Chapter 101
I sat at my desk with my eyes fixed straight ahead, organizing the work I needed to complete that afternoon.
A colleague leaned over, lowered her voice, and said to me, "Miss Perez really has deep feelings for Mr. Ethan!"
She gestured toward the office and continued, "Mr. Ethan looked really upset when he came back, and only Miss Perez dared to follow right behind him and approach him."
The sound of arguing came from the office.
Brian's voice was full of irritation. "Elizabeth, stop coming to the office to see me. I have work to do, and you're really disrupting it."
Then came Elizabeth's voice. "That won't do. We're engaged now. It's normal for me to come see you to build our relationship. Otherwise, should we just get married directly? Actually, I wouldn't mind that either."
"We should really reconsider this marriage. I don't like you. Why don't you call off the engagement?"
Although I couldn't see Brian's expression right now, based on what I knew about him, he must be frowning and wanting a cigarette.
Sure enough, the next moment, I heard the sound of a lighter.
I thought Elizabeth would definitely get angry.
But Elizabeth still said in a pleasing tone, "Brian, don't worry. I absolutely won't call off the engagement. My family can help you."
After a moment of silence, Brian's voice carried some surprise. "Why can't you understand what I'm saying?"
"No matter what you say, I won't mind. Because I like you. I fell for you the first time I saw you. For me, making sacrifices for someone I like is something that makes me very happy," Elizabeth explained affectionately.
Brian sighed and said, "But I don't like you. No matter how hard you try, I won't like you. Give up."
"You've liked many different types of women with different styles before. How can you be so sure you won't fall for me? I know you still like that assistant. But it's okay. I believe that given enough time, you'll eventually see my love for you."
The conversation ended there.
My colleague blinked and asked me in surprise, "Why did they stop talking?"
"Have you finished your work? You really love gossip," I said, shaking my head helplessly.
My colleague froze for a moment, looking at me with hesitation. "Ms. Wilson, you're scary. You're a total workaholic."
After a while, Elizabeth came out of the office.
She had already resumed her arrogant demeanor.
When passing by my desk, Elizabeth deliberately stopped, raised her chin high, and glared at me fiercely.
Elizabeth didn't say anything and quickly walked away.
I shook my head helplessly.
……
Just before getting out of work, I received a message from Jason.
Jason: [Sue, there's an urgent meeting today. Won't be able to pick you up from work.]
His message included a crying emoji.
It was hard to believe this came from Jason, who was cold and ruthless to the outside world.
But I replied with a happy emoji.
Jason responded with a stunned expression.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Hearing my laughter, my colleague looked over curiously and asked, "Did something funny happen? I rarely see you this happy!"
The smile on my face faded a bit as I replied, "Nothing, just saw something funny."
……
That evening, when I got home, after dinner and tidying up everything, I lay in bed.
My phone buzzed twice. A message from Luke came in.
Luke: [Mom and I are arriving in Seaside City tomorrow. Have you arranged the hospital I asked you to? Hurry up. The sooner Mom's illness is treated, the better. Don't delay.]
I didn't expect him to move so fast.
He only called to tell me about this at noon today, and by evening, he expected me to have everything arranged.
Complex emotions surged in my heart.
I stared at the message quietly for two seconds, then exited the conversation without replying.
I didn't sleep well that night.
Tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
During breakfast, I tentatively discussed with Jessica, "Jessica, how about I take you to great-grandma's place to play?"
Jessica bit into her egg and looked at me with confusion, tilting her head. "Okay, but are you going on a business trip, Mom?"
"No, it's Grandma Cora... she's sick and coming here for treatment. I'll be busy taking care of her these days and might not have time to look after you." I explained softly.
Jessica's expression became even more confused. "But Grandma Cora has never cared about you and has never visited you. Why do you still have to take care of her?"
Jessica wrinkled her nose with disdain. "Grandma Cora is biased and only likes Uncle Luke. Now that she's sick, Luke should be the one taking care of her."
As she spoke, she shook her head vigorously, clearly very dissatisfied with this matter.
I rubbed her little head, feeling both warm and helpless. "You don't understand. When you grow up, you'll get it."
Jessica was an obedient child.
Although she had opinions about this, she still agreed to go to Old Cooper Mansion.
I dropped her off early, then drove to the nearest hospital.
I drove around the area several times before finally finding a parking spot.
Walking into the hospital, it was full of people.
Although I already knew the answer in my heart, I still went to the nurses' station to ask about available beds.
The nurse shook her head and said, "There are no beds available. The earliest would be about a week from now, and there are quite a few people ahead of you in line."
As she spoke, she pointed to the filled-out forms beside her. "These are all people waiting for admission."
"I understand, thank you."
After leaving the hospital, I went to another one.
I made the rounds of all the hospitals in the area, and none had available beds. Even the fastest option would be three or four days later.
But Luke and Cora were arriving today.
Just as I was worrying about this, my phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Samuel.
"Ms. Wilson, the hospital has been arranged. I'll send you the relevant information right away. You can just bring the patient directly for admission."
I quickly thanked him. "Thank you so much!"
Samuel replied, "This was all arranged by Mr. Cooper. You should thank Mr. Cooper."
After hanging up, I sent Jason a message: [Thank you for the hospital arrangements.]