Chapter 99
I paused mid-chew. After swallowing the shrimp in my mouth, I continued, "What about your medicine?"
"I left it at the office." Jason seemed to anticipate what I was going to say and quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll take it as soon as I get back after dinner. I'll even send you a photo to report."
"No need. It's your own body. If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will care," I refused.
We were just exes—sending photo reports would be way too intimate.
Jason said, "The fact that you care about me now makes me the happiest man in the world."
Just then, my phone on the table rang.
I glanced down, and when I saw who was calling, I instinctively felt resistant.
The phone rang persistently for a long time. Just before it was about to disconnect automatically, I finally sighed and answered reluctantly, "Hello."
"Sue, why did it take you so long to answer?" Brother Luke's voice came through, tinged with displeasure.
"I was busy," I replied dismissively.
"It's lunch break now. No matter how busy you are, you need to rest." After saying this, Luke immediately continued, "Mom's sick. Cancer."
My feelings were complicated.
Growing up, I had never experienced a mother's love.
In my memory, Cora always looked at me with disgust and coldness.
She wished I had never been her child.
I even suspected she once wanted me dead.
After years of not seeing her, when I thought of Cora, the first things that came to mind were her indifferent gaze, her words always dripping with sarcasm, and her terrible attitude toward me.
She was willing to get up every morning to fry eggs for Luke, but wouldn't bother to fry one for me. Even when there were two fried eggs, they were both only for Luke.
The new clothes I never got during New Year's, the countless times I went hungry while watching her come home with Luke—my heart had long been completely filled with bitterness and sadness.
During my school years, I had to beg for living expenses carefully. In winter, I could only wear Luke's hand-me-down scarves.
Past events floated through my mind.
The heartache and sadness made my chest feel tight and uncomfortable.
Cora had cancer. Should I be happy?
I didn't know.
While my thoughts were churning, Luke said, "The doctor said, fortunately, it was caught early. It's early-stage cancer, and she'll be fine after surgery."
I instinctively breathed a sigh of relief and reached for my water glass, only to find it empty.
The next moment, someone took the empty glass away, and Jason placed a full glass of water in front of me.
I froze, looking up to meet Jason's gentle gaze.
I asked, "When is the surgery scheduled?"
Luke answered, "I'm planning to bring Mom to Seaside City for the surgery. The medical facilities in Seaside City are much better than ours. You go contact a top-tier hospital now and arrange for the best doctor to do Mom's surgery."
Luke naturally assigned me tasks. "I've already submitted my leave request to my supervisor. As soon as it's approved, I'll bring Cora to find you. I heard you're an executive assistant now, so this small matter should be easy for you to handle. Get on it quickly."
Hearing they were coming to Seaside City, my heart tightened, and I instinctively refused, "If it's an early stage, having the surgery in Sunrise City shouldn't be a problem. The medical care there is pretty good, too, and besides, surgery slots at top-tier hospitals in Seaside City are very scarce. On such short notice, I'm afraid I won't be able to get one."
"Sue, do you not want me and Mom to come?" Luke's voice suddenly turned cold, heavy with displeasure.
"No, I..."
Before I could finish, Luke angrily interrupted, "You don't need to explain so much. You just think Mom coming to Seaside City for surgery will cost you money, right? How can you be so selfish? Cora took care of you all these years. It's one thing that you don't usually call to check on Mom, but now that she's sick, you still want to ignore her?"
"You've really disappointed me! She has cancer, and you don't care. Your first reaction is actually to refuse to let Mom come for surgery. Is money that important to you? More important than family? Good thing Cora isn't beside me right now, otherwise, if she heard this, who knows how heartbroken she'd be! You've really changed—you've become cold and heartless!"
Luke took a deep breath, seemingly forcing himself to suppress his emotions, before continuing, "I don't care what you think, but you're Cora's family. Now that Cora is sick, both you and I have to take responsibility!"
With that, Luke didn't give me any chance to speak again and hung up directly.
Hearing the line go dead, I blinked somewhat blankly.
After a long while, I gradually came back to my senses.
My chest felt blocked and uncomfortable.
How could I not be selfish?
Family? Mom?
Cora never gave me maternal warmth in the past, and I never experienced the care of a family. Now that she was sick, was I supposed to immediately drop everything to help?
I asked myself this, but my chest still transmitted waves of dull pain.
Luke wasn't wrong—she was my mother.
Jason suddenly said gently, "Now that you've finished the call, eat first."
I responded softly.
"I'm done eating." My emotions were too complicated to eat anything.
Jason nodded slightly and said softly, "If you don't want to deal with it, you actually don't have to."
I froze. My nose tingled, and my eyes immediately heated up.
My vision gradually blurred. I only saw the figure across from me lean over and pull me into his arms.
A familiar scent surrounded me.
I instinctively wanted to pull away, but Jason held me tighter.
"If you're sad, just cry. Crying is definitely better than holding it in."
Jason stroked my back. "It's okay, cry freely. I'll shield you so no one else can see."
I pressed my lips tightly together, crying silently.
I rarely cried.
From childhood, I knew clearly that tears served no purpose.
Crying in front of Cora would only bring more violent beatings or disgusted scolding.
Later, when I grew up, I cried even less.
Crying served no purpose.
I quickly adjusted my emotions and withdrew from Jason's embrace.
After lowering my head to wipe away my tears, I looked up at him and said, "Thank you for today."