Titan 170
Chapter 170
Yolanda put her phone on silent and locked herself inside the hospital room.
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Linda, who was staying in the room next door, had called Yolanda multiple times to no avail, and her expression grew stormy with frustration.
May scoffed, taking the peeled orange from her housekeeper.
“Didn’t I say so? The Grant family sure raised a ‘good daughter.‘ She’s turned my whole home upside down, and now I’m sick in the hospital–even as her mother–in–law, she can’t pick up the phone once. If Charles had married Joelle, I’d be getting pampered day and night.”
Just as she finished, the hospital room door swung open–right on cue, in walked Joelle.
Back then, May never liked Joelle—her family background was just too obvious, and it always brought to mind that cheap woman who had once turned Dylan’s head completely.
In her eyes, women born into poverty only had their pretty faces to lure men in.
But Joelle wasn’t quite the same. She’d gone overseas and built up her own reputation; now, she was everywhere in the showbiz headlines, and all the gossip said she was hopelessly devoted to Charles.
As soon as Joelle walked in, she took off her hat and mask, casually closed the door behind her, and stood near the doorway.
“Aunt May, I’m not sure if you remember me,” Joelle said, voice a little nervous. “I debated for ages before coming–I was worried you might not want to see me. But you’re Charles’s mom, and when I heard you were sick, I honestly couldn’t sleep last night. If my visit bothers you, I’ll leave right now. These are for you—just a little something to help you recover. I hope you’ll accept them.”
The gifts weren’t cheap either–they were all premium health supplements, worth a small fortune.
May’s annoyance faded on the spot, and she warmly waved Joelle in, her attitude now surprisingly welcoming.
“Joelle, it’s been years since you and Charles, but I can still see he hasn’t truly let you go. You’ve always been such a headstrong child–wouldn’t even accept his help, stubbornly chose to run off with that broke guy. But you made it, pulled off your own success.”
Joelle’s eyes shimmered with tears as she brushed them away. “Back then, I was just holding onto my pride. You were right, Aunt May–I wasn’t good enough for Charles. Our families were worlds apart, and I couldn’t stand all the gossip. I didn’t actually run away with that man; I said it just to make Charles move on. I took my lumps abroad, faced setback after setback, and clawed my way to where I am now. But I know, in the eyes of the Sinclair family, all this still doesn’t amount to much. I never expected anything more between me and Charles.”
When Joelle finished speaking, she turned her teary gaze to Linda Grant. “Aunt May, may I ask who this lady is?”
May’s face fell; her dislike for the Grant family only grew stronger.
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Joelle’s tactfulness, especially when compared to the Grants, made her all the more endearing in May’s eyes.
“She’s a friend of mine,” May said, then turned to Joelle. “Joelle, has work been keeping you busy lately?”
Linda, sitting off to the side, felt a bit awkward and stood up. “Mrs. Sinclair, I’ll come visit you another time.”
She didn’t even dare to call May by her first name anymore.
May waved her off dismissively. “Alright.”
As Linda closed the door behind her, she could still hear May fussing over Joelle, asking after her with all sorts of concern.
Linda’s face grew even more sour. After all, everyone knew Joelle was Charles’s legendary first love–and now, with her back in town, she was way more eager than Yolanda herself. Honestly, what chance did Yolanda have against that?
Yolanda didn’t even have a kid yet. If Joelle got pregnant before her…
Linda’s anxiety
was through the roof. She dialed Yolanda’s number twice again, but just like before, Yolanda wouldn’t pick up.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom next door, Ian had Yolanda pinned against him in a deep kiss. She was nearly out of breath and had to reach up to gently push him away.
These VIP hospital suites all had their own private bathrooms—after all, this was a high–end private hospital that catered exclusively to the ultra–wealthy.
When Ian woke up, he headed straight to the bathroom to wash up–he always paid careful attention to these sorts of small rituals. Only after he’d freshened up did he start getting affectionate with Yolanda.
But his fever still hadn’t broken; his temperature was still hovering around 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yolanda raised her hand, placing it between them. “You’ve been running a fever all day. I think it’s time to get you an assistant. Starlight’s been crazy busy lately, and I just can’t keep an eye on you like I should.”
“I don’t want an assistant,” Ian said firmly.
Yolanda had brought it up once before, and he’d turned her down then too.
“Ian, be good, okay? You’re making me worry,” Yolanda said, her voice both tender and firm.
“Yolanda, why don’t you try a kiss at 102 degrees?” Ian teased, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he gestured at his lips.
He tapped his lips, signaling her to kiss him.
Yolanda’s knees went wobbly at that, and she gave Ian a quick shove, trying to keep her composure. “Enough with the teasing–just tell me what you want, and I’ll order us some takeout.”
Ian let the matter drop, flopping back onto the hospital bed, his complexion unmistakably pale.
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“I really need a shower,” Ian grumbled, voice still rough from the fever. “Sweated through the whole night. Bet I smell awful, huh?”
Yolanda stood by the bed, and couldn’t help but laugh at him, shaking her head in amusement.
Ian’s lashes flickered as he stared out the window. “Trust me, when you’re around, I pay extra attention to the little details.”
Especially before things got hot between them, he’d make sure every single tooth was spotless.
Yolanda placed a takeout order, and when she spotted lan sniffing the collar of his shirt, she could tell he genuinely cared about how he smelled around her.
“I’ll bring you a couple of clean outfits over in a bit,” Yolanda said, her voice warm but reassuring. “There’s a private bathroom here, so treat yourself to a long hot shower. I need to talk to Mr. Maine about some stock deals–once I wrap that up, I’ll come back tonight to check on you, okay?”
Ian nodded, his lashes casting shadows over his cheeks. “But I still want to kiss you some more.”
Yolanda couldn’t help but think, ‘Was he always this clingy and soft whenever he got sick? He’s basically turned into a big, spoiled puppy.‘
She couldn’t resist him, though. She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned in for another kiss.
Ian glanced through the palm–sized window in the door and caught sight of someone outside. Something dark flashed in his eyes, and without warning, he cupped the back of Yolanda’s head, pulling her in to kiss her hungrily, almost possessively.
Ten minutes later, Yolanda could barely feel her lips. “You really went all out… I have to get going. I’ll have a same–city courier bring your clothes over.”
“Okay,” Ian replied softly.
His gaze lingered on her, fixated on her kiss–bruised lips, unable to look away.
Yolanda opened the door of the hospital room and made her way down to the lobby, only to unexpectedly bump right into Linda Grant.
Linda was standing off to the side, talking on her phone. The moment she spotted Yolanda out of the corner of her eye, she hurriedly hung up.
Linda called out, “Yolanda!”
She stormed over, her steps heavy and determined, and with no warning, swung her hand out, aiming a slap straight at Yolanda.
Yolanda didn’t have time to react–the slap landed hard, leaving a fierce red mark on her cheek.
Linda was trembling, absolutely livid. “Look at Joelle, she knows how to show her face and pay respects to your mother–in–law, but you drag your feet and show up at the last possible minute! Are you trying to piss me off? Charles has never truly cared about you, and now that Joelle’s back in the country, you think he’d even
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spare you a glance? Let me tell you, Yolanda–if you even think about divorcing Charles, I’ll make sure Mark Long gets his hands on you. Don’t test me!”
Mark Long was an old friend of Yolanda’s father, and back in the day, they were thick as thieves. But Mark was a scumbag. Not long after Yolanda came back to the Grant family, he had his eye on her–even though she was just ten years old. He almost tried to force a kiss on her, and the shock made her run a fever for over half a month.
Now Mark’s in his fifties and still hasn’t learned his lesson. But because Yolanda’s identity is different now, he doesn’t dare try anything anymore, especially since the Grant family got more powerful and gradually cut off contact with him.
Even so, Yolanda would still get nasty text messages from this gross old man. Sometimes she’d get several a month, and every time she blocked his number, he’d just pop up again with a new one–blocking him never made any difference.
Mark made a fortune in the past couple years, riding the wave of live–streaming and setting up his own company. Recently, it looked like he was trying to get back in with the Grant family again–otherwise, Linda wouldn’t be talking about him like this.
Turns out Linda had known about Mark Long’s sleazy motives all along, yet she still let him hang around the Grant family in those early days. Every single time he came over, Yolanda would be scrambling to hide out in Samuel Grant’s room for safety. But Samuel was always buried in work, barely noticing her. She’d just curl up in the corner with a book, totally silent, afraid to even make a sound–scared he’d tell her to get lost if she bothered him.