Chapter 19
“I never looked down on you…”
Violet laughed bitterly: “You really shouldn’t have.”
She held up her hands: “To earn your tuition, I washed dishes in freezing winter water for nearly twenty hours a day. Even now, my hands still get painful, itchy chilblains every winter.”
“My knees got damaged from moving heavy stuff. They still hurt like hell when it rains.”
And the injury on her back, the calluses on her palms.
To put him through school, she’d done every dirty, exhausting job imaginable.
Sometimes looking at her grimy reflection in the mirror, she’d wonder if she wasn’t good enough to stand beside him.
Violet could think that about herself, but she couldn’t accept Adrian looking down on her.
“At nineteen, twenty–don’t you think I wanted pretty clothes? But to make money, I wore the same outfit for seven, eight years. In winter I
didn’t even dare buy a decent coat.”
“When I got sick, I’d just tough it out, take some pills and move on.”
“Adrian, you saw all this, but did you ever really take it to heart?”
“I’m sorry, Violet. I really was wrong, and I regret it.”
Hearing his words, Violet smiled lightly: “If saying sorry could erase everything that happened, then Adrian, I’d say I regret saving you from the river all those years ago, regret working so hard to put you through school.”
“I’m not someone who holds favors over people, but that doesn’t mean I can accept you enjoying the fruits of my suffering while trampling on
my feelings.”
Violet’s face showed exhaustion–she didn’t want to keep arguing: “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”
Adrian wanted to stop her, but the words stuck in his throat. He could only watch her walk away.
Before surgery, Violet lay in bed, unable to sleep all night.
But the door suddenly opened–Ethan tiptoed in.
“Shh!”
“The nurses didn’t notice me. I snuck in to keep you company–knew you wouldn’t be sleeping.”
Ethan sat by Violet’s bed and placed a small night light on the bedside table.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to see the northern lights? After you get better, we’ll go see them, okay?”
The night light projected stars across the ceiling. Violet looked at Ethan:
“Okay.”
Her nervous feelings quickly faded under Ethan’s comfort. After Violet fell asleep, Ethan sat by her bed watching her all night.
The next day, before surgery began, Ethan held Violet’s hand–she could feel his palm was cold and sweaty from nerves.
“After your surgery’s over, I have something to tell you.”
Dalel
18.7%
Chapter 19
As the operating room doors closed, the surgery light came on.
Ethan sat outside, his palms constantly sweating from anxiety.
Just then, Adrian showed up and saw the surgery light, immediately grabbing Ethan by the collar without thinking.
“What happened to Violet? Why is she having surgery?”
Ever since Ethan realized his feelings for Violet, he’d investigated everything about her past, so he naturally recognized Adrian
He punched Adrian in the face, furious.
“You’ve got some NERVE asking me what’s wrong with her! You lived with her all those years–didn’t you know she has stomach cancer?
Adrian froze: “You’re saying she… has stomach cancer?”
Ethan sneered: “Yeah, she ruined her stomach supporting you, never got proper treatment all these years, so she got cancer.”
Adrian’s expression turned frantic.
“How is she? What did the doctors say?”
Ethan pulled away from him: “What’s the point of asking now?”
“Her stomach problems weren’t just from yesterday. Professor Montgomery had money for houses and luxury apartments–how come no money to take her to a doctor?”
Faced with Ethan’s accusations, Adrian couldn’t say a word.
Ethan didn’t want to waste time on him: “Violet’s in there now. If you want to wait, fine, if not, get lost. Stop putting on this caring act–it’s disgusting.”
“Your late–blooming devotion is just gross and useless.”
The surgery lasted nearly six hours.
The moment the surgery light went off, Ethan rushed over.
“Doctor, how is she?”
“Surgery went very well. Recovery should be excellent too. Just needs good rest and she’ll be fine.”
Hearing the doctor’s words, Ethan sighed with relief.
“When can I see her?”
“Patient needs twenty–four hours observation in intensive care. You can ask the nurses about visiting procedures.”
Adrian tried to follow, but was stopped by the doctor.
“Sorry, only immediate family can go in.”
Adrian tried to argue but was dragged away by Ethan’s bodyguards.
Ethan put on protective gear and entered the ICU, seeing Violet pale and wearing an oxygen mask. He couldn’t help but kiss her forehead through his mask.
“Everything’s gonna be better from now on.”
When Violet woke up again, she was back in a regular room. She turned her head and saw Ethan slumped over her bed, gripping her hand tightly, dark circles under his eyes.
Jen Crowling Back!
Chapter 19
Just as Violet was about to pull her hand back, Ethan woke up.
“Does anything hurt?”
The pain medication was working well. Violet slowly shook her head and smiled at him.
Ethan’s eyes reddened as he held Violet’s hand and started crying: “You scared the hell out of me. You were unconscious for two days–1 thought… thought you weren’t gonna wake up.”
Violet’s lips moved slightly. Ethan leaned close to hear her whisper:
“What did you want to tell me after surgery?”
Ethan leaned close to her ear: “Violet, I love you.”
