Chapter 682: I Will Always Support Your Decisions
"Mr. Woods." In the end, it was Michael who spoke first. When Timothy heard the way he addressed him, it felt as if it was a different era entirely.
He laughed bitterly and waved his hands. "Don’t call me ’Mr. Woods’. I’m no longer a somebody any more." Now, he was merely a convicted felon.
Michael did not insist. Nodding, he simply said, "Timothy."
Timothy was Wendy’s father and so logically, Michael would address him as "Dad", but considering the relationship between them, there was no way Michael could use that term. Besides, Wendy had not formally acknowledged him yet. If he were to address Timothy as "Dad", it would be the same as betraying Mary.
"Corrine..." Timothy’s gaze stopped at Wendy once again. He opened his mouth but again, he did not know what to say.
Wendy let out a small sigh. "You must be tired after such a long flight. Would you like to lie down and rest?"
"It’s ok." Timothy looked down and finally asked the burning question in his heart, "Where is your mother?"
"She..." Wendy blinked before saying, "She has been caring for Leah and Jake recently and was feeling tired. So she went home to rest."
Without having to say it directly, Timothy knew very well that Mary did not want to see him. She had the right to not forgive him for how he had hurt her thirty years ago.
"It’s good to rest. It’s good to rest..." Timothy repeated to himself. The mood in the room was a little tense.
Again, Michael broke the silence. "If you don’t want to rest, how about seeing the doctor for your pre-procedure tests? I think that the earlier the bone marrow transplant can be done, the more we can all be at ease."
"Alright," nodded Timothy.
Just then, Jill came into the room with some fruit. She noticed Timothy as he turned to leave the room. Their eyes met and suddenly Jill had no idea what to say.
"Jill, you’re here too," said Timothy, his voice was low and jaded.
Jill nodded gravely, and said, "I came to get tested too, but mine wasn’t a match."
"That’s ok. Mine is a match." Timothy gave an awkward smile. "I’m going to donate my bone marrow to Leah. She’ll definitely get better."
"Hm," nodded Jill.
Timothy had not met his daughter in a while. They did not expect to meet each other again in such a place. Although Timothy had broken the law and committed many crimes, Jill still regarded him as her father. But when Jill found out that Wendy, whom she had looked up to as her sister for years had turned out to be her biological sister, Jill felt a bitterness toward her father she had never felt before. Her father was not her’s alone.
"I will not force you to do things that you don’t like anymore," Timothy said, his eyes reddening. "Whatever you want to do, I will support you. If you want to sing, I’ll support you too."
"Are you in a position to force me?" Jill gave a sarcastic laugh. "Look at yourself. How are you going to force me?"
"I..." Timothy did not know what to say in response to that. She was right. He could not even save himself. How could he force his will onto her? He thought of the time when Jill had auditioned for a singing competition but he had personally gone to haul her back.
He lowered his head. He did not dare to look Jill in the eye. "I’m sorry," he said in a low voice.
"Sorry?" Jill laughed and shook her head. "You don’t have to apologize to me. You should be apologizing to Aunt Mary and my mom."
Timothy clenched his fists by his side for a moment before releasing all his fingers.
...
"If there is ever a chance, I definitely will." Timothy’s voice was low but full of sincerity. If he could meet Mary and Rosa again, he would apologize to them, but he did not know if they were willing to meet him.
Timothy did not know how to face his daughter. He kept his head down and began shuffling his feet forward.
After only two steps, Jill called out to him, "You must be very happy, right?"
Timothy’s feet froze when he heard her question. Him, happy? He did not know what Jill meant.
"Haven’t you always despised me?" Jill asked with a sneer. "Since, as your daughter, I didn’t inherit your talent for design, I couldn’t be your successor. You used to say how good it would be if Wendy were your daughter. Now that she has turned out to be your daughter, aren’t you very happy?"
"I..."
Timothy had something to say but before he could get a word in edgewise, Jill continued, "That’s why you say you’d support my singing career. All because you’ve found your successor." Big fat tears rolled down Jill’s face. She brushed them off fiercely with her hand. Laughingly, she said, "Well, congratulations. Your wish has come true."
"Jill..." Timothy turned around to look at his crying daughter.
Jill took a deep breath, and without saying another word, turned and walked into the hospital ward. She placed the fruits she was holding on the table and spoke to Leah and Jake as gently as possible. "Which fruit would you like to have? I’ll wash it for you."
Leah blinked. She looked at Jill and then looked back at Timothy. Then she pointed at the orange. Jake nodded, indicating that he wanted an orange too.
"Ok, I’ll peel it for you." Jill took the orange and started peeling it as if nothing had happened.
Timothy looked at her back. Pain stabbed his heart and he was overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. This was his fault. He had to suffer the consequences.
Just then, Milo walked by. Seeing them all standing by the door, he asked, "Why are all of you standing out here? I’ve already made the arrangements. Please go to have your tests done. If there are no problems, we can go ahead with the transplant tomorrow."
"Ok," Michael nodded in response.
Timothy did not say another word. He went along for the pre-transplant tests.
Fortunately, there were no problems found. The bone marrow transplant could proceed as planned tomorrow. It was arranged for the next morning at ten o’clock.
At nine in the morning, Leah and Timothy started preparing for the transplant. They were lying on the hospital bed, wearing hospital clothes. Wendy saw how white Leah’s face was as she was feeling very scared and nervous.
Wendy gripped Leah’s hand. She kissed her forehead and stroked her face. "Leah, don’t be afraid. Mummy, Daddy, Jake, Great-grandmother and everyone else will all be waiting for you outside the operating room. You must be strong, and press on, got it? There are so many people here who love you. We’re all waiting for you."
Leah nodded her head meekly. She said bravely, "Mummy, don’t worry. I’m not afraid. I’ll make it." There were now a lot of people crowding around Leah.
"Leah, good luck," Mrs. Lucas’s frail hand held on to Leah’s small hand as she prayed for her.
"Leah, I’ll be waiting outside the operating room with Mummy. Once the procedure is successful and you wake up, we’ll be the first people you get to see," said Michael.
"Thank you, Daddy." Leah blinked her large eyes.
...
Jake did not say anything, but his hand was holding Leah’s other hand tightly. Paul saw that it was almost time and hurried them out. Only then did Jake release her hand.
"Leah!" The panting voice of a little boy was heard from afar.
It was Mark Jeffreys. As it was now summer vacation, Mark had not seen Leah in a while. Also because it was summer vacation, Mark thought it was odd that they had not met up at all. He did not know that Leah was sick. He had wanted to call her but he did not know her home phone number. He told his mother that he wanted to play with Leah, but his mother stopped him and she told him not to intrude.
From his mother’s perspective, their families were worlds apart. Although they were only children, there would be too much involved if they grew too close. His mother was worried that the Stewarts might think they had other intentions. In the end, Mark started asking all his other friends at school if any of them knew where Leah lived. One of them asked his parents and found out Leah’s address. Mark followed that address to Leah’s house.
Unfortunately, Leah’s house was in an upper-class gated community with security guards. As a non-resident, Mark could not enter at all, so he loitered outside the gate for several days. Luckily for him, he was still a child. Otherwise, the security guards would have suspected he was a criminal and called the police.
Mary had seen Mark hanging around the gate yesterday and saw him again this morning as she was going out. She approached him and asked, "Little boy, who are you looking for?"
At first, Mark was wary of her, but she did not seem like a bad person. After a little hesitation, he asked, "Do you know Leah Stewart? Does she live here?"
Mary frowned when she heard he was looking for her granddaughter. "Leah Stewart?
She’s my granddaughter. Why are you looking for her?"
"Oh! You’re Leah’s grandma? Hello Ma’am." Mark had not expected to meet Leah’s grandmother. He smiled, "I’m Leah’s classmate. We had promised to hang out and play together during summer vacation. But it’s been a while and I still haven’t heard from Leah, so I thought of coming to look for her here."
"Leah is sick and can’t play with you," said Mary. "Come back after she’s gotten well, ok?"
Mark’s smile disappeared when he heard that Leah was sick. "Leah is sick? What sickness does she have? Is it serious? Which hospital is she in? May I visit her?"
Mary saw how worried and anxious Mark looked. She looked around but did not see his parents. "Where are your parents?" she asked him. "Did you come here alone?
Won’t your parents be worried?"
"That’s not a problem. My parents know that I’ve gone out. I go out by myself quite often, so you don’t have to worry." Mark had lied since he had slipped out of the house without them knowing.
Of course, Mary could tell that he was lying. Who would allow such a young child to run around on his own? However, since Mary was on her way to the hospital, she thought of bringing him along. Then, after he had seen Leah, Mary would send him home. It would not be safe for him to wandering outside on his own anyway. That was how Mark was brought along to the hospital.
He huffed and puffed as he ran to Leah. She had grown frail and haggard since they had last met. His face showed his worry and sympathy. "Leah, why didn’t you tell me you’re sick? I’ve been waiting all summer to play with you."
"Mark, why are you here?" A smile appeared on Leah’s face when she saw him.
"Your grandma brought me here," said Mark, pointing in her direction but there was nobody there.
