Chapter 124 The Way I Love You
Quinn's POV
My breath was ragged because I had to run to the hospital. The roads were very crowded, the taxis weren't moving, Mrs. Talon asked for my location again, so the only option was to go there on foot or by running.
I ran because I didn't want to waste any more time. Mr. Talon's condition must be very serious for Mrs. Talon to call me again. And I didn't want anything to happen to him either. So running was my choice, even though afterwards my body felt wobbly.
I leaned against the wall for a moment to catch my breath. I also looked around and realised that this was the same hospital where Grayson had his check-up.
"Where's Grayson?"
Hearing Mrs. Talon's voice, I turned around. She was standing there with her arms crossed, holding her phone.
"You lied to me! You didn't come with Grayson, did you!" She approached me and intimidated me.
After feeling better, I stood up straight. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Talon. I came alone. Grayson will probably follow."
"Probably, you say?" She waved her hand in the air.
I closed my eyes and protected my face with my arms. But then I didn't feel anything. I only heard a very loud sigh and the sound of a chair moving.
I opened my eyes and found Mrs. Talon sitting in her chair, covering her face with both hands. She was bowing her head, her body trembling.
I approached her and sat down beside her.
Seeing her like this made the resentment and anger I had felt towards her a few days ago evaporate. Instead, I felt sorry for her.
Based to Grayson's story, Mr. Talon had been changed since Gerry's death. This meant that Mr. Talon might no longer love Mrs. Talon. But on the contrary, Mrs. Talon still loved him, very much so. This was evident from how panicked she was when she called earlier and how sad and desperate she looked now.
"You don't know what happened between us. You can think that I'm blinded by love. But he was my first love and the only man I've ever loved."
I glanced to the side. "But he cheated on you."
"He didn't cheat! Never!"
I rounded my eyes. "You and Grayson said—"
Mrs. Talon raised her head. “I lied to Grayson. I pretended to hate him. Talon never cheated. He left us because he felt too guilty. He couldn’t live in the same place that had been Gerry’s home. He also couldn’t face Grayson after everything that happened.”
“Then why did you act as if he was the villain? You could have been honest with Grayson from the start so their relationship wouldn't be this bad, Mrs. Talon. Just so you know, Grayson was even willing to continue Gerry's dream because he wanted to make Gerry, you and Mr. Talon proud. He even put his own life aside all this time."
"If I had been honest, Grayson would have hated him even more!"
"You don't know if you never tried," I argued.
"And you don't know that Gerry was hurt because of his father. He pushed himself so hard in training to make his father proud and because he wanted his brother to be free to choose his own life. And because he was too hard on himself, he got exhausted and the incident happened." Mrs. Talon pushed me. "You don't know anything about our family."
"But now I do. And if Mr. Talon really was the cause of Gerry's incident, you might want to think twice about going back to him. Unless you were also involved."
Mrs. Talon looked at me with reddened eyes. Her jaw was also clenched.
"I mean, is your love worth the loss of a child? I'm not accusing you, but from your explanation, it seems that Gerry's incident wasn't caused by Mr. Talon alone."
"So what if I was also involved? I was just trying to give Gerry the best support I could. I did everything I could to help him be the best he could be."
"And without you realising it, that became pressure for a child as young as Gerry was at the time, Mrs. Talon. As for Grayson, you and Mr. Talon seemed to only care about his twin brother and ignored him. In other words, your two children were under a lot of pressure."
Mrs. Talon's tears suddenly flowed. Her lips trembled. "I just wanted to fulfil my children's wish to have a warm family. I don't know why everything turned out so messy.
I didn't experience a warm family or the complete love of both parents, but I could feel Mrs. Talon's sadness.
I mean, who doesn't want a warm family? Everyone, even me, wants that.
But if the way to achieve it is by sacrificing each other or lying to each other, they will only get further away from that goal.
"Grayson really wants to have a family that he can come home to. Since he was little, he always told us that we must always be together no matter what. That's why I'm upset with you. I'm jealous and afraid that you can make that happen, so Grayson will forget us. I'm afraid of losing him. He's my only child left."
I put my ego aside and hugged Mrs. Talon. I rubbed her back to calm her down. "I know your intentions are good, but you have to know that I will never take Grayson away from you or Mr. Talon. Grayson is both of your children, I am his partner. I complete his life, I don't take him away from his family. You have to understand that."
"But now it's too late, isn't it? Grayson already hates me. You probably do too. I've really messed everything up because I was selfish."
"You can still start all over again," I said reassuringly.
"How, Ms. Roux?"
I smiled faintly. "Just call me Quinn."
"How can I fix my broken family, Quinn? My husband is in critical condition there. And Grayson probably doesn't care about us anymore."
I shook my head slowly. "Grayson still cares about you and Mr. Talon. Please believe me. Even though he seems to hate you both, he still loves you. I can see that."
I couldn't believe Mrs. Talon then returned my hug. She cried on my shoulder. Her body trembled. The elegant and cold figure I saw in her at that time had disappeared somewhere. Now she was truly showing how weak she was when faced with the life of someone she loved. Now she was just like a wife afraid of losing her husband and her child's love.
I continued to comfort her. My feelings were also mixed.
If Grayson's wish was for a warm family, I wanted to make it happen.
That didn't mean I would sacrifice myself and Dylan, no. I would still carry out my role as I should. And I would also make my partner's dream come true.
"I'm confused about who to ask for help, Quinn. Talon needs a new kidney donor immediately. The only person in our family who has the same blood type as him is Gerry. I've also tried to contact everyone to find a donor, but it turns out the waiting list is very long, many people need it too."
I held Mrs. Talon's hand tightly and looked into her eyes earnestly.
"I can help you. On one condition, please love Grayson sincerely and purely. Love him unconditionally. Love him with all your heart. The first thing you must do when Mr. Talon wakes up to apologise to Grayson, together. Promise to start everything from scratch. If you can fulfil all of these conditions, then I am willing to be Mr. Talon's donor."
"No. Grayson will hate me even more." Mrs. Talon refused firmly.
"I will be even sadder if Grayson loses his family. I don't want him to end up like me."
"But you have your brother."
"I will still take care of him and protect him. I just can't bear to see someone I love lose someone they care about. I really want to help Mr. Talon. This desire comes from me, without coercion."
"I can't. I would be ashamed if I agreed. I also don't know how to repay you."
"I'm only asking you to love Grayson. Let him live the life he wants without restrictions, and then you will get the old Grayson back."
Mrs. Talon hugged me again. This time she hugged me tighter than before. "I really have no shame in accepting your help. My family and I will be indebted to you for the rest of our lives, Quinn. Please forgive us. We were wrong. We didn't know that Grayson had met an angel like you."
I smiled faintly. "What I took was not a small decision. But I was sure I wanted to do it."
I was sure life would not end after this. I could still be with Dylan and Grayson. I could also make Grayson regain his family's love.
There was nothing else I wanted after all that was fulfilled. I just wanted to live happily afterwards, surrounded by the people I loved.