The next day, Jane woke up to the sight of Patrick’s handsome face.
“Jane, you’re awake?” Patrick’s eyes were gentle.
Jane furrowed her brow and spoke coldly, “Patrick, what are you doing in my room?”
“I’m here to apologize and ask for your forgiveness,” Patrick’s tone was sincere.
Before Jane could say anything else, Candice suddenly pushed open the door.
“Patrick, there you are! I just went to your hospital room but couldn’t find you,” Candice put on a soft and delicate look. “I made dumplings for you and Miss North. Try them out.”
“Mmm.”
Patrick nodded calmly as he watched Candice bustling around serving them dumplings while also tidying up the hospital room. She was so attentive that it seemed like she was really trying to make amends for something.
Suddenly, Candice noticed the design sketches on Jane’s bedside table and her expression changed instantly.
Were these sketches for their engagement dress?
Were they getting engaged?
Candice felt a pang of jealousy but managed to keep a calm demeanor as she picked up the sketches with a smile. “Miss North, is this your new clothing design? It looks great.”
Jane knew that Candice was deliberately asking about it because their plan to re-engage hadn’t been announced yet.
“Yes,” Jane said nonchalantly. “Patrick and I are planning on having another engagement ceremony soon. Mr. Maurice is helping us pick out an auspicious date.”
Candice froze momentarily at this news – Jane was going to get engaged with Patrick again!
How could this be?
Her jealousy couldn’t be hidden from her eyes anymore.
Seeing Candace like this made Jane smirk slightly in disdain – she had not changed at all despite claiming otherwise.
Candace realized that she had lost control of herself and quickly tried to cover up her envy by saying weakly: “Congratulations! Can I attend your engagement party then?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Patrick replied indifferently.
His coldness hurt Candace deeply.
All of this happened because of Jane! If it weren’t for her meddling ways then maybe Patrick wouldn’t have treated her so coldly now.
Before anyone could say anything else there came a knock at the door.
“Come in.” Patrick said clearly with his voice carrying through the room smoothly.
The door to the hospital room opened and Dr. Pater rushed in with a few nurses, his voice filled with excitement. “Mr. Pansy, Old Pansy is awake!”
“Really?” Patrick stood up eagerly.
Candice was taken aback by his sudden movement. “Patrick, I thought your leg was disabled?”
Ignoring Candice’s confusion, Patrick grabbed Jane’s hand and headed straight for Old Pansy’s room.
Dr. Pater followed them closely, cautioning them that while Old Pansy had woken up, he couldn’t speak or move yet and needed further examination from Miss North.
“I’ll go check on him,” Jane nodded.
Uncle Newton had said they could only perform acupuncture on Old Pansy once he woke up fully – it seemed like that time was coming soon enough.
Jane and Patrick hurried into the room where Old Pansy lay in bed.
“Grandpa, how are you feeling?” Patrick approached him and held his hand gently as he asked with concern.
Old Pansy blinked but remained motionless in bed as Jane examined him thoroughly from head to toe before turning to address Patrick reassuringly: “Don’t worry about your grandpa – his condition has improved greatly since last time we saw him. In three days when all of his vital signs stabilize completely I will personally give him acupuncture treatment so he can be back to normal.”
Patrick breathed a sigh of relief at her words; if Jane said so then Grandpa would be fine after three days!
Suddenly they heard high heels clicking down the hallway towards their room – Beatrice and Melissa were approaching quickly!
Jane stopped them at the door asking what they wanted but Melissa snapped back angrily: “We’re here to see Grandpa! Why are you stopping us?!”
Beatrice looked equally unhappy; she had rushed over as soon as she heard about Grandpa waking up but now found herself blocked by Jane who had already entered the room along with Patrick earlier without telling anyone else beforehand which made her feel uneasy throughout their journey there.
They both fell silent at Patrick’s stern tone. Jane breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for his intervention. She had been trying to keep her cool in the face of Melissa and Beatrice’s accusations, but it was getting harder by the minute.
“Look,” Patrick continued, his voice still sharp with anger. “I understand that you’re both worried about your grandfather. But he needs rest right now, not more stress and drama.”
Melissa opened her mouth to protest, but Patrick held up a hand to stop her.
“I’m serious,” he said firmly. “If you can’t respect Old Pansy’s need for peace and quiet right now, then I’m going to have to ask you both to leave.”
Jane watched as Melissa and Beatrice exchanged glances, clearly torn between their concern for their grandfather and their desire to confront Jane.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of tense silence, they nodded reluctantly.
“Fine,” Melissa muttered under her breath as she turned on her heel and stalked away down the hallway.
Beatrice lingered for a moment longer before following suit with a huff of annoyance.
Jane let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in. It was exhausting dealing with those two women – especially when they were so determined to make trouble for her at every turn.
But at least now they were gone – hopefully giving Old Pansy some much-needed peace and quiet as he recovered from whatever had landed him in the hospital in the first place.
As she turned back towards Old Pansy’s room herself – eager to check on him one last time before heading home – Jane couldn’t help but feel grateful once again for Patrick’s presence here today.
Without him here… well… who knows what might have happened?