Chapter 156
Tonight, Liliana had no plans to go home.
The sky darkened, and the lights in the hospital room were turned on, bright as day.
It made her already fair complexion look even paler, and the red, swollen bruise on her forehead was shockingly prominent.
Her reflection in the window showed a solitary, cold figure exuding a deep sadness.
Her mind was consumed by what Jude had said earlier.
"Miss Preston, your brother's condition can't be rushed. We have to take it step by step. During this process, it's very possible for him to lose control of his emotions or act out. The caregiver will watch him twenty-four hours a day. All you can do is wait."
Wait? Waiting was the most agonizing part of any ordeal.
She could be waiting for many possible outcomes.
Only one was good: Hale's full recovery.
But there were countless bad ones.
Hale had finally quieted down, sleeping soundly in his bed.
Liliana sat in the chair, her feet propped up on the chair's legs, her head tilted back
as she gazed at the bustling, neon-lit cityscape outside.
Her mind was a complete blank; she didn't even know what to think.
Too many things were tangled up in her heart like a messy ball of yarn, and she couldn't even find a loose end to start unraveling it.
She didn't know what to do next.
Outside the room, Cedric stood with his hands in his pockets.
He watched her back with an indifferent gaze for a few seconds, then glanced at his watch.
After some thought, he took out his phone and sent Liliana a message.
[What time are you coming home?]
It was still early, not yet seven o'clock.
Usually, Liliana wasn't home at this time either.
Cedric never took the initiative to ask her.
When Liliana saw his message, she fell into deep thought.
He was probably just checking to see if she was coming home tonight.
He didn't care what she had been through or why she was at the hospital. When she was crying in a corner against the wall, he felt no sympathy.
So why was he asking if she was coming home?
With a cold expression, she deleted the message and closed her phone.
Outside, Cedric was standing parallel to the door and didn't see her small gesture.
When he didn't receive a reply, he simply assumed she was in a bad mood and hadn't checked WhatsApp.
He gently swiped his thumb across the screen, his brow slightly furrowed.
The neon lights from the end of the hallway cast long shadows, stretching his tall figure across the floor.
Another hour passed. Liliana's body had grown stiff from sitting for so long. She finally lowered her legs sat up straight, and turned to look at Hale.
'Bang-'
The door to the room was pushed open, and Chuck and Vida entered one after the
other.
They both rushed toward Hale on the bed.
"Hale, how are you? Didn't they say you'd been stable these past few days? Why the sudden outburst?"
"How did he get those scratches on his face?"
There were two scratch marks on Hale's cheek, which he had inflicted on himself.
Vida spotted them instantly, and her accusatory gaze and words were directed at Liliana.
"What are you even doing at the hospital!? Didn't the doctor say he wasn't allowed to have visitors?"
"He wanted to see me," Liliana said, her voice hoarse.
Watching her parents fuss over Hale, she felt a mix of heartache, envy, and an indescribable bitterness.
She even thought that if she were the one lying in that hospital bed, everyone would be happy.
Her parents wouldn't be so worried, and she could escape Cedric's torment.
"Nonsense!" Chuck rounded the foot of the bed and raised his hand to strike her "Stop flattering yourself f he wanted to see anyone, it would be us Who do you think you are? bet you did this on purpose. I'm going to make you pay for all the suffering Hale has been through-"
As she watched his hand swing toward her, Liliana didn't flinch or resist.
Go ahead and hit me, she thought The sooner you beat away any sense of familial duty I have left... the easier it will be forme tocutties
with you for good fo
"I—"
Chuck's voice cut off abruptly as his arm was stopped by a strong, powerful hand—