“I am!” Lydia and I broke the silence at the same time. After we exchanged glances, I gestured for her to carry on with the conversation. “I’m the patient’s wife.”
The doctor nodded and carried on in a serious tone, “The patient was stabbed, but he is no longer in danger. However, he needs to pull through the next forty-eight hours. Otherwise…”
He paused, seemingly at a loss for better words to explain Jackson’s situation in a less impactful manner.
“Doctor, be frank with me. As a fellow doctor, I’m ready for what’s awaiting me.”
Sighing, the doctor stated, “There’s a huge probability he’s going to turn into a vegetative patient because his carotid artery has been severely damaged.”
Once the doctor delivered the news, he tapped Lydia’s shoulder lightly and made his way past the crowd.
I started shuddering in fear, my mind going completely blank once again. The image of Jackson leaving with Macy by his side crossed my mind. My eyes started brimming with tears, but no tears seemed to fall.
“Please leave us alone.” Lydia’s seemingly harmless request took me by surprise.
I knew she wanted me to get out of her sight after the misfortune I had brought upon Jackson. As there was nothing I could do, I begged her, “Dr. Alder, please allow me to stay here and keep Jackson company. The doctor said the next two days are extremely crucial. He needs someone to be by his side. On top of that, you need to take care of your child. If I’m around, I can—”
“What can you do?” Lydia directed another rhetorical question at me before I could finish my sentence. “If anything happens to you, should I take care of you or him? Haven’t you achieved your goal to turn his life upside down? Do you wish to witness his demise? Ms. Stovall, please stop crossing the boundaries!”
I couldn’t bring myself to rebuke her statement. In the end, she walked away and left me behind.
Although I was reluctant to leave, she was right—I couldn’t even take good care of myself, let alone take care of others.
Once we reached the entrance of the hospital, another intense fight between Ashton and John broke out.
Subconsciously, John showed me the way to his car, but Ashton got in his way and stopped him.
“You might have saved her, but it takes more than that to prove yourself worthy! If it weren’t because of you, the Ziegler family wouldn’t pick on us either!” John glared at Ashton, squaring himself up against the other man.
“If you could take care of her, how did Mitchell get his hands on her? Since nowhere is safe, I’d rather have her by my side!” Ashton showed no signs of stepping back at all. He was ready to take John on.
I stood in the middle of the duo, feeling like a statue when they would yell at one another and try to bring me away with them. They seemed to have forgotten I could feel the pain, and I had no intention to stop them because I thought it was a punishment I deserved.
When I reached my limit, I let out a hiss and shuddered in pain. Subsequently, Ashton and John moved away from me at the same time.
The former’s hoarse voice could be heard when he repeated himself, “Come with me.”
However, John wasn’t about to give up just yet. He said, “Letty, don’t let him deceive you! You know deep down that you’re one of us!”
“Come again?” Ashton raised his volume, indicating he was infuriated for real.
My brother pushed Ashton and demanded, “Have I said anything wrong? You’re a liar! All along, you have been making use of the affection she has for you to get your revenge!”
“Give me a break!” Not being able to take it anymore, I subconsciously walked in the direction of Ashton.
Before I could move any further, John rushed over and stopped me. “Letty, are you having doubts against my words?”
I heaved a long sigh and announced, “John, please allow me to return with him. I’ll spend a night at his place to sort out the things that are supposed to be sorted out since a long time ago. How about you pick me up tomorrow morning?”
John still had his doubts, but after much consideration, he moved away and said, “Alright, I’ll allow you to spend a night at his place, but only under the condition of me tagging along.”
