Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 171: Chapter 171

Justin couldn't help but complain in his heart. He thought, 'With patience like that, no wonder you got hooked so easily.'
After listening to the nurse's instructions, Elara finally had a chance to step out of the ward and return Adrian's call. She still hadn't had the time to look at the photo Adrian had sent her.
"Did you land safely?" Elara asked.
"Where are you?" Adrian replied.
"At the hospital," Elara said.
"With Alex?" Adrian asked.
Elara looked left and right. "Did you put a camera on me or something?"
"I knew it," Adrian said, his voice heavy with jealousy. "Elara, I just left for a business trip, and you're already spending time with your old flame?"
Elara burst out laughing at his words. "Looks like someone's jealous. Adrian, you jealous puppy?"
The photo showed Elara nestled in Alex's arms. Adrian was so annoyed that he couldn't even joke with her. "Elara, wipe that grin off your face. Don't you think it's time you explained to your boyfriend why you're with Alex?" Adrian prompted.
"My mom fainted at home, and Alex and I took her to the hospital together," Elara explained.
"Weren't you at Ruby's place last night? How'd you end up going to the hospital with him?" Adrian asked.
Elara explained, "Alex called me and said he couldn't get in touch with my mom, so..."
"So you two are still calling each other? Still keeping in touch?" Adrian said sourly.
"No, he called Julian this morning, and Julian handed the phone to me," Elara explained.
"So you were with Julian last night, is that it?" Adrian pressed. Elara fell silent.
"So while I'm not around, you get both your childhood friends to keep you company. Having fun, aren't you?" Adrian added, his tone dripping with jealousy.
Elara hurriedly changed the subject, asking, "When are you coming back?"
"Why should I come back? Wouldn't want to get in the way of you and your two childhood sweethearts," Adrian shot back, his jealousy practically oozing through the phone.
The call ended abruptly, and it was only then that Elara noticed the photo Adrian had sent in the chat. She tapped on it, revealing a recent snapshot; Alex holding her close in his arms.
Elara frowned. 'How did someone even get a shot of that?' she wondered. She immediately texted Adrian:[Adrian, did you seriously have someone tailing me?] But he didn't reply.
"Family of Janice, please come in," the nurse called out.
"Sure," Elara replied.
The nurse handed her the medication. "Take one of these in the morning and one at night, after meals."
"Got it, thanks," Elara said.
Janice was awake but still looked completely drained, her eyes barely half-open. Elara walked over and sat down beside the bed. "Mom, are you feeling any better?" she asked gently. Janice responded with nothing more than a faint "Yes."
"Should we let Dad know? He probably doesn't even know you're back yet, right?" Elara asked. Janice weakly shook her head.
Julian and Ruby knocked on the door and entered, each carrying flowers and a fruit basket for Janice. "Aunt Janice," they greeted with a smile. Janice smiled and gave them a look, signaling them to take a seat.
Julian leaned against the window as Ruby pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. "Elara, is Aunt Janice okay now? What did the doctor say?"
"She just had cardiac bypass surgery, and then her blood pressure went up again. So she still needs to stay in the hospital for observation," Elara explained. Ruby nodded.
Just then, Elara's phone rang. She picked up and said, "Hello, Auntie Lisa? Yes, that's right. Room 26 on the 7th floor."
Less than ten minutes later, Lisa came rushing into the room with a bouquet of flowers. "Janice?"
When Lisa saw all the tubes and monitors hooked up to Janice, her heart clenched. "How did it get this bad? What happened?"
Janice still didn't have much strength to talk, so she just shook her head lightly. "It's nothing serious."
Janice asked, "Did Elara get you all worked up again? I told you not to come back, but you just wouldn't listen. Why are you even worrying about her and Alex?"
Only then did Elara realize that Lisa had come back because of her and Alex. "Auntie Lisa," Elara called out politely.
Lisa shot her a look. "You're a grown woman now, and you still make your mom upset? Would it make you happy to see her drop dead from anger?"
Lisa never liked Elara and saw her as a burden, with Fabian being even worse. She believed they held her back, robbing Lisa of the chance to benefit when Janice was thriving in Marisiton, leaving her now struggling to save for retirement.
Ruby frowned at that. "That's her mom you're talking about. How could you say something like that?"
"You nosy kid, this is family business. Why are you butting in?" Lisa snapped.
"You—" Ruby was about to start a fight, but Elara quickly stopped her and dragged her out of the room.
"Elara, why didn't you let me go off on that witch? I've never liked her, not since we were kids," Ruby grumbled.
"You're pregnant now, you can't get upset. By the way, how did your checkup go?" Elara asked.
Julian followed them out and leaned lazily against the wall. "She's full of energy; good to go for surgery anytime."
"I've got the surgery scheduled for the 6th, the day after tomorrow," Ruby said.
Adrian's birthday was on the 6th, but he was on a business trip, while she was stuck in Veritasiton on bail and couldn't visit him. With her mom still in the hospital, celebrating his birthday was impossible.
Elara said, "Alright, I'll go with you."
"Ok," Ruby replied.
"Julian, could you take Ruby home first? I'll stay here with Mom tonight. Ruby, please take care of yourself while you're at home," Elara said.
"With Lisa around, maybe I should stick around too. Who knows what she might say or do to you," Ruby said.
Elara smiled, "No need. If I ignore her, she can't do anything to me. You go home and get some good rest; surgery's no joke, you'll need all your strength."
"Alright, if you say so," Ruby replied.
After Ruby and Julian left, Elara stepped outside the room to take a few calming breaths before opening the door. Walking in, she found Lisa badmouthing her and her father.
Lisa said, "You shouldn't have come back and married Fabian. Now you're over fifty, fainting alone at home with no one to care for you.
"Fabian has neither money nor time for you. You could've married into a wealthy family, but you chose him instead."
"Auntie Lisa, the doctor said Mom needs to rest. You're being way too loud," Elara cut in.
"How dare you talk to me like that? I'm your aunt," Lisa snapped.
"The doctor said your sister needs to rest. She just had bypass surgery. If you want to stress her out, that's on you," Elara shot back.
Lisa was at a loss for words, so she snapped, "And where's your dad? Your mom's this sick, and he's still holed up in that crappy lab all day?"
"They're divorced. Stop thinking you can order my dad around," Elara replied flatly.
"You little brat, your mouth is getting sassier by the day," Lisa huffed.
Elara gave a fake smile. "I've never had anyone to keep me in check, and you know that. If you're so worried about my mom, why not spend the afternoon with her? I need to go home to grab something."
Elara stepped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and let out a sigh. Lisa was such a gold-digger, and Elara honestly couldn't stand her.
She walked out of the hospital gates. She had come in an ambulance earlier, so now she had no choice but to take a taxi home.
When she got home, she realized there was nothing she needed to take, so she just slumped onto the couch and zoned out for a while.
Her heart felt hollow. She glanced at her phone again, but Adrian still hadn't responded to her messages. She missed him deeply. Elara: [Adrian. Are you upset with me?]
She typed out [I miss you,] but deleted it before she could hit send. After hesitating for ages, she ended up sending a bunch of texts instead.
Elara: [Adrian, my mom recently had heart surgery. This morning, her blood pressure spiked, and she collapsed and blacked out.
[She has bipolar disorder, and arguing with her tends to affect her health. That's why Alex showed up; we ran into each other in the parking garage, but I didn't ask him to come.
[I was upset earlier because I found mom had heart surgery. I felt terrible about leaving her alone. Alex comforted me, and he hugged me, but I pushed him away almost immediately. I swear, I wasn't in his arms for more than a second.
[Adrian, you always said we should talk things out right away if something's wrong. You hate it when we get all sulky with each other. Let's not be upset with each other, okay? Adrian, I miss you, my puppy.]