Chapter 117: Chapter 117

Chapter 117:

Eileen, usually calm and composed, lost her poise when she saw blood oozing from Ruby’s mouth. She embraced Ruby tightly, her voice shaky as she whispered, “Mom…”

Ruby clutched Eileen’s hand, squeezing it firmly several times. Her lips, stained with blood, opened and closed, but she didn’t say anything.

Seeing Bryan, Vivian stopped her outburst. Bryan’s deep, mysterious eyes seemed to captivate her, making her scalp tingle and freezing her in her tracks.

A few nurses arrived with a stretcher, and they quickly helped lift Ruby onto it, rushing her to the emergency room as soon as Emilio arrived. Bryan instinctively started to follow, but he was stopped by Vivian.

Vivian gripped his wrist tightly. “Bryan, where are you going? Why do you care about her? She caused this herself!”

In the noisy corridor, Vivian’s voice stood out. Her tone was self-assured and defiant, igniting Bryan’s anger.

“Let go of me!” Bryan demanded sharply.

Vivian didn’t let go. Instead, she held on even tighter. “I won’t let go. I’m not wrong. You can’t treat me so harshly when I love you so much…”

Eileen couldn’t make out what Bryan and Vivian were saying next as she followed Ruby, only catching the faint, whining tone of Vivian’s voice. The sound felt like countless sharp needles piercing her heart, bringing her intense pain that nearly took her breath away.

When they stepped into the elevator, Eileen turned to see Bryan turning away with Vivian. The air in the elevator felt heavy. Eileen’s eyes moved from the slowly closing doors to Ruby’s face. Ruby looked back with a mix of sadness, hesitation, and guilt in her eyes.

Eileen leaned closer and said firmly to Ruby, “Mom, I’m not the other woman. My money is clean. I’m married. Look, if you don’t believe me…”

Eileen found a moment to pull out her phone and showed Ruby a photo of her marriage certificate with Bryan. “We’re legally married,” she said.

Ruby stared at the photo, her expression shifting. After a moment, tears started streaming down her face, and she choked out a few words, “I knew it…”

“Please, don’t leave us. I want you to see Bailee get married,” Eileen stowed her phone and gently wiped Ruby’s tears. She could barely hear Ruby’s feeble voice and had to lean in closer.

Ruby said, “Look after your sister.” A single tear rolled down Ruby’s cheek as her eyes slowly closed, the sight striking Eileen’s heart with force.

“Dr. White! Please save her…” Eileen stepped aside, her eyes conveying both desperation and hope as she looked at Emilio. Emilio examined Eileen’s eyelids, his expression tense, and just as he was about to speak, the elevator doors slid open. The emergency room at the end of the hallway wasn’t far, yet to Eileen, the path seemed endless.

“Hurry! Get a neurologist here; something’s not right with the patient.” Emilio signaled a nurse to fetch a doctor from another department. Eileen and Bailee were halted at the entrance, forced to stand by helplessly as Ruby was rushed into the emergency room. Bailee finally broke down and started sobbing.

“Eileen…” Bailee clung to Eileen, tears streaming down her face. “Mom wanted to see me get married and have kids. She’ll make it, right?” Eileen gently patted Bailee’s back, her voice steady. “She’ll be okay.”

Eileen wasn’t sure if she was reassuring Bailee or herself. Soon after, a nurse emerged from the emergency room holding several forms. “Who is the patient’s family member? You’ll need to sign here. These are the critical condition notice and consent form for the surgery…”

Though Eileen was Ruby’s daughter legally, she wasn’t her biological child. She pulled Bailee toward the documents. “Bailee, you sign it.” Bailee’s eyes widened at the sight of the paperwork, and she shook her head vigorously. “I can’t do it! I’m scared.” Realizing that without a signature, the doctors wouldn’t proceed with the surgery, and noticing Bailee’s trembling hands, Eileen hardened her resolve and signed all the necessary documents.

“You two wait outside. The surgery will take a few hours. Check if there’s enough money in the patient’s account for the surgery fees, and… prepare yourselves mentally.” With those words, the nurse took the signed documents and gave Eileen several payment slips.

Eileen asked Bailee to sit on the bench outside the emergency room. Then, she went to handle the payment. In Vivian’s ward, Bryan stood by the window, still thinking about the sight of Eileen rushing off. His restlessness imbued him with an air of hostility, making him seem unapproachable.

From her bed, Vivian chattered non-stop. “Bryan, you came to see me, right? Do I look too terrible like this? Is that why you seem upset?” She couldn’t fathom Bryan being upset with her because of Eileen. Sitting on the bed, she watched Bryan intently, not daring to blink, afraid of missing any subtle change in his expression.

Suddenly, Bryan shifted, his hand in his pocket as he turned to face her, his look growing colder: “My feelings for you were gone six years ago when you walked away. This time, it was your brother who sought my help to spend time with you for your depression,” he said. Those words formed a truth Vivian couldn’t bear.

She gazed intently at Bryan, then forced a smile. She slid off the bed barefoot and walked over to him, grasping the edge of his shirt. “Bryan, what are you saying? Are you just upset? You can’t possibly stop loving me. I held onto my feelings for you for six years. How can you just not love me anymore?”

Her hand was met with a cold, dismissive push, and the man before her stepped back, his face a mask of frost. Feeling as though she had plunged into a freezing cavern, Vivian stood frozen, her hand lingering in the air as she heard the door open. She turned and saw Kian. Upon locking eyes with him, she burst into tears.

“Kian, Bryan says he doesn’t love me anymore. It’s all Eileen’s fault. Go and help me kill her! Kill her!” Vivian shouted. She charged toward Kian like a storm, dragging him out of the room. Her wild, desperate anger was difficult to watch.

Bryan’s gaze grew even icier as he observed Kian summoning a nurse to administer a sedative to Vivian. Afterward, both the nurse and a doctor recommended taking Vivian to see a psychiatrist. Kian allowed them to take the now-sedated Vivian to another department. Within minutes, the once-occupied room was eerily empty, leaving just the two men in its silence.

Kian said, “This is Vivian’s fault. I’ll make it right with Eileen. But telling Vivian all this now… don’t you want a divorce anymore?” Once Vivian and Bryan split up, Stella would likely work harder to prevent the divorce. The only upside Bryan saw in his deal with Kian was the chance to get out of his marriage.

“You think there’s still a chance for me and Vivian if I get divorced?” Bryan’s tone was icy as he confronted Kian. “Is that why you’ve been disregarding what I said?” He approached Kian, his eyebrow raised. “If that’s really it, then you’re to blame for Vivian’s predicament. From now on, keep her away from me, or I won’t be lenient.”

His firm stance and grave expression shocked Kian. Kian knew Bryan meant every word. After a pause, Kian said, “Eileen will never be a Dawson. Even if you leave your wife, there are still your parents to think about.”

“Stay out of her business. I’ve got my own plans,” Bryan interjected abruptly, then turned and walked away, his tall frame vanishing through the hospital ward’s doorway. Kian’s expression darkened slowly. A spark of something flashed in his eyes after a moment.

At the billing desk, Eileen stood in disbelief and asked again, “Could you repeat that? How much is left in her account?”

“Six hundred thousand remaining, which is enough for the surgery costs. There’s no need for further payment.”

The bank cards Eileen had handed over were returned to her, along with the payment receipts stamped and finalized. She took them back numbly, her mind racing. With a shaky voice, she requested, “Can you print out a detailed list of her medical bills for me?”

The staff member printed a summary of Ruby’s medical expenses for the past month. The total was under a hundred thousand. Holding the printout, Eileen walked back and ran into Emilio, who had just exited the operating room. She hurried over to him, asking anxiously, “Dr. White, is the surgery over?”

“The surgery is still ongoing.” Emilio’s voice was gentle, filled with sympathy as he said, “It’s that put her in a coma. It looks like a cerebral hemorrhage. The other doctors are handling emergency treatments right now, gathering her medical records for reference.”

He glanced at the papers in Eileen’s hand and realized something. He continued, “Before she was moved to the VIP ward, she had secretly asked me to change her medication. I didn’t tell you because she was worried someone was causing you trouble over the meds. She met and as a parent myself, I understood her. She was very firm when she signed the medication agreement.”

“Thank you. I understand.” Eileen bowed her head, struggling to find more words. Emilio gently patted her shoulder, encouraging her, “Stay strong. I’m going to retrieve her medical records…”

Eileen felt a turmoil of emotions as she stood frozen in the long corridor.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind her. “Eileen.” She felt Bryan’s presence as he appeared at her side, his gaze fixed on her. “Is the surgery over?” he asked.

“No,” Eileen replied indifferently, taking a couple of steps back to create some distance between them. From his position, Bryan could only see the top of Eileen’s head and her piercing eyes that sent a wave of panic through his heart.

He reached out instinctively, saying, “Vivian is…”

Eileen interjected, “Aren’t you here to speak for Miss Warren? There’s really no need. She’s from the Warren family, after all. What could someone like me possibly do to her?”

She had watched Bryan walk away with Vivian, and a chill had settled in her heart. The comfort Bryan had provided over the last few days had made her feel as if she were floating on clouds. Yet, he was the one who had pushed her into the abyss.

Seeing him now, all her bottled-up grievances and helplessness overflowed. The tears she had held back now fell freely, trickling down her chin onto her clothes. What could she do to Vivian? She couldn’t do anything because of how powerful the Warren family was.

Unable to contain herself any longer, she turned and rested her head against the wall, her body shaking as she cried. Her cries cut deeply into Bryan’s heart.

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