Lillian pressed her lips together and said, “Why bring him up all of a sudden?”
Gordon had a hunch that trouble was brewing between the two of them again. After all, what Lillian wanted was something Conrad could never give her.
“Let’s eat. Try this-it’s not my best work since I was in a bit of a rush today,” she said.
The kitchen here wasn’t as clean as the one at my home, and Lillian worried it might affect the flavor.
“It’s delicious,” Gordon said simply.
Lillian finally let out a breath of relief. “That’s good to hear.”
When they were almost done eating, Gordon slowed down, and Lillian occasionally glanced at her phone.
Gordon understood immediately. “You should go back and spend time with your grandma.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll call my bodyguard to pick me up. I’m not going back there.”
“Really? Then I’ll head out first?”
“Yeah.” Gordon watched as Lillian left the private room, and then sat quietly for a while longer.
His phone suddenly rang-it was George.
“What’s up?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be waiting for your results? Where did you go?”
“Lillian invited me to lunch,” Gordon said casually. After a pause, he added, “She cooked it herself.”
“…” There was silence on George’s end.
After a moment, George asked, “Don’t tell me you’ve actually developed feelings for her?”
“Before, maybe I just didn’t like her much. But after this meal? Hard to say.”
“Gordon!”
“What?”
“Why does it have to be Lillian?”
“Is that question coming from your soon-to-be ex-wife or from Conrad?”
“What if it’s both?”
Gordon’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “If it’s Melissa, and she is your soon-to-be ex-wife, why are you still worried about her best friend? Are you planning to stay entangled with Melissa for the rest of your life? She’s divorcing you, still in her twenties, young, beautiful, and a wealthy single woman with no kids. Remarrying will be a breeze for her. Are you going to worry about who her best friend ends up with too?”
“As for Conrad, Lillian’s not going to spend her whole life as his hidden secret. He can find someone else, but do you really think there’s no one out there who can take care of Lillian?” Gordon added.
George scoffed. “Take care of her? What Conrad can’t give, you think you can? His Brown family is no joke, and you think your Smith family’s standards are low?”
Lillian was no longer the cherished daughter Alvin once doted on. She was worth nothing now, with countless rumors and accusations trailing her. Even Gordon’s family would never approve.
Their conversation ended on an unpleasant note-because everything they said was true.
******
Lillian spent three days at the hospital. Conrad hadn’t contacted her, and neither had John or anyone else.
She enjoyed the peace, splitting her time between caring for her grandmother and working with Jack on pre-production for the movie.
Frank showed up the day before the surgery.
“What are you doing here now?” Lillian asked, surprised.
“I had to find out about the surgery myself. Were you even planning to tell me?” Frank scolded lightly as he put his things down. “I’ll take care of Grandma tonight. I’ve booked a room for you at a nearby hotel. Go get some rest-you’ll need it tomorrow since the surgery will take a long time. We’ll take turns if anything comes up.”
Lillian couldn’t deny that Frank’s arrival eased her mind. She didn’t have to face everything alone, and that was a relief.
Frank peeled an apple for her and turned on the TV.
On the screen, Evelyn’s ad suddenly appeared. She was promoting a skincare line targeted at college students. It seemed Conrad had kicked her out of her project but made up for it with this endorsement deal.
Frank glanced at Lillian instinctively, but she was just staring at her laptop, eating the apple.
The two of them silently acknowledged the situation, as if it had nothing to do with them.
Melissa arrived at the hospital in the evening to take Lillian to the hotel.
That night, after showering, Lillian lay in bed with Melissa.
After some hesitation, she suddenly hugged Melissa tightly.
“I’m scared,” Lillian whispered.
Melissa patted her shoulder. “Don’t be scared. I’m here with you.”
“I’m afraid something will happen to Grandma, Melissa. If anything happens to her, I’ll be all alone in this world.”
“Stop talking nonsense! I’m your family too. And Grandma’s going to be fine.”
Lillian didn’t dare consider the alternative.
She felt pathetic, wishing Conrad would show up at that moment and reassure her that everything would be okay with her grandma. Somehow, his words would calm her heart because Conrad was invincible. If he made a promise, he’d keep it.
But not only did he not show up, he was busy being someone else’s hero.
Lillian felt like one of those spiteful supporting characters in a TV drama-a greedy woman who wanted everything and deserved nothing.
She stayed up nearly the entire night. Morning eventually arrived.
When her grandmother was wheeled into the operating room, Lillian felt her legs go weak. Standing outside the door, she was powerless-there was nothing to do but wait.
The door was like a barrier between life and death.
Countless times, Lillian prayed and pleaded silently.
“Sweetie, you are the best girl.”
“Why are you crying, sweetie? Come to Grandma, okay?”
“No one’s going to bully you! Here, I still have money. I’ll give it to you!”
Her grandmother’s words and the love she had shown her kept resurfacing in her mind over and over again.
The surgery lasted all morning.
At noon, George showed up. “Have you eaten?”
Melissa glanced at Lillian. “She hasn’t.”
“Come with me to the cafeteria to get some food. Bring Lillian’s portion back to her.”
“I don’t need anything,” Lillian murmured. She couldn’t eat even if she wanted to.
“Come eat,” Frank said as he stepped out of the elevator, carrying a few meals. When he saw George, he gave a polite nod. “Dr. George.”
George watched as Frank attentively took care of Lillian and Melissa. For the first time, he agreed with Conrad’s judgment of Frank-this guy was infuriatingly annoying!
So annoying that George wanted to tear him away from the scene.
Without saying a word, George turned and left.
Melissa looked at him briefly and lowered her head.
“What’s going on with you two? Is this marriage really beyond saving?”
“You know how things are between us. Getting divorced is better for both of us.”
“Do you feel at peace with that?”
“Whether I do or not, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s done.”
Lillian gently patted Melissa’s shoulder.
“Dr. George,” a nurse greeted him politely.
But George, usually so courteous, seemed visibly upset and ignored her entirely. He shut the door to his office, loosened his tie, and took a deep breath before dialing Conrad.
“What is it?”
“Where are you? When are you coming back?”
“In a couple of days.”
“Fine. I just wanted to let you know that Lillian’s grandmother had her first surgery this morning at 8 a. m. It’s been going on for hours, and they don’t know yet if she’ll survive. Frank has been by her side the whole time.
George paused for a moment and then continued, “If you don’t show up today, you might as well replace your current caged bird. That Evelyn you’ve been pouring money into might just be able to replace Lillian entirely.”
Before George could finish, Conrad hung up on him.