Anne and Kevin's close friends all went to the hospital to show their support after they got the news about Eddy's relapse. They waited anxiously outside the operating room. The only person absent was Emily, who was about to give birth to her baby.
Patients walking in and out of the hospital looked at this group of stunning modelesque people in awe. A few of them even recognized Kevin and Anne. People murmured around them, causing a buzz.
Of course, Kevin and Anne were not in the mood for this and just ignored everything.
Sam raised his fingers to his temples, and rubbed his temples in gentle circles. He had just performed three consecutive, tedious surgeries. Before he had even a moment's rest, he heard news of Eddy's state.
They were not worried about the actual transplant procedure. What concerned them was Eddy's reaction to the heart after surgery.
Some people who underwent the surgery immediately rejected the heart after surgery, while others took some time before showing any sort of reaction. They could not anticipate how Eddy would respond to the procedure. All was left in God's hands now. Many felt very helpless as there was nothing they could do at all. It made them understandably a little crazy.
Time passed slowly. It was so quiet. It felt as if one could even hear the sound of a single heartbeat.
Standing in a corner with red, puffy eyes, Ella bit her lip and dared not make a single sound.
Out of nowhere, a figure appeared before her. She raised her head expectantly, disappointed to see it was Sam. Her dismay was apparent on her face.
'Eddy, this was all my fault. Will you even talk to me after this? And Mommy Anne... you treated me like your own, you were always so kind. Will you talk to me after all of this?
But I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to see my father. I need to see him.' Ella's thoughts were hounding her.
"Ella, Eddy is in the operating room now. Do you want to go see him?" Sam asked considerately.
Ella nodded, looking at Sam expectantly.
"Ella, I can promise you that you will see Eddy if you want. But you have to tell me the truth. Who did you see after you left the Fu Family's house?" Sam tried to keep his voice calm and even as he asked her this.
Hearing this question, Anne raised her eyebrows in curiosity. But her look immediately became grim once again.
Now that her darling son was lying in hospital and was going through a serious operation, his life was in danger, and nothing else mattered. As for this problem, she couldn't care less.
Ella pursed her lips and looked at Sam. She was clearly having some sort of internal struggle.
"Ella, you are almost five years old now. You should know who are people that you can trust, who treats you well and takes care of you, and who doesn't. You should never believe anyone who has not earned your trust." Placing his hand gently on her face, Sam continued, "Why do you trust that person, instead of us? Besides, you haven't even told Eddy who that person was either, right? Maybe that is what made Eddy so angry."
"Did Eddy get so worked up because of this?" When she heard Eddy's name, her little face lit up.
Sam nodded slightly.
Biting her lips, she now seemed to have decided to make her choice. She responded, "It is the man in the photo."
"Photo?" Sam asked, quizzically.
Kevin sighed and explained, "We showed Ella the photo of Kim."
So the man Ella referred to was Kim!
It was real evidence of him!
"So, what did this man say to you?" Sam continued.
"He said that my Dad was still alive. He said that Dad was hiding because he hates Uncle Kevin. He said that Uncle Kevin had bullied Dad a lot and Dad had suffered a lot because of this. So that man told me that as long as I kept saying that Uncle Kevin is the one who killed my father, my father would be happy and would come back to see me." Lowering her head, Ella accounted her story, feeling more confused than ever.
Kevin reached for his forehead with his hand, wiping across it in distress. He knew that Ella was an intelligent child, despite her age. Had this happened at any other time, she would have known that the man had been uttering lies. But since her father had disappeared, she was emotional and desperate, and her sense of reasoning had been compromised. As long as it had anything to do with her father, she would latch onto any bit of information.
'Damn it! Kim is obviously still in close proximity to the Fu Family. Otherwise, how could he have known where Ella was when she was out of the house?' he thought.
Kim was a vicious cobra, ready to strike at Kevin at any opportunity. In an instant, a cold chill crept up Kevin's back. He felt as if someone was watching him from just beyond the shadows.
"Ella, you silly, sweet girl. Kim is the man responsible for you father's disappearance. How can you still believe him?" Sam reached out and gently took Ella into his arms. His voice was full of compassion.
With her mouth open wide, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "I want my father! I need him to come back! I miss him so much!"
Naturally, when she felt this way, she would easily believe any man who was giving her hope that she would be able to see her father again.
"Ella, we will find your father as soon as humanly possible. Trust us!" Sam affirmed, his voice full of determination. They would bring Colin back, whether dead or alive.
Ella nodded her head heavily and turned to look timidly at Anne's back.
So far, Anne had not said even one word to Ella, which made the girl nervous.
At this moment, the light signaling the operation was still in procession, suddenly turned off. Anne's eyes sparkled with anticipation and she rushed to stand up and make her way over.
The door was opened slowly, revealing the hospital bed, and Eddy's little body lying on it. The ventilator almost covered his entire face, yet one could still make out just how pale he was.
'Eddy!'
Anne's heart felt as if a dagger had just pierced deep into it. There were all kinds of tubes protruding here and there from Eddy's body. He must have been in so much pain.
'Eddy, I am so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault!
If I had never left you when you were just a baby, I would have been there at your side to take good care of you. You would never have fallen this ill!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Renewal Of Love