Chapter 259 Confirmed Unreliable
Seaside City Hospital.
"I'll go get some hot water." Maddox picked up the thermos and walked out of the ward.
Caroline handed the peeled apple to Erica. "How did your talk go?"
Erica took a bite of the apple and chewed slowly. "It's settled. We're getting married and having a baby."
Pretty straightforward answer, though not unexpected.
Caroline wiped the fruit knife clean with a disinfectant wipe and put it away, then sat back down on the stool. "Since you've decided, you should tell your parents."
"Let's wait till they get back. Should be around the end of the month. By then, I'll be pretty much recovered too."
"You're hiding the car accident from them, and you're not planning to tell them about the pregnancy either?"
Erica said, "My parents already have issues with him. If they find out I got pregnant before marriage, they'll be even harder on him."
"But you can't hide this forever."
Erica paused. "Let's get the engagement done first. As for the pregnancy, I'll find the right time to tell them later."
"Your parents are pretty open-minded. I think it's better to tell them sooner. Hiding it from them will actually make them angrier."
After thinking it over, Erica said, "I'll think about it."
"By the way, is Maddox staying at the hospital with you during the day tomorrow?" Caroline asked.
"He has to go to the construction site tomorrow. I can move around, so I don't need someone with me during the day. He'll stay with me at night."
"That won't work." Caroline said, "I haven't used my vacation days this year. Tomorrow I'll put in a request with work and come take care of you."
"No need, I don't need anyone to take care of me. Save your vacation days in case you really need them for an emergency." Erica refused to let Caroline take time off. "If you really take leave, I'll check myself out tomorrow."
Caroline was helpless. "You're so stubborn. If you won't let me take care of you, at least let me bring you your meals."
Erica knew how busy Caroline's work was. If she had to bring meals on top of that, she'd be running herself ragged.
"No need for meals either. There's a cafeteria downstairs and a bunch of restaurants at the entrance. There's plenty to eat. No need to trouble you to cook."
Caroline said, "You won't let me take care of you, won't let me bring meals. I know what you're thinking—you're afraid of troubling me, worried I don't have time. But you're forgetting, you're my best friend. If I don't step up when it matters, what kind of friend am I?"
Erica smiled. "It's exactly because of our relationship that I won't let you come. I know my own situation. If I really needed someone to take care of me, I'd ask before you even offered. You know what I'm like. You saw the test results just now—there's nothing wrong. The doctor even said I can walk around. I can't stand staying in this hospital. I might check out in a day or two."
"Fine. I'll come see you after work. Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll bring it."
Erica smiled. "Now that's more like it."
Maddox came in with the thermos, poured hot water, and placed the basin on the stool.
"Wash your face."
Erica took the towel but immediately threw it back. "It's hot."
Maddox quickly shook out the towel and tested it with the back of his hand. "It's not hot now."
Erica said, "Be more careful. This is me, but what if it were a child? You would've burned them."
Maddox nodded repeatedly. "Got it."
Caroline watched Maddox help Erica wipe her hands and soak her feet. Only someone who truly cared would be this attentive.
After chatting with Erica a bit longer, considering she needed to rest and recover, Caroline prepared to leave. She sent Leopold a WhatsApp message asking him to pick her up at the hospital.
Maddox walked Caroline downstairs, and they talked as they went.
"I heard from Erica that you two have decided. Since you're choosing to get married, go meet her parents as soon as they get back."
"Yeah, I told her that too. She'll let me know as soon as they're back. By the way, is there anything her parents particularly like?"
Caroline said, "To be honest, Erica's family is very well-off, and her parents are pretty open-minded. Gifts are just a formality. What they really care about is character and how you treat Erica."
What gave Maddox a headache was that Erica's parents already doubted his character.
Maddox sighed. "That's exactly the problem now. They kept asking me to come meet them, but I didn't go. Erica's parents think I'm just fooling around. Actually, my thinking was pretty simple at the time—I had just quit my job to start a business, and I wanted to prove myself and get on solid ground before meeting them. But starting a business turned out to be much harder than I imagined. If Leopold hadn't helped me, the company would've gone under long ago."
"Now I'm only showing up because of the baby. No one would be happy about that. I've completely proven that I'm irresponsible."
Caroline said, "Erica's parents are good people. You'll see once you've met them a few times. If they do say something to you, don't take it personally. After all, she's their precious treasure they've cherished all this time."
"I wouldn't dare take it personally now." Maddox walked out of the inpatient building. He'd been wanting to smoke but had been holding back. He pulled out his cigarette pack. "Let me have a smoke. I've been dying in there. Now that Erica's pregnant, I'll have to quit smoking too."
They came to the roadside. Maddox turned away from the wind to light his cigarette, then turned to blow the smoke in the other direction, quickly waving his hand to keep it away from Caroline.
"About the wedding, if you need any help, I can pitch in. I've been through it myself," Caroline said.
Maddox smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I'll definitely need to trouble you. You and Leopold have been really good to me."
Caroline said, "Isn't that what we should do?"
Maddox spoke from the heart. "Leopold and I have a great relationship, no question. But you also support Leopold helping me. I'm really, truly grateful to you. Put it this way—if Leopold wanted to help me but you weren't willing, he might still help, or he might not. So no matter how good Leopold is, he also needs a good wife."
Caroline looked down with a smile.
Maddox continued, "Leopold has given me money time, and time again. I'm keeping track of all of it. Once I get back on my feet, I'll pay you both back—principal plus interest."
Caroline said, "It's his money, he makes his own decisions. But I think if you mention interest, he'll probably get upset."
Maddox said, "Business is business. I'd have to pay interest no matter who I borrowed from. You can't just take people's kindness for granted, right?"
Caroline shook her head slightly. "Trust me on this—don't mention interest. He might actually get mad at you."
Maddox understood this in his heart, but for business purposes, there should be some return on investment. If nothing else, just to prove himself—to show he could do it.
In the time it took to smoke one cigarette, Leopold's car appeared in their view.
Caroline got in the passenger seat. Leopold rolled down the window and said to the person outside, "How much longer until the construction site is finished?"
Maddox said, "Soon. Just these two or three days."
Right within the contract deadline. Leopold nodded knowingly. "Once you're done, I'll contact the production team right away to come inspect it."
"No problem." Maddox patted the car. "Go on, get home and rest."
The window rolled up. Maddox watched Leopold drive away until the taillights disappeared outside the gate, then turned and walked back into the inpatient building.
On the way home, Caroline felt Leopold's expression wasn't great. He seemed angry, but was holding it in.
"What's wrong? Did someone at the company upset you again?"