Chapter 504
Half an hour later, Ivy arrived at the hospital.
The moment she caught sight of her best friend outside the emergency room, the two women rushed into each other’s arms, holding on tightly.
Katrina’s eyes were so swollen from crying, she looked like she’d been at it for hours. Waiting alone in the corridor, every second had crawled by.
After letting her emotions pour out, Katrina wiped her tears and sheepishly smiled, suddenly self-conscious.
“I got your shirt all wet,” she said, attempting to dab the damp spots on Ivy’s sleeve with a tissue.
Ivy glanced at the tear stains on her shoulder and grinned. “Hey, at least you’re not wearing makeup tonight. Otherwise, my shirt would look like a painter’s palette by now.”
The little joke instantly eased the tension in the air.
“Aren’t you going to find Dr. Ludwig? You’re not heading back to campus tonight, are you?”
“No, I’ll stay here with you. When he finishes his shift, I’ll go home with him. He’s probably still in surgery right now.”
“Oh. That’s good.”
Katrina’s mother was in surgery for four hours. She had a fractured skull, a broken right leg, and a handful of scrapes and bruises.
“The operation was a success, but the head trauma is severe. Whether she wakes up depends on her willpower,” the surgeon explained to Katrina, exhaustion clear in his voice as he emerged from the operating room.
“Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much!”
After her mother was transferred to the ICU, Katrina stood at the glass, staring at the tangle of wires and tubes surrounding her mom. Tears streamed down her face all over again.
Ivy could only offer futile comfort. “She’s a fighter. She’ll pull through. But you need to think about what comes next–how you’ll handle the treatment and expenses.”
Katrina’s grandparents had both passed away a few years back. She had an aunt, but she lived out of state and couldn’t come for more than a few days.
As for the Lester family… they’d been waiting for Katrina’s mother to die for years. There was no chance they’d lift a finger to help.
Katrina took a long, steadying breath. “I’ll go back to the Lesters' tonight. I don’t care what it takes–I have to get the money first.”
“About the money-” Ivy began.
But Katrina cut her off. “I know what you want to say, Ivy, but you’ve already done so much. I can’t lean on you forever. Besides, the Lesters owe my mom. I have to make them pay up. If I can’t get the money, Mom can’t get treatment–she won’t survive. And if she doesn’t, then none of this matters anymore. I’d rather go down fighting than let them walk all over us. I have nothing left to lose.”
Her voice was fierce, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Ivy understood. Katrina was fighting for her mother–and for herself. So even though she knew Katrina’s plan wasn’t exactly rational, she didn’t try to talk her out of it. She just said quietly, “Call me if you need anything. And take care of yourself. Don’t let your anger get the better of you, or you’ll just end up hurting yourself and letting them win.”
“I know. Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
It was nearly six by the time Jamison finished surgery and called his wife.
Ivy was still sitting outside the ICU. Katrina was on the phone with her family, already in the middle of a heated argument.
Ivy waited until Katrina hung up before approaching. “Jamison’s about to get off. I’ll head out with him. Are you…”
“Go ahead. I just spoke to the doctor–my mom won’t be waking up tonight. There’s nothing more I can do here. I’m going back to the Lesters'.”
“Alright, stay in touch.”
After saying goodbye, Ivy made her way toward Jamison’s office.
Just as she stepped out of the elevator, she came face to face with her rival.
Celeste Quinn looked just as surprised to see Ivy, but only shot her a brief look and didn’t bother with a greeting.
Ivy returned the favor, pretending not to notice as she strode past.
11:04
The moment she stepped through the automatic glass doors, Jamison appeared. “That was fast,” Ivy said, a little surprised. “Didn’t you say you needed a bit more time?”
“I left instructions with the team. They’ll call if anything comes up.” Jamison’s face softened the moment he saw her, his eyes alight with affection as he stretched his hand out toward her from across the room.
This time, Ivy didn’t hesitate. She reached out, and their hands found each other’s with practiced ease.
As they waited for the elevator together, Ivy glanced sideways at him and noticed his shirt looked familiar.
“Is that the one I bought you?”
“Yeah. Yesterday I wore the light blue one you picked out, today it’s this one.”
“…” Ivy raised an eyebrow. “You’re not planning to wear the light blue again tomorrow, are you?”
“How’d you know?” Jamison grinned.
Unbeknownst to Ivy, Jamison had been dressing up for work all week.
He’d been showing up in shirts every day, sometimes with cufflinks or a tie–enough that his coworkers started teasing him: was he getting married or just showing off?
Jamison just laughed and said, “My wife picked them out for me. Of course I have to wear them–I can’t let her effort go to waste.”
The others would groan and roll their eyes at the cheesiness.
Now, seeing Ivy fall silent, Jamison leaned in with a playful smile. “Don’t I look handsome in this one?”
Ivy blurted out, “You’d look handsome in anything, even if you weren’t wearing a shirt at all!”
Realizing how that sounded, she quickly waved her hands. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, you’re tall and fit–you look good in anything. I wasn’t saying you look better without clothes or anything like that.”
Jamison just laughed harder, dipping his head to pepper her with quick kisses.
11-04 i
“Honestly, I agree. I think I look best when I’m-“
Ding! The elevator arrived. The doors slid open.
Startled, Ivy shoved his face away in a flash.
And who should step out but–of course–Celeste.