Chapter 267: Chapter 267
Lyla’s eyes shifted toward them, and for a moment, she said nothing. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, not because of weakness but because of the sight before her, her husband standing next to the woman she had once called sister.
She swallowed hard. "You came?" she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Of course," Luther said quickly, forcing a tender smile. "I came as soon as I heard. You shouldn’t be so stressed, Lyla. You know how much I..."
But his words were cut off when Lyla turned her gaze away, tears sliding down the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. Not here. Not in front of Ethan.
Alina stood silently beside her, her heart burning with anger as she looked at the man who dared to act innocent. Her fingers tightened around Lyla’s hand protectively, her jaw set.
"Mom," Ethan whispered softly, climbing closer to the bed. "It’s okay now. I’m here. Sis and I are here."
Lyla blinked again, focusing on her son’s voice. A fragile, broken smile appeared on her lips as she lifted her hand weakly to touch his cheek. "My boy," she whispered, her eyes softening as her tears fell freely.
And in that quiet hospital room, the only sound left was the rhythmic beep of the monitor, marking the fragile heartbeat of a woman holding herself together in front of the very people who broke her.
The nurse entered quietly, handing a folded slip of paper to Luther. "Here’s the prescription for the medicines she’ll need today," she said politely.
Luther nodded, his voice steady but distant. "I’ll go get them right away." He squeezed Lyla’s hand briefly, more for show than comfort, and walked out of the room.
The door clicked shut, leaving a tense silence behind. The faint sound of monitors filled the space.
Luigina took a hesitant step closer to the bed, her heels clicking lightly against the floor. Her lips curved in what might have looked like concern to an outsider, but her eyes glimmered with something else, nervous calculation.
"Lyla," she said softly, her tone dripping with practiced sweetness. "What’s wrong with you? Why are you being so cold to me?"
Lyla turned her head slowly, her weak gaze finding the woman she had once called her sister. Her lips trembled, but her voice came out calm, too calm. "Cold?" she repeated, her voice thin and raspy. "You’re asking me that?"
Luigina blinked, feigning innocence. "Of course. I came as soon as I heard. I’ve been so worried about you, and you won’t even look at me."
Alina, standing by the foot of the bed, felt her stomach twist. She could hardly believe the audacity, how easily Gina could lie, as if the betrayal wasn’t sitting in plain sight inside Alina’s bag.
Lyla’s fingers twitched on the blanket. "You’ve been worried about me?" she asked softly, her tone brittle. "That’s strange, because last I remember, you were too busy having lunch with my husband."
The words landed like a slap.
Luigina froze for a heartbeat, then gave a shaky laugh, trying to recover. "What are you talking about? Lunch? Luther and I, we just met to discuss the hospital fundraiser. You must have misunderstood, Lyla."
But Lyla’s weak smile turned sharper, hollow. "I see. So the hotel rooms too were about the fundraiser?" The rıghtful source is novel※fire.net
The air went dead silent.
Even the steady beep of the monitor seemed to slow.
Luigina’s face drained of color, and she stumbled over her next words. "Lyla, you’re not well. You shouldn’t say such things when you’re..."
"I’m not blind," Lyla whispered, her voice breaking as tears pooled in her eyes. "I saw the pictures."
Luigina froze, her breath catching.
Alina stepped forward then, her eyes hard. "I gave them to her," she said coldly. "So please don’t try to twist it anymore."
For the first time, the false composure on Luigina’s face cracked completely.
Lyla’s hand trembled on the blanket, but she didn’t look away. "You betrayed me, Gina. I trusted you more than anyone." Her voice wavered, heavy with heartbreak. "I told you everything, every fight, every fear, and you took advantage of it."
Luigina opened her mouth to respond, but no words came.
The only thing left between them was silence, thick, bitter, and heavy with everything that could never be forgiven.
Sunday felt endless for Alina. It was a blur of shouting voices, tears, and exhaustion. By the time the sky outside turned orange, her whole world felt like it had been turned upside down.
Her aunt’s health had worsened after the confrontation, and the doctors decided to keep her under observation for at least two more days. They said her blood pressure had spiked again, and she needed rest and emotional stability, neither of which was possible with everything happening around her.
Her uncle, Luther, had stormed out of the hospital after a heated argument. He didn’t even look back. Gina followed him shortly after, pretending to be concerned, though everyone knew she was leaving with him. The sight of them together had nearly broken Lyla again.
Now, with her aunt in the ward and her cousin Ethan standing helplessly in the hallway, Alina had no choice but to take control of everything.
She spent the whole afternoon coordinating with doctors, calling nurses, arranging meals, and trying to comfort Ethan, who looked like he might burst into tears at any moment. He kept asking, "Why is Dad doing this to us? He doesn’t love us anymore, right?" And Alina didn’t know what to say. She could only pat his back gently and whisper, "It’s going to be okay."
By evening, she was sitting on one of the hard hospital benches with her laptop balanced on her knees, her fingers trembling as she opened her work email. Her head pounded, her heart heavy. She didn’t want to disappoint Dante, not after everything he had done for her, but she had no choice.
She decided to write a leave email for one day to Principal Dante because, seeing how much her uncle and aunt were fighting, she had to stay here to control the situation. And Ethan had exams tomorrow.