Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Elijah frowned, staring at her curiously. “What happened?”
“I’m sure you know how much Flossie’s brother hates Halston, right?”
“Yeah, I do. They’d been fighting for a long time, but now, they’ve let bygones be bygones and made peace with each other.” Elijah didn’t meddle in Halston’s grudge against Quinton, and only occasionally gave Halston opinions. He always felt that it was best that they put an end to their feud, but some of the Guajardo Enterprise executives encouraged them to fight so that Quinton could be defeated once and for all. In the end, Halston had chosen to put a stop to the fighting, which was why he had gone through all that trouble to hire Owen for Quinton’s surgery. Luckily for Halston, his kindness was rewarded when Owen was willing to help him get back his memories.
“Well, they made peace, but what about me? Have they ever thought about making it up to me?” Seraphina snarled, clenching her fists as her eyes burned with hatred. The doctor who was tending to her wound looked at her in surprise.
Elijah asked the doctor to leave, then carefully asked, “Can you tell me what happened?”
“You should ask Halston about it…” Seraphina’s body trembled as she sobbed, “I used my body in exchange for Halston’s freedom… That crazy Quinton ordered his men to defile me. I’ve scrubbed my body countless times, but that disgusting sensation still haunts me. An ordinary person might have gone mad and started killing people, but I’m stronger than that. Not many people would be as selfless as me!”
“What?” Elijah was speechless, completely shocked by Seraphina’s words. However, he didn’t doubt her because no woman would willingly admit to having gone through something like that.
“I think you should know how sincere I am towards Halston now. No one loves him as much as I do,” Seraphina confessed, wiping the tears running down her face.
The fact that Seraphina, a rich young lady from a noble family, had been sullied by a group of criminals was something she should have kept a secret, but she revealed it to Elijah to win his support. If Elijah saw her sincerity and helped get her and Halston closer, things would be much simpler.
“Yeah, I didn’t imagine you loved Mr. Guajardo that much…” Elijah stared at Seraphina, feeling conflicted. If Flossie’s love for Halston glowed steadily and brightly like the Moon, then Seraphina’s love for Halston burned fervently and madly like the Sun.
It was really hard to choose which love was more suitable for Halston.
“Your relationship with Mr. Guajardo has been good lately. Although he’s busy with work and doesn’t spend much time with you, I guarantee that he still cares about you. Don’t worry, you both will have more time together once he settles his work.” Elijah tried to reassure Seraphina, who was glaring daggers at him.
“Do you think I’m a kid? I don’t need to be coaxed!” Seraphina scoffed, “I’m sure you know better than me who Halston thinks about now. He just sees me as her temporary substitute. When he gets his memories back after the surgery, he’ll leave me and go after that woman. As for my fate… You might be right. I’ll just be an accident or interlude.” “Nobody can say what will happen after the surgery. What if Mr. Guajardo remembers his lovey-dovey moments with you and picks you?”
“No, he won’t. His entanglement with that woman is too strong. Him and I will be over once he regains his memory!” Seraphina cried.
“What are you trying to say, Ms. Murphy?” Elijah asked carefully.
“I’m saying that Halston hasn’t recovered completely yet, and his former doctor suggested we don’t do anything to his brain. Why don’t we just forget about the recovery surgery? Everything can be as it is, and I’ll take care of him!” Seraphina finally blurted out, looking anxious.
“Forget about the surgery?” Elijah fell silent. Logically, it was quite dangerous for Halston to do the surgery, especially since there was only a fifty percent chance of recovery. If the surgeon made a mistake, the consequences would be dire. Besides, Halston might remember everything if the surgery was successful, and if he chose to pursue Flossie again, he might get into more trouble. Since Seraphina loved Halston so deeply, Elijah felt that it might not be a bad idea for Halston to keep living in this ignorant bliss.
“I’ve said what I wanted to, Mr. Young. I hope you’ll reconsider whether this surgery is the right choice for Halston. After all, there are two days left, and many things could happen in that time,” Seraphina said cryptically, then left the medical room.
Two days later, Flossie changed into a surgical gown and walked into the sterile surgery room of the manor with Jovan.
“Please lie down on the operating table.” The eye surgeon instructed the nurses to help them onto the table after a brief check-up and anesthesia testing.
Flossie gave her full cooperation throughout the process, staying quiet the whole time. The image of her in the large surgical gown with her long hair wrapped up in a cap made her look like a little lamb off to the slaughter. She laid down on the operating table, the surgical light above her so bright that she couldn’t open her eyes. Halos of light swam in her vision, and she felt as if she was stuck in a nightmare.
“Do you regret it?” She heard Jovan’s indifferent voice nearby. “It’s not too late if you do.”
“No, I don’t.” Flossie smiled pathetically. “I’ll never regret since I’ll be getting so much money.”
“Okay, then. I promise I’ll reward you generously,” Jovan promised firmly.
After the anesthesiologist finished preparing the anesthetic, he said to Flossie and Jovan, “I’ll inject the anesthetic into your bodies now. It’s general anesthesia, and you’ll lose consciousness. The time it’ll take for you to wake up depends on your physical condition, but it should be around three to six hours after the surgery.”
“Okay.” Flossie nodded. “I’m ready.”
Jovan inhaled deeply and murmured, “You may begin.”
Flossie felt something sharp poke her back, and the halo of light in her vision started to grow. Finally, everything went black, and she lost consciousness.
Flossie didn’t know how long she had been out for, but when she woke up, everything had been plunged into darkness. It felt like she had fallen into an endless abyss, and her body trembled as she whispered, “Is… Is there anyone there?”
“You’re awake, Ms. Ellsworth. How do you feel? Do your eyes hurt? The doctor said that it might take at least a week for your wounds to heal.” It was a young woman’s voice, but it wasn’t Eloise.
“Who are you? Where is Eloise?” Flossie asked nervously. She realized now how important sight was; she felt as defenseless and vulnerable as a newborn.
“I’m Lisa. Ms. Pierce asked me to take care of you since she’s busy taking care of Mr. Jovan now. You can tell me if you need anything,” Lisa said kindly. Lisa was an honest and simple person, and she felt very moved by Flossie’s action of sacrificing her eyes.
“Oh, I see…”
Flossie sighed in relief when she sensed no hostility from Lisa, and immediately asked, “Is the surgery over? Was it successful? Can Jovan see again?”
“I heard from Ms. Pierce that the surgery was successful. Mr. Jovan will have his stitches and bandages removed in a week, and he can see again. But unfortunately, you…” Lisa let out a soft sigh as she looked at Flossie, pale and weak in her surgical gown. Feeling sorry for Flossie, Lisa asked hesitantly, “What are you planning to do in the future?”
“Don’t worry. I might have lost my sight, but I’m not dead. I can survive this. There are many blind people in the world who have done great things…” Even though Flossie was in a lot of pain, she still tried to reassure Lisa because she could tell Lisa genuinely felt sorry for her.
“I’ll take good care of you for the next few days, Ms.
Ellsworth. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you need anything. I’ll help you as long as it’s within my abilities.” Lisa felt that Flossie was a kind and positive person, and couldn’t understand why things had to end up like this.
“In that case, I need a favor from you,” Flossie said slowly, grateful that Lisa was such a kind and helpful person. “Can you help get my phone and call a person named Margaret? It’s been a few days since I contacted her, and I’m sure she’s worried.”
“Okay, I’ll help you call her.” Lisa found Flossie’s phone in the bedside cabinet and unlocked it based on Flossie’s instructions, then searched for Margaret’s contact number.
Margaret answered the call quickly, and she sounded like she was about to cry. “Ms. Flossie, you finally called! Where have you been? I can’t find you anywhere, and Adie and Abby are worried sick.” Margaret had even gone to the police station to file a case yesterday.
“Don’t worry, Margaret, I’m just spending time at my friend’s house. Where are Adie and Abby? I want to talk to them.”
“Yeah, they’re here. They’ve just woken up, and they’ve been talking about you all day!” After that, Margaret immediately handed the phone to Abby and Adie.
“Where are you, Mommy? Why weren’t you answering your phone? I want to have a video call with you.” Abby whined, rubbing her eyes drowsily. She used to fall asleep listening to Flossie’s bedtime stories, but because so many things had happened lately, she hadn’t been able to spend time with Flossie, and she missed her mother very much.
“I’m at my friend’s house, so I can’t have a video call with you two. You and Adie should be good and listen to Margaret. I… might need some time before I can come home,” Flossie bit her lip and lied, gripping her phone tightly. If her children saw her like this, they’d surely get scared, but … they would have to know the truth eventually.
“Why not? Mommy, is your friend a bad guy? Is that why your friend doesn’t want you to do a video call?” Abby pouted unhappily. “Or do you not want to see us anymore? Are you going to leave us behind?”
“No, that’s not it. I can’t explain it for now, but you and Adie should know that I’ll always love you two the most no matter what!” That was the only thing that she could say.
Adie instantly sensed something was off, and asked sharply, “Something happened to you, right. Mommy? Is that why it’s inconvenient for you to pick up your phone?”
“No, that’s not true!” Flossie said in panic, worried that Adie would investigate her where a bouts.”I’m safe, and nothing has happened to me in years. So, don’t worry, take care of Abby, and listen to Margaret. Understand?”
Before Flossie could end the call, Adie said bluntly, “No, Mommy, you’ve gotten into a lot of trouble in the past few years, and you still get into trouble. I think something’s happened to you, and that’s why you don’t want to video call us… How about this, Mommy? Turn your camera on for a second and let me see you; I’ll believe you if there’s really nothing wrong.”
“Umm, well…” Flossie stammered, then blurted out, “What are you saying, Adie? I’m hiking with my friend, and the signal is bad. I’ll hang up first!” After that, she quickly ended the call, feeling guilty.
“You’re so lucky, Ms. Ellsworth! Your children are cute and smart, and they love you so much!” Lisa remarked, looking wistful.
“I’m lucky, but they’re not…” Flossie sighed miserably and explained, “They’ve been having a difficult and frightening life with me. They’ve suffered a lot because I’m not qualified to be a mother.”
“No, you can’t say that. I think they’re lucky to have a kind and accomplished mother like you. You might think it’s difficult for them, but I think they’re happy being with you.”
Although Lisa was young, she loved children, and was jealous of Flossie’s happy little family. However, their family had suffered a great misfortune, and the children would be heartbroken once they realized their mother was now blind.
“What’s your plan now, Ms. Ellsworth? Do you… need me to drive you home?” Lisa asked Flossie gently, compassion in her voice.
“I can leave?” Flossie turned to Lisa and asked in surprise.
“Of course! You’ve donated your eyes to our master, so we’ll do anything you want. If you want to leave, you can, but… I suggest you wait for a month until your injuries are healed to avoid any infection after the surgery. Plus, Mr. Jovan hasn’t woken up yet, and I’m sure he’ll want to thank you in person. It’ll be a waste if you leave now.”