Chapter 17
When did Chris become so kind-hearted?
Joanna was skeptical, but she still added the specialist's contact information.
After a brief chat, she confirmed that this Dr. Powell had actually reviewed her mother's medical records and studied specific treatment plans.
They had clearly argued terribly at the Coopers' last time, yet now he was actively helping her.
Joanna found it hard to believe.
But regardless of what Chris was thinking, this Dr. Powell was indeed someone who could help her mother recover sooner.
There was no need to turn him away.
[Mr. Cooper has already arranged a position for you in Cooper Corporation's secretarial department. You can come in tomorrow to complete the onboarding procedures.]
Matthew shot Joanna a follow-up text, but she left him on read.
She wanted to get back to doing what she loved—practicing medicine—not waste away in some desk job Chris threw her way
Joanna had scheduled a meeting with Dr. Powell for 2 PM the next day. She arrived at the hospital at 1:30 to wait for him.
But she waited until 4 PM, and Dr. Powell never showed up.
Joanna sent several messages and made phone calls, but got no response.
She frowned and called Matthew.
"Ma'am, Cynthia has a terrible headache. Mr. Cooper asked Dr. Powell's team to treat her first. Once she's better, they'll go see your mother."
Joanna's heart instantly felt blocked. Sure enough, everyone had to make way for Cynthia.
"Put Chris on the phone. I need to talk to him."
Joanna still wanted to fight for this. The sooner her mother's illness was treated, the better. Now that there was finally an opportunity, she didn't want to waste it.
Matthew was in a difficult position. "Ma'am, Mr. Cooper is with Cynthia. He said he won't take anyone's calls today!"
When Cynthia was sick, Chris took care of her devotedly. When her mom was sick, Chris hadn't even come to visit.
"Where are they?" Joanna's tone was harsh.
Matthew had never seen Joanna this pissed before, so he coughed up the hospital address.
It happened to be the same hospital as Joanna's mother.
She immediately went there and, sure enough, saw Cynthia and Dr. Powell in the room Matthew mentioned.
"Dr. Powell, my mother's condition is very serious. Please go see her." Joanna pleaded with Dr. Powell.
Chris immediately glared at Matthew with displeasure. He knew, of course, that Matthew had given Joanna the address of Cynthia's room.
Matthew instantly felt a headache coming on. On one side was his boss, on the other was his boss's wife—he couldn't afford to offend either of them.
"Joanna, I'm the one who invited Dr. Powell! I decide who he treats."
Dr. Powell also looked at Joanna awkwardly. "Miss Jones, I owe Mr. Cooper a favor, so I agreed to help him out. Right now, Cynthia isn't feeling well, and Mr. Cooper is very worried."
Joanna knew not just anyone could get their hands on a hotshot doctor like Dr. Powell. Going straight to him would be pointless—he'd just do whatever Chris told him anyway. So she swallowed her pride and begged Chris instead. "Chris, my mom's in really bad shape. If she gets surgery now, she might actually pull through. But if we keep dragging our feet..."
Joanna's voice choked up. Her mother was her only remaining concern.
Seeing Joanna on the verge of tears, Chris felt something stir inside.
All these years, no matter how he and his family made things difficult for Joanna, she had never cried. Now seeing her like this, about to cry, Chris actually felt a bit sorry for her.
"Dr. Powell, perhaps you could..."
Before he could finish, Cynthia, who had been quiet on the bed, suddenly screamed.
"Chris, it hurts so much! My head hurts so bad!" Cynthia cried out, rolling around on the bed.
Chris immediately rushed back to check on Cynthia. "Dr. Powell, check on Cynthia."
Dr. Powell and his team hurriedly examined Cynthia. No one paid any attention to Joanna in the room anymore.
Matthew made a gesture inviting her to leave. "Ma'am, you should go."
Joanna was kicked out. She knew this opportunity was lost again. Too sad to return to her mother's room, she sat in the hallway for quite a while.
She should have stopped having any expectations of Chris long ago.
He had specifically arranged for Dr. Powell to understand her mother's situation, probably to control her better and prevent her from divorcing, right?
All that talk about treatment—the second Cynthia opened her mouth, everything else got shoved to the back burner.
Chris stayed with Cynthia until she fell asleep, then went back to Cooper Corporation to handle work. But as soon as he reached the entrance, he saw someone causing a scene.
Looking closer, it was someone he knew.
Joanna's father, Henry.
Chris's eyes showed extreme impatience. He might still have a bit of patience for Joanna, but for Henry, he didn't even want to see his face.
"Mr. Cooper! Mr. Cooper!" Henry saw his car and, ignoring the security guards' attempts to stop him, rushed over.
Chris impatiently rolled down the window. "Who gave you permission to make a scene here? Henry, do you want your company to go bankrupt?"
Henry timidly shrank his neck, losing the assertiveness he showed in front of Joanna, and said ingratiatingly, "Mr. Cooper, you and Joanna are husband and wife after all. Now that Chad is in trouble, you can't just ignore it. Last time, Joanna said Sean took another case. I asked around, and he won that case, didn't he? Could you help get him to be the lawyer for Chad's case?"
Chris didn't answer. He remembered he still had surveillance video he hadn't given to Joanna.
Henry continued, "Joanna is immature. If she upset you, feel free to teach her a lesson. You're family—it's normal to have arguments. If she hadn't found such an incompetent lawyer, Chad would have been released long ago, and you two wouldn't be fighting, right?"
Henry really wanted to beat his daughter to death for watching him get locked up in the police station for several days!
But Joanna was still useful—after all, she married Chris, and the Coopers were very wealthy!
Henry's reminder made Chris recall that besides Joanna's mother's surgery fees, Joanna was indeed making a fuss about divorce because of Chad's situation.
If these two issues were resolved, she should behave better, right?
However, even though he had proactively arranged for a specialist team to treat Joanna's mother, he hadn't seen Joanna come to apologize to him.
Perhaps he still needed to push her a bit more!
Chris laughed mockingly. "Joanna told you we had a fight? You probably don't know this, but she's been demanding a divorce lately. She even wrote up divorce papers and is making a fuss for me to sign them. With things this screwed up, why the hell should I lift a finger for you?"
Henry was stunned.
Before, he just thought Joanna had upset Chris. He didn't expect that she was actually demanding a divorce!
Where did that damn girl get the nerve!
If she divorced Chris, how could he still borrow money from the Coopers? How could his company continue to operate smoothly?
What she was proposing wasn't divorce—it was clearly cutting off his lifeline!
Henry angrily raised his voice. "She actually dares to divorce? You've been too good to her, spoiling her until she doesn't even know her place! Mr. Cooper, don't worry. I'll teach her a lesson. I'll make sure she apologizes to you! Just wait at home tonight."