Caught In His Embrace: A Second Chance Romance

Chapter 397 "Hello?" Josiah spoke.

An unfamiliar female voice cthrough. "Mr. Evans, I'm Mrs. Evans' caregiver." 'Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans?' Josiah pondered. His drowsiness disappeared, and he sat up abruptly. "What happened to her?" "Mrs. Evans accidentally drank diluted disinfectant that the housekeeper used to clean the bathroom. She has been sent to the hospital. Mr. Andy Evans askedto inform you," the caregiver explained.

Josiah was infuriated, and his eyes were filled with rage. "You all are so negligent! I'll be right there." He hung up and got dressed. Then, he grabbed his car keys and drove to the hospital.

When he entered the emergency room, he heard Hailey's cries. "No. I don't want!" Seeing Hailey completely uncooperative, the doctor anxiously turned to Andy. "Mr. Evans, we can't perform gastric lavage like this." "Find a way to restrain her. If anything happens to her..." Andy said, frowning.

"Mr. Josiah Evans is here," someone said.

The next moment, Josiah rushed in like a gust of wind.

Hailey, trembling with fear, was being held down by nurses. She bit her lip until it bled.

"Let her go!" Josiah exclaimed. Sensing his fury, the nurses instinctively loosened their grip.

"Ah!" The moment Hailey was free, she scrambled up and tried to flee.

"Edgar! Stop your mom!" Andy yelled.

Josiah caught Hailey as she tried to flee. His grip was firm yet trembling. "Mom! Mom!" he exclaimed. It was the first tthat he had ever called her that.

Josiah's eyes were red and moist. "The doctor won't hurt you. You ate something bad. He's trying to help you." He was unsure if she understood what he said. Hailey leaned against him before lifting her head and looking at him. "E-Edgar?" Josiah's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Edgar. Tears welled up in his eyes as he nodded. "Yes, I'm Edgar." Hailey remained silent as she squeezed Josiah's hand and stared at his face, murmuring, "Edgar. Edgar." At that moment, Josiah couldn't contain his tears anymore. She remembered Edgar, even after almost 30 years of being unwell. She remembered that she had a son.

Josiah extended his arms, lifted her, and placed her on the examination bed. "Mom, let the doctor do a gastric lavage. I'll be here with you." "Okay." Hailey stared at him, her eyes red as she nodded, gradually relaxing.

Andy glanced at the doctor. "Hurry now!" After the gastric lavage, Hailey was transferred to a ward. Fortunately, the disinfectant had been diluted, so the corrosive effect was significantly reduced, but she still required further treatment.

Outside the ward, Josiah grabbed Andy by the shoulders, his voice laced with fury. "Andy! Is this how you take care of her?" Andy didn't resist or argue. "It's my fault." Josiah was enraged. "She suffered through all of this, and that's all you have to say?" "What else do you wantto do? You think I wanted this to happen? Do you think I wasn't worried?" Andy shook his head.

Josiah's grip loosened. No matter how much he hated Andy, there was nothing he could do. He turned to head back inside.

Andy seized the opportunity and said, "Edgar, cback. You saw it yourself. Your mother calmed down when she heard your voice. Her illness isn't something medicine can cure, but maybe you're all she needed." Josiah's body stiffened and stood motionless. 'This old geezer is trying to forceto take over the Evans family,' he thought. Yet, he remained silent as he opened the door and entered.

Andy, who was left behind, sighed helplessly. 'Even his mother couldn't make him cback. What would it take for him to cback?' he wondered.

***** Josiah stayed by Hailey's side at the hospital for two nights. On the morning of the third day, he left while she was asleep. It was before 7 a.m. when he returned to Silver Beach.

As he entered the house, he noticed the lights were on in the living room. Someone was home.

Afterward, Yvette appeared, pushing her wheelchair forward. She smiled at him. "It's been days. I thought you'd gone missing." "Yvette." Josiah frowned slightly, avoiding her gaze. Over the past two days, Yvette had sent him several messages, but he hadn't replied to her.

"I'm not blaming you. You cat the right time. Let's have breakfast," Yvette said with a smile.

"Okay," Josiah responded.

The two of them entered the dining hall. Gloria and the hhelper hired by Josiah were there. The food was set out on the table. Josiah pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Ms. Young, please take your medicine," Gloria said as she brought over a glass of water and placed it in front of Yvette.

"Okay." Yvette nodded and swallowed it.

Josiah frowned. "What medicine are you taking?" He remembered that her treatment consisted of IV drips and rehabilitation. There was no oral medication.

"It's for an upset stomach, to help with digestion," Gloria answered before Yvette could.

"Who permitted you to say it?" Yvette frowned and glared at Gloria.

"Was I not supposed to tell Mr. Flynn?" Gloria replied, feeling innocent.

Josiah sensed that something was off. Instead of Yvette, he turned to Gloria. "What's going on? Tell me." Gloria explained truthfully, "Mr.

Flynn, you haven't been back for two days, and Ms. Young has been waiting for you at every meal. She waited until the food went cold and only when she was sure you weren't coming back would she finally eat." Gloria glanced at Yvette before continuing, "She hasn't moved around much, and her digestion is weak. She can't eat food that went cold. As a result, she had diarrhea." "Stop it." Yvette tugged at Gloria's sleeve, then turned to Josiah with a smile. "We're in the middle of a meal. Let's not talk about things that spoil the appetite." Josiah couldn't bring himself to smile. He was aware of what had transpired over the past two days.

Although he couldn't leave Hailey's side, he hadn't replied to Yvette's messages "I'm sorry. If can't make it back in the future, I'll inform you," Josiah said, feeling guilty. Yvette smiled and nodded. "Okay. No need to apologize. Given our relationship, do you think I'd hold that against you?" Josiah frowned and reminded her, "One more thing. Don't eat food that went cold anymore." "Got it. Hurry up and eat while the food is still freshly cooked." Yvette smiled.

Two days later, Rosie underwent surgery. Sienna and Howard waited outside the operating room. As they e waited, Senna turned to Howard She contemplated for a long tand decided to speak up. "Howard, I hope you don't mindmeddling." Hearing that, Howard turned to look at her. "Go ahead."

Sienna uttered, "You should tell Rosie the truth about your identity soom You can't keep the secret forever. Wouldn't it be better if she heard it from you, instead of finding out on her own or from someone else? What do you think?" She was worried that something could happen the longer Howard kept the secret to himself.