Raphael POV
"Daddy, Ms. Chancey..."
A frail voice suddenly sounded in the ward.
Araceli turned her head to look at Essel with great joy.
"Essel, you're finally awake. How do you feel? Does it hurt?"
"I'm okay..."
Essel blinked her eyes and suddenly giggled.
"I remember in the drama, if a man and a woman keep looking at each other, it means they both like each other. Ms. Chancey, do you like Daddy? Daddy, if you like Ms. Chancey too, can you marry Ms. Chancey?"
Araceli obviously froze for two seconds.
The first thing Essel said when he woke up after the accident was that he wanted me to marry Araceli?
I suddenly wondered if the car accident was fake...
But...
My eyes fell on Araceli's face. She smiled, her eyes were clear. Her long eyelashes trembled with her laugh, as if they were feathers.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Suddenly, I felt as if I didn't resent marrying this woman...
Araceli sensed my gaze keenly. She coughed twice and hurriedly changed the subject.
She looked at Essel, who was lying on the hospital bed, and said seriously, "When the anesthetic wears off, you'll know how much it hurts. Essel, if you want to see me next time, you can call me. I can come over and pick you up. Do you remember what you promised me last time? If you ever sneak out like you did today, I'll never talk to you again!"
Araceli said word for word, looking very stern.
With tears under her eyes, Essel said in a weak voice, "Ms. Chancey, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I missed you so much. I just wanted to see you and see how you were doing these days..."
Essel's eyes were wide open. She looked like an abandoned puppy.
I frowned and sighed slightly.
Maybe the reason she liked Araceli so much was because Melany didn't care enough about her.
In any case, Melany was Essel's mother. I decided it was better to talk to Melany about it.
When Araceli heard this, her gaze instantly became even softer.
She lowered her head and gave Essel a kiss on her forehead.
Essel turned her head and sneaked a glance at me, smug. Watching this scene, I frowned.
"Ms. Chancey, I'm going to give you a kiss too!"
Essel wrapped his arms around Araceli's neck and gave Araceli a kiss on her cheek.
Araceli hurriedly grabbed Essel's hand and said seriously, "Lie down! Don't move!"
Essel nodded and stared at Araceli's face, never moving his eyes away.
...
Araceli stayed with Essel for a while and then went to pick up Krish and Valeria.
I sat in the hospital room and read the files on my iPad.
Essel had fallen asleep, but she was not sleeping peacefully, and every now and then she would let out a low scream.
Suddenly, a figure flashed by the door.
I frowned slightly.
It was Micah.
"What are you doing here? Who told you about this?"
Micah said indifferently, "Daddy, what the hell is going on here? Why didn't you tell me right away that Essel was in a car accident?"
"It was an accident," I said, "and fortunately, Essel is fine. The doctor said she'll be here for half a month and she'll be released."
Micah looked up, looked at me, and said slowly, "I checked, and it was a long-planned car accident. It's intentional murder."
I frowned slightly and looked up at him.
"How do you know that?"
"Araceli was there when Essel had the accident, and when Essel was taken to the hospital, Araceli didn't hesitate to donate blood to save Essel. Daddy, don't you think it's all too much of a coincidence?"
Micah said slowly, his voice low and husky, not at all like a child of only five years old.
My eyes narrowed.
"You suspect that the accident was planned by Araceli?"
"She had the motive to do it."
Micah pursed his lips and said, "Daddy, don't you know about the feud between Mommy and Araceli? She hates Mommy so much. This is her revenge on us."
"No. That's not possible."
I stared at him coldly, my eyes determined.
I had already been briefed on the crash scene. It was indeed a long-planned car accident case.
I was surprised that Micah was able to find out so quickly.
Did Melany give him something to say?
I clenched my fist.
However, I was inexplicably certain that the person who deliberately drove into Essel could not have been Araceli.
"Daddy, we haven't even gotten to the bottom of this. Why are you so sure it wasn't that woman?"
Micah's voice turned a little cold. "What if it turns out that the person who tried to kill Essel is Araceli?"
"I'll say it again. There's no way she could have hurt Essel."
I raised my eyes to Micah and said, word for word, "She saved Essel. You shouldn't doubt her."
Micah's eyes grew deep and dark. I couldn't see what he was thinking.
After a while, he said, "Dad, I think we better keep Araceli away from Essel, at least until this matter is investigated..."
Halfway through Micah's sentence, Essel, who had fallen asleep, suddenly opened her eyes and cried.
"Micah, what do you mean by that?"
Essel glared angrily.
"Ms. Chancey was good to me! She's the kindest woman I've ever met! There's no way she deliberately arranged this car accident! Micah, how can you accuse her falsely without solid evidence? If you ever say that in front of me again, I will never speak to you again!"
Micah smiled a little sarcastically and glanced at Essel and me.
"A person can't be nice to another person for no reason. Essel, have you ever wondered why she approached you? Don't let your rashness and stupidity hurt Royal Pack and Mommy."
"Micah, that's enough! In your opinion, I'm stupid too, right?"
I stood up and stared at Micah.
The temperature in the ward plummeted several degrees.
Micah pursed his lips tightly and stared at me. The pupils of his eyes glowed a pale gold, just like mine.
He clenched his fist and said, word for word, "Dad, I'll go back first."
Micah glared at me, turned around, and walked away.
Essel choked out, "Daddy, don't believe Micah's words! It's absolutely impossible..."
"I know. Don't cry."
I sat down on the edge of the hospital bed and calmly comforted Essel.
In any case, I would find out what was going on.