Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 360

The man looked at Silvia, his gaze flickering with some emotions. After a while, he said with a hint of disappointment, "You're a letdown, seriously. Choosing suicide, really? Do you think that guy cares about you? You've been here for days, and he hasn't even noticed you. What you're doing is dumb. You're just asking for trouble."

Silvia lay immobile on the bed. The room was so quiet the only sound was the steady beeping of the machines. The man fell silent for a long while after he spoke, just watching Silvia's pale face. After a long pause, he finally said, "Look at how the Meyer family, the people you care about, treat you. After taking care of you for a few days, they're already looking to hire a nurse. They're loaded, and hiring a nurse is a walk in the park for them. That's how much you mean to them. Wake up and smell the coffee, stop being so stubborn. I'm the one who really cares about you.

"If you have a shred of dignity left, wake up and give your enemies back ten times the pain they've put you through. That's how you deal with enemies. Don't be a fool and gamble with your life."

With that, he turned on his heel and left. As soon as he was gone, Erica entered with an older nurse. She told the nurse, "This is the patient I was telling you about. Please take good care of her and speak encouraging words to her. If she wakes up soon, I'll give you a bonus. I'll come by when I can."

The nurse smiled in satisfaction. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll do my best."

Erica nodded, gave the nurse a few instructions, and then let her go.

Once the nurse left, Erica rubbed her aching shoulders. It had been a few tiring days at the hospital. Checking the time, she remembered she still had to talk to Ines, so she headed straight to the Galeana Group.

When Ines heard from the receptionist that Erica was here to see her, she thought she must have heard wrong. She went downstairs, and sure enough, there was Erica sitting not too far away.

"Erica, what are you doing here?" Ines asked, surprised.

Erica smiled. "I just came from the hospital. It's break time, so I thought we could hang out. We never really had a chance to do that. Do you have time?"

"For you, I always have time," Ines said, linking arms with Erica. She sensed Erica had something to say.

They found a nearby café. Because Ines was pregnant, she just ordered a warm milk. Erica got a latte.

"Izzy, about Silvia, I wanted to talk to you about it before, but she tried to kill herself and everything got put on hold," Erica said bluntly.

Ines felt a small knot in her stomach, not knowing what Erica was going to say. Erica seemed to notice her tension and said with a smile, "Izzy, don't worry. I'm not going to ask you to persuade Ethan to see Silvia. I know Ethan's personality. Once he makes a decision, he doesn't change it easily. Silvia really made him angry this time. Her behavior also disappointed me and your grandfather."

Hearing this, Ines let out a sigh of relief. She felt conflicted. On the one hand, she didn't want Silvia to die. On the other hand, she didn't want Ethan to be the one to wake her up. She thought it would be better for everyone if Silvia stayed comatose. If her mother-in-law made such a request, she wouldn't know how to respond.

Even now, after Silvia had attempted suicide and remained comatose for days, they were still willing to make such a promise. It was truly rare. She had thought they would change their attitudes. But they were still so resolute.

Ines' eyes reddened. She felt incredibly lucky. "We're not the type of people who can't distinguish right from wrong. We will support the right side. Silvia's actions have made us all very sad. She can like Ethan, but she shouldn't keep pestering him after you two are already married. She's obviously trying to break up the family. But she doesn't have any family left in this world. Do you know what happened with Leila? We can't abandon her now. That would be heartless. So your grandfather and I could have only taken care of her these past few days. But if she wakes up and still won't let go, we won't bother with her anymore. I can assure you of that." Erica explained patiently, not wanting Ines to feel uncomfortable.

Hearing this, Ines' smile brightened. "How is Silvia now? Has she improved at all?"

"She's still the same, still comatose. The doctors can't say when she'll wake up. I've prepared myself for the long haul. I just hired a nurse this morning. I'll also come by to check on her when I can. I hope she wakes up soon and can see the light."

Ines nodded. "Mom, you've really been busting your chops. About Ethan, I..." She wanted to say something, but Erica cut her off. "Izzy, I've been mulling it over these past few days, and I reckon Ethan's actions were spot on. I'm totally backing his decision. If he's not into Silvia, there's no point seeing her, let alone giving her hope or saying things against his feelings just to wake her up. It might seem harsh, but it's the best way to get Silvia to drop it for good. Maybe this incident will make it clear that the man she's got the hots for already has a family and doesn't have feelings for her. If she still doesn't get it, I'm at my wits' end."

Ines chuckled. "Mom, you've really thought this through."

"I just figured it out, Ethan must've got it ages ago," Erica replied with a laugh.