Mark looked down. His head hung low, as if he had done sothing wrong.
"They do not like it when I play with Leah," Mark said quietly.
"They do not like you playing with Leah?" Michael repeated, perplexed.
Turning to look at Leah, who was lying in the hospital bed, he wondered why Mark’s parents did not want their son playing with his daughter. His daughter was such an adorable girl.
Michael asked, "Why do they not like it?"
Mark shook his head. "I don’t know. Mom and Dad said that I should not hang out with Leah. They say we are of different social classes."
Michael and Wendy exchanged looks. Wendy found the reason absurd.
"It’s okay. Next ti, when you feel like paying with Leah, just co over to our place. However, you can’t sneak out of your house, alright?" Michael said tenderly as he stroked Mark’s head gently.
Looking up, Mark’s eyes brightened when he heard what Michael had said. The boy smiled and nodded.
"Shall I have soone send you ho now?" Michael offered. "Your parents are looking for you."
Mark shook his head. "Can I stay until Leah wakes up?" Mark pleaded.
Michael glanced at Wendy.
"Since Mark does not want to leave yet, let him stay for a while," Wendy said. "Leah will be delighted to see him when she wakes up."
"Thank you, Mrs. Lucas," Mark replied excitedly.
Since Wendy had already decided, no one raised any objection.
"Mark, you should call your parents. Tell them you are safe," Wendy suggested. "Do you have a cell phone or a smartwatch that can make calls?"
Mark did have a smartwatch, but he had left it at ho. If he wore it, his parents would call him incessantly. If they found out he was with Leah again, they would scold him.
That was why he had made it a point to take it off and leave it at ho before he went out.
Michael saw Mark shake his head and took out his cell phone. Offering it to Mark, he asked, "Do you know your parents’ cell phone numbers?"
Mark nodded. "Yes." He took the phone and dialed his mother’s number. The call soon connected.
"Hello?" the voice from the other end asked.
"Mom, it’s ," Mark simply said. He gripped the phone tightly and continued, "Mom, I’m safe. Don’t worry about . I will go ho by myself later."
"Mark!" his mother exclaid upon hearing his voice. "Where did you run off to? Youleft without telling anyone where you were going! Do you know how worried we’ve been?"
Michael, who was standing next to Mark, could hear Mrs. Jeffreys scolding over the phone.
He said quietly to Mark, "Mark, give the phone. I would like to speak to your mother."
Mark looked up at Michael and passed the cell phone to him.
Taking the phone from Mark, Michael then spoke, "Hello, Mrs. Jeffreys. This is Michael Lucas."
Mrs. Jeffreys imdiately understood the situation when she heard Michael’s voice.
She tried her best to sound calm. "Hello, Mr. Lucas. I hope Mark has not imposed upon you. If it’s convenient, can you tell where you are? I will pick Mark up imdiately."
...
"We are at tropolitan Hospital, but Mark would like to stay a little longer. I will have soone send him back in an hour or two. Don’t worry, he will get ho safe and sound," Michael assured.
"It’s okay. I will pick him up myself. Please tell the address," Mrs. Jeffreys insisted.
When she heard that they were at a hospital, her first thought was that Mark had been injured. However, after so thought, she realized it was more likely that her son had gone to visit soone who was ill or injured.
Thinking that she would find out as soon as she got to the hospital, she did not ask any more questions.
Michael hesitated before telling Mark’s mother, "In that case, you may co in an hour or two."
Mrs. Jeffreys was silent for a while before she finally replied, "Okay, I will pick him up in an hour."
After the call ended, Michael put his phone away and inford Mark, "Your mother said that she will be here in an hour to pick you up."
Mark looked gloomy when he heard that. He glanced at Leah, who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed, and his gloomy expression turned worried.
He was worried that his mother would want him to leave imdiately when she got there.
He was worried that Leah would not have woken up yet by then.
Before Leah regained consciousness, a nurse ca to inform them that Timothy had woken up.
Regardless of what Timothy had done, he had saved Wendy’s daughter, and Wendy felt obliged to visit him in his room.
Casting a sideways glance at her mother, Wendy said quietly to Michael, "Mr. Woods is awake. I will visit him."
She dared not speak too loudly for fear that Mary would overhear and be upset.
Michael sighed as Wendy made her way quietly out of Leah’s room.
Mary did notice Wendy leaving the room. She had guessed that Wendy was probably going to visit Timothy. However, Mary did not stop Wendy.
She knew it was hard for her daughter to be caught between her and Timothy.
When Wendy got to Timothy’s room, she saw that he was indeed already awake. A doctor was conducting a physical examination on him. When he was done, he reported to Wendy, "Mrs. Lucas, Mr. Woods’ procedure went smoothly, and we are happy with the results. His vitals and condition are stable."
"Thank you." Wendy nodded.
The doctor then stepped out of the room, leaving only Wendy and Timothy. Both were feeling a little awkward.
Wendy spoke first, "Mr. Woods, thank you." She still could not bring herself to call him Dad.
"There is no need to thank . I only did what I could and should." Timothy’s face was still pale and his voice weak. He said, "Honestly, I owe it to you to help."
Wendy didn’t know what to say.
"Is Leah okay?" Timothy asked worriedly.
"The operation was successful, but Leah has yet to regain consciousness," Wendy answered. "According to the doctor, it will take so ti."
Timothy had nothing to say in reply. Silence ensued, and the atmosphere got more awkward.
Then Timothy spoke, "Why don’t you go back and accompany Leah instead? She will look for you when she wakes up and will be upset if she can’t find you."
He smiled and continued, "You don’t have to worry about . There are nurses and doctors here. If that’s not enough, there are two police officers outside the door.
Nothing will happen to ."
"In that case, I will go back now. You can call if you need anything." Wendy did not know what to do to keep herself occupied in Timothy’s room and it would just be awkward for both of them if she remained there.
...
Timothy looked at Wendy as she turned and made her way out of his room.
When she reached for the door and just before she disappeared, Timothy could not resist and called out, "Corrine..." Wendy stopped in her tracks.
She turned around and regarded Timothy quietly, waiting for him to speak.
"Well..." There was a frown on Timothy’s pale face as he debated if he should say what he wanted to or not.
Wendy had guessed what he was about to say. She forced a smile and said, "Mr.
Woods, you should get more rest."
Timothy was a clever man. He knew Wendy’s intention was to avoid answering his question, so he did not force the question. "Okay."
He did not try to stop Wendy again when she left the room this ti.
Wendy knew Timothy most likely wanted to ask about Mary. She did not feel it was her place to answer any of Timothy’s questions on behalf of her mother.
It was best if he did not ask her.
Wendy saw Mark’s mother by the door of Leah’s room when she got there.
Having t Mrs. Jeffreys once at Leah’s school, Wendy opened her mouth to greet her, but before Wendy could say anything, Mrs. Jeffreys acknowledged her first, "Ms.
Stewart."
"Mrs. Jeffreys."
"I’m here for Mark. Is he inside?" Mrs. Jeffreys asked.
"Yes." Wendy nodded. "Let’s go in."
As they entered the room, Mrs. Jeffreys imdiately saw her son. She glanced at Leah, who was on the hospital bed, and beckoned to her son, saying softly, "Mark, Mom is here."
Mark was not happy to see his mother.
He turned to look at his mother and pleaded, "Mom, can we please go when Leah wakes up?"
Mrs. Jeffreys glanced at Wendy and Michael. She did not want to give in to her son’s request but was afraid she would offend the Lucases.
In the end, she nodded.
Mark smiled when he saw his mother nod.
Mrs. Jeffreys nodded apologetically at Michael and Wendy and said, "My apologies... We’re intruding."
"It’s okay. We all like Mark very much," Wendy replied.
"What is Leah’s condition?" Mrs. Jeffreys inquired. "If you don’t mind..."
"Leah has congenital immunodeficiency, and she just had a bone marrow transplant.
Luckily, the operation went successful, and Leah is recovering," Wendy explained.
"That’s great." Mrs. Jeffreys smiled.
Mark’s mother did not know the other people in the room, and silence soon ensued as the conversation petered out.
Everyone was just waiting for Leah to regain consciousness.
Ti passed, and Leah finally woke up. When everyone saw her eyes open, they were overwheld with emotions.
"Leah..." Everyone in the room gathered around Leah’s bed anxiously, calling out her na.
When Leah opened her eyes and saw all the familiar faces of those dear to her, she smiled weakly. "Mommy, Daddy, Great-grandmother, Grandma, Jake, Mark..."
"Leah, baby, you’re finally awake!" Wendy imdiately pressed the call button on the wall.
Alerted by the call button, Paul soon arrived at the room.
Everyone in the room moved aside for Paul to approach the bed. He checked Leah’s vitals and gave her a once-over, then smiled and announced, "Everything looks normal."
"Thank you, Paul. Thank you!" Wendy couldn’t contain her relief and happiness.
Michael and his grandmother were also overjoyed and thanked Paul.
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