Chapter 1258: Chapter 1253: Taking It the Wrong Way
"What are you making a scene for! A woman carrying on like this in public, aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you!" Gabriel Lancaster scolded with a cold face. His tone was harsh, but he still lifted his arm and pulled Catherine Taylor over.
She collapsed against his shoulder and started sobbing again.
"Honey... if anything happens to Willow, what am I supposed to do..."
"Didn’t Evander say she’s fine!" Gabriel’s voice was still hard and cold, but from the bench on the side, both Violet Zimmerman and Joseph Lancaster could tell he still had feelings for Catherine—after all, they’d been husband and wife for over twenty years.
Another half hour passed. The light above the ER door went out, and everyone hurriedly stood up and walked over.
The door opened and Evander Lancaster came out first. He took off his mask and let out a very obvious breath of relief.
"Evander, how’s Willow?" Catherine grabbed Evander’s arm and asked anxiously.
Evander rubbed his brow and forced a faint smile. "She’s okay. She lost a lot of blood. Give her some extra supplements and she’ll be fine."
"Thank God, thank God, thank the heavens!" Hearing that her daughter was fine, Catherine let go of Evander’s arm, pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and started bowing all around.
"The one you should be thanking is Evander!" Gabriel scolded her again, displeased. "Oh, right, right," Catherine hurriedly turned back, bowing to Evander. "Evander, really, thank you so much."
"No, no, I’m a doctor. It’s my duty. This is what I should do," Evander waved his hand over and over, and with the other hand rubbed his brow again.
When it’s your own family on the table, you can’t stay calm in the ER. That anxious, grief‑stricken feeling had tormented Evander all the way until Willow Lancaster was truly out of danger.
"Alright, don’t block the way. Let Evander go back to his office and rest for a bit!" Gabriel grabbed Catherine’s arm and pulled her to the side. Evander nodded to the elders. "I’m going to rest a while. Willow’s okay now."
Evander had gone to bed late last night, and today he’d had to rush into emergency treatment for Willow. At this point, his handsome face was already so pale it had almost no color left.
Seeing how tired her son was, Violet Zimmerman held Evander’s arm and asked worriedly, "You alright?"
Evander pulled his lips into a faint smile. "I’m fine. I just went to bed late last night. A cup of coffee to perk me up and I’ll be okay."
Hearing that her son hadn’t rested well, Violet shot an obvious, reproachful look at Joseph Lancaster, who’d been standing to the side all this time. "Joseph, help me walk Evander back to his office!"
Faced with Violet’s fussing over nothing, Joseph sighed helplessly and walked over. He had just reached out when Evander refused him.
Evander waved his hand. "Forget it, the patient’s still in the back. You guys go take care of Willow. I’m fine."
With that, he strode toward the elevator at the end of the corridor.
Watching Evander’s dashing figure as he left, the corners of Joseph’s mouth unconsciously lifted.
His son was someone to be proud of, even if he didn’t go into business.
Willow was pushed out by the medical staff. Catherine stayed right by the rolling bed and followed it into the ward, and Gabriel went along as well.
"What are you staring at?" Seeing Joseph still looking at their son’s back, Violet reached out and shoved him lightly, a smile in her eyes tinged with a bit of reproach.
"I’m looking," Joseph withdrew his gaze and gave her a look, then turned again to Evander, who had already stepped into the elevator. He lifted his chin slightly, the curve of his lips making no effort to hide his pride. "At how outstanding our son is."
"What nonsense, be careful someone hears you." Violet gave Joseph another push and furtively glanced around. At this point, the corridor was empty except for the two of them. Joseph turned his head to look at her, saying nothing, but his smiling eyes were full of tenderness.
"Come on, let’s head back too. Willow’s fine now." Joseph stretched his arm toward her, intending to rest his hand lightly at Violet’s waist as they left together. She frowned in reproach and lowered her voice in reminder.
"Watch it, we’re outside."
Joseph awkwardly pulled his arm back and let out an obvious sigh. "Sigh, looks like I’m going to be a shady, can’t‑see‑the‑light‑of‑day lover for the rest of my life."
"What are you talking about!" Violet gently pushed his arm, chiding him with a smile.
Joseph lowered his eyes to look at her. The gentleness there held both affection and helplessness.
Willow had just taken a trip to the gates of hell; luckily they’d discovered it in time. At the moment, her mother, Catherine, sat by her bed, holding her hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
Gabriel stood at the foot of the bed, looking at Willow’s bloodless face, his brows drawn tightly together.
Catherine leaned over and smoothed the strands of hair falling across her daughter’s forehead. Calmly, she said, "Gabriel, I’ll agree to divorce you, but I have one condition you must promise me. Otherwise, I won’t leave."
Gabriel pulled his gaze back from his daughter and looked at his wife. From his knitted brows, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
After smoothing Willow’s hair, Catherine tucked the blanket up around her again and went on, "Willow likes being your daughter. Just let her have this. It’s only in name anyway. In the future, when you remarry and have children, she won’t fight your wife and kids for the inheritance..."
"Beyond saving!"
No sooner had she finished than Gabriel snapped at her in displeasure. "Look at the timing. And you’re still thinking about that? If you’ve got the energy, use it to take good care of your daughter, instead of running around causing trouble!"
Reprimanded by Gabriel, Catherine didn’t show the slightest anger. She smoothed her daughter’s hair again and even smiled. "You’re right, you’ve spoiled Willow rotten. If she gets into trouble again in the future, there’ll be no one left to clean up after her."
As she spoke, tears started to fall again, yet her lips strained into a smile as her hand stroked her daughter’s hair over and over.
Beside her, Gabriel’s brows tightened further and further. In the end, he snorted coldly and turned to walk out of the ward.
Catherine collapsed onto her daughter’s bed and finally couldn’t hold back her sobs.
...
Evander was slumped in his office chair, fingers interlaced on his stomach, eyes closed as he tried to rest.
Today he really was exhausted—not just physically, but mentally.
The more he thought about it, the more lingering fear he felt. If Third Aunt hadn’t called, if they hadn’t discovered it in time, a young life would have been snuffed out just like that.
The little girl was usually so pampered that she’d cry and insist he bandage her up when she nicked her finger peeling an apple. Yet today she’d sliced such a deep gash into her wrist and hadn’t even been afraid of the pain.
Evander shook his head with a wry smile.
He suddenly remembered that the guest room in his apartment still hadn’t been cleaned up, with blood soaking the sheets and staining the floor...
Evander’s eyes flew open. Early this morning, the little firecracker had already lost her temper at him over Willow. If she found out that Willow had tried to take her life in his apartment, who knew what twisted ideas she’d come up with.
He stood up quickly, stripped off his white coat, grabbed his jacket, and headed out of the office.
At that very moment in his apartment, Sophia Hamilton was standing in the guest room, staring at the woman’s clothes scattered messily on the floor and the blood on the sheets, her chest rising and falling sharply.
