It was final exams again. She was sitting at her desk, staring at a difficult problem, debating which method to use. A ssmate who had a crush on her saw her struggling and, in a misguided attempt to help, passed her a note. She was caught and used of cheating, hauled into the dean''s office after the exam for a harsh lecture.


    She was so furious she could have beaten the boy senseless. But he,pletely clueless, showed up at her family''s home with a gift, ostensibly to apologize but really to confess his feelings. To make matters worse, Bet had walked in right in the middle of it. A jealous boyfriend was a difficult man to cate. It took days of coaxing—and a few nights that left her unable to get out of bed before he finally forgave her.


    When Yvonne woke up, she was in a hospital room. The first thing she saw was Bet.


    “Ben,” she murmured, her mind still foggy, caught between the past and the present. "You''re awake,” he said. His dark eyes were as calm and cid as still water.


    That look was enough to pull her back to reality. The Bet she knew would never have looked at her with such coldness.


    “What..... what happened?" She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in her chest sent her falling back against the pillows.


    "You just had surgery. You shouldn''t move," he told her.


    She had been rushed to the hospital after copsing and taken straight into the operating room for a minimally invasive heart repair procedure. The doctor said she could be discharged in a week.


    Soon after she woke, the doctor came to check on her, and to her surprise, Jeffrey was with him. After a routine examination, the attending physician left, but Jeffrey remained. Dressed in his white coat, he stood by her bed. "The surgery was a sess. There shouldn''t be any long-termplications. Once you''re discharged, you''ll be able to live a normal life And.. And... Mon and Dad know you had surgery. They''re very concerned, but I told them not toe yet, to give you time to rest."


    Yvonne said nothing. If the Spencers had truly cared for her, had raised her with even half the attention they gave Queena, this surgery might have been avoided entirely.


    Seeing her silence, Jeffrey didn''t press the issue and left. In the hallway, he saw Bet on the


    phone cool, distinguished, and


    utterly unapproachable. Jeffrey had heard from his colleagues in the ER that it was Bet who had brought Yvonne in. He still couldn''t quite believe it. Had that foolish girl really managed tond Mr. Thompson?


    It was three days after her surgery before Teresa finally visited, bringing Queena with her. They came with flowers and a fruit basket—nothing practical, the kind of gift one brings to a casual acquaintance, not a daughter.


    "Your brother told me your heart acted up and you needed surgery. I was worried sick," Teresa said, taking Yvonne''s hand. Her concern felt hollow. "Your father is out of town on business, but he calls every day to ask how you are."


    If they were truly worried, they wouldn''t have waited three days to show up. And


    George was on a business trip, not dead. He could have visited or at least called.


    Queena stood behind Teresa,


    dressed to the nines like a peacock,


    her eyes darting around the room as


    if looking for someone. "Yvonne, heard from my brother that Mr Bet


    1 Thompson brought you


    the hospital. He saved your life. We should really thank him properly."