A Second Chance at Forever

Chapter 1430
When Cedric arrived, the surgery had already begun. Aidyn and Scott stood rigidly outside the emergency room, waiting
anxiously for news.
Eleanor sat on a chair nearby, stroking her slightly rounded belly with one hand, while the other gripped the armrest tightly. The
knuckles on her gripping hand were white from the pressure, standing out starkly against her skin.
Her complexion was far from rosy. The days of confinement had taken their toll, with little decent food or rest. And now, having
finally been reunited with Bernard, she was faced with his injury, which kept her nerves taut with worry.
Thankfully, the doctor had said the bullet had hit his shoulder and missed all vital organs, which was the only thing keeping her
from collapsing.
While Eleanor looked like she hadn’t had a good meal in ages, Hailey, also pregnant, had gained a fair amount of weight. Cedric
wasn’t one to sympathize with other women, but even he couldn’t help frowning at the sight of his exhausted sister-in-law.
“Eleanor,” Cedric approached her, suggesting she return to the hotel to rest. “You look beat. You should head back and catch
some Z’s.”
Eleanor’s gaze shifted from the door of the emergency room to Cedric. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
But no matter how tired, she needed to see Bernard through his surgery and know he was out of the woods before she could
relax. When Eleanor set her mind to something, she was as stubborn as her brother, and after a few attempts to persuade her to
no avail, Cedric dropped it.
“I’ll have someone arrange a resting room for you,” he said, not waiting for her agreement before waving over a hospital staff
member to make it happen.
They were on the outskirts of the Golden Sea District, and a little money could make many things happen quickly.
As Cedric was convincing Eleanor to go to the resting room, the emergency room doors swung open and the doctor emerged.
“How is he?” Cedric asked immediately.
Eleanor, mustering her strength, approached as well, her eyes pleading with the doctor for good news.
“Did the surgery go well?”

The doctor removed his mask, revealing a confident smile. “The surgery was a success. He’s been moved to recovery. You can
see him now.”
The four of them outside the emergency room finally exhaled in relief, especially Eleanor, whose tension snapped, leaving her
feeling as light as a bubble and suddenly weak. Her worries dissipated alongside her tension.
As she intended to follow the others to Bernard’s room, a sharp kick from her unborn child caused her to pause, her hand
against the wall for support.
The men, preoccupied, hurried ahead to the room, unaware of her discomfort.
In his hospital bed, Bernard was just coming to. His eyes flitted open, but not seeing Eleanor immediately made him paler than
he had been during the operation.
He thought something had happened to her, his heart plummeting into a cold abyss, chilling him to the bone. Ignoring the pain in
his shoulder, he attempted to rise, causing Aidyn, Scott, and Cedric to rush to his side to hold him down.
“Easy, sir. You just got out of surgery. Don’t move,” Aidyn cautioned, but Bernard’s shoulder started bleeding again, soaking the
white gauze red. He seemed not to notice.
“Where’s Eleanor?”
His voice was weak from the anesthesia, and he couldn’t shake off the men’s hands, so he clutched at Cedric’s arm instead.
His eyes bore an intense ‘if anyone’s messed with my wife, I’ll take them down’ kind of fury.
“Did Yates take her again?”
Cedric thought Bernard was just asking for the bathroom; he didn’t realize Bernard was so worked up because he didn’t see his
wife.
“Bernard...” Before Cedric could say more, Eleanor, leaning on the wall for support, made her way to the door of the room. When
Bernard saw her frail silhouette, his worried heart eased, and his expression softened.
“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured him with a shake of her head and then gestured to her belly. “The baby’s just doing a happy dance in
there since he heard the surgery went well.”
Bernard’s gaze softened as he looked at her belly. “When he comes out, I’ll have to teach him a lesson.”
*Eleanor, now inside the room, shot him a wry look at his words. “Thinking about disciplining the baby before he’s even born?
Who
does that?”
She murmured before noticing his bleeding shoulder.
“Why’s it bleeding again?” Frowning, she bent down to touch the stained gauze. “I’ll get the doctor.”
Bernard caught her hand, pulling it into his own.
“It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Aidyn and Scott, who had been enjoying this intimate moment between the couple, suddenly realized they were being subtly told
to get moving.
“Uh, I’ll go get the doctor,” Aidyn said.
“Yeah, and I’ll grab some snacks,” Scott added, as they both made a quick exit.
This left Cedric, who was trying to decipher the look in Bernard’s eyes.
“Cedric.”
“Yeah?” Cedric leaned in, expecting some profound words from Bernard, and sat expectantly at the edge of the bed.
“What’s up?”
Bernard spoke in his low, magnetic voice, simply instructing, “Head back home. Take care of Hailey.”
Cedric stared at his brother for a few seconds, coming to understand the old saying – Useful tools are brought to the front; the
useless ones get left in the dust.