Chapter 193
The ringtone of the phone woke me up, and I saw it was Jennifer calling. It seems they will be home soon, and this call might be about explaining something to me. Since marrying Jennifer, Nathan and Jennifer have been inseparable. Originally, Nathan's phone was also completely held by Jennifer, so the caller ID marked Nathan's phone as Jennifer. But at this moment, do I have the mood to answer the phone?
The phone continued to ring, and I turned my gaze to the window, where I could see the entrance of our apartment. I seemed to see three figures: Katniss holding Olivia's hand, Nathan holding Olivia's other hand, and Nathan holding the groceries for tonight's dinner. In the reflection of the setting sun, they were a family of three, right? Olivia is their biological daughter, and the two of them holding the child's hand, how heartwarming. Unconsciously, the phone stopped ringing, and I woke up from my daydream. I shook my head and realized that there were no three figures at the entrance of the apartment; I had just had a hallucination. This was a very dangerous sign.
Feeling greatly stimulated at this moment, what should I do? Katniss's diary told me that although Olivia's situation is understandable, everything is just a coincidence and fate playing tricks on people, but can this be a reason for me to forgive this situation? Olivia is a living being, Katniss and Nathan's biological daughter, completely unexpected and something I cannot accept. What should I do?
Regardless, when they all come back, I will ask clearly. Since things have come to this point, I have decided not to live so timidly and cowardly anymore. The birth of their child has crossed my bottom line, no matter what the reason. Just at this moment, Jennifer's phone rang again. It had just rung once, and usually when Jennifer calls me and I don't answer, she knows I'm busy and won't call again, waiting for me to call her back when I'm free. But this time was different. Jennifer kept calling repeatedly. Could something have happened? I sighed. Even if the sky falls now, I won't care. What else could surprise me?
"Kevin, come quickly, Nathan has fainted, we are near Oakwood Terrace, I have called 911, hurry over." I just answered the phone, and Jennifer's urgent voice came through.
"Okay." I numbly answered the phone, listened to Jennifer's words, and replied in a daze, then hung up.
After hanging up the phone, my mind was still empty, and I couldn't react for a while. Wait, what? Nathan fainted? Thinking of Nathan's condition and the doctor's instructions, I finally realized. I quickly got up, as I roughly guessed what Nathan's fainting meant. I hurriedly put the test reports back into the file bag, then back into the briefcase, put on my shoes, and ran out of the building. Once outside, I called Jennifer to ask for the exact location, then drove towards where Nathan had fainted.
By the time I arrived, the ambulance had already arrived. I helped the doctors lift Nathan into the ambulance, Jennifer accompanied him inside, and I followed behind in the car to the hospital. I believe Jennifer has also notified Katniss by now, and I had no desire to call Katniss at this moment. It's one thing after another - Olivia's situation, Nathan's fainting, and today is Nathan's birthday. I never expected that his birthday would end up with him in the hospital.
At the hospital, Nathan was taken to the intensive care unit. Before arriving at the hospital, I had already informed Nathan's attending physician, so he and the medical team were prepared. After a few minutes of resuscitation, Nathan finally woke up. I went to the office with the doctor, while Jennifer stayed by Nathan's bedside.
"The cancer cells have spread, bone metastasis, the cancer cells have spread to the bone marrow. This is the most worrying and dangerous situation. We will try to reduce the patient's pain and extend his life as much as possible." After the doctor arrived in the office, he took off his mask and said to me with a heavy expression.
"No cure, right?" Struck by two heavy blows in one day, my body trembled, and the doctor quickly supported me. My hoarse voice asked.
"Yes, for patients with advanced cancer and bone metastasis, there will be severe bone pain in the lower body, very painful. The current analgesics and painkillers do not have much effect on bone pain. Generally, patients will suffer greatly before they pass away." At this point, the doctor could only look at me with a sympathetic expression, seeing me as part of this unfortunate family.
I walked out of the office in a daze. In fact, before Nathan's surgery, I had already understood in detail what would happen if Nathan relapsed. After the testicular removal surgery, if there was no relapse, everything would be fine. But if there was a relapse and the cancer cells spread, it would be beyond cure. And with the cancer cells spreading to the bone marrow, the patient's bones would be in excruciating pain, and no painkillers would work, not even hospital-controlled drugs like Dolophine. It can be said that people with this disease basically die in agony. Unfortunately, our country does not have euthanasia. In some countries where euthanasia is legal, people with this disease are usually euthanized. Beyond cure, extreme pain before death, euthanasia may be a good way for patients to die painlessly. But in our country, my father can only wait for the condition to worsen and die in agony.
After leaving the office, I did not enter Nathan's ward. I sat on a bench in the corridor, holding my head in my hands, burying my face in my legs, feeling so helpless at that moment. Two major events happened on the same day, making it unbearable for me. Although Nathan tarnished my beloved Katniss, and had a half-sister with my wife, he was still the father who raised me. He was beyond cure, with only a few days left to live. Filial piety comes first. At this moment, besides grief, I had no other thoughts. I thought of my deceased mother. Now Nathan was about to die. Who would help me?
In my moment of helplessness, I felt someone holding my hand. From the touch on my hand, I could tell it was Katniss. I wiped my face on my knees, dried my tears, then lifted my head to see Katniss leading Olivia standing in front of me. Her face also showed pain, as she had guessed Nathan's condition. Seeing me like this after so many things had happened, Katniss already knew everything without me saying a word. With so much happening, seeing Katniss at this moment felt strangely unfamiliar.
"Daddy, what's wrong with Grandpa?" A clear child's voice rang out. I looked at Olivia, still so cute, still wearing the clothes I had personally dressed her in the morning, but her identity had changed.
Daddy, Grandpa? This sentence was no longer appropriate coming from her mouth. Knowing her identity and my blood relationship with her, the correct sentence should be, "Brother, what's wrong with Dad?" That's the right way to say it, I thought to myself, but I didn't say anything. Awkwardly, I forced a smile at Olivia, then buried my head again.
"Olivia, don't disturb Daddy, let him be quiet. Let's go see Grandpa and Grandma, okay?" I heard Katniss say as she led Olivia away. The footsteps of the two slowly moved away from me. Katniss thought Nathan was seriously ill, and I had no mood to talk. But she didn't know that things were far from simple. If I were to confront her and tell her the truth about Olivia when the time came, I wondered how she would react.
Would she still have the face and courage to continue living?
After sitting in the corridor for a while, Jennifer came out. I heard footsteps approaching me, and I felt it was Jennifer. I raised my head, my face wet with tears and traces of them. I nodded towards Jennifer.
Seeing me nod and the tears on my face, Jennifer understood everything. She couldn't hold back anymore and started crying. I had to suppress my own sadness and comfort Jennifer. Jennifer was the only one without any entanglements, the most innocent victim. I respected her a lot. Looking at the situation today and seeing her sad, I wondered if I had made a mistake in matchmaking her with Nathan.
After spending some time outside, wiping away the tears, we returned to the ward. The doctor gave Nathan an IV drip, and Nathan lay on the hospital bed, his eyes empty and lifeless. Perhaps he was thinking about many things at this moment, recalling many things. Among all of us, he was the one with the most complex feelings. This time was different from the last hospitalization. Last time, there was hope, but this time, on his birthday, fate had handed him a death sentence. The sudden accident left Nathan at a loss, slowly accepting and digesting it.
Nathan didn't need anyone to tell him about his condition. Before his last surgery, he already knew everything, and with the atmosphere in the ward today, Nathan didn't need to seek confirmation from anyone. This unexpected turn of events disrupted my plan to come clean. In this situation, who should I come clean to? Nathan? A dying man, and now this matter was no longer important compared to Nathan's condition.
Soon, Michael and Sophia arrived with Simon. It seemed Katniss had called them, and they rushed over. Seeing Michael and Sophia, Nathan's originally empty eyes regained some spirit. After getting up, Nathan forced a smile, then simply waved to Michael and Sophia, without saying anything else. Under normal circumstances, this might be considered very impolite, but at this moment, everyone would understand, and no one would blame him.
"Kevin, today is my birthday. I want to have a drink with Michael and Sophia. Can you arrange it?" Nathan finally spoke after waking up, and it was the first thing he said. But his voice trembled, and from his eyes, I saw a sense of deathly silence and a hint of fear of death.
Given his current condition, Nathan should not be drinking anymore. But Nathan had no time left. Today was his birthday, and no one would stop him from drinking. I nodded, put on my coat, and prepared to go out to buy some drinks and food. My mind was much clearer now, and the night outside was already dimming. What should have been a happy and festive day turned out to be filled with sadness. Nathan's birthday, the day fate handed him a death sentence. Today's drink was destined to be bitter, with no joy and laughter, only sadness.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
