“Miss, can I please have a word with you?”Estelle was taken to the nurse’s office. There was no one else around as it was during working hours. Even the nurses were occupied with work.Estelle closed the door and bowed deeply to the nurse. “Miss, can you please keep my illness a secret?”The nurse looked unsure. “Are you...not planning on informing your family about it?” “Not really. I don’t want to worry my mother again.”“But...though we’ve removed the tumor during the previous surgery, there’s no guarantee your cancer won’t relapse. You still need chemotherapy...will you be able to keep it a secret that long?”“Which is why I’m pleading you not to let anyone know. I’m afraid my mother won’t be able to take the news well, especially with her current condition.”The nurse looked as if she was put in a difficult spot. “Miss Sanders, I can empathize with you for wanting to be a good daughter, but...”Estelle bowed to her again. “I’m begging you, Miss. I don’t have much time le
Estelle went frantic. Reaching for her phone, she dialed Skyler’s number but she remembered that he blocked her number.Hence, she borrowed a phone from a nurse and dialed the string of familiar numbers. Beep——Sure enough, the call went through easily.“Skyler Flynn! Who gave you the right to take away my daughter?”“Miss Sanders?”Estelle furrowed her brows upon hearing the familiar voice. “Is that you, Camilla? Where’s Skyler? I need to talk to him!”“Skyler’s in the shower right now. I can pass him the message.”“Where’s my daughter? Did you ask Skyler to take my daughter away from me?” fumed Estelle.Feeling pleased, Camilla replied nonchalantly, “Yes, I did. I suffered a miscarriage while you happily gave birth to a child. Skyler couldn’t bear to see me in despair, so he decided to let me have your daughter instead. It’s such a pity that your son left for the US. I wanted to have him too, you know.”“What in the world are you trying to do? Come for me if you have any
“Who was that on the phone?”Walking out from the shower, Skyler held a well-behaved baby in his arms.The baby was not shy around strangers. Instead, she stared at him with her big eyes and flashed a sweet smile at him.A moment ago she was brawling when he showered her, but she looked jolly now once they were done with the shower. Her sudden change of behavior got Skyler wondering who she took after.Skyler held her carefully and his face softened. It did not matter who she took after as she was his daughter. She was his and Estelle’s daughter.He remembered when his assistant reported to him about the investigation he had asked of. “Director Flynn, Estelle’s eldest son left the country, so there’s no chance of obtaining his DNA. But, it’s confirmed that the youngest daughter belongs to you.”The moment he heard of the news, his heart skipped a beat.Considering the time, she must have conceived the baby a year ago when Estelle negotiated their divorce so that he would have
Skyler’s gaze darkened, and he did not say a word.Camilla was a little flustered. She hid this from Skyler for almost six years without letting it get out. She knew that she was not able to hide it forever.Initially, she planned to wait till she was married to him for the dust to settle before she told him. By then, she would have been his wife. Even if Skyler was unhappy, she would have had their marriage certificate and used it to her advantage. All she had to do was spend more time with him, show more affection and play innocent to win him over.However, she did not expect Skyler to suggest visiting the Sanders family all of a sudden. Estelle was there!Her option was to deliberately irritate Estelle and so she could quickly leave with Wrenne. If Estelle met Skyler and jumped the gun to reveal the truth, things would have gotten out of hand.For some reason, she felt that something was off with Skyler that period. It was evident when he returned from the hospital. He acted
“I’m going to the old residence and I’m entrusting Ayla to the old butler. He raised me as a child. He’s good with children.” As he said that, Skyler stood up with the child in his arms, grabbed the car keys, and said softly, “Sleep early. I’m probably going to stay at the old residence more often these days. Be careful on your own alright. If you need anything at all, give Secretary Davis a call and he’ll help you with it.” “Skyler…”“That’s enough, I’m tired. I should get going.”Skyler left the house with the child. Camilla waited till the taillights of the car disappeared at the end of the road before she returned to her room.A deafening bang was heard as she forcefully slammed the door. It was seven in the evening when Skyler reached the old residence.It had been a long time since he was back at the old Flynn family residence. The walls were old and covered with creeper vines. There was only a small window that had a faint, warm yellow light that shone through. He pa
It was nine o’clock in the evening, Estelle stood at the entrance of the Banyan City Hotel.She hesitated for a while, but still had not decided whether she should enter or not.She pulled her phone out and read the text message from the unfamiliar number and read it again, each word at a time. She tried looking for clues but was to no avail.Ring-Her phone rang and she recognized the number. It was coming from the hospital.“Hello?”“Miss Sanders, your mother will be transferred to the intensive care unit tomorrow, please settle the fees tomorrow morning.”“...Okay. May I please know how much it is?”“I guess that it should be around 100,000 to 200,000 dollars. Her case of pneumonia is very serious and she’s suffering from severe malnourishment. That’s what’s causing her organs to fail. She may need to be in the intensive care unit for about two months.”“...Alright.”“Plus, there’s also the cost of your surgery and your son’s stem cell transplant that needs to be settled.”
She had no money nor status; nothing.No, she did have one more thing — issues.She turned and closed the door.The closed-door blocked the only light source in the aisle, making the room look even darker.Fortunately, the moonlight shined through the full-length windows and cast rays of silver light on the ground.“The stars are so beautiful tonight,” The man seemed satisfied, but his voice was still hoarse, “wouldn’t you say so?”Estelle took two steps forward and stood bewildered. She closed her eyes and said in a death-defying tone, “Sir, now that I’m here, let’s get to it. You said you could help me in your message. I just have two requests. The first is that I need your help to get my daughter back and the second is that I need money to settle the fees for my mother’s treatment. So tell me, sir, what are your conditions? For as long as you can help me with those things, I’ll do anything you need me to.”The man tapped his fingers on the sofa and said with a relaxed gesture
Camilla was at a complete loss for words and she was silent for a long time on the phone.Estelle simply hung up.“You have more of an edge than I thought.” He teased her. She heard his voice right behind her as they were at a close distance. Estelle felt slightly uncomfortable as she struggled a little.“Sir...that…” Estelle said, “I’m not sure why you’re helping me but there are certain things I won’t do.”The man seemed to react with interest. “Because you have two kids?”“Yes,” Estelle said, “I really need the money, but I’m still a mother. I don’t want my children to one day find out their mother…forsake her boundaries for money.” The man chuckled lazily and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not a superficial person who looks for short-term pleasures.”“That…” Estelle prodded and cautiously asked, “what is it you need me to do?”The man felt her resistance and gently retracted his arm that was circled behind her. He slightly shifted his position to keep a polite distance from her