Chapter 59 Another Favor to Ask
Lillian sulked, "What? A month?"
"Even though there are no fractures, you can't be careless. It's best to go to the hospital for another check-up. I suspect there might be a slight concussion."
"Mr. Sinclair," Kyle said to Alexander, "I'll take my leave now."
"I'll escort you out," Alexander and Kyle left the room together.
Lucas came in, his eyes brimming with tears, and sat cautiously on the edge of the bed before asking, "Lillian, are you still in pain?"
"It hurts, it hurts a lot."
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault," Lucas said, looking down and twisting his little fingers as he apologized to Lillian.
Lillian couldn't turn over. She could only twist her head to look at Lucas, trying to comfort him. "You want to keep me here, and you haven't done anything wrong. It's an accident, something nobody expected."
"Can you forgive Alexander?" he asked. "He didn't mean it."
Internally, Lillian cursed. Just because Alexander didn't do it on purpose, I must forgive him? He's caused me so much pain!
"He apologized to me just now." While Lillian felt some resentment, she decided not to show it in front of Lucas.
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and snuggled his arm up against hers, saying, "Look, Lillian, now we both have injured arms."
Lillian couldn't help but laugh through her tears. "But it's not just my arm that hurts, my whole body aches."
After seeing Kyle out, Alexander came back, stood by the bed, and looked at Lillian. "Does your head hurt?"
"It hurts."
"Do you feel like throwing up?"
"No."
Alexander said, "I'll ask Alice to help you change your clothes and take you to the hospital."
Lillian quickly interjected, "No need for that, I'm fine. The headache is just because of the fall. I don't need to go to the hospital for a checkup."
Knowing the cost of a full checkup at the hospital would be a few thousand dollars, Lillian would rather endure the pain than spend that kind of money.
Alexander guessed her thoughts and said directly, "I’ll cover the checkup costs and you don't have to worry about the money."
Spending your money scares me even more, I'll have to pay it back eventually!
"It's not about who's paying," Lillian stubbornly said. "I just don't want to go to the hospital. I don't have any fractures; I'll be okay with some rest at home."
Seeing Lillian's determination, Alexander didn't insist any longer and said, "If you need anything, just ask Alice for help."
After saying this, Alexander left the room, giving Lucas a meaningful glance before closing the door.
"Lillian, will Alexander scold me?" Lucas asked, worried after seeing Alexander’s glance.
"Don't worry," Lillian reassured Lucas. "Alexander loves you; he won't scold you. Go on up."
Lucas kissed Lillian's cheek, "Rest well, Lillian. I'm heading upstairs."
With the room quiet again, Lillian closed her eyes to rest.
Lillian couldn't work because of her injuries, and although being at home all day was comfortable, she fretted over how to make ends meet without money. Payday was on the 15th, and after repaying Alexander and giving something to Lisa's family, Lillian would have very little left for herself.
Christmas was just around the corner, and it was sure to be an expensive time. As Lillian reviewed her finances, she considered herself fortunate to be debt-free. Worried, she raised her hand to touch her head, but the motion caused her pain, and she settled down quietly again.
Lillian had been lying down all afternoon and had fallen asleep. When she woke up, it was already dark outside. Her back felt numb, so she shifted positions slowly, turning onto her side.
Lucas entered the room and approached Lillian's face, saying, "Lillian, you're awake? It's time for dinner."
"Okay, go ahead and eat," Lillian managed to prop herself up and asked Lucas to adjust the pillows behind her.
Lucas positioned the pillows carefully and said, "After I'm done eating, I'll come and feed you."
"You're hurt too, remember?" Lillian laughed. "It's okay, I can still eat with my hands."
Lucas left, and Lillian decided to play with her phone for a while. As soon as she unlocked it, she saw a message on WhatsApp.
It was from Oscar.
Oscar: [Lillian, school lets out for vacation tomorrow, and today Lisa sent me a message.]
Lillian: [What did she say?]
Oscar: [She told me not to go back for the winter break and to come stay with you. Lillian, have you moved out yet?]
Lillian was shocked. Lisa was cunning. Now that Lillian was married, she didn't want Oscar to go back home. She couldn't hide her marriage from Oscar; she had to tell him the truth.
Lillian: [What time are you leaving school tomorrow?]
Oscar: [I'm going to hang out with my roommates first, then have dinner.]
Lillian: [Don't drink, and don't do anything too wild. Take care of yourself, got it?]
After sending the message, Lillian hesitated but then sent another, "Call me when you're done and I'll come and pick you up."
Oscar: [Lillian, did you really move out?]
Lillian: [We'll talk when we meet tomorrow.]
After ending the conversation with Oscar, Lillian sighed silently, 'Lucas is still healing, and now Oscar can't go home!'
She silently encouraged herself, 'No matter how Alexander insults me later, I need to endure it for Oscar’s sake!'
Alice brought dinner to Lillian, offering to feed her. Lillian, uncomfortable with the idea, declined politely. Her wrist injury was minor, and she didn't need anyone to feed her.
Under Lucas's attentive gaze, Lillian finished all her food. Lucas was very considerate, passing tissues and bringing a water cup, seemingly enjoying caring for Lillian.
"Lucas, why don't you go out? Ask Alexander to come here. I need to speak with him."
"Oh, sure, I'll call him right now."
Lillian thought Alexander would have arrived quickly, but after waiting more than half an hour, he finally showed up.
"What do you need?" Alexander asked, sitting back in his chair with a leg propped up.
Sitting against the bed, Lillian hung her head, unsure of how to approach the topic of Oscar with Alexander.
"Lillian, I've seen that look before. Every time you come to me with a problem, you make that face," Alexander said casually, brushing off imaginary dust from his leg and slowly asking, "So, what happened this time?"
Lillian looked up at Alexander, hesitated, and then began, "It's like this, I have a younger brother who's a sophomore in college, and he's starting his winter break tomorrow. Lisa told him not to go back home and instead to come stay with me... I was hoping he could stay here until school starts again. We'd pay rent. Would that be okay?"
"Do you have a lot of money?" Alexander asked teasingly.
"No, not at all..." Lillian stuttered, "How much rent did you have in mind?"
Alexander gave Lillian a cool look, stood up, and said indifferently, "If you don't have the money, don't pretend that you do. Do you even know how much you make? I'm not that petty. Let your brother stay."
This took Lillian completely by surprise. Not only did Alexander not embarrass her, but he also agreed readily. An excited Lillian kept thanking him, "Mr. Sinclair, thank you, thank you so much!"
Alexander ignored Lillian and headed for the door.
"Mr. Sinclair!" Lillian called out again, stopping Alexander in his tracks, "There's one more thing. Could you ask Mr. Martin to pick up my brother from college tomorrow?"
A bit annoyed, Alexander shot Lillian a glare and then left the room.
