Kevin lowered his head as a frown lined his forehead. He took out a handkerchief and wrapped it
around Anne's neck.
There were deep teeth marks on her milky neck. Droplets of blood dribbled out of the cuts. Ella had bit
Anne with all her strength.
"Ella," Anne called tenderly. There was no blame or anger in her voice. She wiped her blood from Ella's
lips with her sleeve. "Who did you talk to?"
Ella was crying out loud. Looking at Anne infuriated her. She wiped her face angrily and pushed her.
Anne lost her balance and fell to the ground. Ella turned on her heels and ran away.
Kevin was taken aback. He helped Anne up and turned around to see where Ella had gone. However,
Eddy was already chasing after the little girl. The two ran after them.
"Ella, don't you believe me? Don't you believe my parents? They like you so much. How could they hurt
your father? Would you rather believe a stranger than us?" Eddy held Ella's hand, looking anxious.
"I don't believe you. I just don't. I want my daddy back. I won't believe you until I see Daddy." Ella tried
pushing Eddy away but couldn't escape from the boy's vice-like grip. She immediately bent down and
bit his hand.
Eddy loosened his grip. Ella tried running. However, Kevin lifted her.
"Let go of me. Let me go. You are all liars! You are all bad people. You have kidnapped my father. Give
him back to me!" She thrashed and kicked him.
Kevin turned around and looked at Anne for help. She sighed, but her eyes widened as her gaze flitted
to Eddy.
"Eddy, what's wrong with you?" Eddy was holding his chest. He was drenched in sweat; his face turned
ghastly pale, and his lips became purple.
Anne and Kevin looked at their son in shock.
Was he having a heart attack? Eddy had been healthy in recent years. His moods hadn't fluctuated; he
had been calm and composed.
However, Ella's behavior had hurt him. He couldn't cope with the unnecessary chaos. Their boy was
suffering right before their eyes.
Kevin put Ella down right away. He ran to Eddy, picked the boy in his arms, and bolted towards the car.
Ella stared at him in shock. She never expected such a thing would happen to Eddy. Anne picked the
little girl clumsily in her arms and followed her husband.
Kevin fastened the seat belt and called the hospital right away. Fortunately, it wasn't rush hour; the
roads were empty. They drove without any hassle.
"Eddy, open your eyes and look at me. Please don't sleep. Please! Look, Ella is also with you. Do you
have something to tell her? Don't sleep. Look at her. Look at me!" Anne cried, hugging Eddy tight in her
arms. Her lips trembled as the emotions bubbled up in her heart.
Eddy was conscious. He tried to smile, but his body had turned numb. He wanted to speak, but his
tongue felt heavy. He couldn't utter a word.
His heart was still beating, but he couldn't feel anything. His eyelids grew heavy. Hearing his mother's
cries, he wanted to assure her that he was fine, but darkness engulfed him.
He had lost control over his body.
His body felt stiff.
However, he summoned all his strength and slowly opened his eyes to look at Ella. Her body was
shaking as tears cascaded down her cheeks.
She looked funny.
Eddy wanted to tease her and make fun of the way her face looked when she cried. But he couldn't.
Exhaustion consumed him. Eddy couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He heard a faint voice of
someone calling his name but couldn't recognize who it was.
"Eddy, hold on! You must hold on!" Kevin screamed, trying hard not to break down in front of everyone.
"Eddy, don't sleep. Don't sleep! Open your eyes and look at me. I beg you! Please, don't close your
eyes.
Please, Eddy!" Anne's tears dripped on Eddy's face, but the boy refused to open his eyes. He slipped
into a coma.
"We have arrived at the hospital. Eddy, hold on!" Kevin parked the car in a hurry. He took Eddy in his
arms and placed him on the emergency bed.
Without any delay, the nurse wheeled Eddy into the emergency room. Anne slumped on the chair in the
corridor and stared at her hands. She felt as if she were a puppet at the mercy of others. Her spirits
had died when they wheeled her boy to the emergency room.
Ella was still in the car. No one bothered to carry her out, nor did she try getting out.
The little girl began hitching with sobs. Eddy was admitted to the hospital because of her. She didn't
want to hurt him in any way, but her friend was struggling for life.
She couldn't stop blaming herself. She felt that none of this would have happened if she hadn't pushed
him away.
Guilt consumed her. She couldn't forgive herself for what had happened.
It was impossible to conceal such crucial news from Selma. Therefore, they called her right away. The
woman rushed into the hospital as soon as she got the call. Her legs turned to jelly when she saw Anne
and Kevin staring at the wall in a daze. Selma couldn't take it anymore; she fell to the ground.
Hearing the sound, Kevin turned around and saw his mother. He quickly ran to her and grabbed her
hand, but Selma refused to move. She grabbed his collar and shook him. "How is Eddy?"
Kevin shook his head and pulled her up with all his might. "The doctor is still checking on him. We don't
know the situation yet, but they have arranged to bring Bob's heart. If Eddy's condition gets worse, they
will do a transplant right away. He should be fine."
Selma glared at Kevin.
His words irked her.
"What the hell do you mean by, 'he should be fine'? Eddy will be fine. My grandson will be fine!" Selma
roared.
Kevin had no choice but to nod. "Shh... Calm down, Mom. Don't make a fuss. The doctor has asked us
to be quiet. Let's sit here and wait for them."
Selma shook her head and sat down on the chair. She turned to look at Anne: the woman was hugging
her knees and staring at the wall with vacant eyes.
Selma closed her head and sighed. She knew that Anne was worried about her son.
"Eddy was fine. He has been healthy. Why did he suddenly have a relapse?" she asked, staring at the
emergency room. "It has something to do with Ella, right?" Anne lowered her head as if she hadn't
heard anything.
She didn't have the strength to answer Selma's question.
Kevin rubbed his forehead, feeling dejected. "Mom, now isn't the time to talk about this. Let's wait for
Eddy to get better."
Selma nodded. She was anxious about her grandson's health.
An hour later, the door of the room flew open, and a nurse ran out. Anne darted toward the woman and
held her hand.
"Nurse, what's going on? How is my son? Does he need a transplant?"
Selma and Kevin also approached them, waiting to hear the answer.
The nurse nodded and continued to walk ahead. "It's urgent. We will have to do the heart transplant
right away!"
The three of them froze on the spot at the words.
Selma's body grew limp. She leaned against the wall and squatted down. Anne stared at the nurse with
wide eyes.
Kevin's heart sank. They weren't prepared for this.
Eddy's heart matched with Bob's, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be any complication.
Heart transplant was a risky procedure regardless of having a suitable donor. Therefore, they had tried
their best to delay the surgery. It would take time for Eddy to adapt to the new organ and might suffer
complications. A transplanted heart would never be able to function as well as the original one.
However, the boy's condition was critical now. They had no choice but to perform the transplant.
Anne took a deep breath and looked at the operating room. She gathered her strength and trudged
forward. Seeing her, Kevin wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
She peered through the door of the operating room and smiled sadly.
"Eddy, don't be afraid! I'm here with you. I'll always be with you. You'll be strong, won't you?"
Selma covered her face to hold back her tears. She didn't anticipate this situation to occur so early
when they least expected it.
A sudden cry of a child echoed across the silent hall.
However, Anne didn't bother turning around.
She continued to look at Eddy through the tiny hole in the door.
Kevin saw Ella standing in the corridor. Her eyes were swollen and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Selma's body stiffened. She glared at the little girl, anger blazing in her eyes. Selma adored Ella. She
hoped that Ella would marry Eddy when they grew up. But the little girl was the reason for her
grandson's problems. She was the reason why Eddy was admitted to the hospital.
The woman stood up and stomped toward Ella. The little girl bit her lip and looked at Selma with guilty
eyes. She sniffed and wiped her tears. "Grandma, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Eddy. I didn't expect
this to happen. I was angry and confused. I didn't push him away on purpose."
Selma raised her hand to slap Ella.
Kevin was astonished. "Mom!" he bellowed, stopping her. He didn't expect his mother would react this
way.
Ella's face turned pale. She shut her eyes, waiting for the pain to explode. But nothing happened. She
slowly opened them and saw Selma staring at her.
The woman dropped her hand and stared at the little girl. "I won't hit you now. But if something
happens to my grandson, I will make sure you die with him!"
Selma's heart broke at the sight of the little girl; she couldn't watch her cry. However, Eddy was more
important to her. She would never forgive Ella if something happened to him.
Ella squatted on the ground and cried harder. She really didn't expect all this to happen.
The screaming and wailing annoyed Kevin; it hurt his head. But he couldn't blame the little girl.
"Don't cry, or I'll throw you out!" Selma growled.
Ella gasped in shock. She pursed her lips tightly, making sure not to make a sound. Her body was
twitching but she swallowed her sobs.
Anne didn't make any movement or say anything. She stood by the door, watching the nurses enter
and leave the room. The nervous looks on their faces frightened her. She clenched her trembling
hands, praying for her son to get better.
Anne believed that Eddy was a sensible boy who knew that he meant the world to her. Her son
wouldn't die because he knew that she wouldn't bear the loss of having to live without him. She knew
that Eddy would get better soon. He would smile his angel-like smile and call her Mom with his gentle
voice.
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