Stella agreed.Before long, the doors of the operating room swung open, and the patient was wheeled out. Stella and Shea approached."Doctor, how is she?" Shea asked.Glancing at them both, the doctor inquired, "Who is the patient's family?"Shea replied, "I'm her neighbor, and this gentleman is a foreigner. I don't know her family."Stella stated, "I'm representing the welfare home where she made donations."The doctor explained, "The cancer has spread extensively. She has at most three months. Please contact her family as soon as possible. Although surgery is no longer beneficial, she requires regular medication adjustments. Without intervention, her pain will be severe, and her final days will be agonizing. Please reach out to her family promptly."Handing them a form, the doctor added, "Please sign this first."Glancing at the form, Stella suddenly noticed the word "male" under gender. She paused, "Doctor, she's a man?"Giving her a strange look, the doctor cautioned, "Don
When Stella followed Shea into the hospital room, Paul was in the middle of removing a catheter. Shea's face went pale, and she quickly intervened."Mr. Morant, you can't take that out yet; the medication hasn't finished," she cautioned.Paul glanced at her, then noticed Stella standing beside Shea. After a brief hesitation, he swiftly pushed Shea's hand away, eyeing both of them warily. "What are you doing here?" he directed his question at Stella.Shea interjected with surprise, "Mr. Morant, you collapsed at home. The doctor told us to contact your family. Not knowing who to call, I used your phone and dialed a number from the welfare home. This lady here came to help me get you to the hospital. Without her, I wouldn't have known what to do."Some of the suspicion in Paul's eyes faded, though not completely.Stella explained, "The director received the call and was very concerned. He asked me to come and check on the situation.""I'm fine. Tell the director not to worry. Beside
"Does it hurt?" Keegan asked again.Stella shook her head and then hesitated before saying, "My lower back hurts a bit. I bumped into something just now."Keegan gently massaged her back, his voice hoarse. "I haven't even thought about their names yet."Stella didn’t know what to say."I haven't decided either."Keegan's eyes welled up. "Let's decide on one now, just in case..."Before he could finish, Stella covered his mouth with her hand. "I know you're worried, but don't jinx it."By now, the doctor had finished the examination and was writing out a prescription. "Marginal placenta previa, not a major issue, but we need to monitor closely. It's best to rest in bed for a day."Keegan blinked, pulling Stella's hand away from her mouth, uncertain. "Doctor, are both she and the baby okay?"The doctor replied, "They're fine."Keegan pressed on, "But she's bleeding.""Marginal placenta previa can cause bleeding. As long as it's not excessive, reduced activity and bed rest shou
Stella was taken aback for a moment. "I didn't—"Keegan interrupted her, eyes red. "You don't have to say it, I can feel it.""Feel what, exactly?" Stella slapped him in exasperation. "You think I don't want to boss you around? I'm worried about you being so overwhelmed fighting with your second uncle! Have you slept more than six hours a day recently, except for the night of the press conference? Look at your dark circles. Last time we had dinner, my brother secretly asked me if you were sick because you looked like you'd been drained of all your energy. You're more exhausted than me, and I'm the one who's pregnant! Don't you feel it, Keegan?"Keegan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You care about me?"Stella rolled her eyes at him. "No, I don't! I'd love for you to be welded to your work 24/7, earning money for the three of us!"Keegan was happy but also a bit confused and said softly, "Don't you like money? I thought if I earned more, you'd feel more secure."
Shea cradled Bo and dozed off in the recliner. When Paul turned over, the movement startled Shea awake. She whispered, "Mr. Morant, what's wrong? Do you need some water?"Paul shook his head and said, "You should go home."Shea replied, "Let's wait until morning. Someone needs to monitor the IV overnight; otherwise, we won't know when it's finished."Paul glanced at the child in her arms and, after a moment of silence, said, "Then put the child on my bed. If you can't rest, at least he should."Paul's room was a single, and the bed, at 1.2 meters wide, was big enough for both a grown-up and a child.Shea didn't hesitate much before placing the child on the bed. She then got up to pour Paul a glass of water.A nurse came in to deliver her medication and reminded her to take it. Suddenly, Paul said, "That's wrong."The nurse was startled. "What?"Paul said calmly, "You have the wrong medication."The nurse frowned and looked down, breaking out in a cold sweat upon realizing she
The result, however, was disappointing.Kaia had also passed away, and it had been eight years since her death.Aldor Hart said, "This woman named Kaia and Dillon both worked at the same hospital back then. They were college friends and started working together. Colleagues from that time recalled that they had a particularly close relationship, always helping each other out. After Dillon resigned, Kaia continued working at the hospital until she passed away."The cause of death was a myocardial infarction. It was quite sudden. She had a heart attack at home, and by the time her daughter was discharged from the hospital, Kaia's body had already stiffened."Aldor paused and then added, "One more thing, Kaia was once a donor to the Eastern Alley Welfare Center."Stella and Keegan exchanged glances, and Keegan asked, "Are you sure?"Aldor nodded. "Kaia wasn't originally from Rivera and didn't have many relatives there. Her daughter had congenital heart disease, which put a lot of fin
Aldor suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Kane, there's one more thing I discovered while investigating this matter."Keegan looked up, "What is it?"Aldor pulled a photo from a pile of documents. It was taken at a funeral home, showing a wreath with a tribute to Kaia. Beside it stood a young girl, clenching her fists, staring intensely at the portrait of the deceased.Keegan's pupils contracted, "Willow?"Stella was taken aback and examined the girl in the photo closely. She had never met Willow, but the girl's face was strikingly familiar. It resembled the makeup she had worn when Marshall Moore had her pose as his girlfriend.No wonder Keegan had been so upset that day. It wasn’t just because she had helped Marshall; it was also because Marshall had made her look like someone who had passed away, pretending not to know the significance.Stella clenched her hand, thinking about Marshall. What kind of heart lay beneath his gentle exterior?Seeing Stella’s distressed expression, Keegan knew
For Marshall, Keegan felt he had done more than enough. Whether it was helping with his mother's treatment, hiding the truth about Willow, or later taking care of Willow’s affairs, he did everything he could. In the end, he only received inexplicable resentment in return.Marshall still refused to admit he remembered Willow. The trust between them had long vanished. Since that was the case, let Marshall investigate Willow's matter himself. Only by uncovering the truth on his own might he resolve his inner conflict.Stella asked, "Don’t you want to know who you took the blame for, causing him to hate you?"Keegan looked down. "At first, I did. But later, I didn't. Regardless of the reason, there's no going back for us."After more than twenty years of friendship, reaching this point, even if misunderstandings were cleared, the hurt caused along the way made it difficult to go back. Keegan was somewhat avoiding the situation.He didn't know how to handle the relationship, so the sim