Chapter 152

The backend system showed: Submission Successful.

On the corner of her desk, her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the hospital.

"Miss Preston, good afternoon. Dr. Brooks asked me to inform you that you can visit the patient this afternoon."

"Okay, thank you!" Liliana's face lit up with joy. After hanging up, she asked Nina Shepherd for time off and rushed straight to the hospital.

At two o'clock, when the hospital's afternoon hours began, she first met with Dr. Jude Brooks.

"Dr. Brooks, has my brother's condition improved?"

Jude pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "To be precise, observations from all aspects do not show any improvement in his condition. He's just a bit more emotionally stable than when he first arrived, but his overall state is still not good. This morning, during my rounds, he suddenly said he wanted to see you."

Liliana's heart tightened. "He said he wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I asked him at the time if he wanted to see his parents, but he refused. He said he only wanted to see you."

Jude paused, then added, "When you see him, pay attention to his condition. Try not to bring up the car accident, and observe him for any unusual behavior."

Chuck Preston and Vida Archer simply disliked Liliana.

But for their son, Hale Preston, they had poured out a hundred, even a thousand times more love than ordinary parents.

Anytime Hale argued with them, it was always because of their unfair treatment of Liliana.

And yet, the person he wanted to see was Liliana.

Liliana couldn't describe the feeling in her heart; she even felt a little nervous. "Okay, I'll be careful."

Jude had an assistant physician take her to Hale's room.

Liliana hadn't seen Hale since he was admitted to the hospital about ten days ago.

The curtains in the room were drawn, blocking out the ample sunlight.

The room was dim, and the young man sitting on the bed had a sickly pallor to his face.

His shaved hair had grown out a bit, looking unkempt.

The caregiver had taken good care of him, though; his face was cleanly shaven.

Hearing the door open, Hale looked up, his dark pupils fixed on Liliana.

With every step Liliana took, her heart ached a little more.

The unfamiliar young man before her was a world away from the sunny, cheerful brother she remembered.

It had been a month since the incident.

She couldn't imagine the torment Hale's mind had endured.

"Sis," Hale spoke first, his voice flat and devoid of any inflection.

"I'm here," Liliana responded.

She put down her bag and sat in the chair beside the bed, taking Hale's hand as her eyes scanned him from head to toe.

"Did you miss me?"

Perhaps due to insomnia, there were faint dark circles around Hale's eyes.

Haggard was not enough to describe his current state.

It was as if his spirit had been drained from him. When he wasn't speaking, his gaze

was empty and his expression stiff, like someone devoid of life.

He nodded slightly. "Yes, I missed you, Sis. There's so much I want to tell you."

"Go on," Liliana nodded, leaning forward and cupping his hand with both of hers. "I'm listening."

"Have Mom and Dad been giving you a hard time again?"

Hale leaned slightly toward her as well.

In the quiet hospital room, the siblings spoke in low, soft voices.

Liliana shook her head. "No, why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"It just occurred to me. They'd probably take what happened to me out on you." Hale's eyes reddened in an instant, but he was trying to hold back his tears Sis, don't take it to heart. It's not your fault. It's my fault."

As he spoke, his body trembled.

Liliana gently patted his hand. "Neither of us is at fault. You just be good, cooperate with the doctors, and this fear We'll go

ow things were before,

okay?"

"We can't go back. A life was lost." Hale's voice trembled more

intensely.

Mom and Dad aren't

good to you, but they're still our

parents. Take good care of them, will you?"