Chapter 75 Repentance
“What are you crying for?” Nigel shoved Michael away. “Crystal will be fine. She will be.”
Sirens blared outside, and the butler came in. “The ambulance is here.”
The family physician was sweating, but he was too busy to wipe it off. He quickly said, “The madam is in critical condition. She probably has to undergo a bypass surgery, so she must go to the hospital.”
Nobody was going to argue with the expert. A chaotic process later, Crystal was sent into the operating room.
The red light above the doors lit up. Madeline stared at it for a while and looked at Buddy, who was holding her hand. She had to come with the Wendels to the hospital, as Crystal was her mother. Initially, she didn’t want the boys to come with her, as hospitals were full of germs.
The boys had protested, especially Buddy. He wouldn’t let her hand go, and he was tense, as if worried she might abandon him.
She then relented and brought the boys with her. When she looked down at Buddy, he was staring up at her as well. She smiled and crouched down beside him. “Buddy, can we talk a little?”
Buddy pounced at her and gave her a tight hug. “I’m not going home. I’m staying here with you.”
Madeline couldn’t do anything about it, and she patted his head. “Your father will go with you and Aldo, alright?” She looked at Sebastian. “Your grandmother’s surgery will take a long time, and I have to stay with her. But you’re still kids, and it’s bedtime.”
“No!” Buddy wouldn’t go with that plan. “I can only sleep when you hug me.”
“It’s alright.” Sebastian bent down and patted his head. “Let them stay. It’s already unnerving for them to be in an unfamiliar place. If you’re not around, that’ll frighten them more.”
I guess I have no choice then.
Sebastian picked Buddy up and sat on the bench so the boy could sleep on his lap. “Can you sleep in my arms, son?”
“Okay!” Buddy patted the empty spot beside Sebastian. “You sit here, Mom.”
Madeline got up and sat beside Sebastian. She then held Aldo’s hand and tried to get him to sleep in her lap as well.
Aldo shook his head in disgust. “I’m not that big of a baby.” He climbed up the bench and sat beside his mother. “I’m not sleepy.” He sat up straight. “I’ll stay up with you, Mom.”
Madeline shook her head, but she knew she couldn’t do anything to change his mind.
The surgery lasted for more than three hours, but fortunately, it was a success. When the doctor told them that Crystal was out of critical condition, all the strength left Michael, and he wobbled. So death decided to show her mercy. I can still go on in life with her by my side.
Crystal was sent to the ICU when she was deemed fine after some observation. The hospital wouldn’t allow anyone to stay back, so the doctor suggested that they go home and come back during visiting hours the next day.
Michael came up to Sebastian and Madeline. Buddy was asleep in Sebastian’s lap, but Aldo was still wide awake. He was holding his mother’s hand, staring cautiously at everyone who showed up around his mother.
Michael patted Aldo’s face and told the Hart couple, “Come with me,” he said softly, but he sounded adamant.
He couldn’t care less about anything else. He didn’t care about his son, fake daughter, or the twenty years Angie had with them. He cared naught about those. He just wanted to make his wife happy. Since his wife thought she failed her daughter and wanted to make up with her, he would ask Madeline and the kids to stay. Since his wife didn’t want to see Angie, he would send her away.
Madeline nodded when she saw how firm he was. With how Crystal was doing, she had to stay here for a while. At the very least, until Crystal had stabilized.
As they were in Wendel City, and Michael was inviting her to stay, she had no reason to find an abode outside.
Sebastian had no objections. He would stay where Madeline and the kids were.
After they came out of the hospital, Michael looked at Angie and Cedric. “Don’t come back ever again. You can go wherever you want. From now on, you are no longer related to the Wendels.”
Cedric blanched, and his voice trembled as he said, “Dad…”
“And as for you three…” Michael looked at Jonathan, Joseph, and Connor. “Your mother and I have done our job of raising you up. Now it’s time for you to repay that debt. If you want to abandon us because you too think we’re heartless, then so be it. You can go anywhere in the world. We’ve raised you up, and our job is done. You can do whatever you want now.” After he said that, he didn’t look at anyone and went straight to his car.
“Dad, please, don’t…” Jonathan ran to catch up with Michael and said softly, “Cedric feels sorry about this. He only did it on impulse. He didn’t mean it.”
Joseph kicked Cedric angrily. “Don’t just stand there! Are you really going to abandon your own parents?”
Cedric snapped out of it and went to stand before his father, then he knelt on the ground. “Dad, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot! I made Mom mad, and I know that, but I won’t ever do it again. I’ll apologize when she wakes up. I won’t do it ever again.”
And he wouldn’t. Just this once was enough to horrify him. When he was waiting outside the operating room earlier, all he could think of was his parents. For as long as he could remember, his mother had always been a stay-at-home mother, and she took care of them every day. His mother was the gentlest, sweetest soul around. She would do everything herself when it came to her kids.
Every time they were sad or sick, their mother would care for them. She would stay with them when they were sad, console them when they were unhappy, and care for them when they were sick.
Angie didn’t do any of that. She only grew up with them. She might be important, but his mother was more important than she was. If he had to choose between his sister and mother, he’d choose the latter every time. It was a shame that lesson was only learnt after his mother almost died and had a bypass surgery. After what happened, his perfectly fine mother had become more fragile than glass. They had to take great care of her heart, or her life would be in danger, and that was all his fault.
