Chapter 252: Responsibility
Mika Summers took the list of notes she’d written last night from her bag, explained everything to Mae Lynch, and then left the hotel.
She left decisively, never once looking back. She was afraid that another glance would make her regret her decision...
After leaving the hotel and getting into a taxi, she began to sob uncontrollably. In that moment, all her composure shattered.
’Kiki, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry...’
’A mother like me... I’m unfit. A failure...’
’Kiki, forgive Mommy’s selfishness, forgive Mommy’s cowardice...’
’Forgive me for everything...’
「City Center Hospital」
Tristan Grayson was leaning against the corridor wall, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He only moved when he saw Aiden Avery emerge from the operating room. He threw the butt to the floor, stamped it out, and asked in a hoarse, slow voice, "How is she?"
"We stabilized her for now, but Tristan, you need to be prepared. She could go at any moment..." Aiden Avery sighed and patted Tristan Grayson’s shoulder. "Tristan, you two have no official relationship. I suggest you find her family and have them come get Maggie."
"Family? Aiden Avery, you of all people should know Maggie Monroe has no one but me. Her father was sent to prison twelve years ago, and her mother ran off with some rich man. So, who am I supposed to have come get her?"
"Tristan Grayson, are you telling me that if she dies, you’re still planning to have her buried in the Grayson Family cemetery?!"
"Yes!"
"So, what are you going to do?"
"When Maggie Monroe wakes up, we’re getting married. It’s a promise I made to her."
Aiden Avery said nothing more. Many times, he had truly wanted to beat Tristan Grayson to a pulp and knock some sense into him, because he was being such a complete bastard.
But then again, there were just as many times he pitied Tristan Grayson. A single woman, Maggie Monroe, had cost him nearly six years of his life.
’And now, on the verge of death, she’s still going to drag Tristan down with her...’
After Aiden Avery left, Tristan Grayson went to see Maggie Monroe. Seeing her small, pale face as she lay on the bed, he didn’t feel the same panic and unease he had before. He simply felt that while everything was sudden, it wasn’t that difficult to accept.
The woman on the bed slowly opened her eyes and called out weakly, "Tris... Tristan..."
"Yeah, I’m here." Tristan Grayson snapped out of his thoughts and walked over.
"Tristan, I’m dying, aren’t I?"
"How could that be? You’re alive right now, aren’t you?"
Hearing Tristan’s usual gentle tone, Maggie Monroe couldn’t help but cry. "Tristan, please don’t lie to me. I know I’m really not going to make it this time..." She had often thought that if she hadn’t gotten sick, if she didn’t have such a family, she and Tristan could have been blissfully happy together.
"Alright, stop crying. If you keep crying, I’m leaving," Tristan Grayson said with a gentle smile, reaching out to wipe away Maggie Monroe’s tears.
Maggie Monroe suddenly gripped Tristan Grayson’s hand in a panic. "Okay, I won’t cry. Just don’t go. Tristan, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you these last few months. We’ve never been apart this long before."
"Tristan, I really do love you. I love you so much..."
Maggie Monroe’s words made Tristan Grayson freeze. His eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions, and a painful struggle began within his heart.
’Right now, marrying Maggie Monroe was an undeniable responsibility, one he could not escape.’
"Tristan..." Seeing that Tristan Grayson wasn’t speaking, Maggie Monroe called his name in an aggrieved, choked sob.
Tristan Grayson snapped back to reality, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. In a cold voice, he said, "Maggie Monroe, when you’re discharged from the hospital, let’s get married."