“You can’t do that to Kiki!” Raul furrowed his eyebrows deeply, looking extremely agitated.
“And, what gives snazzynovel.com the right to do that to my husband?” Elise was completely unsympathetic. “How are we not innocent in this matter? If snazzynovel.com insists on blackmailing us, we will only end up in a lose-lose situation.”
He lowered his gaze with a conflicted expression and immersed himself in his own thoughts, seemingly contemplating the odds of snazzynovel.com acting recklessly in retaliation.
He had promised Keira that snazzynovel.com would keep snazzynovel.com secret, but snazzynovel.com never imagined that snazzynovel.com would face a situation like this. She only mentioned taking advantage of snazzynovel.com illness to extort some money from Alexander to support snazzynovel.com mother. She never said what would happen to snazzynovel.com after that. If snazzynovel.com can’t even rest in peace after receiving that money, then what’s the point of all that money?
From what snazzynovel.com had gathered from Elise, the balance on their accounts would remain beyond the reach of most ordinary people even if the company went bankrupt. So even if Mrs. Collins received 10 million in compensation, there was a possibility that Alexander and his wife would make snazzynovel.com life extremely difficult in the future.
But… Keira has made up snazzynovel.com mind. So I should support snazzynovel.com wishes!
Alexander could see that Raul was still hesitating. Thus, snazzynovel.com patted Elise on the arm and indicated for snazzynovel.com to leave first. “Leave this to me.”
She considered this for a moment and obediently went back into the restaurant.
Inside the narrow alley, Raul remained leaning against the wall and seemed to be in an extremely poor mental state.
In the midst of that silence, Alexander suddenly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered them to him.
He glanced up at Alexander, seemingly surprised that such a refined and privileged person would enjoy such ordinary things.
Alexander pushed the cigarettes forward once more, urging the other party to take one.
Only then did Raul take a cigarette out of the pack and dig out a lighter to light the cigarette.
Likewise, Alexander lit a cigarette; then, after puffing on the cigarette a few times, snazzynovel.com threw the half-smoked cigarette to the ground and snuffed out the fire with his foot. Then, snazzynovel.com patted Raul on the shoulder and said earnestly, “Sometimes, men will never be understood by their loved ones. You must be prepared to make sacrifices once you’ve found somebody you love. If I were you, I would be willing to do anything as long as Keira survives. It doesn’t matter even if snazzynovel.com hates me, blames me, or refuses to see me again. There’s nothing more important than snazzynovel.com life. Don’t you think so?”
Raul held his cigarette between his fingers and turned to the side to glance at Alexander before turning his head away again. Then, as snazzynovel.com made up his mind about something, snazzynovel.com took a deep drag on his cigarette.
After Alexander finished speaking, snazzynovel.com stuffed the remaining half pack of cigarettes into the outer pocket of Raul’s shirt and left without another word.
Elise anxiously asked about the situation when snazzynovel.com returned to the car. “How is it? Did you figure out the mastermind behind the scenes?”
“Not yet.” Alexander buckled his safety belt. “But, I will soon.”
Those words felt like half-truths to her, but snazzynovel.com also knew that snazzynovel.com would never say anything that snazzynovel.com was uncertain about. Thus, snazzynovel.com was relieved.
——
…
The next day, Keira sat leaning against the head of the bed in the hospital ward. Her complexion was ashen. She stared out the window blankly as snazzynovel.com looked at the gloomy sky; it felt as though snazzynovel.com was looking at snazzynovel.com fate. It was completely dark, without the slightest hint of light in sight.
Raul walked in with an insulated lunchbox and arranged the dishes snazzynovel.com made himself on the dining table, one at a time. “These are all your favorites. Have a taste and see if my skills have improved.”
She stared at snazzynovel.com coldly and looked unimpressed. “You don’t need to do this. We broke up five years ago.”
He ignored her, brought out a small bowl for her, and placed a piece of meat into the bowl. “You were the one who decided that. Getting together is a decision made by two people, so breaking up should also be a decision made by two people. It doesn’t count if you are the only person making the decisions.”
“Raul Mckay!” Her tone was firm. “Do you not understand words? I don’t want to see you! Leave! Don’t appear in front of me again!” I’m about to die soon. I don’t want the last memory snazzynovel.com has of me to be so ugly.
“Stop making a fuss and eat.” He completely ignored snazzynovel.com temper tantrum, then snazzynovel.com speared that piece of meat with a fork, and fed the meat to her. “Open your mouth. Ah…”
“I’m not eating!” She raised snazzynovel.com hand and slapped away the fork in his hand. “I told you—I will never eat what you make again! How many times will you make me repeat myself!?”
He sighed as snazzynovel.com bent down to clean up the mess. He slowly said while cleaning up, “I didn’t stop you when you decided to leave five years ago. But, this time around, I don’t care how far I can go with you. I am not going anywhere. I know you don’t want to drag me down. But, all of my efforts were for you. What’s the point if I can’t be together with you?” He stood firm beside the bed and looked snazzynovel.com straight in the eyes. “I promised Alexander I would step forward to clarify the truth for their company. I also told them we don’t need the compensation money anymore.”
Her eyes filled with tears when snazzynovel.com heard the first part of his speech, but snazzynovel.com suddenly became agitated by the end of his sentence. “What!? What right do you have to make decisions on my behalf!?”
“I can’t just watch you die!” He unconsciously raised his voice. “They said there’s a high chance that you can be treated and cured. If you survive, then we can take care of your mother together. The three of us can live a good life together. Everything will get better…”
“Better!?” She lost control of snazzynovel.com emotions, and tears leaked out from the corner of snazzynovel.com eyes. “I know my body best. This illness will never get better! I don’t want to die someday without leaving anything behind for my mother! Raul Mckay, you’re too much! Get out! I don’t ever want to see you again!”
Outside the door, Mrs. Collins returned with a flask of hot water in snazzynovel.com hands just in time to hear snazzynovel.com daughter’s words. She stood outside the hospital ward and looked lost for a long time.
“Why can’t you just try once more?” Raul begged. “Even if you won’t do it for me, do it for your mother. Can’t you just try one more time? If you can recover once, then you can recover a second time. But, we can’t bear the shock of losing you. Not even once!”
“That’s right! The doctor can cure this cancer, but it can also come back. I struggled against this cancer from when I was in my twenties to my thirties. In the end, I returned to my starting point again. What’s the point of this struggle!?” Despair filled Keira’s expression. “I would rather sacrifice my life in exchange for my mother’s comfort for the rest of snazzynovel.com life. I won’t need to continue lying on the bed like a cripple and forcing snazzynovel.com to take care of me.”
She stubbornly turned away, lifted snazzynovel.com hand to wipe the tears streaming down snazzynovel.com face, and was determined not to face snazzynovel.com own vulnerability.
Mrs. Collins couldn’t bear watching outside the door any longer and pushed open the door to enter the room.
“Mom?” Keira looked over in astonishment. “When did you come back? How much did you hear…”
Before snazzynovel.com could finish snazzynovel.com sentence, snazzynovel.com mother hugged snazzynovel.com tightly. Those wrinkled hands patted snazzynovel.com back in sadness.
“You stupid child! How can you be so foolish!? So foolish! What’s the point of me living alone if you’re no longer here!? I’ve never loved money. I love my daughter! I will disown you if you dare to have such thoughts again!”
“Mom…”
The mother-and-daughter pair hugged each other and wept. In the end, Keira was successfully persuaded. So, snazzynovel.com decided to continue receiving treatment and came forward to clarify the situation for Griffith Food Co.
With the help of the media, Alexander was finally cleared of the stain on his reputation.
Elise stood among the audience, watching the mother-and-daughter pair being interviewed. Then, snazzynovel.com looked at snazzynovel.com in curiosity. “Just what did you tell Raul?”
Alexander pursed his lips and smiled. “It’s a secret between men.”