CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 079: MOTHER AND CHILD ARE SAFE

Adrian Desmond sat on a bench in the hospital corridor. Across from him, the red light of the operating room glowed, a stark symbol of Sienna Johnson’s flickering life. He was terrified that if the red light went out, Sienna would also...

His heart ached intensely, as if there was a void that only Sienna Johnson could fill.

That woman must think I’m an easy-going man, always making concessions and tolerating her, Adrian fumed internally. But if my heart hadn’t been captured by her, would I really be so "kind" and easily deceived? If any other woman had treated me like this, I would have snapped her neck and thrown her into the sea to feed the sharks long ago.

"Sir, this is a hospital; you cannot smoke here!" A young nurse interrupted his thoughts. She ordered Adrian not to smoke, but he ignored her.

Smoking was the only thing that could calm his restless heart; he had to keep smoking to soothe its turmoil.

"Sir, did you hear me? This is a hospital; no smoking! Please extinguish your cigarette immediately. If you must smoke, please go outside," the nurse said righteously.

Adrian, his gaze previously fixed downward, hadn’t even noticed the meddlesome nurse. When he finally lifted his eyes, the nurse was visibly stunned by his handsome features and blushed, not having expected the smoking man to be so attractive.

"Get lost!" Adrian snarled, unwilling to deal with anyone right now.

"Sixth Master, Dr. Thompson is here."

The nurse, oblivious to his mood, was about to be forcibly removed by Adrian—who found her as annoying as a fly—when Walter Klein arrived with Dr. Thompson. Adrian’s bodyguards from the Desmond Family were with them.

Adrian shot up from his seat, shoving aside the nurse who was blocking his path. She stumbled from the force. "She’s been in there for 14 minutes already," he said, his voice strained.

Fourteen minutes. If it weren’t for his watch, he would have thought an eternity had passed.

"Sixth Master, please don’t worry. Madam has always been in good health, and the baby’s position is stable. Everything will be fine." Dr. Thompson was Sienna Johnson’s personal physician, conducting her prenatal checkups every two to three days, so no one understood her condition better than him.

Adrian remained unconvinced. "She’s in the operating room. You need to go in. I don’t trust them."

"Yes, sir!"

Dr. Thompson pushed open the operating room door. The doctors inside, displeased by the sudden intrusion, initially told him to leave. However, upon learning Dr. Thompson’s identity, they fell silent; he was a preeminent authority in obstetrics and gynecology.

"Sixth Master, please sit down and rest. Madam... she will be alright..." Walter Klein tried to comfort the haggard-looking man.

"Walter, do you really think she’ll be okay?"

Ever since Sienna Johnson had come into his life, Adrian Desmond hadn’t been himself. If only I could turn back time, Walter Klein thought, I would have done everything to stop Sienna from boarding the *J Shark*.

"...She said that if she lost our son, she wouldn’t want to live... She wanted to leave me so badly, I thought she wouldn’t want the child either. I never expected her to care so much about him," Adrian murmured. "I promised her the boy would be alright. But if something happens to him, where am I supposed to find another son for her?..."

Sienna has to be okay, and the child inside her must be safe too. Otherwise, that woman will surely cause more trouble.

"With Dr. Thompson here, Madam and the baby will surely be safe," Walter said.

"Yes, they will be!" Adrian echoed. "They have to be, they just have to be..." he repeated, his anxiety a stark contrast to his usual calm and composed demeanor.

Adrian waited anxiously, his expression somber, as if awaiting a judgment.

Time ticked by. Adrian had never known it could pass so slowly, so agonizingly. He had chain-smoked three packs of cigarettes, and the floor around him was littered with butts. A thick pall of smoke hung in the air outside the operating room. If Walter Klein hadn’t stopped him, the smoke likely would have triggered the overhead sprinklers, drenching them all.

"It’s been so long, why hasn’t she come out yet?" Adrian asked impatiently.

"Sixth Master, it’s only been an hour."

"An hour?" Adrian was surprised. "It felt like much longer."

The operating room door finally opened. Adrian shot to his feet. "Mai..." he choked out, rushing forward.

The first person to emerge was Dr. Thompson, dressed in sterile scrubs and a surgical mask. Seeing Adrian too overcome to speak, Walter Klein stepped in for him, "Dr. Thompson, are Madam and the baby alright?"

Dr. Thompson looked at Adrian, whose eyes were bloodshot, his gaze fixed intensely on him. The doctor let out a sigh of relief. "Mother and child are safe." Thank goodness, he thought. If anything had happened to either of them, I can’t imagine what my fate would have been. It was a blessing amid the misfortune!

Adrian’s tense expression finally eased. "That’s great..." He started towards the operating room but was stopped by Dr. Thompson. "We’re still tidying up. Madam will be wheeled out shortly. Sixth Master, please wait a moment longer."

"Alright." Knowing Sienna Johnson was safe, Adrian became much more agreeable.

Dr. Thompson continued, "Although mother and child are safe, her pregnancy stability was affected by the ordeal. She will need to be well looked after and rest properly."

"Whatever medicine or tonics she needs for her recovery, tell Walter Klein to arrange for them." Adrian Desmond, wealthy and influential, spared no expense when it came to his wife and child.

Sienna Johnson was wheeled out. Her face was pale, likely from blood loss, and she was fast asleep.

"Mai..." Adrian breathed, his voice soft.

Dr. Thompson said, "Madam is asleep. Sixth Master, please don’t disturb her. Let her rest well; it will aid her recovery."

"Oh, I understand." Adrian lowered his voice, afraid of waking her.

As the medical team wheeled Sienna Johnson away, a wounded man lurking in a shadowy corner pressed himself further into the darkness. Adrian Desmond, usually highly alert, had all his attention on Sienna and failed to notice the man furtively observing them.

「...」

Sienna Johnson woke to bright sunlight streaming into the room. Outside the window, a large tree with dense foliage was alive with the chirping of numerous small birds. It felt as if she had entered another world—peaceful and beautiful.

Am I dead? Sienna Johnson mumbled. As she spoke, she realized her voice was hoarse, and her throat felt so parched from dehydration it was as if smoke might issue from it.

"You’re awake?" a gentle female voice asked. Who is it? Sienna wondered.

"Kiki?"

"I’m not Kiki; I’m Melanie." Melanie Carpenter was gently dabbing Sienna Johnson’s dry, chapped lips with a water-soaked cotton swab. Sienna’s blurry vision gradually sharpened, and the indistinct female face before her came into focus. It wasn’t Kiki; it was Melanie Carpenter.

But why is Melanie Carpenter here?