Taken By My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 114: Chapter 114

The thought flashed through Maria's mind, but she couldn't for the life of her remember where she'd seen Lorraine before. 'Must be my old age playing tricks on my memory,' she thought to herself.
Lorraine blushed at the compliment, looking up at Maria with a shy smile. "Ma'am, I don't think you've broken any bones. Would you like to try standing up and moving around? If everything feels alright, may I walk you back to your room?"
"Let me give it a try," Maria said as Lorraine helped her up. She carefully tested her legs, shifting her weight from foot to foot. When she felt no discomfort, a relieved smile spread across her face. "There we go. All better now."
At this, Lorraine also looked relieved. "Let me help you back to your room. It's quite warm out. You'll be better off indoors."
"Alright, that would be lovely. Thank you, dear." Maria had quite a liking to Lorraine and, with a grateful smile, allowed Lorraine to support her as they walked toward her room.
Throughout the walk, Lorraine was especially considerate, matching her pace to Maria's and carefully supporting her. Maria kept stealing glances at her, her fondness growing with every look—a warm smile never leaving her eyes.
"How long have you been staying here, ma'am?" Lorraine asked with a warm smile as she helped Maria back to her room. "I'm here several times a month, but I don't recall ever seeing you before."
"I haven't been staying here long—just a week counting today. If you haven't been around these past few days, you wouldn't have seen me, so it's no wonder we haven't met."
Lorraine studied the vigorous and graceful elderly woman before her—there was no sign of any illness at all. Lorraine took another look around her room—though it was a premium VIP ward, it held nothing but the bare essentials.
Lorraine hesitated for a moment before asking cautiously, "Ma'am, do your family ever come to visit you here?"
At Lorraine's words, Maria's heart skipped a beat. She cast a guilty glance toward the door before shuffling nervously over and quietly shutting it.
Realizing she was overthinking it, Maria quietly pulled Lorraine closer, put a finger to her lips, and whispered, "Hush—don't tell anyone. My family has no idea I'm staying here, and honestly, I don't want them coming to visit me."
Lorraine paused, a little surprised. "Oh... So you..."
"They mustn't know I'm here," Maria whispered conspiratorially. "I came back under the radar to handle a few private matters, and once I'm done, I'll slip away just as quietly."
"Wait, what?" Lorraine blinked in surprise. She found it rather strange that Maria would hide in the sanatorium and wished no family would ever visit her.
After a week back in the country with no one to confide in, Maria suddenly felt the urge to pour her heart out when Lorraine asked.
"I have a son and a daughter. My daughter lives in Jonalesburg. As for my son... well, he's certainly accomplished, but..." Maria lowered her head, choosing her words carefully. "He has rather... unconventional preferences—lately, he's up with a divorced woman."
Lorraine was speechless, but she somehow understood what was going on with Maria.
"If the family elders found out about this, they'd never approve. And... given my son's status, it's simply not suitable for him to be with a woman like that," Maria said, holding Lorraine's hand while discreetly appraising her from head to toe.
At the very least, Maria thought he should find a virtuous and kind-hearted girl—even if her family background was nothing special, that wouldn't matter in the slightest. She would never tolerate the one who divorced her grandson and seduced her son.
Lorraine listened quietly.
"My son is quite the character. When he was little, while all the other kids were hitting the books, he'd always skip class. Guess where I found him?"
Lorraine's expression turned slightly odd. "Where?" This was the first time Lorraine had ever heard someone define "outstanding" in such a unique way.
Maria said proudly, "He used to lead all the kids in our compound out to shake down the neighborhood for lunch money."
Though he was clearly a little troublemaker, Lorraine couldn't bring herself to say so when she saw the proud, protective look on Maria's face. She just nodded along and said, "He really is... something else."
Maria's face instantly lit up with delighted surprise, as if she'd just found a kindred spirit. "Right? I knew you'd understand. Wait till you hear..."
After being kept by Maria for a while longer as she chattered away, Lorraine, noticing how late it was getting, rose to take her leave. Before Lorraine left, Maria held her hand tightly, clearly reluctant to let her go.
After Lorraine left, Maria smacked her forehead in regret. She had forgotten to ask for Lorraine's name. And then she started to wonder if Lorraine would ever visit her again.
Eugene still hadn't found his mother's whereabouts. He had been in Newford, tirelessly searching for her, and word was that he had expanded the search across it and beyond.
Lorraine was always so considerate. Knowing how busy and stressed Eugene was, she sent him several comforting messages every day over the past few days—always ending with a thoughtful note: [No need to reply if you're busy.]
But whenever Eugene had a spare moment and saw her messages, he'd almost always reply almost immediately. This simple consistency gave Lorraine an indescribable sense of security.
Time flew by at Moore Group without a dull moment, and before Lorraine knew it, the weekend had arrived. Sheila called her and Shirin, inviting them to go shopping together.
Lorraine casually put on a white chiffon maxi dress, letting her hair down, with just a few strands from either side of her face loosely tied back.
When Sheila and Shirin saw Lorraine, they circled around her three times before stopping, giving her a thorough once-over with playful scrutiny.
Sheila suddenly poked Lorraine playfully in the chest, grinning mischievously. "Hey, am I imagining things, or have you gotten a little bigger here? Getting some 'special attention' lately, huh?"
Lorraine was at a loss for words, her cheeks flushing slightly as she stomped her foot in embarrassment. "You two, what are you even talking about?"
Sheila and Shirin couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Lorraine's flustered expression. Sheila patted Lorraine on the shoulder, leaned in with a grin, and said, "Alright, enough about that. Let's talk about something you actually care about."
"What's the scoop? Is this about that weirdo top lawyer at your internship firm again? Did he pull another outrageous stunt?" Lorraine asked.
Lorraine remembered Sheila's constant complaints about that particularly creepy male lawyer at her law firm. So when Sheila started talking, Lorraine's eyes lit up, eager for the latest gossip.
"Yeah, spill it!" Shirin chimed in eagerly. The three girls huddled together, their heads almost touching, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Nah, it's about Elsie. She dropped out of college and just vanished. Now the whole campus is buzzing about it." Sheila was talking animatedly, but Lorraine and Shirin just looked completely baffled.
Lorraine blinked and tilted her head, asking Sheila, "When did that happen?"
"About a week and a half ago—maybe ten days tops," Sheila said, her voice practically bubbling with glee.
"Oh," Lorraine replied flatly, betraying no hint of happiness.
Sheila had expected Lorraine to be over the moon, but was surprised by her indifferent reaction. Frowning, she asked, "Lorraine, aren't you happy?"
"Not really. It's just whatever," Lorraine said. "You know I never had any emotional connection with them." She replied indifferently, while her mind was a tangled mess. She didn't want to have anything to do with the Shaw family anymore.
Sheila and Shirin shared a knowing glance, and then each grabbed one of Lorraine's arms and pulled her along with them.
Sheila grinned and said, "Forget about her. Let's go shopping and splurge on some fancy meals!"
After shopping until dusk, Sheila suggested treating everyone to steak. They picked the nearest Delant revolving restaurant and settled in at a window-side table.
"Order whatever you want, girls—don't hold back. We're loaded tonight." Sheila flashed her card in front of Lorraine and Shirin, her eyes sparkling with pride. "Hehe, my entire internship paycheck is on this card."
Lorraine grinned and teased, "Then you'd better brace yourself. We're going to eat you out of house and home." Even so, when it came time to order, they instinctively held back a little.
The three sizzling sirloin steaks arrived in no time. The girls exchanged a knowing glance at the mouthwatering steaks, grins spreading across their faces, and—almost in perfect sync—picked up their knives and forks, ready to dig in.
Sheila picked up her fork with her left hand to steady the steak, and was just about to cut it with the knife in her right when, somehow, the knife slipped from her hand and dropped straight down.
She quickly drew her feet back, afraid the knife might stab her. But just as it was about to hit the floor, a slender, graceful hand caught it by the handle and lifted it up.
Sheila's gaze traveled up from the pair of custom-made leather shoes at her feet, swept past the charcoal-gray suit pants and crisp white shirt, and finally landed on Lorenzo's beaming face—prompting her to roll her eyes.
"Lorenzo, are you eating here too?" Lorraine set down her knife and fork, greeting him with a bright, well-mannered smile.
Lorenzo twirled the stainless-steel steak knife between his fingers, a knowing smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Lorraine, mind if I join you?" Though the question was directed at Lorraine, Lorenzo's gaze never once strayed from Sheila.
Sheila was thoroughly annoyed by Lorenzo's blatant staring. She glared at him and snapped, "No way!"
"I was asking Lorraine, not you," Lorenzo said with a hint of mockery. "Isn't this young lady being a bit presumptuous?"
Sheila was seeing red. 'Seriously? If anyone owns that word, it's you!' she fumed inwardly.
"Of course. Are you getting steak too?" Lorraine didn't mind—she'd always had a good impression of Lorenzo.
Sheila slapped her hand down on the chair as Lorenzo tried to sit beside her. "Who said you could sit here? Go eat somewhere else. Don't ruin my appetite." In her eyes, Lorenzo and Eugene were birds of a feather.
Lorenzo looked down at Sheila's hand, his fingers itching to touch it. In one swift motion, he engulfed her hand in his, forcing a carefully cultivated gentle smile. With feigned hurt, he teased, "Ms. Stuard, we met not long ago. Don't be so heartless."