Ella jumped out of bed and ran to the door without putting on her slippers.
Samuel hurriedly hung up the phone and ran after her, "Calm down." Samuel wanted to stop Ella from her frantic running, and lifted her up in his arms.
Ella jumped off. Despite being barefooted, she didn't notice how cold the floor was. "How can I calm down? Didn't you hear my brother? My parents just died!"
Her parents were gone, and her husband wished to divorce her. Her troubles seemed endless.
She sprinted downstairs, and Samuel followed. He grabbed her arm just as she opened the door.
"Put on your shoes. I'll take you there."
Ella couldn't shake off Samuel's hold on her arm. She quickly slipped into her shoes and waited for Samuel to take her to the hospital Eason had mentioned.
In the car.
Ella was now in a state of utter shock. She muttered, "Eason must have been arguing with Mama and Papa...That's why he said that. But he can't curse them in that way! Eason Bo, you are such an unfilial son... Samuel, my parents are still all right, aren't they? Eason was just kidding, wasn't he?"
Samuel's heart ached when he saw her like this.
He grasped her little trembling hand, "You have to embrace reality."
Embrace reality? Ella shivered at the thought.
She was afraid. She was so afraid...
Samuel stopped his car in a relatively empty street, and pulled Ella close. He held the trembling woman to his chest. "I'll be with you."
He'd be with her? Ella held him tight, "Samuel... I'm by your side... You're with me... You will always be here for me, right?" Fear had been gnawing at her since she had heard the news, so much so that her brain was unable to construct a complete sentence.
Forgetting all past problems, Samuel stroked her long hair and said, "Yes, I'll always be here." His presence soothed Ella.
Samuel took a tissue to wipe her tears, "Don't cry. Let's go and see what happened."
When they reached the hospital, Eason was in a ward, eyes glazed, sitting in a chair beside the hospital bed.
On the hospital bed lay two bodies, covered in a white sheet from head to toe...
Ella almost fell to her knees, but Samuel caught her in time.
She didn't have the courage to go and verify whether they were her parents.
"Ella, go and have a last look at them. They'll be put into the morgue soon." Eason looked at his younger sister, red-eyed, whispering hoarsely, sounding ten years older.
Ella shook her head. She wouldn't go. "They are not... Not my parents....I will not...." With that said, she pushed Samuel away and rushed to the door.
"Ella Bo!" Samuel raised his voice, and shouted at her, which made Ella stop. She laid her trembling hands on the knob, but found that she couldn't bring herself to open the door.
Samuel came over, and gently led her back to the hospital bed. "You don't even want to say a final farewell to your parents? Do you want to be an unfilial daughter?" Samuel spoke to Ella while removing the white sheet.
Ella saw Jenny's face first.
She looked abnormally pale. Ella noticed the scratches, and dried blood on Jenny's face.
"Mother!" Ella collapsed on top of Jenny. She cried, and shook her mother vigorously.
Samuel pulled her back and locked her in his arms. "Ella, don't cry."
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