The words caught in Noreen’s throat; she swallowed them down and forced a practiced, social smile–the kind she reserved for work events. “It’s a public hospital. If you two can be here, so can I.”
Seth’s frown deepened, clearly unimpressed by her answer.
Bianca, however, seemed to remember something. She turned to Noreen. “So your family member really is sick?”
Noreen almostughed at the question.
Did Bianca honestly think she’d lied about her family being illst time? Did she suspect her of following them on purpose?
Who would make up something like that out of the blue?
Seth probably thought the same, didn’t he?
But Noreen didn’t care what he thought anymore.
All she wanted was to leave, so she strode past them without hesitation.
Dn was waiting further down the hall. When he saw her return, a smile tugged at his lips. “I was starting to wonder what took you so long–turns out you went to get coffee.”
“I couldn’t just leave you waiting,” Noreen replied, handing him the cup.
“Shouldn’t be much longer now.” Dn checked his watch.
It had already been five hours since the surgery began.
No news hade out during that time, but Dn reassured her this was
a good sign–it meant everything was going smoothly.
Thatforted Noreen a little.
Dn gave her hair a gentle ruffle. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
“Yeah,” Noreen agreed softly.
Chapter <b>55 </b>
A little further down, Bianca was visibly anxious, ncing at the <b>surgery </b>doors every few seconds.
“Seth, I’m so nervous,” she whispered, hoping forfort.
But Seth seemed distracted, eyes fixed on something in the distance. He
didn’t answer.
“Seth?” Bianca called again.
He snapped out of it. “What is it?”
“What are you looking at?” Bianca followed his gaze, but saw nothing unusual. Her curiosity only grew.
“It’s nothing,” Seth replied, his expression as unreadable as ever. Still, he remembered to reassure her, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
With him by her side, Bianca finally managed to rx..
Rosalind’s surgery was a sess, and for the first time in days, Noreen was able to sleep soundly.
On Sunday morning, she rose early to make a pot of chicken soup for Rosalind, hoping it would help her recover. Just as she reached the hospital room, she heard a familiar voice drifting out from inside.
She froze, wondering if she’d gotten the wrong room.
But after checking the room number twice, she was certain she hadn’t.
So… had Seth walked into the wrong room?
Inside, Seth was speaking with Rosalind.
“Sorry I haven’t visited sooner. Work’s kept me busy,” he said, sounding perfectly sincere.
Anyone who didn’t know the backstory would probably believe him. But to Noreen, it just sounded fake.
Then again, of course he was busy–busy spending all his <b>time </b><b>with </b>his darling Bianca. That had to count as “work,” right?
Rosalind, though, seemed genuinely pleased by Seth’s visit. She smiled warmly and reassured him, “Workes first. You’re young, your career should be your priority. Besides, you gave Noreen time off so she could take care of me, didn’t you? Having her here has been just as <i>good</i>.”
“She’s… been working hard these days.” There was a hint of guilt in Seth’s voice, though not much.
Noreen chose that moment to enter. “Mom, how are you feeling today?”
“Much better, sweetheart. Actually, I was just wondering–why didn’t you twoe together?” Rosalind asked, genuine confusion in her eyes. Noreen’s heart skipped a beat. She’d forgotten about that little detail. All this time, she’d kept up the charade so Rosalind could focus on recovering, letting her believe that she and Seth were still happily together.
The surgery might be over, but Rosalind was still far too frail for the truth.
<b>Chapter </b><b>56 </b>