In the corridor outside the ICU.
Through the transparent glass window, Dorothy saw the pale Belle lying on an operating table inside. She clenched Germaine’s wrist and felt that she had lost all her strength on her feet. It was as if they were nailed to the ground, unable to move.
In just a few days, her baby girl had lost a lot of weight. Her face had turned paler than ever. Her hands anxiously grabbed a corner of the white sheet tightly as if it was the only way she could feel at ease.
It seemed like she was murmuring, calling out, “Mommy, Mommy!”
“Belle, I’m sorry. Mommy has come late. I have made you suffer!”
Dorothy instantly burst into tears. She felt that she was not a qualified mother at all. At such a young age, not only did her daughter suffer from leukemia, but she had also been kidnapped to a place thousands of miles away in Jenciga, suffering from displacement and fear that most ordinary children would never face.
Her grip got harder and harder, and Germaine felt great pain on her wrist. However, she endured it and looked at Dorothy with a faint smile. “Dory, now that those people are not here, let’s take Belle out first.”
There were originally a few bodyguards guarding at the door, but after Germaine called Wilson, they were immediately dismissed.
Germaine did not know why Jeremy was hiding Belle, but as a godmother who doted on Belle, she must help Dorothy take Belle away.
No matter what happened in the past, the conflict and hatred between adults must not be placed on the children. This was something that they should abide to.
Dorothy turned back and showed Germaine a smile. “Alright, thank you, Germaine.”
She knew that Germaine had played a huge role in saving her daughter. She would keep this gratitude in her heart for the rest of her life.
Dorothy took a deep breath and did not waste any more time. She quickly stripped away Belle’s loose hospital gown and realized that there were only small bruises on her back and the back of her knees. There was nothing unusual about her, and it did not look like Belle had suffered any torture.
As she caressed her daughter’s arms which had gotten thinner, her eyes turned red. She could not help but lower her head and kiss Belle’s fair and tender forehead. She said in a soft tone, “Belle, Mommy will bring you home right now.”
After that, she held Belle’s arms in one hand and her legs in the other, then she gently carried Belle down from the operating table and quickly walked out.
On the other side, Germaine had removed various instruments and devices that were attached to the little girl’s body. She left the oxygen mask in her nostrils and followed closely behind Dorothy.
Dorothy thought that she would need to find a psychiatrist to treat her daughter to ensure that the trauma would not affect her mental growth.
The hospital in the town was only four stories tall, thus, there were no elevators. Only a simple cement staircase for people to walk up and down.
The emergency room was located on the third floor. Although it was a little strenuous for Dorothy to carry Belle in her arms as they went down the stairs, she could still clench her teeth and endure it.
She wore a pair of light white shoes for convenience instead of high-heels that day. Even her footsteps were silent.
The same goes for Germaine. She wore a pair of flats that Jeremy had instructed Wilson to buy for her in the market of the town. It was so old-fashioned that there was even a big flower on it.
The two of them walked slowly and steadily, so as to not make any sound. Soon, they heard steady footsteps coming from the fourth floor followed by the cold voice of a man saying, “It’s already been so long, why haven’t you found Rosalie yet? You are all worse than trash!”
The voice was malicious and cold, like a poisonous snake that was preparing to make a move. It sounded ever so intimidating.
Dorothy’s face immediately turned pale. She turned back and moved her pale lips to tell Germaine in silence, “It’s Jeremy. What should I do?”
“You go ahead. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.”
Germaine looked at Belle, who was unconscious in Dorothy’s arms and said nothing more. She smiled at Dorothy silently, put the oxygen mask and other things in her hands quickly, turned around, and walked up the stairs.
Dorothy immediately understood that Germaine intended to use herself as bait to delay Jeremy’s movements so that she could leave the hospital.
At that moment, tears welled up in her eyes.
Dorothy looked at Germaine’s back and thanked her silently. She hugged her daughter tightly and descended the stairs without looking back.
Dorothy knew just enough about Germaine and Jeremy’s relationship.
However, seeing that Jeremy was willing to rush all the way from Talco City to such a remote town for Germaine’s sake, she knew even though he was cold towards her, at least, he wouldn’t harm her.
At the thought of this, Dorothy felt a little relieved. She sped up and rushed out of the hospital.
…
As soon as Jeremy hung up the phone, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps. He squinted his eyes, and there was a murderous look on his cold face. “Who’s there?”
Germaine walked up and stopped two steps away from him. As her injuries had not yet healed, she was in pain as she walked. Sweat could be seen on her soft and fair face. She looked up at him with a warm smile. “It’s me!”
She looked at him. Her eyes were clear and there was no trace of sadness in them. Instead, it was fiery, as if she had never suffered any pain or humiliation.
Her smile was as bright as the sunshine at noon. It was all too bright and beautiful, just as it always had been.
Jeremy felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. It was as if a flower of happiness was blooming in the dark swamp. It felt warm, very warm, extremely warm.
Jeremy walked down, reached out his hands to brush away her long and messy curly hair on her forehead. Suddenly, he thought of something, and his pupils shrank. He stared at her indifferently and said, “You have not recovered yet. You could have just called me.”
“Can I really reach you just by calling? Now that things have come to this, stop lying to me, okay?”
Germaine noticed he had retracted his arm, and she felt a dull pain in her heart. She tilted her head to hide the sadness and loneliness in the bottom of her eyes. Her breathing got colder and colder, but the smile on her lips was still very bright. “I have been pestering you since I was four. You didn’t promise to be my boyfriend, but you didn’t push me away either. I thought that as long as I tried hard enough, I would have the opportunity to win your heart.”
She took a breath, smiled, and continued, “But, all this has changed completely ever since my 18th birthday party! No matter how many times I called, no matter how many messages I sent, I have never gotten any reply, much less any call from you.
For so many years, I would go looking whenever I knew of your whereabouts. However, you were far more capable and smarter than me, thus I had never succeeded. I never even got to see your face. Then I thought, you wouldn’t see me if I was obedient, then would that mean you would come and discipline me if I became bad?”
Hence, I smoked, got drunk, and got involved in gang fights. I flirted with different men… I guess you did discipline me. But you only instructed Wilson to deal with the mess I left every single time. You never showed up.”
“Jeremy, since you have never loved me, why didn’t you firmly refuse me when we were at the age where we knew nothing about love?”
Germaine leaned against the snowy-white wall and slowly slid down. She closed her teary blurred eyes, but the smile on her face was still as brilliant as the sun.
Jeremy’s face was as cold and indifferent as ever. He looked down at her and said, “Germaine, I have always only thought of you as my sister.”
Germaine looked up, and her eyes were redder than the rosy clouds in the sky. She looked so beautiful. “F*ck being your sister! Jeremy, you are not my uncle’s biological son, thus we are not related at all. I am not your sister. I just want to sleep with you!”
“But, I don’t want to.”
A faint smile could be seen on his face, and he breathed a few puffs of cigarette one after another. The bright yellow sunshine outside the window made his facial features even sharper, but most of his face was hidden in the shadows, and no emotions could be seen.
At that moment, Germaine was so sad that she wanted to cry, but she gritted her teeth and stubbornly stood up. She laughed slowly. “Okay, since you don’t want to sleep with me, then I’ll leave.”
After that, she turned around and left without looking back. Her every step on the concrete steps was silent.
Jeremy stared at her slender back. The cigarette butt was about to burn his fingertips but he did not notice it at all, and the cold aura surrounding his body got colder.
Suddenly, he felt something. He walked to the window, looked down, and saw Dorothy holding Belle in her arms getting in a black Maybach, which left hurriedly. Only then did he understand Germaine’s real intentions of suddenly coming to him despite her weak and injured body. The bottom of his amber eyes suddenly burst into a cruel smile.
So, that was how it was!
Jeremy felt that his wildly beating heart, which was triggered by Germaine’s words, froze and turned numb once more.