Chapter 146 The Reason
Simon took Erin to the underground parking lot of the hotel. His friend Luther had temporarily lent him a black Jeep as a means of transportation in Fleuverton. Shortly after they got in the car, Simon received a call from his father, Andrew.
He frowned slightly. If Andrew was calling at such a late hour, it must be something urgent or important. Without much thought, he answered the call.
“Are you currently in Fleuverton, Simon?” Andrew asked straightforwardly.
Simon replied, “Yes, I am.”
Andrew commanded. “Come back as quickly as possible! Your uncle didn’t inform us earlier, but your grandfather had a stroke and is currently in the intensive care unit. His condition is very critical!”
Simon was shocked to find out about this, and his palms grew cold. If the situation wasn’t severe, his father wouldn’t have asked him to rush back overnight.
“Okay, I’ll hurry back,” he promised.
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As Erin sat in the passenger seat, only then did she remember Simon was also a Frost upon hearing the phone conversation.
“I’m sorry about your grandfather.” She was a little conflicted as she expressed her sympathy.
Simon didn’t respond and started driving. After a while, he said, “You don’t need to apologize. My grandfather’s condition isn’t your fault. But after we arrive at the hospital, I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you to visit your mother because I’ll need to rush back too.”
With a wave of her hand, Erin said, “You don’t have to accompany me. Let’s each go back to see our respective families.”
Simon glanced at her from the side and said, “I pray that our family members are alright.”
“They will be fine. They have to be fine.” As Erin spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t stand thinking about her mother, Cherry.
The mere thought of her mother brought her to tears.
Simon’s gaze darkened as he recalled Erin telling him that her mom had attempted suicide. He didn’t know how to comfort her and could
only say, “When you find out your mother is ok, I hope you can give me a call.”
“OK.”
With her head lowered, Erin silently shed tears. At that moment, Simon was called Luther. After the call connected, he explained the situation to him. Luther immediately agreed to borrow the helicopter from his father, who happened to be the director of the hospital and
asked Simon to take Erin directly to the hospital.
Forty minutes later, Erin and Simon arrived at the rooftop of a private hospital in Fleuverton.
Two medical helicopters were parked on the rooftop. Time was of the essence, and neither Erin nor Simon wasted any more time. After bidding farewell to each other, they boarded their respective helicopters.
One headed back to Erin’s hometown, Southwrok County, while the other returned to the city where the other Frosts were. The two helicopters flew in different directions.
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Luckily, when Erin was almost in Southwrok County, she received a call from her younger brother, Gavin. Her mother, Cherry, had been wheeled out of the emergency room and was fine. She only needed to stay in the hospital for a few more days for observation.
Erin was overcome with a myriad of emotions and was crying and laughing at the same time. But when she thought about her mother’s suicidal behavior, she felt gloomy and helpless. If she didn’t find out what was bothering Cherry so much, she might attempt suicide again.
All of this could only be figured out after she arrived at the hospital.
Since helicopters weren’t allowed to land at the hospital in Southwrok County, the pilot had to land the helicopter at the sports center instead. After expressing her heartfelt gratitude to the pilot, Erin hastily left the sports center and hailed a taxi on the street.
Twenty minutes later, Erin arrived at the public hospital in Southwrok County.
After paying the taxi fare, she got off the car and started walking while calling Grayson. However, his phone was still unreachable and appeared to be turned off. Erin couldn’t help but feel burning anger rising within her. How could Grayson go missing at a time like this?
She intuitively felt that Grayson probably had something to do with her mother’s act of taking sleeping pills and attempting suicide.
With that thought, Erin hurriedly walked in the direction of the inpatient department.
Five minutes later, Erin pushed open the door of the ward where Cherry was.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw her aunt, Charlotte, kneeling on the ground. It seemed like she’d been kneeling for a while.
Gavin was the first to notice Erin. His eyes lit up with joy the moment he saw her. “Erin, you’re here!”
Erin nodded at him and immediately went to the other side of Cherry’s bed. Cherry had her back to the entrance of the ward, so Erin couldn’t see how she looked.
When she stood in front of Cherry, she saw that her face was as pale as paper, her eyes were swollen and red, and tears kept falling onto the pillow. Cherry had a blank and lifeless expression on her face.
Erin’s mother, who used to care so much for her appearance, now looked haggard and exhausted. Upon seeing this, Erin’s heart felt like it had been shredded into pieces.
“Mom, I’m here,” Erin choked out. She pulled a chair from the side and sat in front of Cherry.
But Cherry’s gaze only flickered for a moment before she continued to ignore her as if she was trapped in her own world. Cherry treated
her as if she were invisible.
Erin felt helpless. She looked at Charlotte, who was kneeling on the ground, and asked, “Aunt Charlotte, why are you kneeling on the
ground?”
Charlotte buried her face and sobbed. Hearing Erin’s question, her body trembled slightly.
Judging from the way Charlotte was kneeling on the ground, Erin could guess that she must have done something to hurt her mother.
Otherwise, why would she be on her knees so pleadingly?
“Aunt Charlotte, if you really want to resolve the issue, I hope you can tell me the truth.” Erin had already made some deductions by then.
Perhaps her mother’s choice to attempt suicide was also related to her aunt, Charlotte.
She remembered what her younger brother, Gavin, had said earlier. Cherry’s emotional breakdown occurred after returning from delivering supper to Grayson. She must have seen something that deeply affected her!
It must have been a blow so intense that she contemplated suicide!
One couldn’t help but make inappropriate guesses with Grayson remaining unreachable with his phone turned off and Charlotte kneeling
on the ground.
After about five minutes, Charlotte composed herself and looked up at Gavin. “Go buy some food for your mom, Gavin. The hospital food isn’t nice. Your mom just had her stomach pumped. Buy her some oatmeal and bread. I’ll give you some money.”
Gavin stood up and said, “I have some money in my pocket.”
He looked at Erin and said, “Erin, I’ll be back soon. Take care of Mom.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be here. Be careful on the way. You go eat first. Come back after you’re done eating.” Erin maintained a calm expression, holding back various emotions inside.
Now that Grayson wasn’t around, she was the only adult in this household. She had to stay strong and not break down in the hospital. She
had to make sure Gavin felt assured and support Cherry to get through this.
After Gavin left, there was only Erin, Cherry, and Charlotte, who was still kneeling on the ground, left in the room. The patient in the next bed had just been discharged the previous day. Hence, there were no outsiders in the ward, making it convenient for them to discuss private family matters..
Right then, Charlotte sighed while kneeling and said regretfully, “Erin, your mother’s situation is caused by Grayson and me. I won’t deny it.
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Erin’s heart sank, and she stared at Charlotte with a cold gaze, not saying a word. She’d already guessed what led to her mother’s drastic act of attempting to take her own life.
Charlotte tightly grasped the corner of her floral shirt with both hands. Finally, she raised her eyes to look at Erin and said, “Your mom caught me in that kind of relationship with Grayson-”
Erin’s expression showed that she’d expected that answer. Before she could say anything, Cherry, who had been lying on her side, suddenly sat up and yelled at Charlotte, “You shameless woman! What do you have to say for yourself? Are you so desperate for a man? But of all the people, you just had to set your sights on Grayson!”
