Too Much to Bear, My Love
Chapter 28

Tiffany's operation had been going on for about nine hours before thered lights above the door finally extinguished. As the group of doctorswalked out of the operating theatre, Amelia rushed up to them andasked anxiously, “Doctor, how is my friend?”

“Things are not looking so good. While we managed to save her, westill need to observe her for forty-eight hours in the intensive care unit.If she can wake up then, she'll be fine. Otherwise, she might just remainin a vegetative state. Miss, I suggest that you make some preparations.”Amelia was completely dumbfounded. Clutching onto the doctor's arm,she continued asking worriedly, “What do you mean, Doctor? What doyou mean by “vegetative state?’ She's such a good person; she can't bereduced to that state!”

Tiffany was her best friend and her family. While she could con moneyout of anybody with her face and her words, Tiffany was that oneperson that she could never lie to. In this cold and unfamiliar city, theyonly had each other to rely on.

Now that Tiffany was about to fall into a vegetative state because ofher, she found herself driven to the brink of insanity. Her stomachknotted up in pain as beads of perspiration dotted her forehead.Jimmy came forward to support and console her, “Mrs. Clinton, calmdown. I'm sure Ms. Winters will be alright.”

The doctors were also sympathizing with her as they said, “Miss, pleasecalm down. We will definitely do all we can to heal your friend.”

Amelia leaned weakly against Jimmy as her stomach hurt more by thesecond. In the end, she lost consciousness.

When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself on a hospital bedwith Jimmy staring at her. When she saw that Amelia was awake, shesaid, “Mrs. Clinton, the doctor says you're three months pregnant.”Amelia's pale face turned cold and she looked at Jimmy defensively.“What are you trying to do?”

Jimmy looked at her curiously and said solemnly, “Mrs. Clinton, this isgood news. I'm sure Mr. Clinton will be overjoyed to hear it.”

Amelia calmed down and stared at Jimmy quietly. “Jimmy, let's be frankwith each other. You know my relationship with Mr. Clinton very well. Ifhe replaces out that I'm pregnant, he'll definitely ask me to abort it. You'rea woman too; I don't think you can bear to see a child being denied thevery basic chance to live, right?”

Jimmy nodded and broke out into a smile. “Mrs. Clinton, I understandwhere you're coming from. My job here is to take care of you, and itdoes not include telling Mr. Clinton about your pregnancy. Therefore,you don't need to worry.”

Amelia heaved a sigh of relief and said sincerely, “Jimmy, I'm so sorryfor misunderstanding you. Also, thank you!"

Jimmy shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “Don't say that; I didn't doanything anyway. Even though I've never had children, I do like them.Anyway, as an outsider, I'm in no position to help you decide whetherto tell Mr. Clinton about your pregnancy.”

Color finally returned to Amelia's face.

“No matter what, I still want to thank you,” Amelia said earnestly.

She then continued, “Oh yes, how long did I sleep for? And how's Tiff?"Jimmy said, “You were asleep for about three hours. The doctor saidthat you were too agitated, hence you fainted. But don't worry, yourbaby is fine. About your friend, the doctor says they need to observeher for another forty-eight hours first.”

The atmosphere became chilly instantly.

Jimmy faked a cough and changed the topic. “Mr. Clinton called andsaid that he was already on the plane. He should be able to come andsee you within two hours.”

Amelia merely nodded. “Can I be discharged now?"

Jimmy shook her head. “The doctor says they have to observe you alittle more, and you can only be discharged if they're completely certainthat you're fine. Don't worry, I told Mr. Clinton that you sustained aminor injury from the car accident as well. He won't suspect anything.”Amelia smiled weakly and said, “Thank you, Jimmy!"

“Mr. Clinton pays my salary and it's my job to take care of you. Don'tkeep thanking me, or it'll just get awkward.”

“Alright.”

Oscar arrived an hour earlier than expected. When he came into theroom, he looked at Amelia and said coldly, “Why didn't you mentionthat you were injured yesterday?”

Amelia smiled coquettishly and said, “Mr. Clinton, are you worriedabout me now?”

Jimmy left the room quietly when she saw that they were launchinginto some flirtatious banter.

Oscar removed his jacket and draped it across the chair before sittingdown to ask her, “Where's your injury?”

Amelia glanced at him and suddenly opened up her arms whilefeigning weakness. “I was nearly shocked to death by the accidentyesterday. I thought I would never see you again. Could you give me ahug, please?”

Oscar's eyes grew chilly but he still stood up and drew her into hisarms. His right arm hovered for a good ten seconds before it loweredto pat her back gently. “With me here, no one will dare to bully you.”Amelia leaned into his chest quietly. The warmth from his body helpedto calm her nerves, which were rattled by Tiffany's unconscious state.

A vague smile emerged on Oscar's face at the rare sight of her being socompliant and submissive.

“Were you really shocked? And what's this whining all about? You're afull-grown woman, aren't you?” He was being unusually gentle as well.Amelia looked up at him through her bleary eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, it's just that I feel that you're extra gentle today. You'rebehaving just like a husband who is caring tenderly for his injured wife.”Oscar flicked her forehead. “You silly girl. I'm your husband, aren“t 1?Amelia was astounded. Is this really Oscar? Or is this a stranger who justtook on Oscar's appearance?

“Did you hurt your head in that accident?” Oscar smiled.

She shook her head and feigned nonchalance. “Mr. Clinton, if you hadbeen this gentle to me from the beginning, I'd probably have fallenhead over heels for you by now.”

Oscar merely shot a glance at her and said, “Rest well. I'll go replace outmore from the doctor.”

She clutched his arm and pleaded, “Mr. Clinton, stay with me. Thedoctor said that I was just shocked, that's all.”

He then sat down. “Did they arrest the culprit?”

She shook her head and said despondently, “It was a hit and run. Hebetter pray that Tiff is fine. Otherwise, I'll hunt him down to the ends ofthis earth to make him pay for what he has done.”

Oscar was amused to see her ferocious side.

“I'll definitely get the police to replace that culprit immediately,” Oscar said.Amelia got up and attempted to get off the bed, only to be stopped byOscar. “What are you trying to do?”

“I want to go and see Tiff.”

“I'll come with you.”

Oscar accompanied Amelia to the intensive care unit located on thethird floor. Through the glass window, Amelia looked at Tiffany, whosebody was surrounded by tubes. She could not help but be overcomewith sorrow, as Tiffany would not have been so severely injured if notfor her.

Oscar drew her into his arms and said, “With a good friend like youlooking after her, she'll be fine.”

Amelia's eyes were red as she murmured, “I've known her for a longtime. She's a freelance writer and her days and nights are usuallyreversed. However, whenever something happens to me, she'll sacrificeher sleep just to be with me. This time, she got so seriously injuredbecause she pushed me away from danger. I'll never forgive myself ifanything happens to her!”

Oscar looked indifferently at the woman in the room. “Don't cry. I'llmake a call to the best doctor from Anglandur to come and performsurgery on her. In Anglandur, James is the most authoritative specialistin this field. With him here, your friend will be alright.”

To be honest, Oscar did not know Tiffany very well. They had shared acouple of meals and to him, she was a pretty yet quiet woman. Otherthan that, she had not left much of an impression on him.

“Mr. Clinton, I thank you on behalf of my friend,” Amelia said sincerely.“You're my woman.”

Amelia's heart was warm. Even though she did not know how sincerehe really was, she was still his wife at this very moment. That was all sheneeded now, and she could only handle the rest one step at a time.

At night, Tiffany started to convulse wildly, setting off all the machines.All of the doctors and nurses were there and they immediately pushedher into the operating theatre. The medical team hired personally byOscar had also arrived. They went into the operation theatre after abrief exchange with Oscar.

Amelia stood in front of the operating theatre with her pale face andclasped hands as she muttered, “Tiffany, you need to get better. Youmust survive this.”

Oscar's heart ached to see her in this state. He pulled her into his armsand comforted her, “Relax, she'll be fine.”

Finally, Amelia broke down and sobbed, “How do I explain to herparents if anything happens to her? When she came to the city with meback then, I promised her parents that I'd take good care of her. Butnow, she’s in this state because she tried to save me. What should Ido?"

Oscar frowned and was flustered because of Amelia's tears. “Don’t cry.With me here, I guarantee that she'll be fine.”

Amelia continued crying as her coquettish behavior vanish. Instead, shewas just a normal woman who was overcome with fear of her familymember leaving her.

Oscar held her tight and kept her company as they waited outside theoperation theatre. Because of Amelia, he was also silently worried aboutTiffany. He did not know where these emotions came from, but he justdid not want to see Amelia cry.

His conclusion was that Amelia was still his woman. As a man, heshould not allow his woman to cry.

The operation took five hours. When the doors finally swung open, thedoctors and nurses walked out with exhausted faces. Amelia ran up tothem and clutched the leading doctor's hand, “Dr. Leonard, how's myfriend?”

Dr. Leonard smiled. “She's alright for now. We'll observe her for anothertwenty-four hours. If she wakes up, she can be transferred to a regularward."

Amelia cried out emotionally, “Thank you, doctors!”

Dr. Leonard continued, “You don't have to thank us, Mrs. Clinton. Mr.Clinton is a major shareholder of this hospital, and your friend wassaved because he pulled some strings to bring a notable doctor likeJames here.”

Amelia continued smiling.

Tiffany was pushed out of the operating theatre by the nurses. Ameliafollowed them as Tiffany was brought back to the intensive care unit. Asshe looked at Tiffany through the glass window once more, she finallyfelt a lot more relaxed.