“Max?” Gabriella sighed with vision starting to blur from tears. Her hand, which was no longer holding the phone, was shaking violently, just like the air in lungs burned with worry.
Seeing the woman’s strange behavior, the girl who was milking the cow stopped and got up from her small chair.
“What’s the matter, Madam? Is it really from the service office?” Rose asked, raising her eyebrows. “Did I fail to be accepted?”
After a while, the sobs finally released along with the tears. Gripping the girl’s arm, Gabriella tried to keep breathing.
“Max …. Take me there. Please …” the woman pleaded as she could no longer form words properly. Her brain had been paralyzed by the fear of losing.
Hearing the unexpected request, Rose suddenly furrowed her brows. “What’s the matter, Madam? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“Please take me there!” Gabriella shrieked before spilling out more grief.
“Where, Madam?”
“I don’t know …” Gabriella replied, shaking her head with eyes almost closed. Two seconds later, she clutched his head and bemoaned even more regret.
“I shouldn’t have run away like this. If only I was still beside him, Max wouldn’t have to look for me. He wouldn’t have had an accident like this.”
Hearing the regret, the girl was wide-eyed. “Master had an accident?” she muttered while gathering logic.
As Gabriella thumped her chest, trying to clear the tightness, Rose’s gaze fell on the cell phone lying on the ground. Without wasting time, she checked the last call and called back. However, the intended contact was busy. With a doubtful look, she turned to the woman.
“Are you sure the news is true? It’s possible that someone is playing tricks on us.”
Without thinking, Gabriella shook her head and wiped her face. “I have to go back soon. I must!”
A second later, the woman ran away from the farm. Rose who was observing the panic sighed. With furrowed brows, she tried calling again.
“Hello?”
The girl’s eyes suddenly widened. “Hello?” she replied stiffly.
“Rose, this is Mia, Max Evans’ secretary. Do you know where his wife is? I had to tell her that Mr. Max had an accident. Currently, he is being treated at the Central Hospital.”
The girl’s doubts finally vanished. With a racing heart, she walked quickly after Gabriella.
“Madam already knows. She’s the one who received the call. Because of that, Madam became hysterical and asked me to take her to see Master.
“Then, hurry up! Master is in dire need of Madam’s presence.”
“Okay, Miss.”
Without stalling for time, Rose quickened her pace. She understood why Gabriella was so panicked. The woman must be very sorry and afraid that something worse might happen to Max.
Along the way, Gabriella couldn’t stop sighing. Sadness continued to flow from her eyes, while her hands did not stop squeezing the cellphone that displayed the news of her husband’s accident.
Feeling pity, Rose stroked the shoulder of the woman next to her. “Don’t think anything bad, Madam. Mr. Max is a strong man.”
The pale-faced woman suddenly turned around and took a quick breath. “It’s all my fault, Rose. I won’t be able to forgive myself if Max …, if he ….”
The girl quickly shook her head, dispelling Gabriella’s preconceived notions. “That’s not going to happen.”
“But Mia said that Max’s condition is very worrying, and this is his last request,” the frightened woman objected. She didn’t know where her logic was anymore.
Thinking her words would not be heard, Rose finally decided to keep silent. After all, she herself wasn’t sure about the reassuring words that were spoken.
“Those bad guys,” Gabriella muttered, suddenly stealing the girl’s attention, “they’ll have to pay the price. They have dared to deny the word. I left Max to keep him at the company. But, he ended up being dropped like this. How unfair!”
Hearing such cold words, Rose subconsciously held her breath. She didn’t think a woman as gentle as Gabriella would be able to say such a thing.
“Then, do you want to avenge their mistress?” the girl asked carefully.
Gabriella’s eyes instantly froze. With a throbbing jaw, she replied, “Would you like to help me?”
At the unexpected offer, Rose blinked flatly. “What do you want to do?”
“Instilling guilt until they kneel before Max.”
***
Arriving at the hospital, Gabriella immediately ran to the elevator. She didn’t care anymore about the suitcase, nor the girl who had to carry her things. The woman’s mind was too full of Max Evans.
“Please, Max, hold on,” Gabriella sighed along the way.
Her bloodshot eyes no longer shed tears. However, the furrow of her brows still conveyed concern.
Once on the VVIP floor, the woman again quickened her pace. Every now and then, she shook her head to shake off the bad thoughts that kept haunting her. But, when she saw Minnie crying in Mia’s arms, the scariest thing immediately took over her mind.
“Auntie?” Gabriella sighed as she approached with a stiff blink. “Why are you crying?”
The old woman suddenly turned and wiped the tears. A half-hearted smile instantly appeared on her face.
“Madam, you finally came back? Master always awaits you.”
“Where’s Max?” Gabriella asked in a trembling voice.
Mia answered expressionlessly. “Yesterday, the doctor suspected a possible concussion.”
“Concussion?” the pale woman sighed with tears in her eyes again.
After blinking stiffly, the secretary nodded. “This morning, Master vomited and had severe dizziness. Then-”
Paying no heed to any further explanation, Gabriella barged towards the door. The woman hoped to check her husband’s condition with her own eyes.
However, as soon as Gabriella entered the room, she only saw Snowy on the bed. None of the engines was on. Fear suddenly skyrocketed to the top of her head.
“Where’s Max?” she asked, shedding tears. Clutching head, she walked over to the bed then circled around the room. “Max?”
There’s no answer.
Gabriella’s chest suddenly tightened. With a roaring breath, the woman began to scream hysterically, “Please don’t scare me! Get out, Max!”
Instead of finding her husband, she was approached by the butler and her daughter.
“Calm down, Madam.”
“How can I calm down? I’ve hurt Max, and now I can’t see him anymore,” the woman screamed as she had been flooded with grief.
“But-”
“I’m sorry, Max. I shouldn’t have left you. I should always accompany you to face all difficulties,” Gabriella said in between strangled breaths.
The woman had lost her mind. Even though Minnie touched her shoulder, she continued to mourn the loss and express regret. The old woman had absolutely no chance to interrupt.
After a while, Gabriella was sitting on the floor hugging Snowy. Her energy was gone along with happiness. Whatever entered her ears, she was no longer able to digest. Her brain had been anesthetized by a pain originating from the heart, until suddenly, someone called out.
“Gabby ….”
The woman’s sobs suddenly stopped. With the remaining short breaths that occasionally jerked the shoulders, she looked up.
“Max?” she sighed in disbelief.
For a few seconds, Gabriella just stared at her husband with quivering eyes. Even, when the man’s wheelchair stopped right in front of her, the woman was still transfixed with breaths that sounded faint.
“Why are you crying?” the man asked as he rubbed his wife’s face.
In just an instant, Gabriella’s tears were flowing again. Without having time to give an answer, the woman knelt and hugged the man she missed so much.