Chapter 5

Jason held Fia’s shoulders firmly and said, “You know that treatment for this kind of disease will cost a lot of money. Even then, the treatment might not work at all.”

Fia’s tears blurred her vision as they flowed. She could not even keep herself still.

“She’s everything to me. She didn’t give me up when I was little. I won’t give up on her now.”

“Alright.”

Jason walked toward his office door and gave the Hospital Director a call.

When Fia heard him telling the director about her mother’s situation and even requesting a discussion with the Oncology Department about this, she felt so grateful.

After he was done with the call, she sobbed gratefully. “Thank you. Thank you!”

Jason looked at the beautiful woman in front of him whose eyes were red from all the crying.

He felt stuffy in his chest and slowed down as he spoke. “You need to put down 45,000 dollars as a deposit. The follow-up treatment will also cost a hefty sum. I suggest that…”

“I’ll go and prepare the money right now.”

Fia left the office and immediately gave Conrad a call despite her disappointment toward him.

She had married Conrad before she even finished university and the Maxwell family refused to let her work. That was why she had no job and no salary.

While there was a lot of expensive jewelry and clothing at home, those were given to her by Conrad. Technically, she didn’t own them.

Aside from Conrad, she didn’t know who else she could go to for help.

When she heard Conrad’s voice coming from the other end, she quickly asked, “Can you lend me 45,000 dollars?”

There was a momentary pause. “What happened?”

Conrad almost couldn’t react to her request. It was the first time she had asked him for money during their three-year marriage.

Fia sniffed and sobbed. “My mom’s been admitted to the hospital. Please lend me 45,000 dollars for the treatment. Please, lend me some money… I’ll pay you back when I start working.”

“Which hospital are you at right now? I’ll head over soon.”

Conrad hung up the call and gave Esme a look.

“Let’s go to my place, Conrad.”

He gave the white house behind her a look. “You can go. Something came up.”

“You’re going to see Fia?”

“Something happened to her mother.”

“My aunt’s been sickly all this while. She probably did this intentionally so that you’ll leave me alone.” Esme gave him a sad face. “I just came home. Can’t you accompany me for just a little more today?”

“Esme,” Conrad said as his eyes turned slightly colder.

Esme pursed her lips and said with a smile, “Fine. Give me a call after you’re done. What happened between Fia and you was a mistake. It’s time to give each other freedom.”

“I know!”

Conrad felt somewhat agitated and quickly left after he got into his car.

Fia heard familiar footsteps and she quickly turned around to see Conrad walking into the ward.

“How’s your mom?”

“She…” Fia couldn’t help but begin to cry again as she held the reports in her hands.

Conrad took the reports and gave them a read.

“What did the doctor say?” He asked with a deep frown.

Fia shook her head. She didn’t want to say anything, worried that her mom would hear it when she woke up.

Conrad understood what she meant and quickly said, “Give me the medical card. I’ll pay first.”

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back.”

Conrad paused. He could feel that ever since he asked for the divorce, she had begun to distance herself from him.

After paying the deposit, Conrad then walked over to look for the doctor in charge. Jason then explained to him in detail about Echo’s cancer.

Jason suddenly asked, “Who are you to her?”

“I’m her husband.”

“Is that so?” Jason straightened up his coat. “If you’re her husband, then be a proper one. When she called our hospital, she kept on crying and was completely left to her own devices when she was in the ambulance. She was crying so hard that she almost couldn’t breathe as she held her mother’s hand.”

Conrad swallowed as the image appeared in his mind. He felt especially guilty.

“As her husband, where were you at the time?” Jason asked him judgmentally.

“It’s my fault. I didn’t do the best I could. Thanks for telling me, doctor.”

When Conrad returned to the ward, he looked at Fia’s frail figure and walked over after composing himself.

“Have you eaten?”

“I’m not hungry,” Fia said as she held her mother’s hand. She remembered the situation that she was in with him.

She forced a smile and then said, “I’m fine. Everything’s alright now. You can leave if you want.”

“Aren’t you going home?”

“I want to take care of my mom. I can’t leave her here alone.”

“I can hire a private nurse.”

Fia shook her head and said, “After marrying you three years ago, I didn’t spend much time with her. I didn’t even know that her condition was this bad. I’m not a good daughter. I can’t leave her again.”

Echo woke up at this time and looked at Fia in sorrow.

“Go home, Fia. Don’t let me disrupt your life.”

“What are you talking about, mom? I can’t leave you at a time like this.”

Echo held Fia’s hand and said, “Don’t blame yourself. When children marry and form their own families, they’ll all leave their parents. No one wants to have a sickness like this. It’s just bad luck on my part. I’ve accepted it, so don’t be sad.”

Fia was stunned.

“You… You knew?”

Echo smiled weakly. “It’s been a week. I couldn’t accept it for the first few days too. Now… It doesn’t matter to me anymore.

“Don’t waste the money on my treatment. It’s useless.” Echo had already asked the doctor about it when she found out.

Fia shook her head and said, “Don’t give up. Doctor Evans said that if you can keep it under control, you can still live a long life.”

Conrad took a step forward and said, “Don’t worry about the money, mom. Just listen to Fia and accept the treatment. Stay positive. You still have to take care of our kids in the future!”

His words made Echo’s visions blur from her tears.

“Alright, then. Work hard. Once you have a child, let me take care of them.”

Fia turned her face away and she couldn’t help but cry from hearing of Conrad’s lies.

“Why are you crying, my girl? You’re lucky to have someone like Conrad treating you so well.”

“Yes. I’m very lucky.”

“It's getting late. Go home. Don’t worry about me. I can’t ask you to do things for me while you’re here. Have Conrad hire a private nurse to take care of me.

“Alright, I’ll come over and see you tomorrow.”

Fia had something that she wanted to say to Conrad. And so, she could only choose to leave the hospital first.

When she reached home, Conrad asked Mrs. Taylor to prepare some of Fia’s favorite dishes.

Meanwhile, Fia immediately went upstairs to their bedroom.

He saw Fia packing when he went upstairs and immediately grabbed her wrist.

“Stop it.”

She pulled her hand away and said, “Thanks for today.”

Conrad looked at her with a frown. Ever since he asked about the divorce, she had completely changed into another person.

She then calmly said, “We’re divorcing. The person you love has returned. When our divorce is finalized, you two will marry and she will be moving in. It’s best if I leave soon.”

“Where will you go?” Conrad felt his heart sink as he pressed in between his thumb and index finger.

“My mom has a small apartment. I’m going to move there.”

She looked at the bedroom and then told him in a thoughtful tone as she tried her best to look relaxed, “When you two get married, you should have another room as your new bedroom. Everything here is arranged to my liking. She might not like it."