Part 59

59

"I hope Mom is willing to accompany me to meet Celine to deliver the good news that Dad mentioned earlier," Chelsea stopped in her tracks, looking at Vano, who was now walking alongside her.

"Why do I have to come along, Van? Honestly, I'm not keen on meeting Celine. She might get the wrong idea, and I don't want to add any more burdens to my already heavy life. Just let it be the two of you; I'd rather focus on my happiness and your dad's, nothing more, so my life can be peaceful."

"Yeah, I get it, Mom. But it wouldn't hurt to have you with me to convey all of this because, after all, my relationship with Celine got her blessing because of you." Chelsea held Vano's hand. "Trust me, she won't act out because your current status is my mother. So, there's no reason for her to be jealous of you."

"That's what you say, but it's not impossible for her to think I'm just taking advantage of both of you. As you know, if..."

Vano covered Chelsea's mouth with his index finger. "Remember, I'll share my happiness with you and Dad because both of you are my happiness. If Celine doesn't want to accept you as my mother, then I don't need Dad's permission. I'll leave Celine if she makes that decision."

"Alright, if that's what you want. I'll accompany you to meet Celine, but let's do it after I finish my classes."

Vano nodded, guiding Chelsea to continue walking towards her class. It was as if Chelsea was a precious treasure, and he seemed to protect her from every angle. His gaze was vigilant, making sure no one would suddenly harm Chelsea.

Once they reached Chelsea's classroom, Vano waved and said his goodbyes to his stepmother. He didn't care about the stares from other students as he showed a little respect by bowing his body. It was truly heartwarming to be able to take care of and accompany someone who was so deeply loved by her father. Something Vano had never imagined, being able to pursue his education at the same campus as his stepmother.

"Celine, when your class ends, Chelsea and I want to talk to you. Anywhere is fine with me," Vano said as he and Celine parted ways. She seemed eager to enter Chelsea's class to deliver her teaching materials.

"What else do you want to talk about? Why bring Chelsea into our conversation?"

"I kindly ask you not to have negative thoughts about my mother. Because I want to deliver good news, and all of this happened with Chelsea's help. So please don't spoil my mood when I want to involve Chelsea in our conversation," Vano replied before continuing his steps.

Celine rolled her eyes lazily, casting a sharp glance at Chelsea, who unintentionally looked her way. Whenever Vano mentioned Chelsea's name, for some reason, Celine couldn't accept the reality that Chelsea was the one who had changed Carlos's mindset, allowing Vano to spend more time with her.

Reluctant to owe anything to Chelsea, Celine tended to sow hatred and envy towards her rather than trying to be friends with her. Although Celine was aware that Chelsea's current position in Vano's family was far higher than her own. If a woman could stand alongside Carlos and capture his heart, she would automatically become the ruler and the sole queen of the household.

However, Celine couldn't deceive herself about feeling jealous when she saw Chelsea close to Vano, especially when she had seen from a distance that Chelsea and Vano were walking side by side, holding hands, heading to Chelsea's class.

It was quite surprising to be in class today; Chelsea didn't see Indri's presence in the class. In their class chat group, there was no notice from Indri, and even Celine was startled to see that Indri was no longer in the class group. What was going on, and why? Surely Chelsea was very curious about her friend's whereabouts.

However, in order to maintain her sanity, she decided not to get more involved with Indri, who had repeatedly brought disappointment and pain to her. As Chelsea had told Vano earlier, right now she was solely focused on Carlos to avoid any more pain she might feel in front of him.

During the lesson, Chelsea felt like she couldn't concentrate at all. Her head suddenly felt a bit dizzy and throbbing. She realized she had felt this way earlier in the morning, but because she didn't want to miss too many lectures, she had forced herself to attend class and tried hard to suppress the discomfort that now enveloped her body.

Chelsea also felt the urge to vomit. The more she held it in, the stronger the urge to regurgitate the food she had eaten earlier in the morning. And what Chelsea was doing naturally caught Celine's attention as she was giving the lesson in front of the class. Occasionally, she stole glances and noticed Chelsea, who was covering her mouth, wiping the sweat from her brow, as if trying to reassure herself.

"If you're not feeling well, you can leave my class and go to the health room. Instead of holding it in and trying to act okay," Celine finally approached Chelsea, who was sitting at the back.

"It's okay, Miss. I just ate something wrong."

"If it's a food issue, you wouldn't be saying that. Please leave and get yourself checked at the health room!" Celine commanded firmly, so Chelsea wouldn't argue with what she said. With a heavy heart, Chelsea nodded and followed Celine's instructions.

Chelsea's status as a student meant she had to follow all of Celine's instructions, especially when those instructions were for her own good. Chelsea took a few unsteady steps towards the health room. She made sure to also contact Vano to have him escort her to the second-floor health room, fearing that she might stumble while descending the stairs.

"Didn't Dad mention earlier that you should rest at home? But here you are, acting stubborn like this," Vano chided, quickly catching Chelsea, who had nearly sat down on the floor due to her severe headache.

"Don't scold me like that, or I'll turn you into stone," Chelsea replied playfully to Vano, trying to lighten his concern about her condition. She didn't want Vano to report to Carlos that her condition was deteriorating.

"Earlier, Dad also told me that you had a high fever last night, but you insisted on attending class. There's no rule on this campus that prevents a student from taking a sick leave. If it's like this, I'll be the one scolded by Dad for not taking care of his wife who's sick and not doing anything about it." Not wanting to back down, Vano continued to press Chelsea.

He even carried Chelsea to the health room, not wanting her condition to worsen. Let other students think whatever they wanted about their relationship; he just didn't want to get into trouble with his father for neglecting Chelsea on campus.

"Thank you," Chelsea replied, gently patting Vano's cheek. She also chuckled a bit to ease his tension.

"You're sick, and you're joking around."

"You, Vano, I just have a little headache, you're exaggerating."

"Chelsea, don't start!"

"Vano, don't be too excessive."

"Chelsea... you." Vano sighed, unable to comprehend how Chelsea could remain so relaxed in her current state, even though her lips had turned pale. Her body temperature wasn't high, but her paleness still made him feel like she wasn't healthy at all.

"Don't tell Dad anything for now. I'm sure with a short rest, I'll be fine. After that, I'll go home and rest fully."

"Well, if you're okay with it, I can take you home right now instead of going to the health room."

"That works. Instead of going to the health room, and I might not be able to talk to Celine just yet. You can convey the message directly and give my congratulations to both of you for Dad's blessing."

"But are you sure it's okay to be alone at home?"

"Well, in that case, how about you take me to Dad's office?"

"That's a better idea." Vano redirected his steps towards the parking lot, canceling the plan to take Chelsea to the campus health room. There was no point in taking her there; it was better to entrust Chelsea to the right person.

It was up to her father whether he would take her to the hospital or personally care for her in his office later.

But before opening the car door, Celine had already held onto it. Somehow, she had been following their steps and had reached the parking lot first.

"Where are you going? You said you wanted to talk to me, but why are you running away?"

"R-running away? Did you say that? Didn't you see that Chelsea is not okay right now?"

"Oh, it's just a common cold. It's better to say what you want to say. You might change your mind about talking because Chelsea is not on campus. Come on, hurry up. I can't wait!" Celine demanded, holding back Vano and Chelsea.