“Liliane, this slap is for Grandpa Thomas!“This slap is for my—”Esther slapped Liliane several times, but soon a furious Bradley came due to the ruckus in the hospital ward.“Esther, what are you up to again!?”Bradley grabbed Esther and threw her to the bedside cabinet.Blood streamed from her forehead because of the blow, which looked frightening.Liliane put a hand over her swollen cheek and explained weakly, “Brad, her kids died in prison. She must miss them too much while she’s sick. I can understand it.”Esther retorted harshly, “My kids aren’t dead! They’re still alive. You can’t curse them!”“Enough!” Bradley glanced at Esther, his gaze filled with resentment and hatred.Esther felt like a thousand arrows pierced through her heart then.Her beloved now looked at her like she was poison.Although she had decided to stop loving him, her heart still ached so badly that she could barely breathe.“Esther, you’ll get to see them after the surgery.”Bradley fixed his co
Felix approached Esther as softly as he could. He carefully placed a lollipop beside her pillow, saying gently, “Pretty madam, the medicine is bitter, but it won’t be with the lollipop.”Esther had actually woken up before Felix came in.She was unwilling to interact with him because he was Liliane’s kid. She was afraid she would involuntarily project her hatred for Liliane on this innocent child.However, there was an inexplicable jolt in her heart when Felix approached her. She wanted to be close to him for no reason.“You… Why are you here?” Esther asked in a hoarse voice.Felix’s clear eyes glittered when he saw that she was awake and answered, “Ma’am, you’re awake?”Esther touched the boy’s cheek and asked softly, “You’re alone?”“Daddy and Mommy went to work!”Felix tried to climb up to her bed clumsily, but he was too short. Thus, he was unable to do so despite several attempts.Esther could not help carrying him up.“Ma’am.”Felix looked so alike to Bradley, yet he w
Esther pulled out her phone to call Jasper from the cab’s backseat.“Jasper, it’s me. My daughters are in Sunflower Welfare.”Jasper arched his brow and asked, “How do you know?”Esther told him about how she and Felix had worked together, and Jasper asked with a frown, “Esther, do you fully believe what a child says? Aren’t you afraid that it’s a trap?”“I can’t care as much now. Even if there’s only a sliver of a chance, I want to give it a go.”Jasper replied, “Alright, we’ll meet at the welfare home later.”“Okay.”Esther had lost her freedom behind bars for five years. Now that she sat in the backseat of the cab, she appreciated the bright neon lights of the city at night.The cool breeze kissed her face, and she took a deep breath before smiling genuinely. This was the smell of freedom.The map showed that Sunflower Welfare was on the other side of the city. Even though it was not peak hours, the roads were still congested. The experienced cab driver ended up stuck on th
Regardless of the director and Jasper beside her, Esther hurried to the girl and crouched slowly. She was so nervous that her voice was shaking.“Why… Why are you crying?”Esther saw the girl’s teary eyes right away. Her heart clenched, and she wanted nothing more than to hug her and coax her into smiling.The girl had her guard up and ignored Esther. She scurried to Camila like a nimble little bunny and hugged her hand as she called her softly.“Mama Madam.”Camila put an arm around the girl’s shoulder and asked gently, “Tinkerbell, why are you crying?”“I miss my sister…”Tinkerbell felt like crying again once she thought of her sister, Pixie.Camila patted her softly and told her, “Don’t cry. Your sister’s having a good time now.”“Mama Madam, can I go see her in the future?” asked Tinkerbell.Camila comforted her. “Sure. Maybe you’ll be living with her not too long later?”“Really?” Tinkerbell was delighted.Camila nodded and wiped Tinkerbell’s tears, saying with a smil
Esther understood what Tinkerbell meant. She was trying to say that she was ill and did not want to become a burden.“Tinkerbell, you’re not a burden. You’re the best, best, best gift God has given me.”With her big eyes, Tinkerbell looked like she did not understand what Esther said. It took her some time before she said, “But… I don’t want you to be my mommy!”Without giving Esther any chance to react, she ran away.Esther’s legs felt extremely weighed down as she was reluctant to take even one step.Jasper approached her and advised, “Esther, the kids are going to bed. We should leave too.”“Jasper, can I take…”Jasper coughed and reminded her, “I understand what you feel, but it’s too reckless to assume Tinkerbell’s your daughter owing to a photo. Besides, they won’t let you take the child away just because you claim to be her mother as they have their rules and regulations.“If you want to take Tinkerbell home sooner, do two things now. One, go for the bone marrow transpla
After Bradley left the ward, he told the doctor, “Run a comprehensive check on Esther tomorrow. Nothing can go wrong in Felix’s surgery.”“Yes, Mr. Warner.”Esther’s legs gave way, and she slid to the floor after Bradley left. She got on the bed with difficulty and fetched her phone to read up on acute leukemia.Each case was terrifying, and she read with a thumping heart.She had done the first check in the hospital tonight, and the result would only come out tomorrow. Only then could she be determined to carry on with the second detailed check. If the second one was fine, she could donate her bone marrow to Tinkerbell.Esther read up on the information and memorized the knowledge she found about leukemia, including aftercare and more. As she read, she fell asleep gradually.Bradley returned to Felix’s ward, where the boy and Liliane were drawing with oil pastels.“Daddy,” Felix greeted him crisply.Once Bradley recalled that Felix had helped Esther trick the bodyguard, his fa
Esther’s phone rang in the ward. She looked at the anonymous number and answered it without hesitation.“Hello?”It was an incredibly sweet voice on the other end of the line. “Hello. Is this Ms. Esther Quill?”“Yes. Who’s speaking?”“Hi, I’m a hematology doctor at People’s Hospital. According to the result of your first test for bone marrow donation with us, you’re preliminarily confirmed to match one of our patients. Please come to the hospital for a second, more comprehensive test as soon as you can…”“Okay, okay. I’ll be right there.”When Esther heard that it was a call from People’s Hospital and was informed that her bone marrow was a match, she naturally assumed that she could donate it to Tinkerbell.She stood up in joy and quickly got changed to go to the hospital for the second test.Esther went to the balcony, only to discover that a female bodyguard was sitting on the first floor’s garden.“Ms. Quill?”The bodyguard greeted Esther when she saw her on the balcony.
“Please go on!” Jasper replied seriously.“Tinkerbell fell down when she went to the bathroom at midnight. She has been sent to the hospital now. Please go to the hospital as soon as you can if you’re able to,” said Camila.“Okay, I got it.”Jasper hung up and hesitated but called Esther in the end.“Esther, it’s me. Madam Janner just called me and said that Tinkerbell fell at midnight when she went to the bathroom. She has been sent to the hospital already. I’m coming to pick you up now. We have to go to the hospital now.”“Okay, come quickly!”Upon hearing that Tinkerbell had gotten hurt, Esther felt her heart throb in pain. She could finally understand why her chest hurt just now. Was this because they were bonded by blood?“Esther, I’ll get someone to shut down the main electricity of the Warners’ private hospital for a moment, but the supply will return shortly because they have their own electricity generators. You have to leave during that time. Can you do it?”“Yes,” Es