Chapter 24: Do You Have an Appointment with Ms. Jenning?

As expected, the call didn’t go through again. The line wasn’t picking up—annoying! I put my phone down, washed the Imeh, and sanitized, wiping down Benjamin’s face and hands. I had been taking care of him when I unintentionally fell asleep at his bedside.

When I woke up, it was already dark. A jacket was draped over me, and with sleepy eyes, I saw Lila changing Benjamin’s wound dressing. “When you doing here?”

Lila smiled and handed me an apple from her bag, saying softly, “Anyway, so I came to take care of you and Benjamin.” “By the way, Benjamin has already woken up. I checked with the doctor, and his condition is gradually stabilizing, so try not to worry too much.”

Holding the apple, I replied, “I can’t let you do that. Fran can take care of my uncle myself. You just came back; your family must miss you a lot. You can’t stay here, go home.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You just told me this morning that we’re best friends. Yet now you’re pestering me to go home? Is that what best friends do?” Lila feigned indignation, sighing and glaring at me.

I was mid-sentence when Lila exclaimed in a hushed tone, “Owen, Benjamin’s arm!” I stood in surprise and rushed to him. “Uncle Benjamin, how do you feel? Does it still hurt?”

Uncle Benjamin took off his oxygen mask; his face was pale, and his lips colorless. He shook his head, patting my hand gently, gesturing that he was fine. He then glanced at Lila, looked her up and down, and engaged in some silent interaction with her that I couldn’t quite understand. Lila seemed to pick up on it first. “The outside,” she said.

Confused, I asked, “Is something wrong?” Lila leaned in and whispered, “I think Benjamin needs to use the restroom. It’s awkward for me to be here since I’m a woman. Just let me know when he’s done, and I’ll come back in.”

I cleared that up, suddenly realizing my mistake. I hadn’t considered the gender differences. “Uncle Benjamin, let me help you.” I rushed to help him up, thinking he might need a caregiver; I still had work tomorrow and wouldn’t be able to look after him properly. Looking at his pale face, I felt both heartbroken and worried.

When he noticed my concern, he moved his chapped lips slightly and weakly said, “Don’t worry about me. This is just a minor illness; it’s nothing.” The doctor had issued a critical condition notice, yet he still called it a minor illness.

A lump formed in my throat. Gently wiping his hands, I tried to lighten the mood. “I finally know where I get my stubbornness from,” I teased. Uncle Benjamin tapped my hand and gazed at me with complex emotions in his eyes; when his eyes flickered to the hallway, a look of relief passed through them.

“That young lady… she seems like a good person. She truly cares about you,” Benjamin said. I followed his gaze and saw Lila sitting at a distance, nervously watching our every move, afraid that something would go wrong. “Yes, she is a good person,” I answered.

Lila came over with a tray of food, which I immediately took from her, and our fingers brushed lightly. I jolted, quickly pulling my hand back, as if shocked. Lila looked at me, a smile spreading across her face. She chuckled. “I’ve seen everything. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

At that moment, I didn’t rule out that Uncle Benjamin had misunderstood something, and at his smile, I felt dared. It was the first time I had seen Uncle Benjamin smile. His skin was fair, but his face was covered in stubble, giving him a serious and somewhat aged appearance. But when he smiled, his eyes sparkled, and he looked surprisingly handsome.

“Uncle Benjamin, I bet if you shaved your beard, you’d look even better. Everyone says nephews take after their uncles, and since I turned out so handsomely, there’s no way you’d be ugly.” Ignoring my comment, he waved us over. “You two, come here.”

Lila and I walked over, and to our surprise, Uncle Benjamin pulled out two boxes from the bedside drawer, almost like he was performing magic. He handed one to me and the other to Lila. Before we could ask, he bowed his head. “This is my present to both of you.”

Lila didn’t hesitate at all and smiled, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Benjamin.” Curious, I asked, “What is this? So mysterious.” I had an idea where Uncle Benjamin might have gotten them, but before I could open mine, he stopped me. “Open it when you get back home.” “Okay,” I replied obediently, noticing that he watched me with a look of approval. I raised my eyes to look at her. She noticed my gaze and smiled back at me.

I managed diaper changes throughout the night. I had to leave; I thought she had finally decided to leave, so I began looking for a caregiver. I had to finalize the pre-loading at Nancy’s company today, so I definitely needed to find someone to help take care of Uncle Benjamin.

But before I could leave, Lila came in, carrying a pitcher of hot water. Lila answered casually, “Of course, you take care of you and Benjamin. You’re not sending me away, are you? You’re always worrying and complaining.” “Sending me away now, are you? You really…” Benjamin gave me a grin, and he’s happy with me. I was surprised. (I was just afraid that she would be exhausted.) Although Lila’s grandfather, who was a master performer, etc. Her family was full of artists, especially her…

Chapter 24: Do You Have an Appointment with Ms. Jenning? I would be livid. She came from a prestigious scholarly family, and after just returning to the country, she was doing a caregiver’s job. If her mother had found out…

Unfortunately, I still couldn’t argue with her stubbornness, so I let her continue. I had to leave the hospital and head to Nancy’s company to report for work. I still owed Lila tons of money, so I needed to get work quickly to pay her back.

Before I left, I called Yvette once more, but, as expected, she hung up on me. I gripped my phone tightly, grinding my teeth in frustration. “They say that women are petty, but she’s the CEO of her own company—how could she be so ill-tempered? She wasn’t like that in our past…”

In our past life, Yvette didn’t care for me at all. She didn’t even bother to give me the cold shoulder or hold a grudge. So what if I stood her up once? How many times had she done the same to me? And I had never held it against her. I skipped out on her once, and now she was upset? What was that about? Forget it. I would find her at the office. This marriage had to end as soon as possible!

I walked straight through the front door when I arrived at Yvette’s office building. I had brought her lunch in our past life, so I knew exactly where her office was and planned to go straight in.

“Stop right there.” A man in a suit blocked my way, frowning as he sized me up. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” I glanced at him; his face looked strangely familiar. He was dressed like a secretary. “I’m here to see Yvette.” “Ms. Jenning?” He looked at me suspiciously. “Do you have an appointment with her?”

I looked ahead and calmly said, “No.” Upon hearing that, he sneered, as if he had figured something out. With obvious disdain, he said, “Ms. Jenning is very busy and doesn’t have time for shameless people like you. Go back to wherever you came from. I’m not escorting you out.”