CHAPTER 341

"I'm really sorry, Aunt Jennifer. It's all my fault…" Austin was utterly guilt-stricken, but apart from apologizing, he really didn't know what else to say.

At this point, nothing he said or did could change the fact that Luna was on the verge of death and sent into the operating theater because of him.

At that, he kneeled to Jennifer and choked slightly. "Aunt Jennifer, this is all my fault. If Luna… I'll go with her!"

"Why would I need your life?!" Jennifer bawled. "Will Luna come back after you die… No… No…"

She shook her head in dismay. "What are you smoking?! My Luna will survive! She'll survive!"

She held her head, shaking it non-stop.

"Jenny, calm down a little. Luna will be fine. Don't worry, she'll be okay!" Brandon held her close as he patted her back to soothe her nerves.

His wife came from a scholastic family and had always been virtuous and gentle. He had never seen Jennifer scream and lose control like this.

Brandon held his wife close to him. Her body was cold and shivering non-stop, and her muffled sobs made his heart wrench.

He was probably the only one who could relate to his wife right then.

The person lying on the operating table was their precious daughter. If she couldn't make it, how different would it be from just ripping their hearts out?!

Everything said at this point was useless. The only thing they could do now was to pray to the heavens and see if they could spare her life.

At that, he looked to Austin with Jennifer in his arms. "Stand up, Austin. I don't blame you for what happened to Luna. You didn't mean it…"

However, Austin continued to kneel. "It's my fault. I let my anger get the better of me…"

He was so ashamed that he wanted to just slam his head against a brick wall. Alas, never had he been this regretful his whole life.

"Get him on his feet," said Brandon to Johannes, who obliged at once.

With that, Brandon said to Austin, "I said I don't blame you, not that you're not at fault. You were too impetuous. You failed to consider the consequences and screwed up big-time… If the person lying on the operating table right now isn't Luna but another family's daughter, you'd already be handcuffed and locked up in the detention center now…"

"You're right, Uncle Brandon…" Austin lowered his head. Sweat had drenched his hair and shirt, and his face was bloodless. Never had he ever been in such discomfiture.

Brandon continued, "Nonetheless, I don't blame you; I know you're a good older brother. You adored Luna and never wanted to hurt her…"

Brandon's sensibility made Austin even more guilt-stricken, and the young man shook his head in distress. "No… I'm a terrible brother… I couldn't even tell she was my cousin. I've hurt her. I… It's all my fault…"

"You are indeed in the wrong, but I know you have no intention of ever hurting Luna. I don't blame you," said Brandon. "But I won't forgive Ava!"

He was a stern man, after all, and right then, the frost on his chiseled face made him even more intimidating. "Ava has to be held largely responsible for Luna's injury! They're cousins, but just how ruthless is she to be able to barge into our house and strangle Luna's cat?! Luna raised Snowball since it was a kitten, and she raised it for nearly a decade. Snowball's like family to us. Ava might thoughtlessly say she just killed a cat, and it's not a big deal. But to us, she killed our family!"

"I get it. I get it, Uncle…" Austin nodded again and again. "Ava has indeed crossed the line. I'll be sure to have Ava apologize to Luna once Luna wakes up!"

"Apologize?" Jennifer, who had been crying in Brandon's arms, looked toward Austin. "Austin, how are you able to say it so thoughtlessly? Is my daughter's life only worth an apology from Ava?!"

She gnashed her teeth as intense animosity surged beneath her ever-gentle gaze. "I swear I'll give that girl a piece of my mind!"

The hatred in Jennifer's eyes made Austin's scalp tingle, and he realized that his family and his uncle's had fallen out regardless of whether Luna could make it.

Their families could never be the same again, and it was all thanks to him and Ava.

They had caused their ever-united family to fall apart.

Guilt enveloped him, making him suffocate, but apart from apologizing, he really didn't know what else to say or do.

Just as he wracked his brain to express his guilt, the door to the operating theater opened, and Frank came out along with Leigh.

"Mr. Frank! How's Luna?!" Austin, drenched in sweat, dashed toward the doctor and looked into his eyes with nervousness, seeming like an offender awaiting his sentence.

Brandon continued, "Nonetheless, I don't blame you; I know you're a good older brother. You adored Luna and never wanted to hurt her…"

Meanwhile, Brandon came up to them while holding Jennifer in his arms. He could tell from Austin's behavior that Frank was the surgeon who operated on his daughter.

"The surgery is a success," said Frank with a smile as he removed his mask. "It's an absolute miracle, and it's all thanks to Dr. Shefford!"

At that, he looked at Leigh and complimented, "A man's accomplishments really have nothing to do with age! It's all thanks to Dr. Shefford's assistance that Luna's out of danger. She's lucky to have met Dr. Shefford, or she'd be gone before even making it to the hospital with how severe her injuries were."

If he hadn't witnessed it for himself, he really wouldn't have believed there would be such miraculous clinical methods.

This surgery was complicated and danger-filled. Without Leigh's assistance, Luna would've been a goner. What a talent—no, a genius! I have to befriend this genius!

He rambled praises toward Leigh, and it wasn't after listening for a while that Jennifer came to herself, asking gingerly, "Dr. Lawson, my daughter's fine now, right?"

"Yes." Frank nodded with a smile. "The surgery's a massive success. Luna will be fine after she recovers from the anesthesia and wakes up." Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

"Oh, thank heavens!" Jennifer burst into tears of joy as she covered her mouth, crying and smiling.

"Don't get too excited just yet…" Leigh pulled her sleeves back down and said monotonously, "The congenital deficiency and acquired damage to her body makes it hard for her to live long despite the successful surgery… At most, I'd say she'll be able to live until she's thirty-plus! Also, the family she marries into mustn't care about having progeny or not because she won't be able to give birth!"

"W-What did you say?" The blood that finally returned to Jennifer's face flushed away once more, making her ghastly pale yet again.

"Don't get too upset just yet, Mrs. Penham." Frank hurriedly comforted Jennifer before turning to Leigh. "Traditional medicine focuses on recuperation and healing. As long as Dr. Shefford is willing to nurse Luna's body, she can help Luna extend her life, can't you, Dr. Shefford?"

Leigh snorted in response and pulled an insincere smile. "I do know a little bit of that, but why should I help her?"