Chapter 42
1187 Words
While Natalia's hospital suite was shrouded in tension,
Matilda's was lively and full of conversation.
“What did we have for lunch today?” she mused out loud, straining her brain to remember.
“Porridge… No, that's not it. It was noodles, right?”
Owen nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
“That's right.”
Grandma Matilda beamed proudly.
“See, I told you I'm fine. My mind is sharp as ever.”
Owen remained silent.
His smile was hollow.
They'd eaten rice for lunch, but Matilda had forgotten again.
Her memory was deteriorating with each passing day, and he didn't know how to stop it.
From across the room, Ruby asked lazily,
“Grandma, what color was Mr. Knight's tie yesterday?”
Matilda frowned.
“Sweetie, I don't like that. You call him Mr. Knight.”
She turned to Owen and added,
“And you, why can't you call your wife by her name?”
Seeing her agitation, Owen jumped in without complaints.
“You're right, Grandma. I'm sorry, Ruby, and I will do better.”
Ruby bit back the strange warmth in her heart when he called her name.
She nodded and played along.
“All right, Grandma, what color was Owen's tie yesterday?”
Matilda answered instantly.
“Purple. That rascal is so particular.”
“He even wore his diamond cuff links.”
“And the day before?” Ruby urged.
“Blue. I bought him that tie myself.”
Matilda grinned triumphantly.
Ruby offered Owen a faint smile.
“See, Grandma remembers the things she cares about perfectly.”
“So don't read into the little things.”
She smiled.
Owen's eyes softened as he observed her lounging on the bean bag chair.
That small smile, framed by her flowing dark hair, left him spellbound for a moment.
He knew she was trying to comfort him in her own cool and reserved way.
And just like that, the knot of anxiety in his chest began to loosen.
Matilda then turned to Owen.
“Did you hear that? She remembers what you wear every single day.”
“Isn't that love?”
Ruby froze.
Her cheeks flushing.
“No, that's not it. I just have a photographic memory.”
She wanted to scream, but it felt wrong to disrupt the old lady's joy.
Ruby didn't notice how red Owen's ears had turned.
As he hid behind his laptop, she went back to her phone, trying to focus on her work.
The final stages of her Alzheimer's research had hit a wall, and she needed to gather some new study material.
A few minutes later, she stood up and stretched.
“I'm going to go for a walk.”
She scooped up Kitty and went to the garden downstairs.
Right when she was leashing the dog, someone tapped her shoulder.
She turned to see a scruffy, middle-aged man with a sickening smile.
“Well, niece. Long time no see.”
Ruby's expression turned to ice.
It was her uncle, Shane.
Sheila's younger brother.
He was a deadbeat with a serious gambling problem.
A foul stench rolled off him as he spoke, flashing a set of big yellow teeth that made her stomach turn.
Ruby instinctively took a step back.
“What are you doing here?”
Shane rubbed his hands together.
“You're with the Knights now. Your uncle needs cash. Spot me some.”
Ruby sneered.
Sheila had spent years bailing out her brother.
Clinging to the Anderson family and funneling every dollar they gave her straight to him.
Once Ruby left the Andersons, Shane kept hitting her up for cash.
Each ask more brazen than the last.
He finally got the hint.
She was flat broke and quit calling.
But now he was back.
“I don't have any,” Ruby said flatly.
“You've been taking care of that rich old lady, and she hasn't given you anything?”
Shane's face split into a greasy smile.
“I know you'll eventually reap the rewards of your devotion.”
“And if you give me a nice cut, I'll tell you a delicious secret.”
With that, he shuffled away, keeping his eerie grin.
Ruby's eyes narrowed.
The man was a lying cheat.
There was no way she'd fall for his act.
Even the secret was probably just another scheme.
Just then her phone rang.
It was Natalia.
She picked up instantly.
“Yes, Mrs. Anderson?”
In a different corner of the hospital, Isabel had been frantically pacing in Natalia's room.
“I need to secure my position with the Knight family, and for that, I desperately need Dr. N's help.”
She wrung her hands anxiously.
Why haven't they responded to any of Mom's messages today?
Carter had already messaged her several times asking for an update.
She was running out of excuses.
Isabel suddenly stopped pacing.
She crept up to her mother's bedside and snatched Natalia's phone from the nightstand, then retreated into the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, she found N in the contacts and pressed the call button.
The voice on the other end was cool and crisp.
“Yes, Mrs. Anderson. Is everything all right?”
Isabel froze, recognizing that voice immediately.
“Ruby?”
She stared at the phone screen once more, stunned.
Ruby's voice on the other end instantly turned icy.
“Isabel, why are you calling from Mrs. Anderson's phone?”
Isabel was utterly confused.
“Is this your N in her contacts?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Ruby retorted impatiently.
Isabel's realization soon filled her with rage.
“You're such a pathetic suck-up,” she hissed.
“Getting so close to my mother that she saves you with a special initial.”
“Hovering around her like some desperate shadow.”
“You don't deserve her attention.”
Standing in the garden, Ruby's expression fell.
She had chosen the alias Doctor N partly for Natalia, but also for herself.
She'd always cherished their similar sounding names despite their lack of biological connection.
“Did you just call to tell me that?” she asked flatly.
“Of course not.”
Isabel's pretense shattered, her voice turning vicious.
“I'm just reminding you that even though you manipulated Matilda to get close to Owen, you'll remain nothing but his plaything.”
“He has a wife, Ruby, and it's not you.”
“I'll soon become the real Mrs. Knight through Carter.”
Ruby paused for a moment, then snorted.
“Well, congratulations.”
“I guess.”
Isabel, frustrated by Ruby's indifference, snarled.
“The Knights only care about influence.”
“With Dr. N in my back pocket, I'll always win.”
With that, she angrily hung up.
Ruby burst into laughter.
“Me in Isabel's back pocket?”
“Since when?”
As she appreciated the irony, her phone buzzed with another call.
This was on her second SIM card, which was her business line.
It was Isabel calling through Natalia's phone once more.
Ruby smirked and activated her voice modulator.
“Hello.”
- Writer
