He was never good at holding his liquor.
“Were you out drinking, John?” a woman wearing an apron walked over to the bathroom, sighing when she saw John’s poor state. “Anne and Sammie were both worried sick when they realized you hadn’t returned. It took me ages to finally get them to fall asleep.
“Where were you? And why were you drinking? Did you manage to get the money for the surgery?”
John’s expression darkened at the mention of the surgery.
He stilled for a moment. Then, he took out the piece of paper Tara had given him and said, “President Moore didn’t try to help me out at all. All she did was offer me a chance to compete fairly against the other competitors.”
He sighed and added, “She told me that the person in charge of making the decision wasn’t from Scarnfield City and guaranteed that it would be a fair bid. As long as I can present the company and showcase my sincerity, she thinks I might stand a good chance. Of course, I’m not too sure about it.”
He sighed once again and stared at the woman before him.”
Robyn, I’m afraid that I need to spend more time and effort on the company, and you…”
“Don’t worry!”
Robyn grinned. “I’ll help you take care of Anne and Sammie! Hey, I’m not as useless as you think. I graduated from nursing school, after all, so don’t you worry!”
With that, she sighed. “Please do the best you can with what you have, John. I know you can do it, and I believe in you. I know you’ll do your best and be able to get the money for Anne’s surgery.”
John smiled bitterly. “Not even I believe in myself as much as you do…”
Sometimes, he would question himself about his decision to take Anne and Sammie away from Banyan City, their home, and go into hiding by faking Anne’s death.
His original plan was to hide where no one knew who they were and cut off all ties with their friends and family from Banyan City. After all, John himself was a convicted murderer, Anne had too many ties to people that he would rather not be involved with, and Sammie was not even a year old.
Going into hiding was indeed the best option they had.
However, John never imagined that although Anne had survived her attack, they would be subjected to hefty medical bills that were the result of the numerous surgeries Anne had to undergo to reverse her multiorgan failure.
He had stashed away some money for their relocation, and this money was enough for the three of them to maintain a sensible living, but he never expected that Anne would have to undergo so many surgeries.
Her multiple surgeries and hospital admissions had dwindled his savings swiftly.
Therefore, he had no choice but to reach out for help from his long-lost adoptive sister, Robyn.
Unfortunately, Robyn was not as well-off as he initially thought.
Although her biological parents had found her and brought her home with them, they did not treat her well at all. In fact, they had taken in another girl during Robyn’s absence and ended up liking her more than Robyn.
Robyn eventually ran away from home, but she chose to keep her surname. She managed to put herself through college and became a registered nurse.
After John contacted her, Robyn chose to quit her job as a nurse and devote her time to taking care of Anne and Sammie instead.
As a result, John was the sole breadwinner of a family of four, and he was subjected to immense stress.
It was because of this that he had chosen to contact Tara out of desperation.
“John.”
Robyn sighed and gently patted his shoulder. “Anne, Sammie, and I all believe in you. Just do your best.”
John let out a bitter chuckle and hugged Robyn. “Thanks for being so helpful, Robyn.”
Then, he let go of her and asked, “By the way…how’s Anne doing today? Did she finally talk?”
Robyn’s expression dimmed, and she lowered her head. “No, nothing changed.
“I’m fairly certain that mutism isn’t a part of the multiorgan failure she suffered from her accident, but for some reason, she refuses to say anything despite what I do.”
“We just need to be patient.”
John sighed and patted Robyn’s shoulder reassuringly. “Healing is a long process, and we shouldn’t rush things.”
Robyn smiled. “I’m glad you’re so optimistic, John. Anne is so lucky to have you.”
John chuckled when he heard this. “I don’t agree with that.”
Sometimes, he would wonder if it was he who dragged Anne down.
After getting to know Anne’s social circle, John realized that she should never have settled down with someone as mundane as him.
All of Anne’s friends were members of the social elite. Bethan, for instance, hailed from a powerful family even though she had, at one point, been adopted by the Petersons.
Bonnie, on the other hand, was the heiress to a massive fortune.
Anne herself was a prestigious plastic surgeon and had accumulated a great reputation in this field. It would be easy for her to settle down with a rich, powerful man who could afford to hire bodyguards for her safety.
John, on the other hand, was just a regular man. Although he was ambitious and possessed skills that surpassed the average white-collar worker, he was a far cry from someone like Anne.
If Anne had not chosen him…perhaps she would never have ended up like this.
It was all his fault. He failed to protect her from harm, and she suffered the consequences.
“Stop overthinking,” said Robyn when she sensed John’s spiraling thoughts. This was not the first time John blamed himself for Anne’s downfall. “Anne chose you because you made her happy. Happiness is subjective, and you can’t be the judge of someone else’s happiness. As long as she loves you, she’ll be willing to stick with you through thick and thin, and if she doesn’t, she’ll never be happy even if you give her all the riches in the world.”
John lowered his head and chuckled bitterly. “Well, if she had chosen to be with someone rich, he’d be able to afford her surgeries…”
“No, it’s not like that. Besides, once you ace this pitch, you’ll be able to afford her surgeries, won’t you? There’s no point blaming yourself anymore since time won’t reverse itself.”
Robyn sighed and continued, “Stop overthinking. Is the alcohol playing tricks on you? Should I make you a nice bowl of hot soup?”
“No need.”
John dismissed her. Although Tara had forced him to drink, she had fortunately refrained from ordering hard liquor.
Besides, he was used to drinking from all the social obligations he had to attend to, so he built up quite a tolerance. It would take much more to get him drunk.
“I’ll go check on Anne.”
With that, he turned and strode toward the master bedroom.
Robyn lived in a tiny two-bedroom house, and since their arrival, Robyn had kindly offered them the master bedroom and taken the small room for herself.
John pushed open the door.
The entire room was engulfed in darkness, the only light being the moonlight coming through the window.
John could make out Sammie’s silhouette lying in her cot. He strode over and squeezed her cheek lightly, then glanced at the bed.
Anne was sitting against the headboard, wide awake. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, staring intently at him as though questioning him about his late return.
“I had to attend to a social obligation, and I drank a little.”
John smiled when he met Anne’s gaze. He sat next to her on the bed and put his arm around her shoulder.
She had lost so much weight that all he could feel were her bones poking through her skin. Although she had always been a slender woman in the past, she was at least healthy. Alas, that was no longer the case.
John sighed. “Robyn told me you’d slept. Why aren’t you asleep, then?”
Anne pursed her lips and began typing on her phone feebly. [ I heard everything you said to Robyn.]
John was silent for a moment before he kissed her forehead. “Anne, I truly think that…you wouldn’t have ended up this way if it weren’t for me.
“I always blamed you for getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and even turned down Brettley’s help, but the truth is, I can’t help blaming myself for everything. If you hadn’t chosen to be with me and had settled down with someone from Brettley, Bethan, or Bonnie’s social circle, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.
“The truth is, I have no right to impede on who you choose to be friends with. It’s your freedom, after all. I was acting impulsively because I was too angry at myself for being such a useless man…”
John’s voice grew fainter and hoarser as he spoke.
Anne bit her lip and shook her head. She cupped John’s face with her bony hands and gazed at him as though trying to tell him that it was not his fault.
“Of course it’s my fault.”
John chuckled bitterly and pulled Anne into his arms. “No one would ever dare to do this to you if I’m as powerful as Brettley. Bonnie is Bethan’s friend too, yet no one tried to do this to her. It’s all because they know how useless I am at protecting you and decided to target you instead. It’s all my fault.”
Anne closed her eyes, knowing she had no way of pulling John out of his negative emotions, so she decided to cut this topic short.
She typed, [You don’t even need to worry so much about the surgeries. Why don’t we just give up trying? Even if I undergo all the surgeries, there’s no guarantee that I’ll return to my normal health, and eventually, I’ll burden you and Sammie. Instead of spending all this money on me, you should save it up for yourself and Sammie.]
She handed her phone to John.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.