“Sis!” Joaquin stepped forward to support her, whispering softly.
Callie grasped his hand like it was her lifeline and said quietly, “Take me to the hospital.”
If you listened closely, you could hear the sob in her voice.
The floor where her grandfather was hospitalized was sealed off. Apart from the medical staff, no one else was allowed in.
When Callie arrived, the hallway was filled with members of the Oconnor family’s extended relatives. Sienna stood among them with Charlotte, who was pacing anxiously. When she saw Callie, she paused.
“You…”
Callie looked at her too. Even someone who had almost died like her was here, which confirmed that Joaquin’s news was true.
Sienna instinctively stood in front of Charlotte, a gesture that stirred emotions in Callie’s eyes but quickly subsided.
She walked straight up, her voice trembling, “Let me in.”
The bodyguards responsible for sealing off the area were from the Oconnor family and hesitated. “Sorry, Mr. Oconnor has ordered that no one is allowed inside.”
From this angle, she could see a solitary figure standing at the end of the corridor, staring long at the words “In Surgery.” His back looked incredibly desolate.
Anthony stood beside him.
After a while, a doctor came out of the operating room and approached the solitary figure, saying something before bowing deeply.
Callie watched from afar, her legs giving way again as tears streamed down her face.
Anthony ran up to her. Seeing him, Charlotte exclaimed, “Anthony!”
He pushed past the bodyguards, looking at Callie breathlessly. “Quickly, ma’am, hurry!”
Callie’s mind went blank as she followed Anthony into the corridor. After a few steps, she started running towards the operating room.
Just like when she was a child, running happily into her grandfather’s arms. Back then, he would lift her high and spin her around, laughing and saying, “Maeve, be good, have some candy.”
But now, waiting for her was an elderly man with gray hair, lying among a heap of medical equipment, unable to lift her anymore.
“Grandpa, it’s me. I’m Nelson.” Beside the operating table, Nelson knelt on one side, holding his grandfather’s cold hand, his eyes red-rimmed.
“Look at me-”
Grandfather stared at the ceiling, unwilling to close his eyes. The faint sound of the machines indicated he was still alive.
He struggled to repeat, “Callie… I want to see Callie…”
Callie had entered the operating room. She called out loudly to her grandfather and knelt on the other side, gripping his hand tightly. “Grandpa, I’m here. I’m here. Don’t go.”
Grandfather turned his head with difficulty to look at her face. “Callie is here.”
Callie nodded vigorously, crying uncontrollably.
“Why are you crying? See you before I die. I have no regrets.” Grandfather spoke slowly through his breathing apparatus. “The one I worry about most is you.”
Callie sobbed and said to him, “Grandpa, I’m fine.”
Grandfather looked at her and tried to touch her face. His hand lifted halfway but lost strength. Callie pressed her face against it, her tears burning hot.
“Nelson is lucky to have married you. You two must… get along well in the future. Don’t argue… I’m entrusting Nelson to you; take good care of him for me.”
As he spoke, he pulled Nelson’s hand over and placed it in Callie’s hand.
Their warm hands covered each other’s as their eyes met in midair.
To keep the old man at ease, no one had told him that the two had already divorced.
Nelson immediately tightened his grip on Callie’s hand and promised, “Grandpa, we will. We definitely will.”
Callie quickly responded too. “Grandpa, we promise you.”
Grandfather’s breathing gradually weakened. “It was you two before… it must be you two in the future…”
With that, his strength faded and his dry hand slipped away.
“Grandpa!”