CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: FIRST EMBRACE

Felix Raines originally wanted to go back to sleep, but upon hearing Sienna Thornton intended to stay, he couldn’t wait to leave the hospital with his son and daughter, almost like fleeing.

Jenna Raines left for a while and then returned with a red plastic bag in her hand, containing two bottles of eight-treasure porridge and a few pieces of egg yolk pie for Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester.

Neither Sienna Thornton nor Simon Forrester ate, and the items remained untouched in the plastic bag.

Jenna Raines sat next to Sienna Thornton, looking for a chance to talk to her, but the topics had nothing to do with Melinda Linton, mostly revolving around Sienna Thornton’s years studying in Azure Harbor and the United States.

"I heard from the villagers that those who go to study in the United States end up earning a lot when they come back," Jenna Raines laughed, surprisingly showing a naive expression similar to Sienna Thornton’s.

Sienna Thornton let out a cold laugh, "They talk as if they’ve been to the United States themselves."

Jenna Raines looked embarrassed for a moment, then quickly changed the topic: "Sis, are you going to stay at home this time?"

Sienna Thornton didn’t respond.

Last year, after settling down in Brimfield, she called Melinda Linton immediately to ask her to pack up and move to Brimfield with her. However, Melinda Linton stubbornly refused, insisting she had a home and couldn’t just abandon it to live elsewhere.

Melinda Linton is a traditional and stubborn person. If she insists on returning home to recuperate after being discharged, Sienna Thornton will inevitably have to accompany her for a few days.

But this would mean staying at the Raines Family’s home, under the same roof as the Raines father and son. Since leaving at fifteen, Sienna Thornton had never returned to the Raines Family...

"Sis, if you’re going home, I’ll need to clean up your room a bit..."

Jenna Raines’ words snapped Sienna Thornton out of her thoughts. She paused and reluctantly said, "If Mom wants to go back, I’ll be there with her for a few days."

"That’s good, it’s been years since you last came home."

Sienna Thornton didn’t respond further and got up to walk toward the only window in the corridor.

The morning light spread from the eastern sky, and she gazed dazedly in that familiar yet distant direction, remembering how Melinda Linton once told her that her biological father came from a big city in the East.

That’s why she went to Brimfield, the largest, most prosperous, and advanced city in the East.

Sienna Thornton stood dazed at the window while Simon Forrester quietly watched her, not interrupting her. He knew that at times like this, it was enough just to stand behind her.

...

By eight o’clock, the hospital became lively, with patients’ families and medical staff arriving one after another, and Sienna Thornton finally got a chance to enter the ICU to visit Melinda Linton.

She put on a sterile gown and saw Melinda Linton, who she hadn’t seen in days, lying lifeless on the hospital bed through the glass, her heart full of sorrow.

And this grief, upon seeing the handprints on Melinda Linton’s cheek and the bruises on her arms, became utterly uncontrollable, turning into two streams of silent tears.

When Sienna Thornton came out of the ICU, Simon Forrester was waiting by the door. Seeing the obvious tear stains on her face, he said nothing, silently pulling her into his embrace.

She stood there numbly, letting him hold her, until Jenna Raines ran over excitedly, "Sis, the doctor wants to talk to us about Mom’s situation. Let’s go quickly."

Sienna Thornton, as if waking from a trance, pushed Simon Forrester away and hurriedly followed Jenna Raines to the doctor’s office.

The county hospital’s medical facilities were limited, lacking specialized surgeons for valve replacement surgery, so the attending doctor suggested transferring Melinda Linton to a big city with advanced medical facilities for surgery.

When the doctor spoke, Felix Raines and his son happened to enter. Upon hearing that Melinda Linton needed to be sent to a big city for surgery, with estimated costs totaling several hundred thousand, they simultaneously expressed giving up on the surgery.

In Wrayhaven County Hospital, such helpless situations, where patients are left to die quietly, happen daily. The doctors, long used to it, didn’t try to persuade Felix Raines and his son, merely explaining a few precautions before signing off for Melinda Linton to be moved to a general ward.

When Sienna Thornton walked out, Simon Forrester approached her, asking concernedly, "What did the doctor say?"

Sienna Thornton shook her head, not yet able to speak, when Jenna Raines immediately interjected, "The doctor said my mom needs surgery in a big city, but no one’s agreeing!"

Simon Forrester looked at Sienna Thornton in surprise.