Eddy was not in the best of health, not by a long shot. And after such a major surgery, it could not be
expected that he would wake up quickly. He would need his rest.
Eventually, after three extremely long days, he opened his little eyes.
He had beautiful, long eyelashes. They fluttered like a butterfly flapping its wings as he slowly came to
consciousness. Finally, he opened his eyes, fulfilling the wish that everyone was so longing to see
come true.
His eyes were slightly glazed over. He blinked and when he opened them again, they looked more
clear and full of life.
Everyone watching from outside waiting in bated breath. The girls covered their mouths with their
hands, afraid they might not be able to control their nerves and let out an involuntary squeak or cry that
would disturb him.
He was hooked up to a ventilator so it was difficult for him to move. Gradually and with due caution, he
peered outside and began feeling more like himself.
He took in his surroundings and realized that he was in hospital.
What had transpired just before he had blacked out started slowly coming back to him. He opened his
eyes wide in fear and thought of Ella. 'What had happened to her? Was she okay?' Then he saw her
outside the window, and his anxiety abated.
He was relieved to see that Ella was just fine.
"Anne, Mom, you two go in." Kevin turned to look at them.
Eddy was still very weak, and he had just awakened. It was better if fewer people went into see him, so
as not to disturb his rest or overwhelm him. Plus, in this state, it was doubtful that he would be able to
talk for much time.
Selma nodded repeatedly, very happy that she could finally see her grandson. Anne said gently, "Ella,
come with us."
Over the past few days, Ella had been in a bad state. She had not eaten much and had even lost
weight in this short span of time. Moreover, what was happening with her father had taken such a toll
on her that she was almost about to collapse.
It was unbelievable that anyone, let alone this young child, could withstand such trauma. Whatever had
happened in respect of Eddy, she was definitely worthy of full forgiveness.
Albeit that this was the case, Anne was too preoccupied with business affairs to be at Ella's side,
comforting her.
This was the natural consequence that had come of that.
After several days of crying, Ella's eyes had become red and puffy. When she heard Anne's words, she
immediately looked up.
There was a look of endearment and tenderness on Anne's face. She looked at Ella as she used to,
before everything had gone awry. Instantly, Ella covered her mouth in shock.
"Ella, do you want to go in with us?" Selma, who was also supposedly incredibly hateful towards Ella
for what she had done, also asked.
Ella nodded. She wanted to see Eddy so that she could apologize.
Eddy was laying quietly in his bed, looking out of the nearby window. He was confused about what had
happened but he also had a great sense of relief.
This was not something that could not be forgiven. No one had made an unforgivable mistake.
The three of them put on their sterile scrubs required for the ICU and entered the ward.
Looking at the instrument attached to Eddy, Ella felt weak. If Anne had not been holding her hand, she
would not have been able to walk.
"Mom, Grandma," said Eddy, in a meek voice.
Hearing him speak caused tears to roll down Selma's cheeks. She nodded, and reached out a
quivering hand towards him.
"Eddy, you are a good, strong boy. You're going to be just fine."
Eddy nodded seriously. The pain shooting through his chest reminded him of what had happened. He
knew that Bob's heart must have been transplanted into his body. This beating heart inside him, which
was the only reason he was alive, belonged to Bob.
In fact, he had already prepared himself mentally for this day. It had come quicker than anticipated but
he was not surprised.
What was more, Bob's parents saw Eddy as their own son. Wouldn't everyone be happy to see that the
surgery had not been in vain?
Anne held Eddy's hand in hers, making sure she was very gentle, and said in a tender tone, "Good boy.
You are so strong. I knew you would open your eyes and you did."
Tears flowed from Eddy's eyes. He tried to take deep, steadying breaths but he could not stop the
crying.
"Don't worry! I am stronger and I will live on!" Eddy's voice was a little weak, but the confidence was
tangible.
Bob was so selfless for Eddy's sake. His final wish was that his heart would keep Eddy alive. Since
Bob had made such a monumental sacrifice, Eddy would make sure he would live so that this was not
done in vain.
"Good boy." Anne and Selma were finally appeased and could rest. Only with a strong desire to live
could more miracles come to Eddy, blessing him with the strength to overcome his illness.
Ella was standing just in front of Eddy's bed, but she did not move a muscle or utter a single word. It
was as if she were a mannequin.
Eddy looked at her with a smile. "You silly girl, isn't there something you want to say to me?"
Initially, Ella had managed to hold back her tears. But hearing him say these words, she burst into
tears. Eddy did not blame her. She said, clearly distressed, "I'm so sorry. I am really, really sorry. I
believed that evil man so it's all my fault. It's my fault you had to have this surgery. You can hit me and
scold me, whatever..."
Eddy laughed lightly. He wanted to reach out to her and wipe her tears away, but he did not even have
the strength to lift up his arm.
Patting her gently on the shoulder, Anne said softly, "Eddy has something to tell you."
Hearing this, Ella immediately kept quiet and looked at Eddy expectantly with her eyes still full of tears.
His eyes were dark, like beautiful black diamonds. They were glinting and sparkling like the moonlight
on a full moon night.
He looked at her, and she looked straight back at him. They looked at each other in silence. It felt as if,
for just this moment, time had stopped in its tracks.
After some hesitation, Eddy opened his mouth to speak. "Ella, there was already something wrong with
my heart. I was going to have to get a transplant, sooner or later. So just because it happened a bit
earlier than we had thought, it's fine. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself at all."
She had really expected him to blame her for everything when he finally woke up. This was literally the
complete opposite of what she had anticipated!
However, the more understanding and forgiving Eddy was, the more horrible she felt. Because it didn't
matter if he had the heart problem before this, she had still believed that vile man.
"Ella, don't blame yourself anymore. Eddy is just fine now; he is awake. Isn't that great?" Anne
comforted, in a soft, warm voice.
Frowning, Ella looked at Eddy sadly. After quite a bit of internal struggle, she nodded.
Now was the best situation that she could have hoped for. Eddy was awake.
Selma smiled. She noticed that Eddy looked extremely tired, so she said to Anne, "Let's leave Eddy to
get some good rest."
Nodding her head, Anne walked out with Ella.
Kevin waited just outside the door, watching Eddy. Seeing Eddy slowly falling asleep again, he began
to worry once more.
Eddy was indeed weak. They also had no idea whether his body would accept or reject the heart. All
they could do was anxiously wait and see what life had in store for them.
Yes, they had passed the first hurdle; he had awakened. But there would be many more hurdles to
overcome before they reached the end of this ordeal.
"Trust him. Have faith in our son!" Anne had reached out and held Kevin's hand in hers.
Kevin nodded. He did have faith in his strong, wonderful son.
The two smiled at each other. Their eyes were full of hope for the future.
Just then, Anne's phone rang. She fetched it out of her handbag, and frowned slightly.
She had been in the midst of litigation with the TS Company when Eddy suddenly fell ill. They had no
time to deal with any legal affairs.
For them, tens of thousands of companies as successful as LF Group and TS Company were not as
valuable as Eddy.
But now, their lawyer was calling.
When she looked back, she noticed that Eddy was fast asleep once again. Just as she was about to
press the decline button on her phone, Kevin said, "It will be a long time that we will have to monitor
Eddy to see his reaction to the procedure. In this time, you ought to solve the problem with the TS
Company."
Raising her eyebrows in thought, Anne nodded in agreement.
She answered the phone, and heard the lawyer on the other end of the line. "Mrs. Anne, finally! I have
not been able to contact you for three days now. Many things have developed in this time!"
Frowning with rapt concentration, Anne listened carefully to every word the lawyer said. It turned out
that all of the designers of the LF Group had left to join the employ of the TS Company. The designs in
question had been designed by these specific designers. The LF Group was now put at a disadvantage
as these designers were the ones who would give the account of the truth, but now they were on the
other team.
'What?!
The designers who had once pledged such undying loyalty to the LF Group had now betrayed and
abandoned it so quickly?'
Anne mulled this over in her mind. She had never thought this would have been a possibility, not even
in her wildest dreams. Because she had worked so closely with these designers, and she believed that
they were genuine and sincere people. She thought them to be trustworthy and upstanding.
'How could this have happened?
Damn it!'
"Mrs. Anne, why don't you come to the company so that we can sort this out? In such circumstances,
even if we decided to go to trial, we will definitely lose. There are no chances of success, whatsoever."
The lawyer's voice was heavy with dejection.
"Yes, they have quit now, but their draft designs had been submitted to LF Group before they had
resigned. At the time of the submission of the designs, they were in our employ. Will we really lose?"
She didn't understand why the lawyer was so certain that there were no prospects of success.
"That isn't exactly the case," the lawyer continued. "All the designers have changed the statements.
They've said that they did not hand over their designs to the LF Group at that time. They have stated in
writing that LF Group used their designs without their consent!"
'In that case...' Anne's thoughts trailed off.
She raised her fingers to her temples and gently rubbed them in circles. Her mind was stretched to its
breaking point.
Eddy's current condition had already placed her in a space of helplessness. Now, she had received
such unexpected news that she felt powerless beyond measure.
She just felt exhausted and could not think straight. She could not think of a solution right now.
"Hi, you must be the lawyer, Kevin said into the phone, having taken it from her. His voice also had a
tone of exhaustion to it. "Try to find a solution for this problem as per your own ways. We will talk to you
tomorrow."
The lawyer on the other end had just begun to say something in response, but Kevin hung up.
Raising her head to look at the ceiling, Anne sighed heavily. What a mess!
"Anne, I'll stay in the hospital. You go home and have a good rest, and then go to the company and find
out everything that happened in detail," instructed Kevin. He was not going to take no for an answer.
As she looked at Eddy, her eyes looked a bit blank. She was deep in thought and felt extremely
conflicted. How could the issue between the LF Group and TS Company take precedence over the
health of her son?
Eddy was in the observation stage. This was the most dangerous period. How could she leave now of
all times?
"All of you can go back home and rest. I will stay." Just as Anne was about to speak, she heard this
voice from aside her.
Both Anne and Kevin turned to look to see who it was. It was none other than Selma. Over the last
three days, Selma had not had much rest at all. She had dark circles around her eyes and she looked
so drained that it made her look ten years older than her actual age.
She gave a faint smile. Selma was not her usual bull-headed self but had a warmness about her.
"It is going to be a very long time that Eddy will be under observation. We cannot all stay here, all
through the day and night. Why don't you two go home and rest, I will stay here, and you can come
back first thing in the morning to take my place? asked Selma.
Frowning, Anne wanted to object and shake her head. But Kevin took her off guard, stopped her up
into his arms, and walked outside. Anne was so shocked that she began hitting Kevin in objection.
Ignoring her fists, Kevin put her straight into the car.
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