Chapter 230 Forced Break-in?

Chapter 230 Forced Break-in?

The hospital room fell silent.

Hazel stood at the doorway of Joanna's room, glancing between Justin and Joanna, fidgeting awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Justin still had his back to Joanna.

Joanna looked toward Hazel and asked about Elizabeth and Karen.

Hazel explained in detail.

Ever since Elizabeth learned about Joanna's miscarriage, not only did her blood pressure spike, but she also frequently ran fevers and couldn't eat.

Later, just as she was recovering a bit, news came of Justin's severe injuries.

From then on, Elizabeth often had low-grade fevers, stomach pains, and couldn't eat. Day by day, she grew thinner and thinner.

Karen had to care for both Justin and Elizabeth. Combined with her constant worrying, she frequently suffered from insomnia and had fallen ill several times herself.

After finishing, Hazel couldn't help but sigh.

Then, seeing Joanna's mood sink, she forced a smile.

"It's okay, don't worry. Now that both you and Justin are recovering well, they'll feel reassured, and slowly their health will improve."

Joanna looked at Hazel in surprise.

Hazel was actually trying to comfort her.

Hazel felt embarrassed under her gaze. She lowered her head, touched her earlobe, and her eyes flickered—clearly wanting to say something but too shy to speak.

Joanna said gently, "You should head back too. Help Mom take care of Grandma."

Hazel glanced at Justin. Seeing that he didn't say anything, she nodded obediently. "Okay, Joanna. I'll go now."

Hazel didn't say goodbye to Justin. She flashed Joanna a silly grin, picked up her bag, and left with light steps, clearly in a good mood.

The hospital room fell silent once again.

Joanna stared at the ceiling for a while, her eyelids beginning to feel heavy.

Her gaze slowly drifted to Justin by the window.

At some point, Justin had turned his wheelchair around.

Now, he was looking right at her.

Backlit by the sunlight, Joanna couldn't make out his expression clearly—only the golden glow haloing his head.

"I want to sleep for a bit," Joanna said softly.

Justin wheeled himself closer, replying gently, "Go ahead."

After that, Joanna wasn't aware of anything else.

She closed her eyes and quickly lost consciousness.

When she woke again, before her mind fully cleared, Joanna first caught the rich, savory aroma of chicken soup.

Her lashes fluttered, and then Karen's voice reached her ears.

"Now that both you and Joanna are out of danger, your grandmother should feel at ease. But she still can't eat."

Hearing this, Joanna didn't move, wanting to listen a bit longer.

"Justin, while you have time, try to persuade Joanna to move back home, will you?"

Karen explained, "For one thing, brain surgery is no small matter. If she moves back, we can take care of her. For another, seeing you two with hope of reconciliation will finally put your grandmother's mind at ease."

Joanna held her breath and slowly opened her eyes, looking toward the source of the voices.

Justin sat in his wheelchair at the round table, facing a spread of dishes. He hadn't touched his chopsticks. His gaze was lowered, his eyes dim.

Karen sat beside him, promising gently, "Everyone at home is hoping she'll come back. No one will let her suffer any grievances again."

"Your grandmother doesn't even care about having a great-grandchild anymore. She just wants you two to reconcile and be healthy. That's all she wishes for."

Karen added, "That's what I want too."

Justin furrowed his brow. "The person who drugged her still hasn't been caught. She doesn't trust me. She probably won't want to come back."

Karen thought back. "But she said she wouldn't hold it against you."

Justin looked at Karen. "Not holding it against me doesn't mean she trusts me."

Karen sighed softly at this. "I don't know who's behind it all. You'd already tracked them down, but right before you could arrest them, they fled the country. Who knows where they are now? It'll be hard to find them."

Justin pressed his thin lips together, his eyes turning cold. "We'll find them. Even if they turn to ash, I'll dig them out."

"We'll find them eventually."

Karen nodded, then shifted the conversation. "But until we do, you two can't keep going on like this. The longer a relationship stays cold, the more it fades."

Karen emphasized again, "Just have her come home. Live together and rebuild your relationship..."

"I respect her wishes. Wherever she wants to go, she can go."

Justin interrupted Karen, saying calmly, "If she comes back to the mansion, she might worry about someone trying to harm her again."

Karen disagreed.

She had already vetted everyone at home. They were all trustworthy. Nothing like that would happen again.

Just as she was about to persuade him, Justin said, "Worst case, wherever she goes, I'll go too."

Karen looked at him in surprise.

Justin raised an eyebrow slightly. "She'll most likely stay at the place she's renting. I'll move in there too."

"That won't work. Two invalids living together—who's going to take care of you? I won't feel at ease."

Karen shook her head. "If you're too embarrassed to persuade her, I'll do it. You should both live at home. That's the only way I'll feel reassured."

After speaking, Karen lowered her head, thinking of a strategy.

Justin said nothing more and continued eating with refined movements.

Out of habit, he glanced in Joanna's direction.

From afar, he saw Joanna blink, staring at the ceiling. His chopsticks paused mid-air.

Before Justin could say anything, Karen suddenly straightened up. "You're too embarrassed to ask her to come back to Lawson Mansion, but you're shameless enough to move into her place?"

Karen tilted her head, looking at Justin. "You're banking on the fact that Joanna can't physically throw you out, aren't you? I think that's even more shameless than asking her to come home."

A soft laugh suddenly echoed through the room.

Karen whipped her head around and saw Joanna lying there, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her eyes curved in amusement.

Turning back, she saw Justin guiltily lowering his head. Karen shot him a glare, then quickly got up and walked over to Joanna, her face lighting up with a smile.

"Joanna, you're awake! When did you wake up?"

Karen raised the head of Joanna's bed and added another pillow behind her back to make her more comfortable.

"Right when Justin said he was going to force his way into my place."

Joanna teased lightly, though the smile had already faded from her face. Her gaze swept over Justin's face briefly.

"Well..."

Karen laughed, trying to smooth things over. "He was joking. We're just worried about you being alone. We want to take care of you."

"I'm serious." Justin had already recovered from that momentary embarrassment.

He set down his utensils, leaned back in his wheelchair, and looked up at Joanna with complete confidence. "Anyway, I'm your legal husband. Even if you called the police, you'd have no grounds to kick me out."

Seeing Justin blatantly acting shamelessly, Karen scowled and scolded him under her breath, "Shut up."

When she turned back to Joanna, Karen's face was all smiles again. "Don't listen to his nonsense. There's no rush. Take your time thinking about it."

Karen picked up the porridge that had been cooling on the side.

"Dr. Quinn said you can only have liquids at first. Once your stomach adjusts, you can eat other things. So I made you millet porridge."

Karen stirred it, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to Joanna's lips, saying gently, "The temperature is just right. Try it."