Chapter 149 - 147: Utterly Shameless
Charlene Miller was engrossed in her phone call, but it wasn’t hard for Cecilia Sterling to hear the scheming against Director Lawson in everything she said.
’No wonder.’
’No wonder she hadn’t shown the slightest bit of urgency when Director Lawson collapsed. The signs had been there all along. Now that she knew he had a rare disease, she was even more brazenly scheming for their property and their daughter’s custody.’
’There was a living, breathing person lying in that hospital bed! Director Lawson wasn’t dead yet!’
However, despite her indignation, Cecilia was still rational. She knew that no matter what, it wasn’t her place to interfere. ’Besides, maybe Director Lawson already knows.’
Until she knew what Director Lawson himself thought, Cecilia understood that as his student—an outsider—she had no say in the matter.
Instead of pushing open the fire exit door, Cecilia turned and left without a sound.
Just as she got back to the inpatient wing, she ran into Blair, who was on his way out.
"Hey, I sent you a message. Why didn’t you reply?" Blair asked, looking surprised the moment he saw her. "I just did a loop around the inpatient wing and couldn’t find you anywhere."
Cecilia belatedly pulled out her phone. Sure enough, there was a message from Blair she hadn’t seen. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "I wasn’t paying attention."
Blair, of course, wasn’t blaming her. But seeing that she seemed a bit out of it, he asked tentatively, "What’s wrong? Is your advisor’s condition not good?"
Cecilia sighed. ’I can’t say it’s not good, since his life isn’t in immediate danger. But I can’t say it’s good, either. There’s really nothing to be optimistic about.’
"It’s much more serious than I expected," was all Cecilia could say.
Seeing that Cecilia was in a bad mood and didn’t seem to want to talk about it, Blair just gently patted her on the shoulder. "I’ll go up with you, then."
"Did you get to see your mentor’s wife?"
Blair nodded. "Yeah. She’s in the ICU, so I couldn’t go in. I could only catch a glimpse from outside."
Cecilia gave a bitter, wry smile. "You don’t need to comfort me. I should be the one comforting you."
The condition of Blair’s mentor’s wife was clearly much worse than Director Lawson’s.
But Blair just shook his head, unconcerned. "It’s okay. I came to terms with it a long time ago. If you can’t run from something, you just have to face it."
Cecilia strongly agreed with that. ’Running away is useless, because what’s meant to be will be.’
When they returned to the room, John Lawson had already finished the breakfast Cecilia had brought. It seemed his appetite was unaffected.
"Did you find the doctor? What did they say?"
Mrs. Lawson quickly stood up and asked when she saw Cecilia return.
John Lawson also looked toward Cecilia, waiting for her to speak.
Cecilia did her best to appear calm, trying not to let her emotions show. She looked at Director Lawson and said, "The doctor said it’s a rather rare disease. It will likely require medication to keep it under control."
She tried to explain the condition in the simplest terms, afraid of scaring his mother.
The elderly woman didn’t quite process it at first and asked instinctively, "So, is it serious or not?"
Before Cecilia could answer, John Lawson cut in. "It means it’s fine. Nothing serious. Mom, don’t you worry."
He kept his eyes on Cecilia the entire time he spoke.
Cecilia understood Director Lawson’s intention and nodded in agreement. "It’s nothing to worry about, Grandma."
A short while later, John Lawson made an excuse to send his mother out of the room. Only then did he turn to Cecilia with a serious expression. "Tell me the truth. What’s really going on?"
There was no hiding it; the doctor would be by later to explain everything to Director Lawson anyway. So Cecilia told him everything, sticking to the main points since she couldn’t explain the technical jargon.
She expected Director Lawson to be devastated after hearing his diagnosis, but to her surprise, he just listened, nodded, and smiled calmly. "Phew, and here I was thinking I was about to die. This doesn’t sound so bad, does it?"
For a moment, Cecilia couldn’t tell if he was genuinely relaxed or just putting on a brave face. She looked at him and said hesitantly, "Director Lawson, it’s a rare disease."
"I know. But it’s not like it’s going to kill me anytime soon, is it?" John Lawson said with a chuckle.
He wasn’t wrong. Cecilia nodded. "The doctor said there are targeted therapies from overseas that are very effective at keeping it under control."
A little while later, Charlene Miller finally made her belated appearance, strolling into the room.
Upon entering, she noticed Cecilia and couldn’t help but give her a second glance. This time, Cecilia didn’t say hello, merely offering a slight nod in acknowledgment.
"Where’s your mom?" Charlene Miller asked, turning to John Lawson.
"I sent her home to get me some things," John Lawson said, then looked at Charlene Miller. "Did you take Yvette to school this morning?"
Charlene Miller nodded. Then she sat down in the chair by the bed and, getting straight to the point, blurted out to John Lawson, "That divorce settlement we agreed on? I filed a motion with the court to withdraw it this morning."
Her saying this so openly in front of others made John Lawson freeze.
He instinctively glanced at Cecilia and Blair beside her, his brow furrowed. "Do you really have to bring this up right now?"
"It’s not some dirty secret. What are you so afraid of?" Charlene Miller said dismissively.
At this, Cecilia stood up. "Director Lawson, perhaps we should step out?"
John Lawson sighed, his expression complicated. Finally, he gave a resigned shake of his head. "Just sit. There’s nothing to hide."
Then he turned back to Charlene Miller, his face cold. "What do you mean you withdrew the agreement? You’ve decided not to get a divorce?"
"Oh, we’re definitely still getting a divorce. I’m just not satisfied with the previous agreement. We need to draw up a new one."
John Lawson’s expression hardened at her words. "Not satisfied?" he demanded, bewildered. "What could you possibly be unsatisfied with?"
"I’m not satisfied with any of it," Charlene Miller said, her voice rising. "Now that you have this disease, I have a huge advantage in fighting for Yvette’s custody. If the court awards her to me, I’ll be under immense financial pressure. So, I get the kid, and I get the house. As for our savings, we’ll split it seventy-thirty. I get seventy, you get thirty."
"In your dreams!"
Faced with Charlene Miller’s brazen and self-righteous unreasonableness, even the normally good-tempered John Lawson exploded with rage. "Don’t even think about it! Custody of Yvette has to be mine!"
"John Lawson, get a grip!" Charlene Miller retorted relentlessly. "If you have an attack and no one’s around, you could die! How is Yvette supposed to live with you? You want to drop dead in front of her?"
’The cold, callous way she kept throwing around the word "die" made it obvious that she couldn’t care less whether John Lawson lived or died.’
’She was even using his illness as leverage to take away the daughter he cherished most. This woman was absolutely shameless!’
Even Blair, who was just listening on the sidelines, was stunned. ’Is she even human, saying things like that?’