Chapter 345: For a Woman, It Serves Him Right
A nurse pushed the gurney quickly toward the hospital room, with Yvonne Donovan following closely beside it.
She reached out and gently brushed the messy strands of hair from Sean Sterling’s forehead. Her fingertips touched his cool skin, and a sharp pain lanced through her heart again.
Simon Sterling followed behind them, his steps heavy. He never approached the gurney.
Usually, Sean Sterling was full of life, even when they argued. He had never looked so frail and weak.
His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and his breathing was so shallow it was barely perceptible. He had no vitality at all.
The anger in Simon Sterling’s heart gradually faded, replaced by a heavy ache of heartache and regret. But years of maintaining his authority and pride prevented him from showing even a hint of it in front of others.
Entering the VIP room, the nurse skillfully settled Sean Sterling in, adjusted the speed of his IV drip, and carefully went over some instructions with the family before leaving.
The room fell silent. The only sounds were the slow, dripping medicine in the IV tube, mixed with the patter of the unceasing light rain outside, creating a particularly somber atmosphere.
Yvonne Donovan pulled over a chair and sat by the bed, holding Sean Sterling’s hand—the one without the IV.
"My son, how could you be so foolish? Was it worth it, torturing yourself like this for a woman?"
Her heart ached for her son’s devotion, but she hated even more that he didn’t cherish his own body. He could have been living the good life as the young master of the Sterling family, but instead, he had pushed himself to this state over a relationship they didn’t approve of.
"There are so many girls out there better than Isla Griffith. Why are you so hopelessly stubborn?"
"This time, no one drove her away; she chose to leave on her own. She left without a word, without any regard for your feelings. How long are you going to remain this obsessed?"
Simon Sterling stood at the window with his back to the bed, his hands clasped behind him. He gazed out at the rain-slicked night, refusing to turn and look at his son.
He was afraid that if he turned around and saw Sean Sterling’s haggard appearance, his entire facade of indifference would instantly crumble.
He was even more afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control his anxiety and heartache, and would lose the authority he usually commanded.
Even though his heart was filled with concern, he maintained his stern, fatherly posture.
Adrian Lancaster stood by the hospital bed, looking from the silent Simon Sterling to the tear-streaked face of Yvonne Donovan, before looking away helplessly.
Every family has its own problems. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know where to start.
After she finished speaking, Yvonne Donovan looked up, wiped her tears, and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Then, her gaze fell upon Adrian Lancaster.
"Adrian, thank you so much for everything today. It’s been a long night, and you must be tired. You should go home and rest. Your uncle and I will watch over things here; you don’t need to trouble yourself to stay."
Adrian replied, "Aunt Yvonne, we’re family. There’s no need to be so formal."
He felt a little guilty and confessed honestly.
"To be honest, I’m partly to blame for my cousin getting so agitated. I said some harsh things to him at home, and I didn’t expect..."
Yvonne Donovan didn’t blame Adrian Lancaster.
"Your aunt knows this has nothing to do with you. The root cause, the main culprit, is Isla Griffith. She’s the one who did this to Sean. That woman’s methods are truly something else."
Adrian wanted to say a few words in Isla Griffith’s defense. "Aunt Yvonne, actually..."
Yvonne, weary in her heart, waved her hand dismissively. She didn’t want to hear it.
"Don’t say anything more. Go home. Wren and the children are waiting for you. Don’t make them worry."
Simon Sterling, who had been silent all this time, finally turned around.
"Adrian, listen to your aunt. Go home and rest. We don’t need so many people here. I’ll contact you if anything changes."
Seeing this, Adrian no longer insisted and nodded.
"Alright then. Uncle, Aunt, I’ll head home. Call me anytime if you need help with anything."
"Okay. The rain hasn’t stopped, so be careful on the road. Tell the driver to go slowly."
"Okay."
Adrian took one last look at Sean Sterling on the bed, then turned and left with a heavy heart.
Now, only the three members of the Sterling family were left in the room.
Yvonne Donovan continued her vigil by the bed.
Simon Sterling remained standing at the window, his back straight but exuding a sense of loneliness.
"Simon, you can stop putting up a front." Yvonne Donovan could no longer hold back. She broke the silence, her voice choked with tears.
"Our son is this sick, and you won’t even come over to look at him."
Simon Sterling’s shoulders tensed slightly, and his Adam’s apple bobbed a few times.
"He deserves it, all for a woman. I don’t have such a worthless son."
Despite his words, his tightly clenched fists and trembling shoulders had already betrayed the turmoil in his heart.
It wasn’t that his heart didn’t ache for him; he just couldn’t bring himself to show it. He was furious at Sean Sterling’s obsession, furious that he had abandoned his family and torn himself to pieces for an imperfect relationship.
Yvonne Donovan looked at her husband’s cold, tense back, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
"’He deserves it?’ Simon, are you trying to kill me with those words? Sean is our only son, how could you say that about him!"
"You care about him more than anyone, yet you insist on saying such heartless things. Who are you trying to scare?"
"If you’re just going to stand there with that cold look on your face, you might as well go home. We don’t need you here."
Simon Sterling’s hands, hanging at his sides, slowly unclenched, but his knuckles were still white.
"What good does my concern do? He only has eyes for that woman. Has he ever listened to a single word we’ve said?"
"For Isla Griffith, how many times has he fought with us? How many times has he defied us? And now he’s reduced himself to this state. If that’s not worthless, what is?"
"Don’t you dare say my son is worthless!" Yvonne Donovan retorted angrily, her tone fierce.
"He’s lying in that hospital bed right now. If something were to happen to him, could you live with yourself for the rest of your life? Are you trying to drive him to his death?"
Her words stabbed into Simon Sterling’s heart like a needle. He spun around, and a crack appeared in the cold indifference in his eyes.
"Me, forcing him?" he began in a low voice, a note of helplessness in his tone that even he hadn’t noticed.
"He’s the one forcing himself! I just want him to wake up. I want him to understand that no one is so indispensable that you can’t live without them. There’s no need to ruin your life for a woman, but he won’t listen!"
"Do you think I want this?" Simon Sterling finally looked toward the bed. His gaze fell on Sean Sterling’s pale face, and all his harshness crumbled in that instant, his eyes filled with an unconcealable ache.
"I’m his father. I want him to be well more than anyone. But he’s disappointed me so much, time and again, disregarding this family, disregarding his own health, all for that woman."
"Disappointment is disappointment, but Sean is still our son." Yvonne Donovan’s vision blurred with tears once more.
She had never imagined things would come to this. She truly couldn’t accept it.
"He’s the only son I have. I can’t let anything happen to him."
"When Sean wakes up, we’ll talk to him gently. We’ll speak with him calmly. We absolutely must not scold him, and don’t scold Isla Griffith either."
"As long as my son is okay, that’s more important than anything else."
Simon Sterling walked over and stopped at the foot of the bed, looking at Sean Sterling with a pained heart.
"But what if he still insists that it has to be Isla Griffith, what if he remains obsessed? What are we supposed to do then? Agree to let him marry her?"
Yvonne Donovan froze, speechless. Her tears fell even faster.