Chapter 238 The Dilemma
The phone rang for what felt like forever, but Elizabeth didn't pick up.
Michael frowned at his phone.
From what he knew, Elizabeth wasn't the type to sleep in—unless she had a late night or something. It was already morning; could she still be asleep?
The automated message chimed in, "Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."
Michael tried again, and this time, someone finally answered.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing? Why didn't you answer?" Michael snapped.
But it was Dean's voice on the other end, "Michael, why are you calling Elizabeth so early? She's still asleep!"
Michael was ticked off. "What time is it? She's still not up? What was she doing last night?"
Dean, sounding confused, replied, "Michael, it's still early. We could be asleep. And whether she answers your call or not is her business, not yours."
Michael shot back, "Is it polite to answer someone else's phone without their permission?"
He added, annoyed, "Put Elizabeth on the phone."
Dean nudged Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, wake up. Your ex-husband's on the line."
Hearing "ex-husband" made Michael feel a mix of discomfort and helplessness.
Elizabeth had just fallen asleep and was out cold.
She waved him off with her eyes still shut. "Dean, leave me alone," she mumbled.
Michael could hear Elizabeth's voice—hoarse, lazy, tired. She sounded like she'd been up all night.
His suspicion grew. Elizabeth must have been having surgery on Eloise and hadn't slept.
Dean managed to wake Elizabeth up.
With her eyes still closed, Elizabeth took the phone. "Michael, what do you want?"
Hearing her voice, Michael felt a pang of concern. "Elizabeth, why did you go to the hospital after ten last night?"
The word "hospital" snapped Elizabeth awake. She shot Dean a look. "Hospital? Michael, are you following me? That's an invasion of privacy! It's illegal!"
Michael caught the slip in her words.
"So you're admitting you went to the hospital last night?" he said coldly.
Elizabeth raised her voice. "I can go wherever I want! It's my choice!"
Michael fired back, "But now I have reason to think you took Eloise to the hospital last night!"
Elizabeth laughed. "Michael, do you even hear yourself? I can't stand either of you. Why would I help by taking her to the hospital? Have I lost my mind?"
Michael suddenly doubted himself.
Yeah, she had no reason to secretly take Eloise to the hospital.
She could've just called him and said Eloise was in the hospital.
Michael's tone softened. "Was it really not you? Then why did you go to the hospital so late?"
Elizabeth sighed. "I don't owe you an explanation, but fine. Last night, Dean drank too much and almost had alcohol poisoning. I went to get him some medicine."
Dean, hearing this, mouthed, "Thanks... I guess."
Elizabeth covered the receiver with one hand and whispered, "Go check on the kids. I'll deal with this."
She forced a casual laugh, "Eloise in the hospital again? She's got some luck, always getting saved just in time."
Michael, still hopeful, asked, "Elizabeth, was it really not you?"
"Do you really want it to be me? Why?" Elizabeth's tone was dismissive, "Already tired of your current girlfriend? Looking to rekindle things with me?"
Michael felt a surge of anger. "Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth pretended to be impatient. "What? If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up! You woke me up so early!"
With that, she quickly ended the call.
Elizabeth sat up in bed, let out a long breath, and patted her chest. "That was close! Good thing I reacted quickly!"
Dean handed her a glass of water. "Your throat sounds hoarse. Drink this."
"Thanks!" Elizabeth took it and drank it all.
She put the glass on the table and lay back down.
Dean pulled a chair over and sat by her bed. "Elizabeth, don't tell me you performed surgery on Eloise again last night."
Elizabeth closed her eyes. "Okay, I won't tell you."
"So it's true? Why? Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved with him anymore?" Dean asked.
Elizabeth sighed. "Last night, I found Eloise hiding in my closet when I was about to go to bed. I have no idea how long she'd been there or how she got in. Her condition was serious, and she needed immediate surgery. So I took her to the hospital and did the operation."
Dean stood up, incredulous. "You performed a surgery that lasted five or six hours just like that?"
Elizabeth weakly said, "So, Dean, I'm really tired. Let me sleep a bit more."
Dean asked, "Did you give Calla the credit for the surgery again? Are you stupid?"
Elizabeth's voice grew fainter. "I'm not stupid."
Dean sighed, "Right, you're not stupid; you're very smart. You're afraid that if Michael knew the truth, he'd pester you endlessly. And you don't want anything to do with him anymore."
Elizabeth's voice was barely a whisper. "Dean, your intuition is getting sharper."
Dean smiled wryly. "Such a simple thing, but Michael can't see through it."
He tucked her in to make her more comfortable.
Elizabeth's breathing became long and steady. She had fallen asleep again.
Dean whispered, "I also know that when Michael angered you that day, and you said Eloise was 'like an idiot,' you've always felt guilty and wanted to make it up to her. This time, you just happened to get the chance. You're afraid that if Eloise was in Calla's hands, not only would she not get better, but her condition might get worse."
He put her phone on silent mode so no calls would disturb her.
Dean walked to the door, turned off the light, and looked back at her.
He sighed softly. "Elizabeth, have a good sleep. When you wake up, we'll face these problems together. If I told you this news now, you'd definitely be anxious."
Dean left the room, gently closing the door behind him.
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