The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 56

“The family doctor already checked on her. She’s just feeling weak and has no appetite. Nothing serious.”

But Petty didn’t buy it.

Last year, when she was far along in her own pregnancy, she’d felt the same way. No energy, always tired, barely interested in food. Back then, she’d thought it was just because the baby was getting bigger, pushing against her stomach and making it hard to eat.

But then, less than two weeks later, she lost the baby.

The doctors never figured out why, but the memory haunted her. She couldn’t shake the fear. So when Adelaide started showing these symptoms, Petty couldn’t help but worry.

She walked into the room and found Adelaide lounging on the chaise, a blanket over her legs, reading glasses perched on her nose, a photo album open in her hands.

The moment Adelaide saw the look on Petty’s face, she took off her glasses and glanced at the butler. “Jackson, what did you say to her?”

Jackson kept his head down.

“Don’t blame him, Grandma, he’s just worried about you,” Petty said, sitting down on the little stool by the chaise, searching Adelaide’s face for any hint of illness.

“Grandma, can we please go to the hospital and do a full check-up? Just to be sure?”

Adelaide let out a deep sigh and gently touched Petty’s cheek. “It’s nothing, sweetheart. Just little things that come with age. Don’t make such a fuss, okay?”

Petty’s heart ached. In the short time since her last visit, her grandmother already seemed thinner.

“Won’t you let me come with you? Please, Grandma, let’s just get you checked. For me?” Petty tried again, this time with a softer, almost pleading voice.

But Adelaide just waved her off, her tone light. “Let’s not talk about that now. Come here, sit with me and look at these old pictures.”

She slipped her glasses back on and turned another page.

It was a photo of Franco’s parents. He’d gotten the best features from both of them—tall, handsome, kind eyes. Petty had heard that after Franco was born, his parents never planned for more children. They wanted to pour all their love into him.

Adelaide smiled, a little embarrassed but pleased. “You worry too much, child. I told you, I don’t need to be checked.”

Petty grinned. “I just want you to get better soon and be your lively self again.”

Adelaide laughed at that, the sound warm and bright. “Eighty years old and still lively, huh?”

“As long as you’re healthy, anything’s possible.”

They walked together into the hospital lobby. The glass doors slid open with a soft whoosh.

Petty glanced up and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her heart skipped a beat, her whole body going cold.

Across the lobby, Franco was hurrying toward the elevators. In his arms, he was carrying a woman—Laura.