Chapter 6 Hospitalization
For the next ten days, Antonio didn’t come home.
Grace smiled bitterly, thinking that he probably felt too embarrassed to face her.
The story of the lion toy had made it clear that anything Antonio gave her wasn’t for free–it was something she had to pay back.
She didn’t have many valuable things, so she sold everything she had cherished.
“Grandpa, could you lend me 800 thousand dollars? I promise I’ll pay you back.”
After thinking it through, Grace decided to ask Barrett for a loan. She was about to officially become part of the Kaufman family. She wanted to make sure that once she did, her
relationship with Antonio would be strictly limited to that of uncle and niece, with no other ties.
Soon, a substantial amount of money was transferred to her
bank account.
Along with the savings she had accumulated over the years, she had 1.6 million dollars in total. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was a sincere gesture from her. She decided to give this money as their wedding gift.
On Wednesday, there was a big auction where Antonio became the biggest buyer. He bought the most expensive item just to give it to Zelma as a gift.
Chapte paluation
During the break in the auction, the organizers held a dance.
party.
Men and women were dancing in the ballroom. Antonio didn’t hesitate to pick his dance partner.
He completely ignored Grace, who was being made fun of by other people.
“I knew it. An unrelated niece in Antonio’s home? What for? To take care of his children later?”
“She has no shame at all. Antonio is about to get married. I would have moved out long ago if I were her.”
“It must be because she’s money–hungry.
“With the Kaufman family’s wealth, she won’t want to leave.”
Each mean word hit Grace like a rock, but Antonio was busy dancing with Zelma, not paying any attention to her.
Some people started cheering, “Kiss her! Kiss her!”
Antonio looked at Zelma tenderly and slowly leaned in for a kiss. It was gentle and graceful.
He held the kiss for a full five minutes before pulling away.
The crowd erupted into loud applause. Grace clapped along with everyone else, but when she looked at Antonio, there was no love in her eyes anymore.
In the hallway after it was all over, Antonio’s assistant, Rufus Bedwell, was trembling with his head down, saying nothing. His boss was angry again.
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Chapter Hospitalization
“Can’t you see she’s all alone?” Antonio asked in a cold voice. “Didn’t you hear what they were saying?”
Rufus apologized in a trembling voice, “I’m sorry, Mr.
Kaufman. You didn’t tell me…”
Antonio got even angrier and yelled, “What? Are you blind? Can’t you tell when to act?”
When Antonio got angry, no one dared to calm him down except Grace. Right now, Rufus wanted to find a place to hide.
“Give me the names of those who gossiped. Get it done within half an hour, or you’re fired!”
When they were leaving, it had got pitch dark outside.
Two cars collided.
Sirens wailed. Antonio scooped up Zelma, who was next to Grace, and sprinted towards the ambulance.
Grace’s consciousness was fading. All she could see was Antonio getting into the ambulance with Zelma in his arms, muttering, “Zelma, you can’t be hurt. What will I do if something happens to you?”
***
Antonio wasn’t the same person he had been thirteen years ago. Grace gradually closed her eyes, becoming numb from the pain.
“Ms. Parrish!”
The nurse’s voice woke Grace up.
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Grace struggled to open her eyes and saw that she was hooked up to lots of machines.
“Great, you’re awake. Do you have any family members?”
Grace couldn’t speak, so the nurse picked up her phone and called the first contact.
“Hello, Mr. Kaufman. Ms. Parrish needs someone to look after
her.”
There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by an annoyed response. “I’m very busy. Just find her a caretaker. I’m taking care of Zelma now.”
Then the call was hung up.
Grace sat quietly and looked out the window at the setting sun. The nurse saw how lost in thought she was and decided not to bother her.
Outside the window, a little bird flew out of its nest while its mom watched. In five days, Grace would be leaving too.
Barrett had got everything ready for her to officially join the family back in their hometown, just waiting for her to come back.
The doctor told her that two of her ribs were broken. Even after surgery, it would affect her life in some way.
“Ms. Parrish, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do things like jumping or other intense activities anymore. I’m really sorry.” The doctor looked apologetic.
Since no family member was there to sign the surgery consent form, he didn’t dare to operate, so they missed the
THE
Chapter Hospitalization
best time for the surgery.
Grace just smiled and waved her hand. “I never like sports anyway. It’s fine. I’d like to be transferred to Wintervale Hospital, please.”
“Alright,” the doctor said. He felt bad for such a nice young lady.
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