Chapter 449 The $500 Mr. Abbott Earned
Susanna, who was chilling nearby, was totally caught off guard when she heard Lillian call Aaron "Daddy."
She never thought Lillian would drop the "Daddy" bomb on Aaron so casually, especially since she hadn't done it before.
Susanna shot a glance at Lillian and felt a bit uneasy.
She could see that Lillian was really into Aaron. From the start, when Lillian mistook Sam for her ex-husband, to after they cleared up that mess, Lillian and Aaron had always been tight. Maybe it was that blood bond thing?
Aaron walked up to Lillian and gently touched her cheek. "You scared?"
"Not even a little, I'm fearless."
Aaron handed her the doll he was holding. "This is for you."
Lillian hugged the doll and eyed the boxes stacked on the floor. "Are all these for me?"
Aaron nodded. "Yep. Go ahead, open 'em up and see what you like."
Seeing the room packed with toys, Susanna quickly said, "Lillian's never been short on toys. No need to go overboard."
Susanna noticed the toy Aaron had been holding, which he had splurged $500 on at the mall.
Yeah, the stuff you buy when times are tough always feels extra special.
Aaron shrugged. "It's cool. She can keep what she likes."
Seeing Aaron's big spender attitude, Susanna couldn't help but smirk. Did Aaron really think he could win Lillian over with a mountain of toys?
Lillian had been spoiled her whole life; everyone doted on her. What toy didn't she already have?
Sam chimed in, "Lillian, let's open the gifts together."
Lillian happily jumped out of bed and joined Sam to check out the gifts. Then Aaron turned to Susanna and said, "Come with me for a sec. We need to talk."
Susanna nodded and followed Aaron out of the hospital room. She didn't need a crystal ball to know what Aaron wanted to ask.
They walked to the window in the hallway outside the room.
Susanna looked at him and said, "You wanna know about Lillian's condition, right?"
Aaron nodded. "Lillian looks pretty good. Seems like she's bouncing back well."
Susanna felt a bit guilty. The reason Lillian looked good was that she wasn't sick at all, so of course, she didn't look worn out.
But no way could Susanna spill that to Aaron.
Susanna cleared her throat and said, "Lillian's treatment's going well. As you can see, she's pretty healthy now. So after you see her, you should leave Novaria."
"Why are you so eager to get rid of me? Got something to hide?"
"Aaron, seriously, I'm not rushing you out. I'm thinking about your safety. You wanna end up like before, getting beat up and wandering around Novaria, crashing on hospital chairs?"
Susanna definitely wasn't gonna admit she was hiding something from Aaron and didn't want him to find out about Charles.
At least not yet.
After she finished, Aaron stepped closer and chuckled. "So you do care about me."
"Don't get any ideas. I'm not worried about you; I'm thinking about Lillian. I don't want her to lose her dad so young."
"Is that so?"
Susanna took a few steps back, got her head straight, and looked at Aaron. "What else? You think I still have feelings for you?"
"Then why've you been single all these years? Your family not bugging you to find someone?"
Susanna found Aaron's question kinda weird. What was he getting at? Why had he brought this up now?
She tilted her head and gave him a once-over. "Why you asking? What's it to you?"
"I know I messed up back then, but I wanna start over with you."
Susanna froze, totally not expecting Aaron to drop that bomb.
If this was back in the day, she would've been over the moon, but now she was all about keeping it real.
She got serious. "Start over? Like four years ago?"
She remembered exactly what life was like with the Abbott family four years ago.
No way was she going back to that.
Aaron's eyes darkened. "No, that wouldn't be fair to you."
"At least you got some sense. But what's done is done. We can't just hit reset."
Susanna shut him down, no hesitation.
Aaron didn't seem shocked by her rejection. He switched gears. "Where are Lillian's medical records? I wanna see them."
Susanna's guard went up instantly. "Lillian's doing fine. Why do you need her records? You're not a doctor."
"As her dad, I got a right to see her records. Plus, I set up a medical team for her. I need those records."
"No need. The Jones family doctors are on it, and she's doing great. We don't need your team."
The real issue was if Aaron's docs got involved, things could get messy.
"More doctors mean better care. As her mom, you shouldn't be against that."
"I get it, but I trust Michael with Lillian's care. I've never doubted him."
Aaron's face twisted a bit at the mention of Michael. "You trust him, but I don't. Lillian's my daughter too, and I got a right to be involved."
"Aaron, if it wasn't for Michael, Lillian and I wouldn't be safe. He saved us. What right do you have to question him?"
That hit hard, leaving Aaron with nothing to say. When it came to Lillian, he always felt like he owed something.
Aaron looked at her and finally softened. "I just wanna know how Lillian's doing. That's all."
"I already told you, she's doing great. We don't need your doctors."
"Fine, I won't bring in my docs, but I still wanna see her records. That's not too much, right?"
Susanna took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll show you."
Good thing she had prepped for this moment.
They took the elevator downstairs, and as soon as they stepped out, they ran into someone familiar.
To be exact, it was someone from the Thornberry family!
Kayle, sitting in a wheelchair, pointed at Susanna and started yelling, "What are you doing here? Begging or apologizing, I don't care. I won't accept it."
Susanna was totally baffled.
