Flora bit her lip, fighting back tears. Her voice choked up: "What... what can I do?"
"If she can maintain a positive mental state and accept the treatment, there might be a glimmer of hope."
"And if her spirits lift, when is the next surgery due?" This was what Flora cared about most at the moment.
Having a clear understanding of the little one's condition, Andrey quickly provided a timeline: "In two weeks." That was the earliest possible.
Flora nodded, memorizing this date, ready to report back to Madam Eirlys. Having covered the main issue, she asked: "May I speak to her?"
"Not at the moment." Andrey responded swiftly. He added after a pause, sensing his answer was not satisfactory: "She's sleeping. I'll talk to Matthew later, tell him to call you back. You know everything now, you can reach him directly."
After hanging up, Andrey immediately relayed the news to Matthew that Flora was now aware of everything.
"She knows?" Matthew seemed taken aback.
He had hidden from Flora the true nature of Paul's illness, not disclosing what the child was suffering from. On the occasions he'd taken his daughter abroad for treatment, he had lied, saying they were going on vacation.
Flora had almost no suspicions and simply reproached him for not letting her see their children. Now she knew everything.
Andrey nodded: "Yes, she knows everything, including the fact that the previous surgery was unsuccessful, and that stem cells from you can no longer be used for Paul's transplant." Casting a glance at Paul's frail little form, hooked up to a myriad of wires on the hospital bed, Andrey lowered his voice instinctively: "She wants to talk to Paul, but I told her she's sleeping. When Paul wakes up, you can contact her and then... talk for a bit."
What came next was a matter between Matthew and Flora, a family affair.
As a doctor and Matthew's friend, this was all Andrey could do.
Matthew gave a slight nod, hesitating: "She... is she okay?"
Recalling Flora's demeanor when she spoke to him, Andrey confirmed: "From her voice and attitude, she seems to be fine, very calm." He couldn't help but exclaim: "Indeed, a remarkable woman. Facing such a massive upheaval and yet maintaining such composure! No wonder she's caught your eye, she's definitely extraordinary!"
A thought suddenly struck Andrey.
He clapped Matthew on the shoulder, leaning close to whisper: "Look, this could be your chance to reconcile with her. Are you just going to blame yourself forever? You two still have a future together, you can't go on like this, it's not right. Although you misunderstood and caused her to lose the child, no man would remain composed in such a situation. Think about it, who caused all this? She... she'd certainly prefer to 'deal with' the mastermind rather than blame you."
Andrey's words made a lot of sense.
Matthew pondered for a moment, then nodded: "I will consider it." Without Andrey's words, he had planned to handle everything himself, making the conspirators pay dearly for their actions.
Indeed, as he said, he would blame himself for the rest of his life.
While he was merely the unintentional victim of a plot, he was also the direct cause of all the consequences.
Had he been a bit calmer, trusted the woman he loved a little more, things would not have gone this way.
Paul's sleep was never deep.
Those tormented by pain had no way to sleep soundly.
Upon waking, the first thing Paul did after opening his eyes was anxiously look around the hospital room, searching for the familiar figure of her father.
Matthew knew this, so since he arrived, whenever his daughter was asleep, he sat by her hospital bed, not leaving her side.
After a couple of days, unable to bear seeing this, Andrey had an extra bed brought into the room so that Matthew could stay within sight of his daughter.
As soon as his daughter woke up, Matthew immediately called Flora.
"Hello, Matthew? Is that you?" Flora's voice wavered slightly.
It had been a long time since Matthew took the initiative to call her.
His calling this time was likely due to Paul's condition.
"Mom, it's me."
Flora became even more anxious.
She clutched her mobile phone tightly, her other hand clenched on her thigh, forcing herself to calm down: "Paul, my dear, how do you feel?"
"I'm fine, mom. There's nothing wrong." Paul gave a weak smile, whispering: "I miss you so much..."
From Flora's eyes, a tear slowly dripped: "Mom misses you too." Pausing for a moment to regain her composure, she took a deep breath: "Paul, promise me, you'll listen to your father and Doctor Andrey, be obedient in your treatment. This illness is not incurable, we must try our best, we will definitely succeed... You wouldn't leave mom behind, would you?"
In the end, Paul was just a child.
The pain the little one had to endure over these past days was far beyond what an ordinary person could ever imagine.
With her pale little hand holding the phone, she suddenly burst into tears: "But... mom... it hurts so much... I don't want to leave you... but I'm in so much pain... all over..." It was a bone-deep pain that tortured her incessantly.
"Mommy's baby..." Flora frantically tried to comfort her daughter: "Don't cry... don't cry... dad and mom are always with you... don't give up, okay?"
Just then, Matthew reached out to embrace his daughter, whispering: "Dad and mom are always with you."
After crying for a while, Paul wiped her tears, nodding vigorously: "Yes. I remember, I will try hard to get treated, I will listen to dad and mom."
The mobile phone was handed back to Matthew.
Neither end of the line had hung up yet.
Matthew held the phone and walked out into the corridor, stopping in front of a floor-to-ceiling window.
It seemed that Flora could feel his footsteps stop, she opened her mouth: "Matthew, I want to ask you something... did you go over there... alone?" She promised herself that if he nodded and agreed, she would tell him everything, including that the baby in her womb was still alive, and the baby's umbilical cord blood could save Paul.
But he said: "You know?"
Her way of speaking, her hesitant tone, all affirmed to him that she knew he did not go abroad alone, but with Selena.
He did not know how she felt when she learned this, he only knew that he regretted it greatly now.
"It's not a secret, many people know." Flora smiled sadly, a bit bitterly: "Nothing else, I'm going to hang up now." She just wanted to confirm.
"Hold on."
Matthew hastily called: "I apologize. For my foolishness and stupidity... I know an apology means nothing to you, but I have to say I'm sorry. And also... I love you, very much."
The call was ended.
Flora gazed into the distance, taking in the vastness of the world, determined in her heart.
It was time to make a decision.
In the meantime, reminded by Flora's question, Matthew finally remembered Selena who had gone abroad with him and was with Mimi.
The room was shut tight, not lacking anything, but activity was restricted.
Through the surveillance camera, one could easily notice Selena's mental state was unstable.
"Sir, she keeps talking to herself and screaming all day, sometimes she even destroys things. She must be very uncomfortable." As she said this, Mimi showed no sympathy for Selena at all.
On the contrary, she felt a bit smug.
Selena was originally an arrogant and haughty lady, who didn't value others at all.
She had repeatedly plotted against Flora.
So Mimi had no sympathy for her at all.
The door to the room burst open.
Matthew walked straight in.
As soon as she saw him, Selena rushed over, clutching his arm tightly: "Matthew... you finally came to see me... I knew you would never abandon me!".
"The performance of Miss White, the family's heiress, hasn't changed at all, has it? She's still as contrived as ever." With a clatter of her high heels, Mimi sauntered in, applauding a few times as if to cheer Selena's play: "But alas, no one is interested in the show.
It's both nauseating and pretentious, it would be better if you just stopped."
"You..." Selena spun around to face Mimi, eyes blazing, teeth grinding.
Her eyes, bloodshot and staring up at Matthew, looked both ugly and ferocious, feigning a sweet coquettishness that wasn't there at all: "Matthew... She dares to bully me.
You must defend me..."
In response, he methodically and decisively unpeeled each of her tightly clasped fingers from him.
Mimi was far more brutal, striking hard on her hand, forcing her to let go of Matthew.
"This evil witch, you think my uncle would trust you? Kidnapping Charlie, intending to kill him, exploiting Patrick's feelings for my aunt to trap her, making my uncle misunderstand.
Successfully framing my aunt, and fearing my uncle might forgive her, you went looking for Patrick's mother, claiming the child in my aunt's womb was her grandchild.
Your meticulously planned plot, so utterly sinister.
Regrettably... the curtain must finally fall."
"Utter nonsense!" Selena glared at the girl with a sharp, cutting gaze, her voice rising sharply: "If you want to accuse me, you should at least have solid evidence, don't frame me! Or do you like him too, and you're trying to get rid of both me and Flora?"
Mimi stared wide-eyed, unable to believe how Selena's mind could work in such a twisted way.
Which of her eyes saw her falling in love with her uncle? And which one saw her trying to get rid of her aunt?
"You want evidence, you wicked witch? Alright, I'll show you the evidence." Mimi pressed a button on the wall, and the room's lighting system automatically changed. The projector turned on, magnifying the image from the phone onto the wall.
The sound echoed clearly into everyone's ears.
It was a recorded confession from Patrick's hourly maid.
She confessed wholeheartedly, explaining how she met Selena, the things Selena had said, and how much this heiress had paid her to work for her.
The moment Selena saw the image of the hourly maid appear, even before she could hear the content, her face turned as white as a sheet.
Only after the video had finished did Matthew ask: "Selena, is there anything else you want to say?"
"No, it's not like that.
Matthew, please believe me.
I've been by your side for so long, how could I harm you... I never thought of doing such a thing.
I love you so much, even if I can't be with you, I still wish you happiness." Selena's eyes filled with tears: "It's just... I can't forgive Flora.
She killed the child in my womb, Matthew, I'm a mother too, I loved my child... For a long time, whenever I closed my eyes I would hear the echo of a child calling for its mother... I know what I did was wrong, but I couldn't control myself, my child... my child is gone... Flora is the one who killed my child..."