Falling For My Ex's Uncle - Chapter 75: Chapter 75
You are reading Falling For My Ex's Uncle, Chapter 75: Chapter 75. Read more chapters of Falling For My Ex's Uncle.
Alex's deep, gravelly voice was tinged with an inexplicable sadness.
I was taken aback. Such words shouldn't have come from him. After all, he had everything that most people envied—his status, his looks, his powerful background.
There was a long, eerie silence on the other end of the line.
Suddenly, a sharp scream cut through the stillness.
"I have to go, I'll call you back later."
Before I could react, Alex hung up the phone.
"Laurel, what happened?" Angela asked cautiously, noticing my dazed expression.
I shook my head slowly, "I'm fine."
Angela's voice softened in an attempt to comfort me. "Don't be too upset, Laurel. We'll find a way to help your mom."
I nodded, trying to appear calm.
But as I replayed Alex's words in my mind, I realized that the gaping wound in my heart—the one that had been bleeding uncontrollably—felt like it had been suddenly pressed shut.
He was right, after all. My mother didn't want me to be sad.
In other words, she knew me better than anyone. Beneath the tough exterior I wore, I had a fragile heart that could easily shatter. And so, she chose to hide the truth from me.
My mother was never a bold woman.
I remember one time when we were moving, and Bonnie watched in stunned silence as my mother, with expert precision, killed a cockroach with her slipper. It took Bonnie a long moment to process what had just happened. Later, she secretly wiped away her tears in the bathroom and confided in me.
Before becoming a mother, my mom had been terrified of cockroaches, rats, and snakes.
I never imagined she'd be able to face them so fearlessly now.
But I was the only one who knew that the first time she saw a cockroach, she had turned pale with fear. She'd clung to me, crying uncontrollably, as a child.
Bonnie once said that my mother, in her prime, had chosen to become an independent woman and mother. I knew how difficult that had been.
"When you don't have the courage to die, you just live on, miserably."
That's what my mother always said with a gentle smile when I was a child.
I understood now. It wasn't that she didn't have the courage to die; it was that she was terrified of leaving me alone.
I inhaled deeply, standing up to pour us both a glass of wine, slowly burying my sorrow inside.
I handed a glass to Angela. "Don't worry, I'll be alright."
If my mother could hold on this long, then surely I could too.
I believed that my mother, reluctant to leave me, would continue to fight to live.
Angela wiped her tears away and nodded firmly. She lifted her glass and drank it all in one go.
I let out a soft laugh, almost on the verge of tears myself.
This silly girl—she looked nothing like the young lady from the Adams family.
"What did Samantha say to you?" Angela asked in a hoarse voice.
"She tried to buy me off, offered me 6 million dollars to leave Alex." I sighed helplessly. "But I can't accept her offer."
Angela frowned. "6 million dollars? That's pretty stingy."
"Guess that's all she thinks I'm worth." I paused, forcing a smile. "She'll find another way to deal with me."
"Don't worry," Angela said with determination. "If she dares to hurt you, I won't let her get away with it."
"She's using the people around me to threaten me." I gave a cold laugh. "But I've threatened her right back."
We drank through two bottles of red wine, and after some hazy sleep, we woke up to find that the sky outside had darkened.
Angela was sprawled across the bed, clearly tipsy. I washed my face and was about to head back to my room when I suddenly heard a commotion from the neighboring room.
The voices sounded familiar.
The hotel rooms were generally well soundproofed, but the argument was so loud that it pierced through. I could faintly make out the voices of two women.
I didn't pay much attention, just draped a blanket over Angela's covers and left the room.
Back in my own room, I started researching brain cancer treatments. I found out that there was a research institute overseas developing a drug to inhibit cancer cell growth. But it was still in the trial phase. Early data suggested that it could help slow the progression of brain cancer.
If it worked, there were two options: chemotherapy or conservative treatment. Either way, it could ease the pain in the later stages and extend life a little longer.
But the catch was that the drug wasn't easy to obtain. And it cost a lot.
A single box of medication was 15,000 dollars. One box contained 21 pills—about 700 dollars per pill.
On top of that, hospital check-ups were necessary, regardless of whether surgery or conservative treatment was pursued.
I looked through my finances and realized I had about 3 million dollars in total, 2 million of which came from Alex.
The only amount I had full control over was 1 million dollars.
After thinking it over, I decided to sell the 600,000-dollar ruby necklace I had bought.
As for the apartment—it was close to Bonnie's, but it was an old building from decades ago. I had once thought about upgrading to a bigger place, but with the money I had right now, it was impossible.
But I wasn't sure about letting my mother move back to the old neighborhood.
The area lacked modern security features, and even the elderly man who watched the gate was over 60 years old. If anything happened to my mom in that neighborhood, it would be hard to even get an ambulance in due to the narrow alleys.
More importantly, patients with late-stage brain cancer suffer significant memory loss.
As I thought about this, my hand holding the pen froze, and my chest tightened with a pang of sadness.
Tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting my tears.
I stood up, irritated, wiping my eyes quickly and forcing a calm tone. "Hold on, I'm coming."
Could it be Alex?
After all, who else would come at this time?
But when I opened the door, I was taken aback to see Kayden—Austin's father—standing there.
"What can I do for you?" I asked, still stunned.
Kayden smiled slightly. "Laurel, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you."
My mind buzzed. What could he want to talk about? Austin? Or Alex? One was his son, the other his brother.
I didn't want to go, but knowing Kayden wouldn't leave easily once he'd come to see me, I reluctantly agreed.
"Half an hour, downstairs at the café. I'll be there."
I met his amused gaze and said, "I'll meet you downstairs."
I was taken aback. Such words shouldn't have come from him. After all, he had everything that most people envied—his status, his looks, his powerful background.
There was a long, eerie silence on the other end of the line.
Suddenly, a sharp scream cut through the stillness.
"I have to go, I'll call you back later."
Before I could react, Alex hung up the phone.
"Laurel, what happened?" Angela asked cautiously, noticing my dazed expression.
I shook my head slowly, "I'm fine."
Angela's voice softened in an attempt to comfort me. "Don't be too upset, Laurel. We'll find a way to help your mom."
I nodded, trying to appear calm.
But as I replayed Alex's words in my mind, I realized that the gaping wound in my heart—the one that had been bleeding uncontrollably—felt like it had been suddenly pressed shut.
He was right, after all. My mother didn't want me to be sad.
In other words, she knew me better than anyone. Beneath the tough exterior I wore, I had a fragile heart that could easily shatter. And so, she chose to hide the truth from me.
My mother was never a bold woman.
I remember one time when we were moving, and Bonnie watched in stunned silence as my mother, with expert precision, killed a cockroach with her slipper. It took Bonnie a long moment to process what had just happened. Later, she secretly wiped away her tears in the bathroom and confided in me.
Before becoming a mother, my mom had been terrified of cockroaches, rats, and snakes.
I never imagined she'd be able to face them so fearlessly now.
But I was the only one who knew that the first time she saw a cockroach, she had turned pale with fear. She'd clung to me, crying uncontrollably, as a child.
Bonnie once said that my mother, in her prime, had chosen to become an independent woman and mother. I knew how difficult that had been.
"When you don't have the courage to die, you just live on, miserably."
That's what my mother always said with a gentle smile when I was a child.
I understood now. It wasn't that she didn't have the courage to die; it was that she was terrified of leaving me alone.
I inhaled deeply, standing up to pour us both a glass of wine, slowly burying my sorrow inside.
I handed a glass to Angela. "Don't worry, I'll be alright."
If my mother could hold on this long, then surely I could too.
I believed that my mother, reluctant to leave me, would continue to fight to live.
Angela wiped her tears away and nodded firmly. She lifted her glass and drank it all in one go.
I let out a soft laugh, almost on the verge of tears myself.
This silly girl—she looked nothing like the young lady from the Adams family.
"What did Samantha say to you?" Angela asked in a hoarse voice.
"She tried to buy me off, offered me 6 million dollars to leave Alex." I sighed helplessly. "But I can't accept her offer."
Angela frowned. "6 million dollars? That's pretty stingy."
"Guess that's all she thinks I'm worth." I paused, forcing a smile. "She'll find another way to deal with me."
"Don't worry," Angela said with determination. "If she dares to hurt you, I won't let her get away with it."
"She's using the people around me to threaten me." I gave a cold laugh. "But I've threatened her right back."
We drank through two bottles of red wine, and after some hazy sleep, we woke up to find that the sky outside had darkened.
Angela was sprawled across the bed, clearly tipsy. I washed my face and was about to head back to my room when I suddenly heard a commotion from the neighboring room.
The voices sounded familiar.
The hotel rooms were generally well soundproofed, but the argument was so loud that it pierced through. I could faintly make out the voices of two women.
I didn't pay much attention, just draped a blanket over Angela's covers and left the room.
Back in my own room, I started researching brain cancer treatments. I found out that there was a research institute overseas developing a drug to inhibit cancer cell growth. But it was still in the trial phase. Early data suggested that it could help slow the progression of brain cancer.
If it worked, there were two options: chemotherapy or conservative treatment. Either way, it could ease the pain in the later stages and extend life a little longer.
But the catch was that the drug wasn't easy to obtain. And it cost a lot.
A single box of medication was 15,000 dollars. One box contained 21 pills—about 700 dollars per pill.
On top of that, hospital check-ups were necessary, regardless of whether surgery or conservative treatment was pursued.
I looked through my finances and realized I had about 3 million dollars in total, 2 million of which came from Alex.
The only amount I had full control over was 1 million dollars.
After thinking it over, I decided to sell the 600,000-dollar ruby necklace I had bought.
As for the apartment—it was close to Bonnie's, but it was an old building from decades ago. I had once thought about upgrading to a bigger place, but with the money I had right now, it was impossible.
But I wasn't sure about letting my mother move back to the old neighborhood.
The area lacked modern security features, and even the elderly man who watched the gate was over 60 years old. If anything happened to my mom in that neighborhood, it would be hard to even get an ambulance in due to the narrow alleys.
More importantly, patients with late-stage brain cancer suffer significant memory loss.
As I thought about this, my hand holding the pen froze, and my chest tightened with a pang of sadness.
Tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting my tears.
I stood up, irritated, wiping my eyes quickly and forcing a calm tone. "Hold on, I'm coming."
Could it be Alex?
After all, who else would come at this time?
But when I opened the door, I was taken aback to see Kayden—Austin's father—standing there.
"What can I do for you?" I asked, still stunned.
Kayden smiled slightly. "Laurel, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you."
My mind buzzed. What could he want to talk about? Austin? Or Alex? One was his son, the other his brother.
I didn't want to go, but knowing Kayden wouldn't leave easily once he'd come to see me, I reluctantly agreed.
"Half an hour, downstairs at the café. I'll be there."
I met his amused gaze and said, "I'll meet you downstairs."
End of Falling For My Ex's Uncle Chapter 75. Continue reading Chapter 76 or return to Falling For My Ex's Uncle book page.