Thea’s grandmother was transferred to a VIP ward as soon as the doctor gave permission, at Isam’s request. At that time, only Thea, Sebastian, and Isam accompanied her during the move. According to Isam, Thea’s father had gone home to change clothes, since when Thea’s mother had come earlier, the woman hadn’t brought anything—not even food. Meanwhile, Thea’s mother clearly hadn’t returned since taking Thea’s phone.
Thea had already tried calling her mother’s number using Sebastian’s phone, because her new number hadn’t been saved in her old phone. But there was no response at all, which only made Thea more suspicious.
The VIP ward provided by the provincial hospital was noticeably different compared to the VIP wards in the capital’s hospitals that Sebastian was familiar with.
The VIP room where Thea’s grandmother was placed had its own bathroom, along with a space that featured a
Thea’s grandmother was transferred to a VIP ward as soon as the doctor gave permission, at Isam’s request. At that time, only Thea, Sebastian, and Isam accompanied her during the move. According to Isam, Thea’s father had gone home to change clothes, since when Thea’s mother had come earlier, the woman hadn’t brought anything—not even food. Meanwhile, Thea’s mother clearly hadn’t returned since taking Thea’s phone.Thea had already tried calling her mother’s number using Sebastian’s phone, because her new number hadn’t been saved in her old phone. But there was no response at all, which only made Thea more suspicious.The VIP ward provided by the provincial hospital was noticeably different compared to the VIP wards in the capital’s hospitals that Sebastian was familiar with.The VIP room where Thea’s grandmother was placed had its own bathroom, along with a space that featured a
Thea entered the ICU when the staff finally allowed her inside. Following hospital regulations, she handed her bag to Sebastian before approaching the bed where her grandmother lay.The night before, after speaking with Isam and her father about her grandmother’s condition, Thea was told that her grandmother had been found collapsed in the bathroom, which the doctor suspected was due to high blood pressure. They were waiting for her to regain consciousness to determine whether there was a possibility of a stroke.Thea sat in a chair beside the bed and held her grandmother’s hand, which had a monitoring device attached to her index finger. Several medical instruments were connected to her grandmother’s body, including a ventilator.Thea began talking to her grandmother, not knowing whether the elderly woman could hear her or not. She shared various stories about her life while staying and working as Sebastian’s maid, carefully avoiding any
Two hours later, Sebastian and Thea returned to the hospital. Before leaving, they had both checked their phones and found no emergency notifications, which meant nothing serious had happened to Thea’s grandmother.Upon arriving at the hospital, they went straight to the ICU where Thea’s grandmother was being treated. A few hours ago, only Thea’s father and Isam had been there, but now Sebastian saw the figure of a slightly plump woman with brown skin, dressed in a rather flamboyant style, at least to Sebastian’s eyes.At first, when Sebastian had seen Thea’s father and noticed no resemblance between him and Thea, he assumed Thea must take after her mother. But now, upon seeing the woman standing there, he was once again puzzled, as physically they still looked nothing alike. What convinced Sebastian that this was indeed Thea’s mother was the way Thea suddenly froze beside him.“Ma?” Thea greeted politely. The woman, who had been busy with her phone, turned her head, raised an eyebrow
Morning arrived, and Thea’s father came together with Isam. Isam explained that he and Thea’s father had already had breakfast before heading to the hospital, and he suggested that they take turns keeping watch. At first, Thea refused, worried that something might happen to her grandmother if she left the room. But when she saw the dark circles under Sebastian’s eyes becoming more visible, Thea realized that the man also desperately needed rest—especially his eyes.Sebastian’s eyes hadn’t fully recovered yet, even though they appeared to be fine on the surface. He still needed to rest them regularly and use special eye drops every few hours. Since yesterday, his eyes had been working too hard, and that wasn’t good for him, though the man would never admit it.“Come on,” Thea said softly, reaching her hand out to Sebastian.“Are you sure?” Sebastian asked in return, because he knew Thea would never willingly leave her grandmother behind.“I need to rest too,” Thea replied in a low voic
“S-Sir?” Thea was clearly startled to see Sebastian behind the wheel. He was dressed in a plain white short-sleeved T-shirt, long jeans, and a black cap on his head. Far from looking like a businessman or a tycoon, he appeared more like a man in his twenties.“Can you use another way to address me? Don’t call me ‘Mister,’ because right now, I’m not your boss,” Sebastian said as the car exited the basement.“But…” Thea frowned, hesitant.“You can address Edward casually, even though you haven’t known him long. Can’t you be just as relaxed with me?”“The thing is, Edward—”“Younger than me?” Sebastian cut her off, displeased with her tone.“That’s not it,” Thea replied.“Then what is it?”“From the beginning, we were neve
Sebastian was in excellent spirits all day. After realizing that his feelings weren’t entirely one-sided, he began to hope more strongly that Thea would accept him soon. Tasks that had once felt burdensome now seemed lighter. Still, time passed excruciatingly slowly, because all he wanted was to return to the penthouse, to see Thea, and to spend the night basking in the warmth he could only feel with her.Not just physical warmth, but the comfort and happiness of her presence.Yet, just before lunch, Sebastian received unsettling news.“The owner of the employment agency contacted me and said that Thea’s grandmother had an accident,” Helen informed Pierre over a phone call that was put on speaker. “Thea’s mother asked her to immediately get in touch with Thea and deliver the news. The agency owner confirmed that Thea’s grandmother slipped in the bathroom and has been taken to the provincial hospital.”&ldquo