CHAPTER 43
Equally concerned about Elizabeth’s well-being, Veronica followed behind Mathew toward the doctor.
“The patient suffered from an intracerebral hemorrhage, which means thcrc has been bleeding in her brain tissue,” the doctor explained as she took off her surgical gown. “The symptoms are as she had displayed earlier. Good thing we got to her here just in time. It would have been bad if it was even a second later.”
Veronica could not help but let out a huge sigh of relief upon hearing the doctor’s words. Intracerebral hemorrhage.
Those were the exact symptoms Tony had when he had the same condition two years ago. She remembered how panicked she was when Tony had gone to the fields to work only to end up foaming at the mouth while convulsing because a blood vessel in his head had ruptured.
She had immediately called for an emergency back then. She as-briefly-as-possible mentioned the symptoms, and the doctor patiently told her what she could do to help. Alas, she managed to bring Tony back from the brink of death as she did according to the doctor’s instructions.
After that incident, Veronica, as a precaution, had made sure to teach Daniella what to do in case something like that were to happen again. After all, Daniella was the one who was staying by Tony’s side.
“Is she awake?” Veronica asked with a concerned look.
The doctor nodded in response and reassured her, “Yes, she has regained consciousness.”
As the doctor spoke, a nurse emerged with a hospital bed from the emergency room–in the middle of the bed lay Elizabeth.
The worried Matthew hurriedly stepped forward and caringly asked, “How are you feeling right now, Grandma?”
Even though Elizabeth had just gone through a life-threatening ordeal, she still managed to show her grandson a kind smile. “I’m fine. I was just–”
Her words came to an abrupt stop when she noticed that Matthew wasn’t the only one there. “Veronica? What are you doing here?” she eventually asked.
Instead, it was the doctor who answered on Veronica’s behalf. “This is the girl I told you about earlier! She is the young lady who saved your life! You have to give your thanks to her. It would have been bad if she wasn’t there.”
The doctor then turned to Veronica, and with her thumbs up, she asked, “Have you learned first aid or something before? You did pretty well!”
“No, I have never learned anything like that,” Veronica answered with a polite smile on her face. “It is just that my father went hrough something similar 2 years ago.” She then looked toward Elizabeth. “Madam, I’m glad to see that you are fine and awake now. I’ll be taking my leave then.”
Unexpectedly, Elizabeth reached out and held Veronica by her wrist. “Hold on. I would like to have a chat with you.” She smiled.
The nurse then brought Elizabeth into a VIP room as Veronica and Matthew quietly followed along. After the nurse hung an IV drip for Elizabeth, she swiftly made her
exit from the ward.
After that, Elizabeth threw a glance at Veronica as she waved the younger woman over. As soon as Veronica was standing by Elizabeth’s bedside, her hand was caught in yet another grip. “Dearie,” she
cooed. “Thank you so much for saving me. If it wasn’t for you, I would have died right there and then.”
“Don’t say that, madam. You will live a long, long life,” Veronica quickly said with a smile.
She then continued asking, “Shouldn’t you be at the Kings Residence, madam? What were you doing at Riverside Park?”
No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make sense for Elizabeth to be there early in the morning by herself. From what she was aware of, Kings Residence was nowhere near the park.
Hearing Veronica’s question, Elizabeth could only let out a long sigh at that. “I have been staying at home ever since my husband passed away, and I tend to overthink when I am alone. So, I can only go to the park to meet with other people when I want to get myself out of my head. I get to practice Tai Chi and chat with the other old folks every morning this way.”
Veronica had not expected Elizabeth to share her honest feelings with her, but when she did just that, Elizabeth seemed like any other elderly person who was equally susceptible to loneliness. In fact, she surprisingly sounded humble for a woman of her standing. Because of the position she was in, it was only natural for others to
instinctively distance themselves from her. It was inevitable that she would somewhat feel lonely. Pretending to be a regular granny to hang out with others in the park could possibly be the best option for her.
“Madam, you should get someone to accompany you even if you are only going for an exercise,” Veronica said apprehensively.
“I go to the park for my peace of mind. Wouldn’t bringing someone along defeat that exact purpose?” She chuckled as she lovingly patted the back of Veronica’s hand. “You saved me. Tell me, what can I do to repay you?”
Elizabeth was grateful for Veronica from the bottom of her heart as Veronica did save her life after all! At that moment, Veronica couldn’t help but feel as though it was fate that brought them together again.
“It is fine, madam. I didn’t do it for a reward. I would have done the same even if it was someone else that needed my help,” Veronica kindly refused.
To her, being willing to lend a helping hand was what made people ‘human! It wouldn’t have come from a sincere place if she had saved Elizabeth thinking she would get a reward in return.
“What a nice young woman you are.” Elizabeth sighed, and yet her eyes were glaring at Matthew the whole time. “It is a pity that we don’t have a lady like you at our home. Ah! How about this? Why don’t I make you my god-granddaughter?”
Elizabeth had always liked Veronica ever since they had first met. She strongly believed that it was fate that had brought them together.
Veronica could not find her words for a moment there, and when she finally did, she blankly repeated, “Huh? Make me your god-granddaughter?” That escalated rather quickly!
The proposal was so sudden that Veronica almost forgot to respond.
“Yes! I understand that you and Matthew couldn’t get married. It is a pity that the both of you could only cross paths and not get to the end of the road together. I still feel guilty for what happened to the child, too. But I know that you are a good girl, and I really do like you. So…” At that, she expectantly stared at Veronica, “Would it be alright for you to accept my request?”
Hesitantly, Veronica could only mumble, “This…”.
Her saving Elizabeth had been a complete coincidence, and yet she found herself
considering the older woman’s lucrative request. She was aware that she wouldn’t have to fear the Larsons anymore if she were to agree to it. And also, having Elizabeth to back her up would probably stop Matthew from further harassing her in the future.
As she pondered, Elizabeth sneakily slid the jade bracelet on her wrist onto Veronica’s without her realizing. “I have been wearing this bracelet my whole life, and I am giving it to you now. Treat it as the first present I am giving you as your god-grandmother,” she insisted.
A small frown gradually appeared on Veronica’s face. She was feeling all sorts of emotions as she looked at the bracelet.
Matthew, who had been standing quietly aside, was confused by his grandmother’s actions. He suddenly spoke up. “Please think about it again, Grandma.”
Elizabeth’s grip on Veronica only got firmer as she threw Matthew a glance. “Think about what? I have decided on it. From now on, you have to treat her like an older brother would.”
Older brother? His squinting eyes swept to glare at Veronica.
Veronica had not noticed the rage on Matthew’s face at first, but she could almost feel the temperature around Matthew drop after hearing Elizabeth’s words. The hairs on her back automatically stood as she felt the cold glare poking into the back of her torso.
“You and Tiffany are engaged. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you about what you should and should not do in the future. I will break your legs if I were to find out that you haven’t been treating Veronica right,” Elizabeth sternly warned.
The listeners of the conversation immediately knew what she meant by her words. After all, Elizabeth was aware of what had transpired between Veronica and Matthew in the past. Her words now should
serve as a warning for Matthew to back off from Veronica.
“Ha!” Matthew scoffed before asking in a ridiculing tone, “Grandma, are you sure she didn’t approach you on purpose?”
Elizabeth didn’t bother waiting for him to finish his sentence as she reached out and gave Matthew a hard pinch on his thigh. “I am someone who has lived a long life and literally just came back from the dead. I can’t be wrong about this.”
Truth be told, Elizabeth had fully expected Matthew to be against her idea. She had always known just how much her grandson disliked Veronica.
Matthew heaved a frustrated sigh, but still, he gave it another go. “She is not as simple as you think she is.”
“I might as well look for an idiot or a fool if I was hoping for a simpleton!” Elizabeth impatiently roared, rendering Matthew silent almost immediately. holds © this.
Upon hearing that, Veronica no longer held back her laughter as giggles erupted from her. She couldn’t help but realize how adorable Elizabeth was.
Elizabeth then declared, “It is my birthday in two months. I will be inviting the business pioneers of Bloomstead to the celebration. Veronica, come for my birthday. I shall introduce you to them.”
It was a well-known fact that Elizabeth enjoyed her peace by mostly keeping to herself and her family. The attendees of her birthday celebrations in the past, too, were only people from the Kings Family. Now that she was willing to invite the public to the celebration just to introduce Veronica to them, it was obvious how much she had put Veronica on a pedestal.