The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 23

Zeke picked up almost immediately, his voice low. "Mrs. Carlson, do you need something?"

"Tell Hassan that I am using my wish. I'm trading it to save my grandfather."

There was a brief pause on the other end before he quietly replied, "Understood."

Over the line, Natalie could hear Zeke speaking. "Mr. Carlson, your wife says..."

But before Zeke could even finish his sentence.

The next second, she heard it with crystal clarity. The voice she had once loved more than anything in the world replied with chilling indifference, "Save Gardenia first."

His voice was always clean and cold, remarkably steady and composed.

Yet in that moment, it sounded like the whisper of a terrifying demon.

He seemed to have completely forgotten that this wish was one she had bought with her own life.

On her eighteenth birthday, he had taken her to Tahiti to celebrate. Along the way, they were ambushed. Their private jet had been forced down on an isolated island, hunted by assassins sent by his uncle. She had taken a bullet for him, hovering on the brink of death.

He had forgotten all of it...

Gardenia was loaded onto the lifeline that should have belonged to her grandfather.

While her grandfather lay on a freezing stretcher, waiting.

The second medevac chopper didn't arrive for another ten minutes.

She stayed by his side at the hospital for a full day and night. In the end, the doctor announced that Lemuel had missed the golden window for resuscitation. He had fallen into a vegetative state.

Her eyelids were swollen from crying, throbbing with a sharp, needle-like pain. When Yvonne called, Natalie forcefully swallowed all her devastating emotions. "Hello... don't worry, we got Grandpa transferred right away..."

At that, she had to pull the phone away, unable to stop a sob from escaping. She took several deep, shuddering breaths before she could speak again. "I'm taking care of him here. The doctor says he needs complete rest. I'll come see you in a bit, and I'll bring the video Grandpa recorded for you to watch."

After hanging up, she immediately texted Nancy Gaines, sending over a bunch of old photos and videos of Lemuel, asking her to deepfake a new video.

Natalie's face instantly went ice-cold. "What are you doing here? You're not welcome!"

Yvonne gently tugged at Natalie's hand, confused by her sudden hostility and looking worried. "Natalie, did you and Hassan have a fight?"

Terrified that Yvonne might guess something was wrong with Lemuel, she forced her emotions down. "Yeah. I'm just mad he didn't come to the hospital with me to see you yesterday."

Before Yvonne could say another word, Natalie grabbed Hassan and dragged him out.

He didn't deserve to be here! He didn't deserve to see her grandmother!

From behind them, Yvonne called out, "Natalie, talk things out. Don't fight."

She slammed the hospital room door shut and dragged him all the way to the end of the corridor.

The man lowered his eyes and spoke first. "I've already arranged for the best specialists to look after your grandfather..."

"What good does that do?!" In an instant, her fragile control shattered completely. Her eyes turned bloodshot as tears spilled over, her lips violently trembling. "He can never move again! He can never speak again! All because of you! Hassan!"