After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 20

She was already on the verge of divorcing Gideon; she didn't want any more involvement with the Evernight family.

Raphael didn't press the issue. He just nodded slightly and left. “Be careful on the road.”

Aria got back in her car. As she drove out of the hospital, she saw a familiar figure—Roxanne.

She looked rushed, clearly on her way to see Lilith.

Charles or Flora must have called her when Lilith collapsed.

Roxanne recognized Aria's car. As they passed each other, Roxanne shot a quick glance into the car, her eyes filled with disgust and hatred.

Aria's heart felt heavy.

She wasn't Roxanne's biological daughter. When Lilith was welcomed back into the Rowan family, Aria had thought about leaving.

But Roxanne had taken her hand and said she would always love Aria as her own child.

Then, things changed.

She doted on Lilith and ignored Aria. When Aria brought up leaving again, Roxanne seemed to transform, heaping insults on her.

She even threatened to kill herself if Aria dared to leave.

Everyone said Aria was ungrateful and inconsiderate.

She didn't understand the point of tormenting each other like this.

Aria drove to a real estate agency.

She still had another month before her divorce from Gideon was final, but she needed to find a place to live for afterward.

After some discussion, she chose a new place: a two-bedroom apartment. It wasn't large, but the location was good—relatively close to her professor's research institute. The neighborhood wasn't the safest, but the price was right.

Aria fell silent for a long moment, then opened Lilith's file to review it.

The more she looked, the more something felt wrong.

Lilith's blood work definitely showed problems. Her three-lineage cell counts were low, and her platelet count had dropped to 50.

But Aria searched and couldn't find the results of a biopsy.

Based on the low platelet count and the X-ray report alone, a definitive diagnosis couldn't be made. The X-ray did show something, but it couldn't be the primary basis for confirmation.

With just this data, Aria didn't believe it was necessarily a bone tumor.

But… why was Lilith unwilling to get a biopsy?

Thinking this, Aria raised an eyebrow in silent contemplation.