Chapter 180: No Solution
[Shoulder’s all good now, no worries. Brad, chill out, I’ll holler if anything’s up.] Didn’t want Brad feeling guilty, so I shot him a text even though it hurt.
Brad hit me back right away, like he’d been glued to his phone: [Take care, babe. Once I wrap this up, I’ll make it up to you. Miss you, love you!]
[Got it, Brad. I’ll be here.]
After that, I shut my eyes, trying to calm down.
No more texts from Brad in the afternoon, and I didn’t wanna bug him.
Come evening, Helen video-called and asked about Daniel. I filled her in and then asked, "Helen, if I ever gotta choose between Brad and Daniel, what do I do?"
Helen looked at me with all the love in the world. "We all want you happy and chill, but no regrets, okay? As a mom, I think you shouldn’t overthink it; being with Brad is enough. But also, think about Emma; she wants her son safe and happy too. Life’s like a double-sided mirror; the shiny side faces out, but the pain’s hidden. You’ve got Brad’s love and good health, but you’ll miss out on other stuff. Jane, you’re smart, you get what I’m saying. From the moment Daniel saved you, he’s your responsibility. Not trying to guilt-trip you, just saying we all need a conscience."
I couldn’t help but cry.
Helen said softly, "Don’t cry, be strong. What feels like a trap might not be; look for solutions. Jane, I wanna see you strong, brave, and positive."
"Helen, I get it."
Helen was telling me in her way that Brad was my destiny, and I couldn’t give up, while Daniel was my responsibility, and I couldn’t dodge it.
To live peacefully later, I gotta fight now.
'Helen, I’ll give it my all.' I thought to myself.
The only way out now was to fix Daniel’s illness and get him healthy. Whether Brad and I could live carefree depended on Daniel getting better.
I’d been under Ronan and Helen’s wing since I was a kid. During my time at the Northern Institute of the Arts, Brad had my back. I never faced any trouble alone. Now, I had to grow up and protect my loved ones.
Mindy hadn’t been around for days. I couldn’t wait anymore, so I called her and asked her to find top neurosurgeons, both here and abroad.
I’d promised not to contact Louis again, but given the situation, I called him after talking to Mindy and asked for his help.
The Anderson family was big in Regalia, and they might be able to help.
When Louis heard it was for Daniel, he hesitated but agreed. He said he didn’t wanna help Daniel, but he’d do it for me.
I thanked him a ton, told him to consider it a favor I owed him, and I’d pay it back when he needed. He asked how I’d repay him, and I said anything but my body.
He replied with a bitter smile, saying if it wasn’t my body, he didn’t want any other repayment, so let this favor stay owed. Whenever he needed, he’d come to me, and I agreed.
I couldn’t give a damn about anything else; owing Louis a favor was no biggie. As long as I could fix Daniel’s problem, everything else could wait.
Every day, I busted my ass, digging through academic papers and treatment plans on every platform I could find.
But life’s a bitch; hard work doesn’t always pay off.
A lot of unexpected crap happened, bringing devastating blows.
One day, while I was in line at the cafeteria, I overheard some students talking about someone about to jump from a building nearby.
My heart started pounding like crazy, and a wave of fear hit me.
I turned to a student and asked what was up. He didn’t know the details and told me to check the school forum.
I frantically unlocked my phone, and the forum was blowing up.
The top post had a picture that made my vision go black.
Without thinking, I turned and bolted, cold sweat pouring down, the wind howling in my ears.
I’d never run so fast, didn’t even wait for the traffic light to turn green, just kept running, not caring about anything.
When I got there, a yellow police line was already up, and some guys were inflating an air mattress. Daniel was on the sixth-floor windowsill, his black shirt flapping like a flag, his long hair whipping around.
I was terrified, rushing into the building, shouting, "Daniel, what the hell are you doing? Get back inside!"
A young cop stopped me. I told him, panicked, that the guy out there was my family, and I needed to save him.
Honestly, all I could think about was saving him. Crippled or blind, as long as he was alive, we could deal with everything else later.
If he died, that would be a real deadlock, an unsolvable one.
Brad and I would never be happy.
The cop was cool. Seeing me sweating bullets, he kindly escorted me to the sixth floor.
The door was wide open, and the two officers guarding it let me in.
Brad stood in the middle of the living room, looking like a mess, his eyes bloodshot, in extreme panic, yet still trying to keep it together, gently persuading Daniel to come down and talk.
This was his only brother; how could he not be heartbroken?
Daniel was completely losing it, shouting over and over, "Don’t come near, everyone get out, let me die!"
The wind outside was strong, and at the height of the sixth floor, it was even worse. Daniel’s leg dangled off the balcony, swaying in the wind, and every movement scared the crap out of me.
At this height, falling meant certain death.
I didn’t dare to speak, just leaned against the wall, fearfully watching Daniel teeter on the edge of life and death. I was afraid my voice would push him over the edge.
Brad noticed me and shook his head, signaling me to stay quiet.
But when Brad turned to me, his disheveled, pained, fearful, and deeply helpless expression hit me hard.
I thought my heart, already numb with pain, couldn’t hurt any more, but it felt like it shattered, the pain spreading through every inch of my body.
Brad was like a balance scale, with his lover on one side and his brother on the other. Removing the weight from either side would cause irreparable harm.
How could he make such a tough choice?
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