“Mom, are you okay?” I asked concernedly, walking over when I saw the doctor treating my mom.
Mom had been bedridden for several days. I was worried about her as she had not been looking well. She seemed to be in good health this morning and had even gone out for a while with Crystal after having breakfast downstairs. I couldn’t help feeling anxious when they came back with a doctor.
“Don’t worry! It’s just a headache after walking in the wind.” She shook her head and turned to whisper something to the doctor. Shortly after, the doctor wrote down a prescription. I took a glance at it and could barely understand a single word as his handwriting was totally illegible.
“You should rest at home if you are not feeling well. Just tell me if you need anything.” I squatted down by the bed while holding my mother’s hand. Frowning, I mumbled, “What’s so important out there that you have to go out early in the morning when you are not even yourself.”
“I wanted to ask you to help me out, but you know nothing other than drawing.” Isabelle shook her head with a smile on her face. “There’s something that I have to do myself. Although the Tanner family is not a big family, they are indeed strong. When there are two people, the words will hold greater weight and likely be convincing. Don’t you think so?”
I lifted my head and looked at Mom in shock. Mom, are you trying to explain why you’ve been staying with Crystal all the time?
“Mom…”
“Are you still angry? You are already in your twenties, but you still act like a child sometimes.” She held my hand and added, “That’s how you were when you were younger. You would be extremely stubborn once you put your head into something. You really take after me in terms of temper. Have you been holding a grudge against me over the past two days?”
I shook my head. “No! I’m not holding a grudge or whatsoever.”
“Still in denial?” She chuckled and covered her mouth. “I can’t give you a satisfying answer for certain matters, but what I’m doing now is all for the future. You just have to understand that I love you. That’s enough.”
However, I was still in a state of confusion. “Mom, Dad is taking care of the business, right? Even if he is overloaded with work, he still has Lucas’ dad to help him out. I don’t understand why you have to wear yourself out. What matters most is your health.”
She glanced at me. The look in her eyes was incomprehensible. I didn’t understand why she would put on such an expression that terrified me each time I mentioned Dad and his business. It felt as if she was scheming something.
“Mark is always sick. He has just gotten his health back after recuperating abroad for many years. How can I let him overexert himself again? I just want to reduce his burden. If I let things go undone, he will have no choice but to do it on his own. I can’t bear seeing him putting too much pressure on himself.” She grinned. There was a softness in her eyes when she talked about him.
I frowned as I took a glance at a bruise on her arm. “Mom, did you fight with Dad? Does he have a bad temper?”
I hesitated for a long time before uttering those words. Seeing her expression turn solemn, I immediately added, “You can just ignore what I said if you don’t feel like talking about it. I’m just worried about you. Don’t get mad, okay?”
“I’m not mad. You care about me. If anything, I’m pleased.” She gave a pat on my hand. “All couples fight. Mark is always sick, and so he feels very depressed. Despite putting on a smile all the time, he is, in fact, feeling inferior deep down. He desperately wants to be healthy, so he loses his temper sometimes. But everything’s fine. Don’t overthink it.”
Feeling inferior? It doesn’t sound right to describe him in that way. There was a time I felt inferior to others and couldn’t pull myself together for a long time. However, would people like Dad ever feel inferior?
