Chapter 65 Mary Died
Sloane's POV
The world spun before my eyes. All sounds faded away. I couldn't hear anything except Lila's words "unconscious" echoing crazily in my mind.
That old woman who pulled me out of the mud, gave me a home, gave me all the warmth and dignity.
She was my only family in this world.
"Sloane?" Jared noticed something was wrong with me. He grabbed my swaying body, his voice full of worry. "What's wrong? What happened?"
I grabbed his arm like it was my last lifeline, my nails digging deep into his flesh, my voice completely broken. "It's the director... Director Aria... she was in a car accident..."
The next second, without another word, Jared pulled me and rushed out.
I don't know how he drove us back to the hospital. My entire world was shaking and collapsing violently.
We rushed into the hospital lobby. That familiar smell of disinfectant now felt like a death sentence, making me almost unable to breathe.
"ICU... where's the ICU..." I mumbled to myself, stumbling forward.
But when we finally ran to the intensive care unit entrance, what we saw was the cruelest scene.
A mobile hospital bed was being slowly pushed out from behind that cold door.
A small figure lay on it, covered from head to toe with a blindingly white sheet.
My steps froze instantly.
The world came crashing down.
"No..." I shook my head in disbelief, moving forward step by step, my body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
Lila and David stood nearby, their eyes red. When they saw me, their faces were full of grief and sympathy.
"Sloane..." Lila tried to help me, but I pushed her away.
With trembling hands, I slowly, slowly lifted that white cloth.
Director Aria's familiar and peaceful face appeared before my eyes.
Her eyes were closed, as if she was asleep, with a trace of her usual gentle smile at the corners of her mouth.
But her body was ice cold.
She would never wake up again.
My legs gave out, and I fell backward into a solid, burning embrace.
"Director! Wake up, please look at me!" I struggled in Jared's arms like a madwoman, crying hysterically. "It's all my fault! I should have come back earlier. Why did I go take wedding photos! Why did I deal with all that crap!"
Endless regret and self-blame, like poisoned waves, completely drowned me.
I raised my hand and slapped myself hard across the face.
"Sloane!" Jared grabbed my wrist and held me tightly in his arms. His bloodshot eyes were full of pain. "Calm down!"
"How can I calm down! She was my only family!" I cried my heart out, hitting him with all my strength. "I killed her! It was me!"
"It's not your fault!" He growled, his arms tightening even more, almost crushing me into his bones.
He looked at me, his eyes churning with pain I couldn't understand, speaking word by word in a hoarse voice.
"Sloane, listen to me. Calm down. Director Aria's funeral still needs you to handle it."
Jared's words snapped me back to reality, giving me just enough clarity to step back from the brink.
Yes, the director was gone. In this world, she only had me left.
I couldn't fall apart.
After the extreme grief came a huge emptiness and numbness. My vision went black, and I completely lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I was lying on a sofa in the hospital lounge, covered with a suit jacket that smelled of cedar.
The sharp smell of disinfectant lingered at my nose, reminding me that everything that just happened wasn't a dream.
I sat up suddenly, my heart empty like a huge black hole.
"Where's the director?" I grabbed the arm of the person beside me, my voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping. "Where is Director Aria?"
Jared sat in a chair next to the sofa. He hadn't slept all night. His eyes were full of bloodshot veins, and blue stubble had appeared on his chin. He looked exhausted and haggard.
He looked at me, those deep black eyes showing a pain and calmness I'd never seen before.
"In the morgue," he held my ice-cold hand, his palm dry and burning hot, his tone steady to the point of cruelty. "She's waiting for you."
Waiting for you.
These words shattered me completely.
I threw off the jacket and struggled to get out of bed, but my legs were too weak to support me.
Jared immediately helped me and pressed me back onto the sofa.
"I want to take her home." I looked at him, tears flooding out uncontrollably again, speaking word by word with all my strength. "I want to bury her at the Group Home, next to the daisies on the back hill."
That was her favorite place.
Jared looked at me silently. After a long time, he nodded, his voice low and hoarse. "Okay."
He paused, as if afraid I would do something to hurt myself again, and added. "I've already arranged for the orphanage children. They've been temporarily sent to a better facility in a nearby city. Don't worry. In the future, I'll set up a special fund to ensure the orphanage's operation, so the children won't suffer anymore."
I stared at him blankly.
When I was most desperate and helpless, when I was still a complete mess myself, he had already thought of all the backup plans for me.
This thoughtfulness and care came at such a wrong time, yet it was like a shot in the arm, giving my hollowed-out heart a bit of support.
"Thank you." I lowered my eyes and said softly.
These words were incredibly difficult for me to say, yet incredibly sincere.
With Jared's arrangements, Director Aria's funeral was simple and solemn.
I forced myself to stay alert, like an emotionless puppet, handling all the procedures.
Not many people came to see her off—mostly old employees from the orphanage and some of the director's old friends.
They looked at me with eyes full of sympathy and worry, but didn't know how to comfort me.
David and Lila came too. They stood silently behind me, giving me wordless companionship.
At the funeral, a strange middle-aged man suddenly barged in. He wore an inappropriately cheap suit, his hair was greasy, his eyes murky, and his face showed a greedy and resentful expression.
"Who's Sloane?" He looked around, his gaze finally landing on me.
I looked at him, vaguely feeling he looked familiar.
"You're Sloane?" He walked up to me in a few steps, looking me up and down. When he saw Jared beside me in his expensive suit with his powerful presence, a flash of jealousy and understanding crossed his eyes. "I heard you married a rich man. Living the good life, right?"
His tone was bitter and sarcastic, making me feel inexplicably disgusted.
"Who are you?" I asked coldly.