The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 54

Tears spilled over, tracking down her weathered face. "Something happened, I just know it. Natalie, stop lying to me. Tell me exactly how bad it is."

A second later, Natalie couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears poured down.

Her chest hitched as she took a few deep breaths and hugged the older woman tight. "Grandma, you still have me. Grandpa just needs to rest, and so do you. Let's go back to your room, okay? I brought your favorite soup."

"If you don't tell me what happened to him today, I'm not going back." Her lips quivered. "He must be in terrible shape. When I was sick, he was right there taking care of me, watching over me. Now that he's sick, I'm not even allowed to see him? That's not fair to him, and it's not fair to me."

She took a deep breath. "Grandma."

She couldn't bear it either.

"Natalie, tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it. As long as he hasn't..." She gritted her teeth, too superstitious about death to say the words out loud.

"He hasn't!" Left with no choice, she had to tell her the truth. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide it for much longer anyway.

The moment Yvonne heard it, she swayed dangerously, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Natalie supported her, listening as she forced out the words. "Take me to see him."

"Grandma, can we wait a little longer?"

Grandpa Lemuel was in awful condition. His complexion was an ashen gray, and his hair had turned almost entirely white. As healthy as Natalie was, she cried every time she visited him—cried until her chest ached, cried until she nearly passed out.

How was her grandmother supposed to handle it?

But Yvonne was insistent, leaving Natalie no choice but to comply.

The doctor ran a comprehensive check on her before allowing Natalie to take her out for three hours, stressing that she must return within two.

Sitting in the car, Natalie tried to distract her by chatting about random, lighthearted things.

Listening to her, Yvonne suddenly asked, "How are things with you and Hassan lately?"

Natalie paused, then nodded. "We're doing fine."

Forcing down her emotions, Natalie pressed her lips together and said evenly, "It's just... he's too busy. He never has time for me, and he's so cold."

How could she ever tell her grandmother the actual truth?

"Hasn't he always been like that? You used to say you loved him no matter how he was."

Guessing that there was a deeper issue between them, Yvonne pulled out her phone and called Hassan directly.

"Grandma, don't—" Natalie tried to stop her.

The call connected instantly, and his voice drifted through the speaker. "Grandma Yvonne, do you need something?"

"Natalie and I are going to see my old man. Do you want to come along? Are you busy?"

A brief silence hung on the line before he spoke. "I'm not busy. I'll head over soon."