Chapter 39
1006 Words
Her father's harsh question made Ruby's eyes narrow before she could respond. Natalia's soft voice came from the bed.
“Is that Ruby?”
Warren, let her in.
“You'd better not upset my wife again.”
Ruby ignored him and walked straight to Natalia.
“I already told you this has nothing to do with Ruby,” Natalia said gently, holding Ruby's hand.
“I'm just exhausted from days of poor sleep.”
“Sweetheart, were you frightened today?”
Ruby managed a faint smile.
“I'm just glad you're okay.”
“You should come home more often,” Natalia said warmly, settling back against the pillows.
“And your husband. Your mother may call him useless, but I know better. You've always had good judgment.”
“I'm sure he's not so bad. Bring him to meet me someday.”
Ruby's eyes burned.
“Yes, ma'am,” she whispered.
Since people found out that she was married, all she received was scorn and humiliation.
Natalia was the only one who had shown her any kindness.
Natalia tried to say more, but another coughing fit cut her off.
“That's enough talking,” Warren said firmly.
“Nap. You need rest.”
Ruby nodded and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small plastic bottle filled with white pills.
She pressed it into Natalia's hand.
“I had someone get this for me. It's for your cough.”
“If you can't sleep tonight, take one. It should help.”
Natalia accepted it gratefully.
“Thank you, darling.”
Not wanting to disturb her any longer, Ruby said goodbye and left.
After she was gone, Natalia stared at the bottle in her palm and sighed.
“See.”
“Ruby does care. I know her heart.”
Warren scoffed.
“If she cared, would she have stayed away for ten years? Don't tell me you're falling for this act, just because she brought you a cheap pill from some back-alley clinic.”
He snatched the bottle from her and tossed it into the trash can.
“I heard that there's a specialized cough medicine in clinical trials. I'll pull some strings and get my hands on it for you.”
The light in Natalia's eyes dimmed.
“You believe those rumors too?”
“Chronic neurogenic cough is a rare disease. Who would bother developing a d**g for it?”
“They'd never earn back the R&D costs.”
Warren squeezed her hand.
“We have to try.”
“You're up all night, coughing.”
“You can't sleep.”
“It's wearing you down, and it hurts me to see.”
Natalia could only manage a weak nod.
Late that night, Natalia woke to another violent coughing fit.
Too exhausted to sleep, she turned onto her side and pressed a pillow to her mouth, careful not to wake Warren in the next room.
Not again.
Her suffering went unseen, with no cure for her chronic cough and symptoms growing worse.
Sleepless nights fed her anxiety, sometimes pushing her toward dark thoughts.
Only stubborn willpower had kept her going this long.
But she didn't know how much longer she could fight.
Lately, she felt her life slipping away day by day.
“I don't know how much longer I can hold on,” she whispered.
“Will I even live to see Izzie get married?”
Her gaze drifted grimly to the trash can, landing on the small bottle Ruby had given her.
On impulse, she got out of bed and reached for it.
Her hands trembling as she fished it out, she opened the lid.
Shook out a pill and swallowed it dry.
At once, a cool sensation spread through her throat.
The burning eased.
The itch faded like a breath of cool air after heat.
The relief was immediate, but all of a sudden, another coughing fit racked her body.
A bitter smile touched her lips as she got back into bed.
For a moment, she truly believed the pill had worked.
“Just wishful thinking,” she murmured, closing her eyes.
For over 20 years, she had tried countless medicines and seen endless specialists.
None had helped, and maybe nothing ever would.
“Nat, Nat, wake up.”
A voice called frantically.
Natalia slowly opened her eyes to see Warren standing by her bed.
The room was as bright as day.
“What time is it?” she squinted.
“Ten in the morning,” Warren exclaimed, his face edged with worry.
“You need to eat something before your blood sugar drops.”
Natalia froze.
Turning her head, she realized the light wasn't from the hospital fixtures.
It was sunlight streaming through the window.
“Did I really sleep through the whole night?” she cried.
“That's impossible.”
Her mind immediately jumped to one thing.
It had to be the medicine Ruby gave me.
Nearby, Nancy wiped at her eyes.
Smiling through her excitement.
“Madam, the sleeping pills the doctor prescribed yesterday worked wonders. You slept for a full 10 hours.”
Natalia frowned slightly.
“Sleeping pills?”
“What sleeping pills?”
Nancy turned toward Isabel.
“Mr. Carter arranged them. When he heard you couldn't sleep, he managed to get some strong sleeping pills and had them added to your medicine.”
“We didn't tell you because we were afraid you'd worry too much and they wouldn't work.”
“We never imagined they'd work this well.”
Natalia fell silent, thinking it through.
Was that it?
She wondered.
But sleeping pills just help you sleep.
And my throat, it feels so much better today.
Her gaze drifted to the nightstand, stopping on the small, unlabeled vial.
I'll test it, she decided quietly.
Tonight, I'll only take the sleeping pills, not Ruby's pill.
Then I'll know which one truly helped.
With her mind made up, Natalia said nothing.
And looked at Isabel with satisfaction.
“That boy really is a gem.”
- Writer
