully, her voice sweet and crisp. “Ruben, you’ve made such great progress! I believe you’ll be better in no time!”
Since Jeanne learned to speak, she had been encouraging Ruben.
Seeing her eyes sparkle with happiness, Ruben couldn’t help but press his lips and show a shy smile.
“Let’s go, we should head back,” Jeanne said, leading him back to the ward.
From the corner of his eye, Ruben noticed three people standing in a corner. One of them looked familiar.
Wasn’t that Joyce’s mother?
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Ruben halted, gesturing for Jeanne to look towards the corner.
“Joyce’s mommy? She seems to be a doctor at this hospital,” Jeanne murmured, deciding to get a closer look.
They hid behind a large green plant, partly concealed by a wall, making it difficult for anyone to spot
them.
Their conversation was heard by the two kids.
“Dr. Hayes, are you leaving for the day?”
“Joyce hasn’t been feeling well these past few days, so I’m going home to take care of her.”
“It must be tough being a single mom. What about Joyce’s dad? Why doesn’t he help out?”
“He’s busy. Let’s not talk about it. I need to go.”
Danika quickly ended the conversation and walked into the elevator.
The two other people exchanged glances, shrugged in unison, and smirked.
One said, “If Joyce has a dad, why is Danika still single? Is there some gossip there?”
The other replied, “Who knows? Her resume says she’s unmarried.”
They moved on to check on the patients, dropping the subject.
Jeanne stepped out from behind the plant.
She looked puzzled. “I don’t understand, Ruben. Do you get it?”
Ruben shook his head, equally confused.
Jeanne sighed in frustration, “The adult world is so complicated!”
“I’ll… Look into it,” Ruben said succinctly, uttering the keywords.
Jeanne’s gloom instantly vanished. She winked at Ruben and said, “Ruben, are you going to investigate this matter?”
“Yep.” Ruben nodded.
He was curious about their father’s marital status as well.
“Go.” Ruben pointed toward the ward and issued another command.
They had been out to use the bathroom for a while, and their mother would surely be worried. They had to go back first.
Jeanne, understanding his intent, grabbed his hand and ran back.
“Let’s hurry. We can’t make Mommy and Shane worry!”
Edith would be discharged from the hospital tonight if everything was alright.
After packing up, Shane dropped her off at home.
Standing at the door, Edith adjusted the coat draped over her shoulders and expressed gratitude. “Thanks for today. Let’s have dinner together once I’m done with all this work. My treat.”
“I’ll make sure to choose somewhere expensive then,” Shane replied with a laugh, waving goodbye and urging her to rest early.
After dinner, Edith planned to tell the kids a bedtime story before returning to her room, but they sent her away without hesitation.
“Mommy, go to bed. We don’t want a story today!”
Jeanne pushed Edith out and quickly closed the door.
They had serious things to do!