Chapter 79 Harper’s Grandma Was Gone
Harper’s grandma was urgently taken into the emergency room.
Harper's whole body stiffened. She didn’t know what to do.
Aurelio took off his suit jacket and put it over Harper. He looked at Harper and asked, "Are you able to walk?"
Harper had a pale face as if she could faint at any moment, but she still managed to hold the edge of the bed and stand up with determination.
Her eyes were bright, but at that moment, there was only a vacant look in it at the moment.
"Thank you," Harper whispered her gratitude.
Harper thanked Aurelio for helping protect her grandma’s dignity.
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly made her way out.
It felt like it had been centuries since she had last walked.
A doctor in a white gown came out and bowed to Harper. He then said with pity, "I'm sorry."
His voice seemed like a curse of fate, echoing in the empty corridor. Harper seemed to have been struck by a heavy blow. She took a step back.
Harper helplessly grabbed the doctor's arm and shook her head. "Doctor, could this be a mistake?"
Harper thought, ‘It can't be that serious. The doctor indeed said before that my grandma might pass away at any time, but he didn’t say it would be today.’
"Doctor, you must be mistaken... Could it be... My grandma told me this morning that she wanted to eat a kind of cake she used to have in my hometown. How could she pass away so soon..."
Harper suddenly fell to her knees, holding the doctor's arm, sobbing, "Please... please save my grandma once again... I can pay... I have money for her treatment... at least..."
Her voice fell to a whisper, filled with sobs. "At least let her have the chance to eat a piece of cake..."
Harper thought, ‘How could she leave without having anything to eat?’
While speaking, Harper kept shaking the doctor’s arm. Her mind seemed to be in a mess. A nurse nearby quickly went to hold Harper’s arm to support her.
"We understand your grief, but please calm down. You need to go see your grandma one last time."
But Harper was unwilling to go. Her eyes turned red and vacant. She said incoherently, "My grandma... she's not here... She's still waiting for me in the ward..."
After saying that, Harper turned and walked toward the ward, but her arm was grabbed by someone.
Aurelio furrowed his brows slightly. He found that Harper's arm under his coat was very thin, making the young woman even lighter, as if she had no weight at all.
Aurelio said, "Go and see your grandmother one last time."
Harper looked down at the floor as if her thoughts had been seen through. Her eyelashes trembled faintly. Anyone who saw her at the moment would inevitably feel sorry for her.
Aurelio released Harper's arm, his grip shifting to her wrist as he guided her toward the morgue's entrance. Along the solemn journey, Harper remained silent, her presence almost ghostly as she traversed the corridors. Each step she took was delicate as if she feared disturbing the very air around her.
Once inside, the hospital employee ushered them in before departing, leaving Aurelio and Harper alone in the somber chamber. Upon the cold metal slab lay a figure shrouded in pristine white cloth, an eerie stillness enveloping the room.
Harper leaned against the door, her back pressed against its cool surface, as if seeking a moment of solace before mustering the courage to approach. With a hesitant resolve, she finally pushed herself away from the doorframe, moving forward into the muted light of the morgue.
Trembling, Harper lifted the white cloth and found that her grandma looked peaceful except for slightly pale lips. She felt that her grandma was just asleep.
Harper thought, ‘How could it be possible that she had passed away?’
Harper's lips strained into a bitter smile, her voice trembling with disbelief and a hint of desperation.
"Grandma, is this some sort of twisted joke? Are you blaming me for not taking you to our ancestral home sooner? The car is ready, waiting just outside. You can get up now. We can go together."
But her grandmother's visage held fast, unmoved by Harper's words. With shaking hands, Harper reached beneath the sterile white covering, grasping her grandmother's cold, unyielding hand. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered brokenly,
"Grandma, I don’t want anything anymore. If it means staying by your side in our ancestral home, I'll gladly give up everything else... Please get up?"
Harper rested her head on her grandma's chest.
She asked in a soft voice, "Please answer me... I beg you to answer me..."
Her grandma, however, didn’t wake up as she hoped, though she had called several times. She tightly hugged her grandma's neck and finally burst into tears.
It was not sobbing or choking but a heart-wrenching cry this time.
Even a tough heart would soften after the owner of it heard that bitter cry.
"Grandma, you can't do this to me... How can you bear to leave me alone... I'm not ready yet..."
Her wailing echoed in the room, but there was no response.
...
Harper sat in the hospital corridor all along. She went through the reporting process with the hospital and contacted the company engaged in funeral services as instructed.
Harper wanted to take her grandma to her hometown.
It was a journey of over 370 miles, and even if the company engaged in funeral services sent a car overnight, it would take a night before they arrived at the destination at the earliest.
Caregiver had been accompanying Harper all throughout. She advised Harper to rest in the hospital room, but Harper didn't listen and stubbornly sat on the bench in the corridor.
Harper wanted to be closer to her grandma.
Aurelio walked over and said goodbye to Harper. He accidentally passed by today and had already been delayed by the things in the hospital.
Harper looked up at him, her eyes swollen from crying for too long.
Harper stood up and solemnly bowed to Aurelio. Her voice was hoarse and unrecognizable.
"Thank you, Mr. Getty. I don't have my phone with me right now, so please send me the bill, and I will pay you back once I've handled everything."
Harper also didn’t expect such an accident. It was Aurelio who ordered his subordinate to pay all the expenses for Harper.
Aurelio looked down at Harper and said calmly after he heard Harper call him ‘Mr. Getty,’ There's no need to be polite; Francis is my nephew."
Harper nodded. "I know. Even so, I should repay this debt to you."
Harper heard it when Amelia called Aurelio ‘Uncle.’ Besides, she noticed some similarities between Aurelio’s features and Francis’. She thought they were both the kind that was indifferent and heartless. It appeared to her to be a characteristic of the members of the Getty family.
Aurelio was a bit surprised that Harper still called him ‘Mr. Getty’ when she knew about his relationship with Francis. It meant a lot. He thought, ‘It seems that her relationship with Francis is quite bad.’
After Aurelio left, Harper sat on a bench at the hospital all night.
As dawn broke the next morning, Harper went to buy new clothes for her grandma and other things needed for the funeral.
Before eight o'clock in the morning, the car arrived.
Caregiver also went with Harper. After all, she had taken care of Harper’s grandma for a long time and had developed an emotional bond with her. She also wanted to see Harper’s grandma off on her final journey.
Harper calmly paid the fees for funeral services and chose the cemetery for her grandma.
They didn't have any other relatives, so Harper chose an ordinary cemetery. After all, no one would come to pay respects. But she would at least give her grandma a complete funeral ceremony.
With the arrangements settled, Harper went to the street and bought things necessary for the ceremony, as well as the cake that her grandma had been longing for.
Harper did not cry until she bought the cake. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Harper blamed herself for not fulfilling her grandma's wishes and not even buying the cake her grandma wanted the most when her grandma was still alive.
The shopkeeper was startled when he saw Harper crying, and he gave her an extra bag of cakes. He comforted Harper, saying, "Miss, whatever difficulties you face, remember to look forward. Take a bite of the cake. It is sweet."
Harper thanked him and picked up a piece of cake to put in her mouth, wanting to taste it again for her grandma.
But when she had just taken a bite, tears began to well up in her eyes uncontrollably. Some of them then flew into her mouth. Her mouth was then filled with a mix of sweet cake and salty tears, but there was only bitterness in her mouth at the moment.
The shopkeeper was frightened. He asked, "Is it not delicious?"
Harper seemed to be unable to stand still. She crouched down on the ground and cried like a little child, sobbing, "It's delicious... but my grandma has no chance to taste it now..."
Harper thought, ‘My grandma has no chance to taste it now...’
...
A day later, Chloe recovered from the danger, and her father also flew over from Lufiend.
Francis finally could take a break. When he looked at his phone, he furrowed his brows as there were five missed calls from Abigail.
There were no other messages.
Francis wondered why Harper was so stubborn and didn’t even want to take the initiative to admit her mistake.
After smoking three cigarettes in the corridor, Francis took the initiative to call Harper, intending to say something sweet to repair their relationship.
But he then found that Harper's phone was switched off.
Francis felt a sudden panic for no reason. He asked Victor to find out what was going on.
Victor then made a call. He lapsed into silence after he heard the news about the death of Harper's grandma. After a while, he said, "Mr. Getty, Mrs. Getty's grandma, has passed away, and they are currently having the funeral ceremony."
Francis was startled, and for a moment, he couldn't believe it. "What did you say?"
Victor paused for a moment and repeated it. "Mrs. Getty's grandma has passed away."
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