After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 21

On her way to the hospital to see Lilith, Aria sent her professor the preliminary proposal for the seminar she was preparing.

It was about integrative medicine, a relatively new approach in recent years, but one that Aria had proposed and found evidence for years ago.

She just hadn't had the chance to develop it further before leaving the research lab.

Less than twenty minutes later, her professor called, his voice shaking with excitement. “Did you do all this yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Are you confident about this?”

Aria hesitated but still nodded. “I am.”

It wasn't entirely a lie. In the years she'd been married to Gideon, she had carefully reviewed his physical exams every time he had one.

Although he appeared healthy, a certain blood marker was elevated each year, leading Aria to suspect he might have a hereditary condition.

So for years, she had been trying to improve his condition through a carefully managed diet.

It had been effective.

The professor's old voice was tinged with excitement.

“Aria! Do you have any idea what you're saying?! This could be a turning point that changes the fate of critically ill patients!”

“Let's meet! Right now!”

“I'm sorry, Professor, but I need to go to the hospital to look at Lilith's case file.”

“Then I'll see you at the hospital!”

Soon, her professor's voice came over the line again.

“Aria, I hope you'll see this through this time. Don't disappoint me again.”

***

In the VIP ward.

The moment Roxanne walked in and saw Lilith lying on the hospital bed with her pale little face, her eyes grew red.

She had only seen her two days ago, but Lilith had lost so much weight.

This didn't look like a simple fainting spell.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Lilith looked up with a small smile. “Did Charles send you? I'm totally fine!”

Hearing Lilith say that, Roxanne couldn't bring herself to press further. She sat by the bed and gently pinched Lilith's cheek.

There was hardly any flesh on it anymore; it was like touching a skeleton.

But she had always been thin, and her health hadn't improved much in all the time she'd been back with the Rowan family.

“Has Gideon been taking care of you these past few days?”

Lilith glanced shyly at Gideon, who was standing nearby, and nodded. “It's all thanks to Gideon!”

Gideon’s expression was neutral. “I'm just doing what's right.”

Gideon listened without objecting.

“I asked you to come to talk about Lilith,” Charles said, his expression serious as he gripped Roxanne's arm. “Lilith has a late-stage bone tumor.”

Roxanne's vision went black, and she nearly fainted.

Fortunately, Charles was prepared. He gripped her shoulders and helped her to a chair.

Roxanne didn't understand the medical details, but she understood what 'late-stage tumor' meant.

“Why are you only telling me now that something this serious has happened?!”

Her voice was trembling.

“Roxy, Lilith was only diagnosed a couple of days ago. She didn't want to tell us. I only found out when she suddenly collapsed at dinner yesterday.”

“Is there any way to save her?”

The thought of Lilith, so young, having to leave them was so painful Roxanne could barely breathe.

Seeing this, Charles quickly took out the medication Roxanne carried with her and gave her two pills.

“Right now, we're looking for Dr. Dawn, the surgeon who performed a bone tumor resection eight years ago. And cord blood could also help Lilith. It's not like there are no options!”

Roxanne calmed down a little, but her heart was still heavy.

“Lilith has a rare blood type. It's not going to be easy to find a matching cord blood unit for her!”