Chapter 373 Promise Me, Marry Stephanie
Xavier walked in from outside, decked out in protective gear. He glanced at Joseph lying on the hospital bed and said, "Mr. Park."
He wasn't completely unscathed; his hand and leg had taken a hit during the shootout, but he shrugged it off.
Xavier had just washed his face, scrubbing away the bloodstains.
"Xavier, come here," Joseph struggled to lift his hand and motioned him over.
Xavier stepped closer and took Joseph's hand. "Mr. Park, try not to exert yourself. Focus on getting better. I'll take care of the company. You'll be back on your feet in no time."
Joseph gave a weak smile, "Xavier, I know my time is short. I'm grateful you're here for the company, but Stephanie… she's my greatest concern. My precious granddaughter, my only heir. What will become of her?"
A tear rolled down, and Joseph gripped Xavier's hand tighter. "Xavier, I'm counting on you to look after Stephanie. I took a bullet for you; give her a home."
Xavier felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart. "Mr. Park, you'll get better and take care of Stephanie yourself. You know I have a girlfriend now; I can't promise you this."
Xavier loved Grace and couldn't marry anyone else.
Joseph's voice grew weaker. "Consider it my dying wish. I want you to marry Stephanie; otherwise, I won't rest in peace."
Xavier pressed his lips together, his face pale and ghastly.
Joseph said weakly, "Xavier, promise me. I'm entrusting Stephanie to you."
Xavier responded, "Mr. Park, I can support Stephanie in other ways, but I can't marry her."
He didn't like Stephanie and wouldn't marry her.
Stephanie, standing nearby, listened with a face full of hatred.
Stephanie had never anticipated that Xavier would still refuse to marry her.
Joseph started coughing heavily. Xavier was about to call the doctor, but Joseph suddenly coughed up blood.
Xavier's hands were covered in his blood, and Stephanie exclaimed, "Xavier, you made my grandpa cough up blood."
Xavier froze for a moment. "I'll get the doctor!"
However, Joseph used all his strength to grab him, then took Stephanie's hand and placed it in Xavier's.
"Xavier, for the sake of the help I gave you when you first came to Oakworth, promise me. You know you wouldn't be where you are without me, and now I'm dying for you. Marry Stephanie and take good care of her, Xavier, promise me!" Joseph seemed to use all his strength, his eyes wide open.
Xavier pressed his lips tightly together, the veins on his forehead bulging, struggling to suppress his painful expression.
His heart felt encased in ice, the cold radiating outward, turning into a thousand needles pricking his skin, freezing his blood. What would become of Grace?
At that moment, the medical equipment started making a loud, terrifying noise.
"Xavier, promise me!" Joseph's eyes seemed to be filled with blood, gripping his hand tightly, truly looking like he wouldn't rest in peace.
"I promise you." Xavier's voice was filled with helplessness, as if all his strength had been drained.
In that moment, the heart monitor let out a piercing beep, and the fluctuating heart rate turned into a flat line.
The hand holding Xavier and Stephanie's went limp, lifeless.
Joseph was gone.
Stephanie threw herself onto Joseph's body. "Grandpa, don't leave me. How can you leave me alone in this world?"
Xavier's heart ached intensely. He took a step back and shouted towards the door, "Doctor, doctor!"
But Stephanie suddenly clung to him. "Xavier, don't go. My grandpa is gone. I'm so scared. What should I do?"
Xavier pushed Stephanie away, not gently at all.
"Doctor!" Xavier called out again.
The doctors rushed in and started resuscitation, but after a few minutes, it was clear it wasn't working.
One of the doctors sighed, "I'm sorry, we've done our best."
Stephanie grabbed the doctor's hand, crying bitterly, "Don't just stand there, save him, save my grandpa!"
The doctors hung their heads. They weren't miracle workers.
Although Joseph's condition was critical, no one expected him to pass away so quickly. He was fine just a moment ago; how could this happen suddenly?
No one would suspect Stephanie. After all, Joseph was her only relative.
Stephanie cried out to the doctors, "How did my grandpa pass away? He was fine just now."
The doctor said, "From the patient's condition, it was due to emotional agitation. His heart was already weak, and it caused a cerebral hemorrhage."
"Cerebral hemorrhage? How could it happen suddenly? I didn't do or say anything!" Stephanie looked at Xavier, then deliberately hit him, showing extreme sadness and grief.
"It was you! It's your fault! If you had agreed to grandpa earlier, he wouldn't have been so agitated and wouldn't have left me. You killed my grandpa. Give me back my grandpa, give him back!" Stephanie clutched Xavier's clothes tightly, blaming everything on him, using the sharpest words to stab at Xavier's heart.
She wanted Xavier to know that Joseph had died because of him, intending for this guilt to linger in Xavier's heart forever. Only then would he treat her well.
"I have no one now, Xavier," she sobbed. "Only you. You promised him you'd marry me."
"Let go." Xavier's voice was ice-cold, like it came from the depths of hell.
Stephanie asked, "You're not going to go back on your word, are you? You just promised. My grandpa is still lying there, Xavier, look at him, look at the person who died because of you!"
Xavier said coldly, "I will marry you, but not now."
With Xavier's words, Stephanie was relieved. She knew Xavier always kept his promises.
She lowered her head, her hands covering her face, appearing to cry, but in reality, hiding an irrepressible smile that signified her plan's success.
Stephanie said, "You need time… to deal with Grace. I'll wait. And grandpa just passed away. I still need to arrange his funeral. If we get married immediately, it wouldn't be appropriate. How about we get engaged first, okay?"
She figured that if they got engaged, the whole world would know they were a couple.
Stephanie tried to take Xavier's hands, but he shook her off in disgust.
Xavier left, his back heavy with burden.
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