Chapter 54 Whose Child Is She, Really?
The departments of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery convened for a rapid joint consultation.
The grim diagnosis for Juniper was lung cancer.
The consulting physicians came to Juniper's room to conduct a face-to-face assessment, reassuring her, "You're still young, and it's not in the late stage. With aggressive chemotherapy, we have reason to be hopeful!"
"If I don't go through chemotherapy and just rely on my own immune system, how long might I live?"
Juniper asked the question calmly, so calmly it surprised the doctor.
Still, the doctor answered: "It depends. Six months to a year is possible, but we can't rule out miracles. Some live an extra three to five years."
Six months?
The timeline wasn't pressing, allowing her enough time to get her affairs in order.
"Doctor, how long before my stab wound heals enough for discharge?"
"The wound may look severe, but it's superficial. If you heal quickly, you could be out in a week. Just make sure to keep it dry at home, and come in for weekly dressing changes."
Juniper nodded, "Thanks, William."
"There's the matter of your lung condition though—I think you ought to inform your family."
Family?
She had just two relatives left.
Her mother, and Jennifer.
Telling them would only cause them worry and heartache; it wouldn't help one bit.
Juniper had no plans to tell anyone.
"What are the survival chances with treatment?"
"That's hard to pin down; it really depends on the individual's constitution and how far the disease has spread. But given your youth, we urge you to pursue aggressive treatment. Do you have any concerns about how to manage the costs of treatment?"
"Doctor, I'll give it some serious thought; I just haven't decided yet."
"Alright, here are your chest CT and diagnostic reports, keep them safe. We really hope you'll start treatment soon. As you're aware, this kind of cancer spreads quickly. The sooner you start, the better the chances of survival."
After the doctor left, Juniper clutched the reports and scans, her face ashen.
She wasn't afraid of dying.
Or rather, six years prior, she had already been living like a shell of a person.
If not for the pregnancy, if not for the adorable Jennifer, she might have... In fact, Jennifer wasn't the reason for her first encounter with William.
William had been on ER duty, and had it not been for his timely intervention, she might have passed away three years ago.
Her having survived this long was lucky.
She was content.
The only regret was that she wouldn't be there to watch Jennifer grow up.
Outside was a radiant evening sunset, the sky swathed in orange twilight, blazing like a fireball, stunningly beautiful.
Her hospital room was on the eighth floor.
Located near the sea, the room offered views of the shimmering ocean in the distance.
So beautiful.
If she had a final wish, it would be to witness the sea she'd always yearned to see—feet touching the water, collecting seashells, playing in the sand.
Juniper pulled her gaze from the window and looked down at the diagnostic report, her eyes finally reddening.
A week later.
Juniper was discharged and on her way back to Imperial Capital.
Suddenly, Ophelia's call came through.
She picked up the phone, effortlessly stating, "I'm almost there. No need to pick me up; I'll catch a cab from the train station and be right over. I figured it would be the perfect time to treat you to dinner."
"Juniper, I... I'm sorry!"
Juniper paused, slightly puzzled, "What's up? You've been sneaking Jennifer junk food behind my back? A little bit now and then is fine..."
"No, it's not that!"
"Then what is it?"
"Robert found out about Jennifer! He unexpectedly showed up at Celestial Court looking for me. Last night, as I was picking up Jennifer and about to head upstairs, he bumped into us on the ground floor! He asked me who she was... I blurted out that Jennifer was born out of wedlock, but he didn’t believe me!"
Juniper's heart skipped a beat, "So does Mr. Robert know Jennifer's true identity now?"
"I haven't confessed yet! But I'm afraid he's already onto us! Oh... I can't talk now, he's here again!"
Before Juniper could utter another word, Ophelia had hastily ended the call.
Fearing the worst, Juniper got off the high-speed rail, hailed a cab, and directed, "To Celestial Court!"
...
Inside Celestial Court apartments.
Robert and Jennifer were locked in a stare, his wide eyes meeting her smaller ones for a solid three minutes.
Finally, Jennifer broke the silence, "Sir, staring at me like that, you're coming off as a creep. I know I'm pretty, but why can't you take your eyes off me?"
The corner of Robert's mouth twitched.
His brow furrowed, he turned to Ophelia, intimidating her, "Whose kid is this, anyway? If you don't tell me, I might just have to lock her up."
Jennifer was fearless in the face of Robert, her eyes meeting his, "Sir, false imprisonment is against the law. You can't lock people up; it's against the law, and you could get in big trouble for that."
"You know the law?"
"I'm not three, I'm six..."
Jennifer was cut off before she could reveal her age.
Suddenly, Ophelia yanked Jennifer behind her, interjecting, "Robert, I already told you. Jennifer is my daughter from a previous relationship. If you feel slighted or that's unfair, feel free to find another woman to bear a child for you! I will not say one more word on the matter! Or... if you want to leave..."
Before she could even finish the phrase "get a divorce," Robert had abruptly risen to his feet.
The man strode forward, closing the distance with purpose.
His piercing gaze sized up the child hidden behind Ophelia, "Little girl, how old did you just say you were?"
Jennifer was about to speak.
Ophelia clapped her hand over her little mouth, "Seven!"
Robert didn't believe it and continued to question Jennifer, "You just said you're not three, you're six?"
Jennifer pried Ophelia's hand away, her big eyes steady as she lied.
"I got confused—I'm seven. Is there a problem?"
Ophelia sighed quietly to herself.
Was this little girl really inheriting Magnus's high IQ, reacting so quickly?
But Robert was no fool.
He fixed his gaze on Jennifer, pointing at Ophelia and asked, "Is she really your mom?"
The innocence in Jennifer's big dewy eyes was unmistakable.
She nodded earnestly: "Yeah!"
She didn't understand why her godmother asked her to lie, but she felt it was for her own good.
After all, this man didn't seem to be a good person!
Robert bent down, scrutinizing Jennifer with a smirk, "Little girl, lying is wrong. You know what happened to Pinocchio, right?"
"Sir, quit trying to scare the kid. Pinocchio is just a fairy tale. Besides, I'm not lying."
Ah, the gift of gab.
Funny how her sharp wit was somewhat reminiscent of Ophelia.
He looked at the little girl, feeling an odd sense of familiarity.
Could she really be Ophelia's child?
But, the child looked about six or seven years old, and Ophelia would have been just 17 or 18 back then. The Perezs were strict with Ophelia; there was no way she could have had a child out of wedlock.
Robert narrowed his dark eyes, staring at Jennifer as if trying to discern something.
His judgmental look made Ophelia’s skin crawl.
Had he already guessed the truth?
She decided to get ahead of the story, "Let it go, I'll tell you the truth! This child is actually..."
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