Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh, right. I’m coming back tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? What time?" She glanced at the time, remembering tomorrow was a weekend. She might have time to pick Dylan Heston up from the airport.

"Ten o’clock."

"Should I come pick you up at the airport, then?"

"Okay."

The more time she spent with Dylan Heston, the more she realized they had plenty to talk about.

For instance, they both liked traditional Chinese painting, and Dylan’s understanding of it was far deeper than hers.

After chatting a bit more about daily life, she glanced at the time. It was already midnight.

In Akashima, it was probably already one in the morning.

"It’s getting late. You have a flight tomorrow, so you should get some sleep!"

A faint sigh came from the other end of the line. "I really wish I could hold you in my arms."

Nancy Hughes’s ears burned. She softly said goodbye and hung up.

She put her phone aside.

She rolled over to face the ceiling. ’What am I going to do? I think I’m starting to like Dylan.’

He was a good man—a gentleman, considerate. He would never force you to do anything you didn’t want to do.

And he was very respectful of others, not at all like the domineering and tyrannical man rumors made him out to be.

She set her alarm, planning to get to the airport early the next morning to pick him up.

However, a phone call before her alarm went off sent her into a complete panic.

The call was from Julian Caldwell. He said Zoey Zane’s condition had relapsed, and she was in the operating room being resuscitated right now.

She panicked. Without a second thought, she changed her clothes and ran for the train station.

The city center in her hometown had gotten a high-speed rail line at the beginning of the year. She hailed a taxi and rushed over.

In the car, she tried calling Dylan Heston, but his phone was off. She checked the time; he was probably on his way to the airport.

’Forget it. I’ll just wait and try calling him again later.’

She bought a ticket for the fastest high-speed train, a journey of over four hours.

As it neared ten o’clock, she reached into her pocket for her phone and found nothing.

She searched through her bag, but all it contained was her wallet. Nothing else.

After thinking it over, the only possibility was that her phone had been stolen.

She borrowed a phone from the person next to her, only to realize she didn’t remember Dylan’s number at all. Frustrated, she had no choice but to call home.

"Mr. Caldwell, how’s the surgery going?"

"The light is still on. We’re all waiting outside!" Julian Caldwell sounded anxious too. Nancy tried to console him, "I’m on my way back now. I should be at the hospital this afternoon."

"Why are you coming back?" Julian said, surprised. "Wait, your mom isn’t at her old hospital anymore?"

"What?"

Nancy hung up, so angry she could cry.

Just a few days after she had returned to Portmire for work, Zoey Zane had absolutely refused to stay in the hospital and insisted on moving back home.

Zoey couldn’t have been discharged without a family member’s signature, which meant Julian Caldwell knew about it.

Zoey’s health was terrible. Without the medication from the hospital, she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

This morning’s relapse had happened at home. It was probably because she’d done too much manual labor and her body couldn’t take the strain.

If it weren’t for this sudden attack, they probably would have never told her.

She apologetically returned the phone and hid in the restroom to wipe away her tears.

The journey took over four hours, and she finally arrived in Homeward.

She then transferred to a bus for another hour-long ride to the town hospital.

At three in the afternoon, Zoey Zane had been moved from the operating room to a regular ward. The long surgery had left her utterly exhausted, and she hadn’t woken up yet.

Nancy Hughes sat wearily on a bench. "Didn’t I send money back? Why wasn’t she in the hospital?"

If she had stayed in the hospital, this never would have happened.

Julian Caldwell explained, "It was your mom who wanted to be discharged. There was nothing I could do."

"She said she wanted to be discharged, and you just signed the papers?" Nancy looked up and glared at him, her eyes turning red. "If this hadn’t happened today, were you planning on never telling me?"

"Then why did you even call me back? You might as well have waited until my mom died and just called me back for the funeral!" Nancy couldn’t help but scream.

Honestly, she really wanted to cry, but not a single tear would fall when she was facing Julian and the others.

Zoey Zane woke up in the middle of the night. Nancy had stayed to watch over her.

Julian Caldwell had taken Lana Caldwell and Riley Caldwell back home.

Hearing a slight movement from the hospital bed, she immediately turned on the light. Zoey Zane groggily opened her eyes and saw Nancy. "Nancy, why are you back?"

Nancy went to her and held her hand, her voice choked with emotion. "Mom, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I want some water."

"I’ll get you some. Hold on."

Zoey had just had surgery and couldn’t move around freely, or she might strain herself.

Nancy found a straw. "The water’s still a little hot."

"If it hurts, just tell me. I’ll go get a doctor to check on you," Nancy said anxiously, hearing Zoey gasp.

"I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt that much."

"If it hurts, say so. Don’t just bear it," she said worriedly.

Once the anesthesia wore off, the pain from the incision was so intense Zoey couldn’t even speak.

Even though Zoey didn’t say anything, Nancy could hear her pained gasps throughout the night.

As her daughter, it broke Nancy’s heart even more.

Zoey was in pain until the early morning before she finally drifted into a hazy sleep, but Nancy didn’t close her eyes all night.

「The next morning, she woke at dawn.」

Zoey had been brought to the hospital from home, so many things had been left behind.

When she got back to the house, Julian Caldwell had already left for work early in the morning, and Riley Caldwell was doing his homework.

"Where’s your sister?" Nancy asked.

"Still sleeping!"

She had come back in such a hurry that she hadn’t brought any clothes or anything.

If her clothes hadn’t been thrown out, she remembered she still had some old ones.

She went into the room and woke up Lana Caldwell, who was still sleeping. Lana snapped irritably, "Why don’t you knock when you come in!"

"Where are my old clothes?" Nancy checked her old wardrobe, only to find it stuffed with colorful clothes that were clearly not hers.

"How should I know!" Lana yawned, rolled over in her blankets, and went back to sleep.

Just as Lana was about to fall asleep again, she shot up, enraged, and roared at Nancy, "Can you stop making noise? I’m trying to sleep!"

Nancy turned around, her lips twitching into a smirk. "I said I’m looking for my clothes!"

"I threw your clothes out a long time ago, alright!"

"You should go find a job, too. Lazing around all day doing nothing is pointless!" she said, closing the wardrobe door.

"My business is none of your damn business!"

The family was short on money. It was one thing that Riley was young and needed to study, but Lana was the same age as her. She was just spoiled rotten.

Leaving the Caldwell house, she happened to run into Julian Caldwell, who had come back to get something.

After a moment’s thought, Nancy went up to him and asked, "Mr. Caldwell, is there any of the money I sent back last time left over?"

Zoey was discharged just a few days after she left, so there should have been some money left.

Julian said, "You know how much it costs for your mom to stay in the hospital for even a day. There’s basically nothing left."

"How much is ’basically nothing’?" Nancy said angrily.

Seeing him hesitate and stammer, she was pretty sure he was planning to pocket the money for himself.

"Mr. Caldwell, my mom has been with you for over a decade. Riley is all grown up now. In your eyes, is my mom not even worth this little bit of money?"

"No, that’s not what I mean."

"If that’s not what you mean, then what do you mean?"

"You know your mom’s condition. Treating it is just a waste of money. It’s better to save it for Riley’s education later on."

If she could, Nancy really wanted to slap Julian Caldwell across the face.

"I earned that money. It was for my mom’s treatment. Even if it’s a waste, it has nothing to do with you. You have no right to take my money!"

"No, Nancy, think about Riley. He’s about to take his college entrance exams. After he gets into university, he’ll need money for tuition, won’t he?"

"He needs money for university?" She sneered. "When I went to university, did you guys give me a single cent?"

"We couldn’t afford it back then..."

"Mr. Caldwell, you need to have a conscience. Ever since my mom married you, she’s done nothing but suffer. She’s never enjoyed a single day of comfort. The reason she’s in this state is entirely because you were unwilling to spend the money!"

The poorer people were, the more important money was to them.

Minor illnesses were ignored until they became major ones. Just like her mom. Now, even if they wanted to treat it, it was too late.

Nancy’s attitude was firm, and she managed to get the money back from Julian.

Including the money she had sent back before, it was about 25,000. She left with the cash in her pocket.

Riley Caldwell immediately gathered his things and chased after her from the house. "Sis, I’ll go with you to see Mom."

Nancy turned to look at Riley. She had complicated feelings about this half-brother of hers.

Before he was born, Zoey had doted on her. After he was born, Zoey poured all her energy into Riley, completely neglecting her daughter.

Riley didn’t look much like Julian; he resembled Zoey. She replied, "Let’s go."

"Sis, how is Mom really doing? I heard Lana say that Mom is not going to make it!" After they had walked a short distance, Riley asked worriedly.

"Of course she’s ’not going to make it’ if she moves out of the hospital! Mom is fine. She’s going to live a long and healthy life!" Nancy clutched her bag tighter. "Don’t listen to Lana’s nonsense!"

Riley scratched his head. "Sis, don’t be sad. Even if Mom... is gone, you’ll still have me!"

"You’re my sister. I’ll protect you for the rest of my life!" Riley said sincerely. Between Lana and Nancy, he had always preferred Nancy. "Sis, once I get into university and get a job, I’ll have money. I can support you then, so you won’t have to work so hard to earn money anymore!"

"I don’t need you to support me. You just need to take good care of Mom."

As the siblings talked, they arrived at the town hospital.

She collected her chaotic emotions and pushed open the door to the hospital room. "Mom, I’m back!"