Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Stuff like Shela’s kidnapping couldn’t happen again. No ifs, ands, or buts!
Outside the hospital.
Letitia had just stepped out when a black Mercedes van rolled up.
“Ma’am, please get in,” the bodyguard said respectfully. “We’ll take you back to Ivory Towers.”
Hawley kept tabs on her, not giving her an inch of freedom to move.
Letitia nodded and was about to get in when she heard Vidonia, “Letitia!”
The bodyguard blocked her right away.
“What’s the big idea?” Vidonia pushed past him, “Who the heck are you guys?”
Letitia reached out and pulled Vidonia into the car, “Let’s go, forget about her.”
“No way, Elgin’s got this many people watching you?”
“It’s not his people. It’s Hawley.”
Vidonia clicked her tongue twice, “These rich folks play mind games!”
“Why are you at the hospital?” Letitia asked, “Looking for me?”
“Yeah, do you think I’m here to visit Elgin? Even though he saved you, the stuff he did before was still not forgivable.”
Letitia fell silent.
“Letitia, you’re not going soft on him, are you?” Vidonia pressed, “After this brush with death, you’ve got feelings for Elgin?”
“Actually… my feelings for him have been there for a long time.”
Letitia had feelings for Elgin when they made love at that night, and when she decided to have the baby.
When she found out that the stranger that night was Elgin, she realized she had fallen for Elgin.
But reality was too cruel and she was fated not to end up with him.
Letitia forced a bitter smile, “But how can I love him? As what? His wife? The enemy’s daughter? Or as the mother of that child who’s gone?”
“Letitia,” Vidonia held her hand, “The moment Elgin hurt you, he became unforgivable for life.”
“I’m not planning to forgive him.”
A bygone vibrant life left an eternal ache in her heart.
Letitia could forgive Elgin, but she couldn’t forgive him on the child’s behalf.
Vidonia sighed, “I know you’re torn. Who wouldn’t be moved by a man willing to lay down his life for you? But Elgin is not the one for you, he hurt you too deeply.”
Vidonia was a rational and clear-headed powerhouse.
She wouldn’t let emotions cloud her judgment and wanted the best for Letitia.
‘There are plenty of fish in the sea, someone better than Elgin will show up for you,” Vidonia said, “I’m sure of
it.”
Letitia nodded.
She didn’t know how to face Elgin. Her heart was soft, yet as hard as iron sometimes.
What a contradiction!
As the saying goes, the moment someone decides to hurt you, all their attempts at making amends afterwards aren’t worth forgiving.
“Oh right, almost forgot the main event,” Vidonia suddenly said, “I’ve brought you something nice.”
“What?”
Vidonia pulled out a mysterious box from her bag.
As she opened the box and unwrapped the cloth, Letitia saw the sheen of the object inside.
Emerald! Her mother’s emerald!
She’d recognize it anywhere with just a glance!
Letitia excitedly asked, “The emerald bracelet’s been fixed? Vidonia, you know how to get things done!”
“Hold your horses,” Vidonia said, “I went to a lot of craftsmen, but none could guarantee it’d be crack- free. It’s a fine piece of emerald, after all, any imperfection would stand out, so… I took a middle-of-the- road approach.”
As she spoke, Vidonia unfolded the cloth layer by layer, “Look.”
An emerald pendant lay quietly in her palm.
The surface of the pendant was carved into a flower with a clear texture, sparkling like a genius craft.
“I found the best gem craftsman to turn the shattered emerald bracelet into this pendant,” Vidonia explained. “Got it just today and rushed over to give it to you.”
Letitia took it.
The emerald bracelet turned into an emerald pendant…
Broken things couldn’t be restored to their original state.
This was also the case for her heart. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
“Thanks,” Letitia said, “Keeping this emerald piece is already the best outcome for me.”
“A pendant is nice too. Put it on, may it bring you peace and smooth sailing.”
“No, I want to put it on my mom.”
Vidonia nodded, “That works too!”
Letitia smiled, “Let’s go to the sanatorium.”
“Sure.”
Letitia instructed the driver to change course, but the driver hesitated, “Ma’am… I, uh…”
“I’m not going to see Elgin, is that not okay too?”
“Let me check first.”
The driver checked with Hawley, who agreed.
Vidonia watched silently, not saying a word. She knew the current Letitia was just a puppet without freedom, surrounded by splendor but not a shred of happiness.
What’s the point of living if you’re not happy?
At the sanatorium.
Malinda had been moved to a regular room but was still unconscious.
Letitia worried her mother would become a vegetable again, or… leave her forever.
The hospital was using the best medicine and the best equipment to keep her alive.
“Mom, I’m here to see you,” Letitia bent down, putting the pendant around Malinda’s neck, “Let it protect you.”
Malinda, eyes closed, didn’t move an inch.
Vidonia turned away, secretly wiping away her tears.
The Sanders family faced one misfortune after another.
Malinda had barely woken from her vegetative state when Shela enraged her twice, causing her to fall ill again. “Letitia, who’s going to protect you… Vidonia choked up.
Letitia didn’t answer, earnestly placing the pendant around Malinda’s neck, and arranging it carefully.
Malinda was the rightful owner.
The pendant remained, and so did her mother.
She wasn’t in pain and didn’t need protection. She just hoped for more blessings for her mother to pull through
this.
Night fell.
“Mr. Ramirez, take a breather, will ya?” Ranen stood by the hospital bed. “These doctors can wait till tomorrow to get your OK, no biggie…”
Elgin rolled his eyes, “Zip it.”
He was holding a pen, constantly writing away.
Though slow, his handwriting was still neat and flashy.
He had been smart about it, deliberately injuring his left hand because the right one was too precious for signing off on things.
Elgin wasn’t resting, so Ranen didn’t dare clock out and just hung around.
It was almost midnight when Elgin finally put down the pen, “Come in early tomorrow.”
“Mr. Ramirez, shouldn’t you be resting up?”
“Ain’t this resting?”
If it weren’t for the doctor saying he had a bone injury that needed to be kept still, not to wander about, he would’ve been back at the Ramirez Group in a heartbeat.
Ranen muttered, “This seems more tiring than work…”
“I’ll survive.”
Elgin was a fitness junkie all year round in good physical shape, and he had already regained half his strength.
It was just the deep gash on his arm that he couldn’t mess with, but the rest of his body was all good.