In the hospital room, Nana curled up on the pillow, crying uncontrollably. Carl was beside her, unsure of how to comfort her. After all, he was also consumed by worry, unable to accept the fact that their daughter was critically ill just days after her birth.
“Nana, be strong…” Carl repeated the phrase in his mind several times before gently speaking up, “I believe our baby will overcome this danger.”
Listening to Carl’s words of consolation, Nana continued to sob softly.
At this moment, no words could calm Nana down. Since the birth of their child, she hadn’t even seen her daughter yet. After living in her womb for eight months, her mother-daughter bond was about to begin, but it was disrupted by a dire medical report.
Unable to bear it, Nana wiped away the tears from her cheeks and looked up at Carl, pleading with her eyes.
“Could you please help me get out of bed? I want to see our daughter.”
Nana’s voice was filled with despair. Carl, seeing her wipe away tears only for new ones to well up, simply embraced her.
“Nana, don’t worry. The doctors are doing everything they can to save our child.”
After days of separation, Carl finally felt Nana’s warmth again, although her body was weak and helpless.
“Trust me, our baby will be fine. Whatever happens, I’ll be by your side. I promise…”
That day, Carl comforted Nana for a long time, finally calming her anxious heart.
An hour later, the nurse brought the news that the child had been successfully saved and was currently under observation in the neonatal intensive care unit.
From morning till night, throughout the entire day and night, Carl remained by Nana’s side. Even with Jerry and Tracy present, he stayed in the corridor, never leaving the hospital for a moment.
The next morning, as the child’s condition gradually stabilized, the diagnosis came out.
Through genetic testing, they discovered that the child had a genetic defect, diagnosed as combined immunodeficiency disease. This condition was caused by both parents carrying recessive genes. The best treatment option was hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
After preliminary investigations, it was determined that neither the bone marrow bank nor the cord blood bank had a matching donor for the child. The only option left was to consider bone marrow transplantation from a relative.
The atmosphere in the hospital room was suffocating, making it hard to breathe. Upon hearing Jerry’s explanation, Nana, without hesitation, made a suggestion, her voice full of urgency, “Dad, let me donate bone marrow to Janelle. As long as it can cure her illness, it doesn’t matter what I have to do.”
Hearing Nana’s desperate plea, Tracy sighed and gently reassured her, “Nana, don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Your body is too weak right now, and the doctors don’t recommend you attempting it. Your father and I will get tested first.”
“And me!” Just as the elderly couple was anxiously discussing, Carl pushed the door open and entered the room.
“I am Janelle’s father. The chances of a successful match should be higher with me. Let me try first!”
Upon hearing Carl’s selfless offer, Jerry and Tracy were somewhat surprised.
“Alright, let’s go find the doctor!” Jerry nodded with excitement. In this critical situation, he didn’t have time to consider Carl’s past mistakes.
With the agreement of the elderly couple, Carl was also eager. However, as he turned around, he heard Nana’s voice from behind.
“Carl, thank you!”
Nana lay on the hospital bed, weakly smiling at Carl.
“Rest assured, our daughter will definitely get better!”
The two of them locked eyes, and Carl’s voice was filled with confidence.
Without delay, he, Jerry, and Tracy went to undergo bone marrow matching, and then they had to wait for the results.
Due to the fluctuating condition of their child, the hospital managed to expedite the matching process by more than half.
Three days later, in the morning.
Carl received a call early in the morning, informing him that the matching was successful.
This news undoubtedly filled Carl with joy. He rushed to the hospital at the fastest speed and burst into the ward.
“Nana, our daughter is saved! I can donate my bone marrow to her!”
Carl’s voice was filled with excitement. The three days of torment and worry finally dissipated in this moment.
“Really? That’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful…”
Upon hearing this good news, Nana also burst into tears of joy.
Jerry and Tracy also expressed their gratitude to Carl and waited for the bone marrow transplant to take place.
Just when everyone was feeling hopeful again, a nurse secretly made a move.
She knew that Carl was a well-known actor in the country and clandestinely sold the news of him donating bone marrow to his daughter to the media.
Having visited his daughter, who was still in a critical condition, Carl left the hospital with mixed feelings.
But as soon as he stepped out of the main gate, he saw a swarm of reporters with cameras and microphones approaching.
“Mr. Waters, we heard that your daughter is critically ill and needs a bone marrow transplant. Is she your illegitimate child?”
“Mr. Waters, there were rumors online about you and Grace getting married. Who is the mother of this child?”
“Mr. Waters, if the child’s mother isn’t Miss Panchak, would you consider your actions as two-timing?”
…
Various questions bombarded Carl, and the journalists’ inquiries were sharp, delving into his personal life.
Carl was unprepared for this and could only respond to each reporter with “no comment.”
He pushed through the crowd, warning them by covering his face with his hand, “Stop taking photos, or I will send you a cease-and-desist letter for violating my right to privacy!”
Unfortunately, Carl’s threat had no effect. The controversy, which had caused a huge uproar online, was now fermenting, and the reporters were eager to dig up insider information and firsthand accounts.
As the news spread widely, the matter of Carl donating bone marrow for his illegitimate daughter reached Mrs. Waters’ ears.
At the Waters family mansion.
Grace sat on the sofa in silence, glaring at Mrs. Waters with anger.
“This is outrageous! Carl has gone too far. Donating bone marrow is such a big deal, and he didn’t even discuss it with me!”
Mrs. Waters was trembling with anger, realizing that she had completely lost control over her son after he moved out of the mansion.
“Mrs. Waters, should I call Carl and ask him to come back?”
Grace was also frustrated and could only offer suggestions to Mrs. Waters.
“As if you could get him to come back!”
Mrs. Waters dismissed the idea, knowing that Carl was avoiding Grace, and decided to personally go to his current residence.
Before long, Mrs. Waters arrived at the downtown apartment and knocked on the door, hearing Carl’s voice.
Mrs. Waters remained silent, only continuously knocking on the door.
As Carl’s footsteps grew closer, her anger spread from the depths of her eyes and soon covered her entire face.
Carl opened the door, thinking it was a delivery person and was surprised to see his mother with a gloomy expression.
“Mom? What are you doing here again?”
Carl was taken aback and showed a guarded attitude towards Mrs. Waters.
Mrs. Waters was equally unyielding. She barged into the apartment, noticing that Carl was getting ready to leave, changing his clothes.
“Where are you going? To the hospital to donate bone marrow to that worthless child?”
Mrs. Waters aggressively interrogated him, her anger ignited by Carl’s actions.