“Dave, how dare you!” Rupert shouted, his face red, but Lucas’s sudden shout stopped him before he could say anything more.
“Both of you, be quiet!” Lucas yelled, his anger and sadness clear as he stood between them, leaning on his cane. He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re family, yet you’re both trying to destroy each other. How did I raise such heartless people? I can’t believe this is what you’ve become. A family bond? It’s a complete failure!”
Lucas’s fury sparked a fit of violent coughing.
His already rough voice now sounded like the rasp of sawed wood, and his body trembled with the force of his rage.
“You… You are…” Lucas started to say, but he suddenly collapsed to the floor before he could finish.
“Grandpa!” Dave cried out.
“Dad!” Rupert shouted, rushing to his side.
Later that night, at Edenfield Hospital.
After a long wait, the emergency room light finally turned off. The hospital director came out, pushing the door open.
Dave, who had been anxiously waiting, quickly approached the director to ask about Lucas’s condition.
The director looked at Dave, then glanced at Rupert behind him, shaking his head with a heavy sigh.
“The patient has hypertension and heart disease, and he needs to avoid stress,” the director explained. “Luckily, we were able to revive him this time, but if his health is ignored in the future, it could be deadly. As his son and grandson, both of you need to help keep him calm so he doesn’t get upset again.”
Dave’s heart sank with guilt. He asked again, “Is my grandpa awake yet?”
The hospital director replied, “He’s still unconscious, but we’re hopeful he’ll wake up soon. He’s out of danger for now, so please be patient.”
Dave sighed with relief and thanked him.
Rupert, with a touch of sarcasm, added, “You really have a gift. You’ve been back for just a few hours, and now your Grandpa is in the hospital. Impressive.”
Dave shot Rupert a cold glare, his face hard as he responded, “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted all along?”
“Ridiculous!” Rupert shouted, clearly angry at Dave’s words.
Skylar rushed to the hospital when she heard about Lucas’s collapse. Noticing the tension between the two, she stepped in to calm the situation.
“Mr. Evans will need some time to recover. I’ll stay here so you two can go back to what you were doing. I’ll call you when he wakes up.”
Skylar’s timely arrival gave Rupert an easy out. He quickly gave her some last-minute instructions, then shot Dave a stern look before storming off.
As Dave stood still, Skylar secretly hoped he would stay with her, but she kept her composure. “You’ve only just come back, Dave. You must be tired. Go ahead and take a rest.”
With some projects to handle, Dave had a lot on his plate. He glanced at Skylar and whispered, “Take care of my Grandpa. Let me know if anything happens.”
“Don’t worry. I will,” Skylar assured with a smile.
Dave gave a small nod and was about to leave when something seemed to cross his mind, causing him to stop. He turned back, looking at Skylar with a thoughtful expression.
“Dave, do you need anything else?” Skylar asked, her heart racing as she asked softly, her fingers nervously fidgeting.
Dave stared at her coldly and asked, “I heard there were two unexpected guests at the engagement party. Do you know them?”
Skylar was caught off guard for a moment, her response betraying a hint of panic. “Um, no. I mean… I’m not really sure about that.”
Dave raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Good to know. Grandpa and I both dislike unnecessary fuss.”
With that, he turned and left.
As Dave’s figure disappeared down the corridor, Skylar clenched her fists tightly at her sides.
She could feel that Dave was warning her.
She suspected that Bianca must have spoken to Dave, which made him bring it up on purpose.
That damn Bianca again!
Just as she was about to let her anger out, her phone rang unexpectedly. When she saw the caller ID, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Hey, guess what? I’ve got some hot news for you,” Natalie said lazily over the phone. “Bianca’s little company has been struggling since they lost almost all their contracts. They’re about to go broke. And guess what? Bianca, the head of the company, hasn’t even been around. Diana’s been running it alone.”
Skylar grinned. She never thought Lucas would move so quickly against Bianca.
After all, only the Evans family had the power to pull something like this off.
So why hadn’t Bianca shown up at the company?
Had Lucas given her a hard time?
Skylar felt a surge of excitement, shaking off her sadness. She was furious that Bianca had crossed the line by going after Dave.
In Skylar’s mind, Dave was hers and hers alone. Anyone who tried to take him from her would regret it, just like Bianca was about to.
Plus, it seemed like Lucas really disliked Bianca. No matter how much Dave liked her, it wouldn’t matter if Lucas said no. Dave always followed his grandfather’s lead, especially since Lucas was still in charge of the company.
Skylar believed that if she could win Lucas’s favor by being the perfect wife for Dave, he would eventually marry her.
But she soon calmed down a bit, as she was still stressed about something else.
Lucas wasn’t in the best health. He had just been admitted to the hospital, and if something happened to him, all her efforts would be useless. On top of that, she wasn’t sure how Dave felt about her or if he even knew about her plans. The only thing she could rely on was Lucas’s power.
This thought completely stressed her out.
Skylar took a deep breath and went back to the ward, where she found Lucas awake and sitting up in bed.
She hurried over, looking very concerned. “Mr. Evans! Thank goodness you’re okay! Let me help you get comfortable. How are you feeling? Do you want me to call the doctor?”
Lucas felt comforted by how much Skylar cared about his health. He smiled, slightly shaking his head, and motioned to the chair beside the bed. “Take a seat. No need to call the doctor. I’m fine. Don’t worry,” he said with a smile.
“But the doctor said your health…” Skylar mumbled, her brow furrowing slightly.
Lucas, whose lips had regained some color, responded, “Ah, it was all just a little act for Dave, even what the doctor said,” he said calmly.
Skylar was surprised by his words. What did Lucas mean? Wait… Did he fake being sick? But why?