Everyone in the hallway was stunned. Even Tomas, who had a dumbfounded look on his face, said unconsciously:
-Grandpa, your preference for Carlos is too excessive, isn’t it? I, too, have been injured and have bled.
Aunt Esperanza and Aunt Carolina said:
-Yes, you’d better take blood from Carlos. Tomas is already hurt…
Bianca even approached Tomas with an anguished face and looked at his bandaged hand with her eyes full of tears.
Seeing her distressed face, Tomas reassured her:
-Honey, don’t worry. I’m fine and it’s just a small injury.
-If it’s just a small injury, then go donate the blood immediately!
Grandpa bellowed and banged his cane on the ground, which startled both Tomas and Bianca, and silenced everyone else.
Bianca felt quite strange and confused by the old man’s harsh attitude.
“Is Grandpa committing the vice of being domineering again? In this situation, obviously, Carlos is the best person to donate blood. Tomas has already been injured and his face is slightly pale, so why does he insist that Tomas go and donate the blood?”
Seeing that his grandfather was so angry, Tomas did not want to disobey him, thinking that 400 milliliters of blood would be nothing, so he went to the nurse.
-Wait,” Carlos spoke suddenly.
The nurse and Tomas stopped, and turned around.
Carlos looked at the old man, with his usual cold expression, and asked:
-Why can’t I donate blood for Dad?
They all looked at the grandfather, very curious.
Victor turned around, looked towards the operating room and answered:
-You and Micaela are preparing for pregnancy, it’s not good to do these things that are possibly detrimental to your health!
“Fuck, you don’t say!”
Tomas was completely dumbfounded when he heard his grandfather’s words.
“Bianca and I are preparing for pregnancy too! Do I have to do things that harm my health? Grandpa, what you’re saying is the last straw!”
Carlos’ aunts looked at Micaela’s belly and showed a look of confusion.
“She’s not pregnant!”
Micaela thought the old man’s reason was clumsy and far-fetched and walked over to Carlos and grabbed his arm. For some reason she sensed that Carlos seemed a little uneasy.
Carlos clenched his fists and asked the nurse in a cold voice:
-What type of blood is needed?
-What kind of blood is needed?
-Shut up!
The old man shouted loudly at the poor nurse, then approached Tomas, his face reddening, and said to Tomas:
-Go donate the blood for your father! If you delay any longer, he will die!
The nurse was so frightened that she hurried away.
Tomas had a vague feeling that something was wrong and, not daring to say anything else, quickly followed the nurse. Bianca also went out with Tomas.
Seeing that the old man was so furious, no one dared to utter a single word. Barcelo, Ramon, as well as their respective wives, looked sideways at Carlos and the old man, and guessed the real reason why the old man did not allow Carlos to donate blood.
Micaela approached and reached out to hold the grandfather’s arm, gently reassuring him:
-Grandpa, don’t worry. Matthew will be fine. You can sit here to rest for a while…..
Grandpa’s tension eased and he sat down on the bench obediently.
Seeing that Carlos had a complicated look on his face, Micaela became a little distressed. Everything seemed to be in the clouds and the truth was dimly glimpsed. She stepped forward and took him by the arm. He lowered his head and stared at her.
Micaela bit her lower lip, her light eyes full of unease. It wasn’t convenient to talk to Carlos here in front of so many people and she hoped he wouldn’t overthink it.
Carlos understood what she meant and took her into his embrace without caring about the stares of others present.
He didn’t dare to think deeply about her uneasiness or ask in depth why grandfather had acted so strangely. Luckily, Mica was by his side, accompanying him.
When Tomas returned with Bianca, his face was paler, and the nurse came into the emergency room with the bag of blood.
Tomas sat up and looked at his older brother who was looking uneasy, regretting having been impulsive in contradicting Grandpa.
“I should have gone straight to the nurse to donate the blood without complaining…”
After an hour, the operating room door opened again.
Everyone got up and surrounded themselves at the door. The old man, standing in the center of the crowd, looked at the doctor expectantly and anxiously.
The doctor removed his mask, looked at the old man, and said after weighing the words:
-The operation went well and the hemorrhage has been stopped, but the patient seems to have a faint sense for survival. The injury did not damage his heart, but his heartbeat is very slow….
The old man seemed to have thought of something, banged the cane on the ground again and said hatefully:
-Loser! For that woman…
The old man stopped suddenly.
Carlos and Tomas became even more uneasy when they saw their grandfather’s strange reaction.
Barcelo pretended to get angry and shouted:
-What kind of charlatan are you? What do you mean Matthew has a feeble sense for surviving! If you don’t cure my brother, I’ll fire you!
The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow, not knowing what to say.
The people in front of him were all the heads of the hospital, and he could not afford to offend any of them.
To one side, Thomas asked:
-Can I go in to see my father?
The doctor immediately replied:
-Yes, but please wait a moment, sir. The patient will be taken to the individual ward very soon.
Then some nurses pushed Matthew into the VIP room, which was a luxurious room that could accommodate many people.
Barcelo, standing in front of the bed, looked at Matthew with his eyes tightly closed, wearing an oxygen mask, and said in a somewhat anguished voice:
-Matthew, you have to be strong, eh? How can you abandon us for a woman?
Ramon also said:
-Yes, she’s been dead for so many years already, why do you cling to her? She deserved to die. If it hadn’t been for her, Fernando wouldn’t have….
-Shut up! -the old man bellowed with rage.
Tomas stepped forward and questioned them:
-Do you guys want my father to live, or do you want to shake him so that he dies faster?
Carlos frowned slightly.
“Uncle Fernando?”
Fernando, Victor’s fourth son, had voluntarily given up the Aguayo family estate fifteen years earlier and left the house. Since then, he had not returned.
“Does Mom’s death have anything to do with Uncle Fernando?”
Barcelo replied in an angry voice:
-Tomas, of course we want your father to survive, so I hope he forgets about that woman. Even though she is your mother, what she did is a humiliation for our Aguayo family!
Ramon immediately said in support of his older brother:
-That’s right! That flirtatious bitch, taking advantage of her beauty, seduced other men shamelessly. She even seduced her own brother-in-law! If it hadn’t been for her fault, Fernando wouldn’t have been forced to leave the family and go abroad!
Barcelo’s wife added:
-Seeing Victor’s strange reaction just now, isn’t Carlos Matthew’s biological son?
Aunt Carolina immediately said:
-That is very possible. If not, why didn’t Dad allow Carlos to donate blood for Matthew?
Paco and Mauricio said nothing about it and stood with their arms crossed, as if they were watching a good show.
Barcelo scoffed with a disgusted expression:
-All the women of Salamonsa are simply bitches!