Chapter 271
Little did Zinnia know that a huge surprise was waiting for her.
In the dead of night, an urgent phone call jolted Yannis from his slumber. "Yannis, Dad’s in the hospital," Devin's voice was grave and low. His tone was heavy with concern.
Yannis bolted upright in bed, his mind buzzing in shock. "How is he?"
Yannis and Zinnia hurried to the hospital together. They rushed to the VIP ward, where Devin and Layla waited anxiously outside. Inside, doctors were examining James.
Yannis peered anxiously through the glass at the bed, where doctors in white coats surrounded James.
"The doctors are still checking," Layla said. Her gentle features clouded with worry. "But Dad is getting older. His body isn’t what it used to be." Layla’s usual warmth was shadowed by anxiety, her eyes betraying her concern.
Yannis’s jaw tightened, a flicker of barely concealed worry in his eyes.
"Zinnia," Devin managed a strained smile as he and Layla greeted her.
"Devin, Layla," Zinnia replied softly.
Zinnia was startled awake by a commotion in the living room in the middle of the night. When she stepped out, she found Yannis in an uncharacteristic panic. Upon learning that something had happened to James, she immediately decided to go with him.
Now that James‘ condition was stable, a weight lifted from Yannis‘ chest. "Are you cold? Should I have someone drive you home?" Yannis asked. He reached out to gently smooth Zinnia’s messy hair from her shoulders.
It was already late. Yannis hadn’t wanted to bring Zinnia along and have her go through all this, but she’d refused to stay home alone, insisting her medical skills might come in handy.
“I’m not cold,” Zinnia replied. Even though they’d left in a hurry, Yannis had still grabbed a down jacket from the sofa and wrapped it around her.
As they were talking, the ward door swung open. "How is he?" Layla asked anxiously as she hurried forward.
Yannis, his face tight with worry, unconsciously clenched his hand at his side as he looked past the doctors toward James lying inside.
He could see a pale, wrinkled face beneath an oxygen mask; more silver streaked James‘ hair than he remembered from their last meeting.
James was no longer young. Yannis was his late–life child, born when James was already forty. Now that Yannis was nearly twenty–four, James was in his sixties and had lived most of his years.
In his youth, James had pushed himself relentlessly, accumulating both visible and hidden injuries–some permanent and irreversible. With age, all those aches and pains had become increasingly pronounced.
"The patient is stable for now," the doctor said. "But at his age, all his organs are gradually deteriorating, and he’s carrying both old and underlying injuries. He needs complete rest, and must avoid anger and strong emotional fluctuations."
"Fortunately, we caught this episode in time, so there’s no immediate danger. Still, this ordeal has taken a toll on him, and his health won’t be what it was before. He’ll need to stay in the hospital for observation for a while."
"If something like this happens again," the doctor added gravely, "the situation could become critical." With that, the doctor left with the medical staff.
"Since he upset you last time, Dad regretted it. He often looks at Mom’s photo and wanted to find you today," Devin said; his eyes filled with worry.
Ever since their last argument, when James drove Yannis away, Yannis hadn’t set foot in Perkins Manor. But then, he rarely went back even before that.
Whenever he did, it always ended with the two of them locking horns. The shadow of Grace hung between them, making their relationship painfully complicated and awkward.
It wasn’t hatred, but they could never regain the closeness they once had. It seemed no one was to blame. Yet, they couldn’t deny that they still cared for each other.
Though Yannis never went back, he never failed to send gifts to James every month. When James mentioned wanting snacks, Yannis arranged for them to be delivered like clockwork.
Yannis couldn’t help but worry about James, so a steady stream of supplements and nutritional products made their way to Perkins Manor without fail. He even asked Zinnia to specially prepare two bottles of herbal pills just for James‘ body.
James truly cared about Yannis, even if he never said it out loud. Though he always told Yannis not to come home, he still had the staff at Perkins Manor clean Yannis‘ room every day–just in case Yannis ever decided to return on a whim.
James also found all sorts of excuses to have money wired to Yannis. Although the two rarely saw each other, their concern for one another never faded.
But the rift between them ran too deep, and neither was willing to take the first step. So the years dragged on, until age finally caught up with James.
‘Age had finally humbled me,‘ James thought. Since he couldn’t wait for Yannis to come home, he decided he’d go find Yannis himself.
Normally, if there was a celebration for Yannis‘ birthday, James would start planning a month in advance. This year, he wanted to ask if Yannis would come back to Perkins Manor for his birthday.
This was the excuse James had spent ages coming up with, just to see Yannis. He’d already said he’d visit the next morning, and that night, he even dragged Victor into helping him choose an outfit.
Lying awake, James kept repeating to himself, “Don’t say anything foolish this time.” Because of this, he ended up going to bed late. Then, in the dead of night, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his chest.
James always had health monitors in his room. The moment something went wrong, Victor got the alert, called the family doctor to stabilize him, and arranged for a car to rush him to the hospital.
Devin and Layla happened to be home that day, both siblings frantic with worry. Knowing James was getting older and his health was deteriorating, they made it a point to return to Perkins Manor whenever possible to keep him company.
As for the rift between James and Yannis, there was little they could do but try to mediate and counsel as best they could.
But a decade–long rift wasn’t something that could be easily resolved. When that incident happened years ago, the ones who suffered most were these two.
“Yannis, you’re here. Mr. Perkins will be so pleased to see you,” Victor said warmly as he opened the door, his eyes lighting up with surprise at the sight of Yannis outside.
Yannis replied in a low voice, his face tense.
Spotting Zinnia, Victor greeted her kindly. "Hi, Zinnia."
"Hi, Victor," Zinnia answered softly.
All four entered the room. James was still unconscious, his body worn out from all the turmoil. Standing by his bedside, they could see just how much he had aged.
Not long ago, James had been so vigorous, but now, after only a short absence, he lay quietly on the hospital bed–breathing faintly, lips pale.
Yannis looked at his father, emotions swirling in his dark eyes. "Zinnia, can you take a look at him?" he asked.
Yannis thought to himself, ‘He used to want to punch me every day. How did he become so weak in just a short time? How did it come to this?'
Zinnia stepped forward and began to check James‘ heart rate. The others waited quietly for her.