Evie was terrified by the scene, her eyes wide open, and without thinking, she lunged towards Jasper.
Half of her body leaned over the edge of the cliff. In a split second, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed Jasper’s arm tightly, while behind her, little Cedric held onto her foot.
The small boy used all his strength, his little feet digging into the ground.
Holding Jasper’s hand firmly, Evie’s hands trembled, her heart pounding with fear, her face filled with panic.
Her round eyes were fixed on the man below. She took a deep breath. Fortunately, she reacted quickly; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“Are you an idiot?” Jasper almost shouted in anger, his handsome face full of rage. Yet inside, he was terrified by Evie’s reckless action. At that moment, half of Evie’s body was hanging outside. If she had not lunged steadily, she might have fallen off the cliff and perished!
Thinking about how she disregarded her own life made Jasper furious.
He had forgotten that he was the first to risk his life for the other.
By this time, the others on the mountain had reacted. Franklin immediately took over from Cedric. “Pull Jasper up, quickly!”
Cedric collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He didn’t know what had come over him; he was the closest to Evie and instinctively grabbed her.
He sat there, still shaken, watching everyone scramble to save Jasper.
He couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
After Jasper was pulled up, he grabbed Evie’s hands tightly. “Are you an idiot? What if…”
Evie’s dark eyes were also red with anger. She retorted immediately, “You’re the idiot! Why did you push me up and almost didn’t make it yourself?”
If she hadn’t reacted quickly, this man would be dead now.
Her heart trembled as she bit her lower lip tightly.
She glanced down below. It was a bottomless abyss. If she had fallen…
Her face turned pale instantly. She didn’t dare to think further.
Jasper looked up and saw her black eyes now bloodshot, filled with various emotions-fear, worry… all of it.
“Idiot.” Jasper’s heart softened. He couldn’t help but pull her into his arms. He knew… she was worried about him.
He hugged Evie and then walked over to the still-exhausted Cedric, picking him up. “I really didn’t plan to run away. Thank you, little man.”
He reached out and patted the boy’s head. Cedric’s face turned even redder. He looked at Jasper shyly and then at Evie.
Evie smiled too. “Good job, Cedric.”
Franklin glanced at the gathered subordinates on the mountaintop and immediately told one of the men behind him, “Contact the plane for pickup.”
“Yes, Master Franklin.” The subordinate immediately made a call.
Jasper began counting heads and was relieved to find there weren’t many casualties.
The sky in the east was already lightening. They had been on the run almost all night.
In the dim morning light, the plane arrived to pick them all up.
As they all boarded the plane, their enemies reached the mountaintop but could only watch in frustration as the plane flew away.
Onboard the helicopter were medical personnel who first treated the injured buddies and then focused on Jaida and Urijah.
Jasper had already briefed Franklin on Jaida and Urijah’s condition.
Franklin frowned. “The Hogan family even attacks their own people. What secret do they know?”
“I’m not sure,” Jasper shook his head. “Evie has been living with them recently.”
Hearing this, Evie also shook her head. “I don’t know either. But…” Looking at the still-unconscious Jaida and Urijah, she worriedly asked the doctor, “Will they wake up?”
After all, Jaida and Urijah were good people in her eyes.
“Being buried under rubble for so long can easily cause brain hypoxia leading to a vegetative state or brain death,” said the doctor as he administered an IV to Jaida. “So… you should be prepared.”
“Vegetative state… brain death…” Evie’s chest tightened as she looked sadly at Jaida’s pale face.
“They didn’t receive timely treatment after being rescued. If they had been treated immediately instead of delayed so long, they might have been saved. Unfortunately… it’s been too long,” the doctor shook his head helplessly. “Let’s observe their condition first.”
Evie didn’t know how to break this bad news to Cedric.
Jasper patted her shoulder. “The child is probably stronger than you think.”
Evie bit her lip. “Okay.”
Telling him the truth was more respectful than hiding it and letting him find out later.
She left the private space and went to the outer cabin, sitting next to Cedric.
But she found that the little guy had fallen asleep. Feeling safe now, he had relaxed after a night of tension and exhaustion and fell asleep as soon as he got on the plane.
He looked beautiful with his long eyelashes covering his eyelids, his sleeping face peaceful like a little angel.
Evie gently stroked his cheek, pulled him into her arms, and closed her eyes too.
When she woke up, the plane was landing slowly. Everyone looked tired and dusty.
Despite their exhaustion, Evie and Jasper went straight to the hospital to admit Jaida and Urijah to Sylvia’s hospital.
Evie couldn’t see Sylvia directly but spoke to her through the air vent of the transplant chamber.
“Boss, I’m sorry. I was too willful. When you needed me most, I wasn’t by your side…”
Evie’s eyes were red as she spoke. She really didn’t know so much had happened.
She had heard from other buddies about Sylvia’s recent experiences and was deeply shocked.
She felt incredibly guilty.
“Why say that? As long as you return safely,” Sylvia’s delicate face showed a faint smile. “Have you realized your feelings for Jasper have deepened?”
She still had the mood to tease her! Evie was stunned.
It took her a while to respond, “It’s… okay.”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s just an ectopic pregnancy; it’s no big deal. Look at Jenna’s illness; that’s truly life-threatening!” Sylvia chatted with Evie for a while until a nurse informed her that Jenna had woken up. She hurried back to take care of Jenna. Evie stood there for a while before turning to leave.
As she turned around, she saw Jasper standing not far behind her. She felt like she had found him after searching everywhere, only to realize he was right there all along.
She froze, feeling a lump in her throat.
She watched as he walked towards her and took her hand in his large one. “Let’s go home.”
Evie was really tired and nodded. “Okay, let’s go home.”
“Sweetheart, let’s get engaged or just get married right away,” Jasper said as he pulled Evie into his arms. “I need to secure you quickly so you won’t run away again.”
Evie’s face turned red. “We should discuss this properly.”
Jasper didn’t say anything more but silently took out the ring he had planned to propose with earlier and slipped it onto her finger. “This is yours; you must wear it.”
Cedric woke up after a long sleep in Jasper and Evie’s three-bedroom apartment.
He woke up hungry.
Getting out of bed, he looked around at the unfamiliar environment. Opening the door to see the living room outside, he noticed that this place was much smaller than his family’s villa.
However, it felt safe.
As he curiously looked around, Mrs. Wright came out of the kitchen carrying two freshly cooked dishes, their aroma filling Cedric’s nose.
“Child, you’re awake?” Mrs. Wright smiled at him. “Come wash your hands and eat.”
Evie and Jasper were at the hospital, so Mrs. Wright came over to take care of Cedric while he slept soundly.
After all, she was older and more experienced.
“Ma’am, who are you…” Cedric asked curiously despite his young age as he observed Mrs. Wright’s elegant attire that didn’t resemble that of a nanny at all.
“You can call me Grandma.”
Mrs. Wright smiled warmly at him. The boy was indeed good-looking. “I’m here to help take care of you until Miss Anto and Jasper return.”
So that’s how it was.
“Thank you,” Cedric said politely before heading to wash up.
Mrs. Wright’s cooking skills were good; although not as lavish as meals from the Hogan family, it was delicious.
Cedric was starving and didn’t care about dining etiquette as he devoured his food hungrily.
“Eat slowly; no one is going to take it from you.”
“Oh dear, he must be starving,” Mrs. Wright said sympathetically while thinking about Jenna’s health… wondering when she could give Wright residence a grandchild. Hopefully Jenna could do it!
As she let her thoughts wander, Jasper and Evie returned home.
They walked in to see Cedric eating in the dining room.
Mrs. Wright quickly greeted them. “Come over; I made plenty of food.”
“Auntie, thank you,” Evie said gratefully as she felt a warm sense of homecoming after being away for so long.
“No need to thank me; Sylvia is busy taking care of Jenna in the transplant chamber while I’m free,” Mrs. Wright said as she got up to fetch chopsticks for them both.
Evie and Jasper hurried into the kitchen to get some rice.
Cedric stared wide-eyed at Evie as she sat down next to him after sipping some soup first before addressing him directly: “I know you want to know about your parents’ situation but be prepared.”