Chapter 400 Two Slaps
The sharp sounds of their argument bounced off the hospital room walls. The yelling made Mike's ears ring.
"I'm talking nonsense?" Brianna laughed, though she was pissed off. She couldn't believe Juliet was so heartless. "Is it a lie that Wilber was with you? Didn't you steal her boyfriend? Didn't you jack her voice and post it online like it was you singing?" Each word was Brianna's way of letting out her frustration with Luann.
Juliet dropped the act and snapped, "So what if I did? I can't stand her. Dad feels the same way. But ever since Luann came back, you've been all about her, defending her. Have you forgotten who your real daughter is? Or is it 'cause you like her fancy background and all the cash she's raking in, hoping she'll throw you some for your retirement?"
Juliet's harsh words made Brianna's chest tighten with anger, her stomach churning. It was a gut-wrenching kind of pain.
Brianna said, "How could you be so cold and ungrateful?"
Juliet let out a cold laugh, the slap mark on her face standing out. "Right. Luann's the golden child. You all side with her. How could I ever measure up? If you think I'm so heartless and ungrateful, so be it."
Tears welled up in Brianna's eyes. "Juliet, you..." She had hoped to scold Juliet into realizing her mistakes, but instead, she became even more outrageous.
Brianna was almost faint with anger. She leaned against the wall, gasping in pain. "Fine. You're grown now, and I can't control you anymore. But you need to know that when an adult screws up, they gotta face the consequences."
Juliet frowned. "I don't need you to control me. Just leave. You're so annoying!"
Brianna's throat tightened, and she finally said nothing more, leaving with a look of dejection and pain.
Finally, it was quiet. Juliet let out a long breath and smiled at Mike. "Dad, those annoying people are finally gone. I'll take care of you from now on."
Mike opened his mouth. He wanted to ask Juliet what Brianna meant when she said she was unwilling to pay for his treatment.
He loved Juliet so much, always giving her the best of everything. He thought she surely wouldn't do such a thing. After all, he had only wronged the Wright family. As for her, he had always doted on her.
Juliet said, "Dad, just rest and recover here. I'll take good care of you. When you get better, we'll deal with Luann together."
Mike nodded with difficulty.
Juliet's smile was bright yet venomous. But despite her sweet words, she had no intention of spending much time on Mike.
She planned to hire a new caregiver. Given Mike's current condition—late-stage cancer, a car accident, unable to get out of bed, and with a crippled leg—he couldn't take care of himself at all.
The service company rep said, "In this situation, we recommend hiring some attentive caregivers. Check these out, they're our top caregivers, guaranteed to handle everything."
Juliet barely glanced at the list. "Alright, pick one for me."
"Okay, Ms. Weaver. Would you like to pay daily, weekly, or monthly?"
"Weekly."
"Alright, that'll be seven thousand dollars for the week, up to next Wednesday."
Juliet paused, her hand halfway to her wallet. "How much?"
"Ms. Weaver, our top-notch caregiver is available 24/7 for $1,000 a day, guaranteed..."
Juliet cut him off. "Too expensive. Get me a cheaper one. There's one for a hundred bucks a day, right?"
The rep was taken aback, then smiled. "The service quality varies with the price."
"Just the hundred-dollar-a-day one, no more." Juliet pulled out seven hundred dollars and slapped it on the table. She figured Mike was a dying man, no need to splurge. Anyone could take care of him, as long as someone was around.
But this caregiver made Mike's life hell.
Mike lay in bed every day, barely able to move or speak. His body was covered in needles and tubes. He hadn't felt much during the coma and emergency treatment, but now that he was awake, it was pure torture. The pain kept him up at night.
The physical torment was bad enough, but the mental anguish was even worse. The caregiver did nothing but provide three meals and play on their phone.
In the first few days, Mike ate little and only had liquid food, so it wasn't a big deal. He used a catheter to urinate. But as he started eating more, he needed to go to the bathroom.
"I... I need to... go to the bathroom," Mike's barely audible voice came out.
The caregiver was watching videos and laughing, not paying attention to Mike at all.
Mike had to hold it in.
"What's that smell?" The caregiver's nose twitched, finally noticing something was wrong. He jumped up, his face full of disgust. "Did you poop your pants? So gross."
The closer he got, the more he could smell the stench coming from Mike. "Couldn't you say something if you needed the bathroom? Look at the mess you've made. I'm about to throw up my lunch!"
Mike, almost fifty years old, endured such painful humiliation, tears streaming from his closed eyes. He wanted to ask Juliet to change the caregiver. However, since that day, she hadn't come to see him again.
After a hasty cleanup, the caregiver washed his hands with hand sanitizer about ten times. "If I had known it would be this troublesome, I wouldn't have taken this job. I thought it was an old man about to die, but it turns out there's still some fuss left."
The caregiver irritably dried his hands. He walked out of the bathroom and heard Mike's faint voice. "I'm... I'm hungry."
The caregiver rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Come on! You eat as soon as you poop? Alright, I'll go get something."
The caregiver soon returned with a very lavish meal and roughly cranked the bed up, not caring if it hurt Mike. He set up the table and placed a bowl of bland porridge in front of him. "Eat up."
