Chapter 112 I Will Never Give in
Frederick kept his head down, buried in paperwork, and just muttered, "Yeah."
Elliot's lips twitched. "You haven't hung out with Dennis in days."
Frederick finally looked up, serious. "What's up with Dennis?"
Elliot quickly reassured him, "Dennis is fine. I just mean, if you keep skipping out on evenings with him, won't he get upset?"
Frederick went back to his documents. "He won't."
Elliot felt a headache coming on. "Frederick, let's take a break. You're gonna burn out if you keep this up."
Frederick shot him a cold look. "Anyone who can't handle it can go home. No one's forcing overtime. But these documents need to be on my desk by tomorrow morning. I have to review them."
Elliot just stood there, silent.
Leaving the CEO's office, looking defeated, he was immediately surrounded by curious colleagues.
"So, is Frederick working late again tonight?" someone asked.
Elliot shrugged, "Yep."
A collective groan of despair followed.
"What's up with Frederick? Who ticked him off? Can't we cheer him up?" someone else asked.
"If anyone can cheer him up, I'll owe them big time!" Elliot said, exasperated.
Frederick's mood was mostly because of Isabella, but she was too mad at him to make the first move. And Frederick? No way he'd reach out first, not after getting shut down so many times.
With neither of them willing to budge, the problem just hung there.
Meanwhile, Isabella was seriously ill, and Hugo, Justin, and Paul were too worried to go to school.
Paul cooked up delicious meals for her three times a day.
Justin tried all sorts of ways to lift her spirits.
Hugo, the quiet one, just stayed by her side.
Every time Isabella woke up, Hugo was there.
Feeling both heartache and comfort, Isabella asked, "Hugo, what time is it?"
"Four in the afternoon. You thirsty?" Hugo replied.
Isabella nodded, and Hugo helped her sit up, placing a pillow behind her.
"Where are Justin and Paul?" she asked.
Hugo handed her a cup of warm water. "We're out of groceries. Freya took them to the supermarket."
Isabella took a few sips, set the cup down, and looked at Hugo. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Feeling much better today."
Hugo said, "Only when the mind is healed can one be truly cured."
"What?"
He explained, "I can tell you have something on your mind. Your illness is related to it."
Hugo, like a little adult, straightened his back and looked at her seriously. "You always say a person's heart can only hold so much. If you worry too much, you'll feel uneasy, and in severe cases, you'll get sick. So you shouldn't keep everything to yourself; you need to share with others. Once you talk about it, you'll feel lighter.
But why do you understand everything yet still keep your worries to yourself?"
Isabella was left speechless.
Hugo usually didn't say much, but when he did, he always nailed it.
Even at just five years old, Hugo was like the man of the house, the rock everyone leaned on.
Isabella thought for a moment and said, "You're right. I've had a lot on my mind lately. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."
"We'd rather worry than be left in the dark. You should talk about your worries, and we can figure something out together. Maybe we'll come up with a solution," Hugo said softly.
Isabella sighed deeply. She didn't dare to mention Eleanor directly. After all, Eleanor's situation might involve a criminal investigation, and she didn't want Hugo involved.
She mentioned Dennis instead. "I've been helping a kid recently, the one I told you about before, who has a psychological illness."
"Dennis?" Hugo asked. He knew about Dennis and always thought he was Frederick's child with another woman, not realizing Dennis was actually his biological brother.
"Yeah, that's right! But now there's a big problem. Some people don't want Dennis to get better, so they don't want me to treat him."
Hugo knew Isabella was talking about Anna. He pretended to know nothing. "Did they threaten or warn you?"
"Yeah," Isabella replied.
"What about Dennis's dad? Didn't he stand up and warn those people?" Hugo inquired.
"I'm not sure. He said no one would treat me like that again," Isabella answered helplessly.
Hugo squinted slightly. In other words, Frederick had dealt with Anna without letting Isabella know. What was Frederick's mouth for? Just hearing him say it wouldn't stop her from being afraid.
Hugo said, "So, you want to keep helping Dennis but are afraid of getting hurt, right?"
Isabella nodded immediately. If it were just her, it would be fine, but Hugo and Justin were also involved. Even if she wanted to help Dennis, she had to consider Hugo and Justin.
Hugo thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not that hard to solve."
"Do you have a way?"
"Yeah, think about it. The people around Dennis who want to harm you are trying to stop you from treating him. As long as you stop treating Dennis, they won't care about your interactions with him."
Isabella was somewhat confused. "But I interact with Dennis to treat him."
"You can treat him without letting others know," Hugo advised.
"Secretly?"
"Yeah!"
"No, if those people find out, it will be even more dangerous," Isabella said worriedly.
"Then don't let them find out."
"How can I control them?!"
Hugo said, "Make them not want to find out and make them give up."
Isabella was getting more confused. "Hugo, can you explain clearly? Don't be mysterious; I don't understand."
Hugo smiled indulgently. "Just tell everyone that Dennis is already cured."
Isabella was puzzled.
Hugo explained, "If Dennis is cured, who will pay attention to him? Even if you spend every day with Dennis, no one will care. Why are they threatening you now? Because they think you can cure Dennis. But if Dennis is already cured, you become irrelevant to them."
This time, Isabella completely understood. "This method could work! Pretend Dennis is cured, then I can get close to him and treat him secretly."
However, upon further reflection, she added, "No, those people won't easily believe Dennis is cured. We need to find a way to convince them, but Dennis has a psychological illness, and I can't control him."
Hugo sighed inwardly, 'silly mommy.'
"This problem is even simpler," he said calmly.
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