CHAPTER 209
"No," Nelson replied without hesitation, turning Angie down. "Mom and Dad have made it very clear that you are a Colt now, not a Wendel, and you no longer have anything to do with us. They do not wish to see you."
"But I really, really miss them." Angie sobbed miserably. "I know I'm not their biological daughter, but they raised me for over twenty years. I'm sure, deep down, they still care about me. They never left my side and made sure I took all my meds when I was sick. Mom would even sleep in my room at night just to take care of me. I've never been away from them for so long, not since I could remember, and I miss them so much..."
The waterworks intensified as she said this, and at some point, her words became incoherent. Unfortunately for her, Nelson had never liked her even when she was still a young lady of the Wendel Family, and any respect or obedience he had shown for her vanished the moment Michael and Crystal cut her off.
He saw no reason to pity her now that she had lost her mantel as Miss Wendel and been thrown out of the house. He did not even spare her any pleasantries before he hung up on her.
In the midst of her relentless sobbing, Angie heard the decisive beep on the other line that indicated Nelson had ended the call.
She stopped crying, and her sadness was replaced with blinding fury as she raised her arm to hurl the phone at the wall. However, she paused just as the phone was about to fly out of her hand, and she reminded herself that the phone belonged to the nurse. If she broke it, she would have to pay for it. She could not afford to throw tantrums now that the funds in her bank account were low. As such, she sniffed and swallowed her anger, then slowly put her arm down.
Tolerance was a virtue, they said, but it felt more like a machete hacking away at her.
Michael and Crystal were determined to erase her from their lives, and Nelson was clearly following in their footsteps as well. The only person she could turn to now was Cedric.
She thought about this and decided that Cedric was probably the only one among the Wendels who might still come to her aid.
Wiping her tears away, she took a deep breath and dialed Cedric's number, then prayed furtively that he would answer. Thankfully, the call got through, and she summoned her feeblest voice as she said, "Cedric..." exclusive content.
On the other line, Cedric froze when he heard her voice.
His mother had ordered him to never get in touch with Angie, so he immediately tried to hang up the call. However, he heard Angie crying, and the thought of her sobbing gutted him.
Yes, he was admittedly hurt and disappointed after she had used Nicholas for her schemes. He had never imagined that his adorable and considerate baby sister would ever resort to such selfish, underhanded ways, and he was heartbroken after the incident. "No," Nelson replied without hesitation, turning Angie down. "Mom and Dad have made it very clear that you are a Colt now, not a Wendel, and you no longer have anything to do with us. They do not wish to see you."
But he had thought about it and found himself pondering on the meaning of family. He associated
family with values such as tolerance and forgiveness. It seemed a little too cruel that they would all turn their backs on Angie just because of one mistake on her part.
No one was perfect, and no one could go through a lifetime without doing any wrong. Besides, weren't the saints always raving on about forgiveness?
Cedric softened when these lines of argument crossed his mind. He then sighed and asked, "What's wrong, Angie? Why are you crying?"
"Cedric, I..." Angie was crying so hard she could not get her words out. "I broke my wrist and my leg. I'm hurting everywhere right now, and I miss all of you so much..."
"What?" He had been sitting behind his work desk when he picked up the call, but upon hearing this, he stood up abruptly and demanded, "What do you mean you broke your wrist and your leg? How did that happen, Angie?"
"I—my left leg and my right wrist are broken." A fresh bout of tears fell from her face as she went on to say, "I slipped and fell from the stairs."
She kept the details vague, not wanting to tell Cedric the truth. Knowing him, he would march up to Luke and demand an explanation from him. When he did, Luke would not hesitate to tell him everything that had happened, including the part where she had contacted him to get rid of Madeline. He would expose her schemes and tell Cedric of her wicked intentions.
Even if Cedric did not believe him, he might become suspicious of Angie. As such, being frank was simply not a viable option for her at the moment, which was why she had deliberately left Luke out of the story and lied to Cedric about how she got her injuries.
Right now, exacting vengeance on Madeline was secondary to looking for someone to be on her side. She had broken her leg and her wrist, so there was no better time than the present for her to gain sympathy from others.
All she needed was for Cedric to forgive her and start seeing her as his own sister again. Once he did, her life would take a turn for the better.
Cedric's heart twisted when he heard about the severity of her injuries. "Where are you now?"
"At the hospital," Angie said, her voice evidently shaky from all the crying. "I miss you so much, Cedric. I've grown up with you in the Wendel household, and the Colts want nothing to do with me, especially Amelia. She hates my guts, and she's always bossing me around the house. None of them even care that I'm lying here in the hospital with my broken leg and wrist. I'm all alone..." She broke into another round of sobbing.
It was as if someone had plunged a dagger into his heart. Angie had been his sister and the apple of his eye for over twenty years. Being the only girl in the family, she had been showered with unconditional love from all her cousins and brothers, but now, she was suffering alone in the hospital with a broken wrist and leg with no one to care for her. He could only imagine how distressing this must be for her.
Meanwhile, Angie knew Cedric well enough to manipulate him. If she could get him to drop by the hospital to pay her a visit, then she could gain his sympathy and have him treat her like how he always had when she was still in the Wendel Family.
Without wasting time, she told him the name and address of the hospital before saying, "Please come
now, Cedric. I'm scared. I've never been alone in a hospital before. And don't tell Mom and Dad about my condition; I don't want them to worry."
That wasn't the truth, of course. She just didn't want them to be furious when they found out that she had gotten in touch with Cedric; they would stop him from seeing her for sure.
Cedric, on the other hand, was oblivious to this fact and merely assumed she was being considerate. Moved by how thoughtful she was of Michael and Crystal, he replied, "Got it. I promise I'll drop by the hospital and not tell anyone a word about this."
After the call ended, Angie set the phone aside and grew jittery with anticipation. The broken leg and wrist would be well worth it if she could get Cedric to side with her again.
She started planning on what she would say to him later and what she could do to make the best out of this meeting.
Just as she was getting antsy, Cedric finally showed up. She was so overwhelmed by his arrival that she was at a loss for words. If her leg were not broken, she would have leaped out of bed and into his arms, but as things were, she was confined to the bed. Hence, she could only stare at him with glistening eyes as she cried out, "Cedric!"
A pained look flashed across Cedric's face when he saw her lying all by her lonesome in the hospital bed with her left leg in a cast. He quickly rushed up to her. "Angie!"
"Cedric!" This time, her voice cracked, and she started crying as she watched him draw closer.
He crouched down next to the bed and caressed her forehead tenderly. "You should have been more
careful, Angie. How could you—"
A slow clap sounded from the doorway, interrupting Cedric mid-sentence.
Shocked, Cedric and Angie glanced at the door, only to see Luke standing there clapping his hands insouciantly. An amused smile tugged on his lips as he drawled sarcastically, "Well, aren't you two just the most loving pair of siblings there is? I'm moved to tears."