SWNOVELS Chapter 28
Chapter 28
“What’s wrong, sis?” Haylan furrowed his brow as he looked at Floris with concern.
“It’s nothing. My husband is working overtime today and can’t come to take care of our child. I can handle it alone,” Floris forced
a smile to hide her inner turmoil.
Despite her efforts, the smile on Floris’s face looked lonely and betrayed her inner turmoil.
Haylan’s frown deepened as he noticed it.
He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was amiss between Floris and her husband, but since she didn’t elaborate
further, he didn’t feel comfortable probing.
Just then, a nurse walked into the room and addressed Floris with a cold tone, “Floris Hammond, you need to pay the bill now.”
Floris asked politely, “Excuse me, how much is it?”
“4,600 dollars. And remember, you cannot give your child any food or water after 10 PM tonight. The surgery is scheduled for
tomorrow!” the nurse replied sternly.
“Now, please go and settle the payment.”
The nurse left firmly, without any hint of compassion in her voice.
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After the nurse left, Floris looked pale. Her hands trembled as she clutched the edge of the hospital bed, her eyes filling with
tears.
“What’s the matter with Tracy? What sort of ailment is she grappling with that calls for surgery?” Haylan inquired, creasing his
brows with concern.
At the sight, Tracy recoiled in terror and hastily sought refuge behind Floris, obstructing Haylan’s view of the nature of her
affliction.
“She’s grappling with pneumonia and pediatric hernia. While the former can be remedied with injections, the latter necessitates
surgical intervention. Floris conveyed with a troubled countenance.
The thought gnawed at her, causing her anguish as she pondered, “How on earth are we going to come up with the exorbitant
sum of money required?”
“Having acquired some rudimentary medical knowledge over the past eight years, let me examine Tracy. Perhaps there has
been a misdiagnosis.” Haylan suggested with earnestness.
Floris shook her head in dissent. “It’s unnecessary. We’ve already consulted with numerous medical professionals who have
verified the diagnosis, and surgery is the only viable course of action,” she replied firmly.
“I’ll phone my husband and request him to transfer the requisite amount,” she added, determined to leave no stone unturned in
securing the funds for Tracy’s treatment.
As she spoke, she stepped out of the doorway to place the call.
Tracy harbored a palpable apprehension about being alone with Haylan and hence endured the agony of her ailment to remain
steadfastly entrenched in her mother’s comforting embrace.
Regrettably, Haylan’s efforts to examine Tracy privately were foiled, and he was denied the opportunity to assess her condition
without the presence of her mother.
Having exited the ward, Floris absented herself for a prolonged interval to avoid any chance encounter with Haylan and then
whispered furtively on the phone.
“Sir, my daughter is hospitalized, and I urgently need financial assistance. Could you kindly extend a loan to me?” she implored
in a hushed tone.
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“Apologies, Ms. Hammond, but I’m currently experiencing a financial shortfall, came the regretful response from the other end of
the line.
“Madam, my daughter is hospitalized and scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I humbly request your assistance in providing me with
a loan.” She appealed, her voice laced with a sense of urgency and desperation.
“Floris Hammond, are you here to solicit another loan from me? How many times have you approached me for financial
assistance this month? I cannot oblige your request, so kindly leave!” retorted the individual on the other end, his tone brusque
and unsympathetic.
“Landlord, I am in dire need of a loan. Would you be able to extend your assistance?”
“Borrow money, Floris Hammond? You are already three months behind on your rent! Let me warn you, if you fail to pay your
dues by tomorrow, you will be evicted!” bellowed the landlord, his voice resonating with palpable anger and frustration.
“Have you no shame to ask for a loan while you owe me three months’ rent? Outrageous! Begone!” sneered the landlord, his
tone laced with contempt and disdain.
Floris found herself facing insurmountable difficulties in procuring a loan from anyone. Despite reaching out to over thirty
individuals, she was met with nothing but refusals and reluctance to extend any form of financial assistance.
Desperate and on the brink of tears, Floris slumped onto a chair in the hallway, overcome with a sense of hopelessness and
despair.
“How can I possibly manage this?” she contemplated, feeling utterly defeated and at a loss for a viable solution to her
predicament.
Tomorrow is the day of my daughter’s surgery, and I have no means to fund it. Must I be forced to watch Tracy endure such
agony?” Floris pondered, consumed by a sense of dread and anxiety.
I’m sorry, Tracy. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry...”
Floris wept inconsolably, holding her daughter tight as tears flowed freely down her face.
Overcome with emotion, Floris feared Haylan overhearing her sobs and deliberately distanced herself from him as she wept, her
despair weighing heavily on her as she cried softly and despondently.
Haylan stood inside the hospital room, his eyes brimming with tears as he struggled to contain his
emotions.
Haylan possessed an acute sensory acuity, with his hearing in particular honed to a remarkable degree, surpassing that of an
ordinary person by a hundredfold.
With his keen sense of hearing, Haylan could discern even the slightest disturbance up to a distance of three kilometers as long
as he listened with focused attention.
As he listened to Floris’ anguished sobs, Haylan was gripped by an overwhelming sense of discomfort, as if a heavy boulder had
been placed atop his chest, rendering it almost unbearable. The thought dawned on him that a mere lack of funds had pushed
Floris into such dire straits, leaving him to wonder about the extent of misery and hardship that she must have endured over the
years.
Haylan realized that his usually strong-willed sister was now compelled to conceal her predicament and cry privately to protect
her self-esteem and pride, fearing that he might discover her dire straits.
Haylan was overcome with heartbreak, particularly for his sister, as he realized the depths of her struggles and the challenges
she had faced alone.
As a child, Haylan was the apple of Floris’s eye. During every New Year, Floris would set aside candies for him to relish, and
when the family slaughtered chickens, she would snatch the coveted
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chicken legs for him.
The realization that his beloved sister was now living in such dire straits filled Haylan with unbearable discomfort and anguish.
Haylan wiped away his tears and strode out of the room with determination. He made his way. directly to the hospital’s payment
office, where he promptly paid 20 thousand dollars toward Tracy’s medical expenses.
Regardless, any unused portion of the medical expenses could be refunded, and Haylan was not deterred by the prospect of
paying more if the need arose.
As he walked back, Haylan pondered over the situation, resolving to find an alternative course of
unless absolutely necessary.
action for Tracy’s diagnosis, determined to avoid resorting to surge
Haylan was acutely aware that surgery entailed breaking the body, which constituted a form of injury regardless of the medical
benefits.
He knew that a hernia was essentially a misplaced intestinal tract and that traditional medicine. offered a plethora of massage
techniques for its treatment.
The thought of inflicting any harm upon his little niece was unbearable for Haylan.
“Floris Hammond, have you no conscience? Why didn’t you inform me of our daughter’s illness.
sooner?”
“I should not have allowed Tracy to follow you back then. You, a penniless and destitute woman with no accomplishments to your
name. What means do you have to support our daughter?”
“Look at you. How have you raised your daughter? You are not fit to be a mother at all!”
As Haylan returned to the ward, he heard a man’s angry voice from within.
Frowning in concern, Haylan entered the ward.
Upon entering the ward, Haylan was confronted with the sight of a middle-aged man, impeccably attired in a suit and leather
shoes, with carefully groomed hair, berating Floris in the harshest of terms, casting blame upon her for the situation at hand.
“Liam Hammond, I did not summon you here for a quarrel. My daughter requires 4,600 dollars for her surgery, and I implore you
to lend me the amount.”
Suppressing her anger, Floris glared at the man in the suit with bloodshot eyes, her emotions simmering just beneath the
surface.
“I can lend you the money, but on the condition that you sign an agreement with me, transferring custody of our daughter to my
care,” Liam stated icily, his words laced with a sense of cold. detachment.
“You are taking advantage of the situation!” Floris retorted, her tone marked by simmering anger at the man’s callousness.
“What’s wrong with me taking advantage of the situation? You, an unsightly and impoverished woman, have only two choices –
sign the agreement, or watch your daughter suffer. The decision is entirely up to you,” Liam sneered, his grin betraying a cruel
and calculating nature.novelxo.com fast update
“Liam Hammond, Tracy is also your daughter. How can you bear to see her suffer?”
Floris’s fury boiled over as she pointed an accusatory finger at Liam and launched into a scathing tirade. “If it weren’t for your
dissatisfaction, our family would not have been torn apart like this. You abandoned your wife and daughter to please other
women. And now, you dare to ask for custody of your daughter? Shame on you!
“Liam Hammond, you are nothing but a beast, lower than even a swine!” Floris spat out in disgust, her words seething with anger
and contempt.
Chapter 28
“You, penniless woman, keep your mouth shut!”
Upon hearing this, Liam was consumed with rage and lashed out, striking Floris hard across the face with a vicious slap.
Liam’s blow was brutal and powerful, and Floris, with her frail and delicate frame, could not withstand its force. She recoiled from
the impact, her face swelling up instantly, the corners of her mouth bleeding as she collapsed onto the hospital bed in agony.
“You shameless slut! It seems I haven’t hit you hard enough in a while for you to have grown so bold as to speak to me in such a
manner. Do you wish to die?”
Liam was incensed, his eyes glinting with a vicious gleam as he glared at Floris. “You dare to insult me in front of my daughter.
You want to die! Today, I will teach you a lesson!” he spat out, his words. seething with anger and hostility.
With a cruel sneer, Liam raised his hand and struck Floris once again, the force of the blow resounding throughout the room.
Tracy, a silent witness to the violence unfolding before her, let out a piercing scream, her face pale with fear and horror.
Fear etched across her features, Floris quickly gathered Tracy in her arms, shielding her from the violence as she raised her
hands to fend off Liam’s blows.
“Smack!”
As Liam’s hand drew back, poised to strike Floris once again, a large hand reached out and caught his wrist in midair, halting his
attack.
Haylan had arrived on the scene, his eyes blazing with icy fury as he confronted Liam. “Kneel and apologize to my sister,” he
ordered, his voice ringing like steel. “Otherwise, I will beat you to death!”