Chapter 16 Skylar Starts to Doubt Thea

Skylar had actually recently started to harbor doubts about Elaine's actual condition. He often caught Elaine taking a handful of medicine all at once in a variety of colors. He recalled that she never used to take that much medicine. He also noticed that all the labels on the bottles had been torn off. Skylar didn't like Marcus in particular. Even so, he still couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is Elaine's illness?" Marcus wanted nothing more than to tell Skylar right away that Elaine was suffering from heart failure and only had six months left to live. And that was just the best-case scenario. Every time Elaine suffered a heart attack, she had to be rushed to the hospital immediately. Otherwise, she could risk dying from heart failure if she didn't receive treatment in time. But Elaine had told Marcus not to mention anything about her illness. And as a doctor, he was obligated to respect his patient's wishes. He replied coldly, "It's a very serious heart condition. Mr. Frey, if you really do care about her, you should ask her yourself when she wakes up. Her only chance at survival will be a heart transplant, but finding a suitable donor is extremely difficult. You can help her look for one if you have the time." Skylar stared at Elaine lying in the bed. He had not yet fully grasped the gravity of the situation. He merely dismissed Marcus' words as trying to intimidate him about the seriousness of Elaine's condition. Heart attacks happened to people all the time. Thus, he figured that there was no way Elaine's condition was so grave that she would actually need a new heart. Marcus left the hospital ward after seeing that Skylar was not taking any of his words in. There was no point in saying anything more. Skylar would not need to be told any of this if he truly cared about Elaine. He would have already understood just how dire Elaine's condition had become from the mere look of things. Elaine had vomited blood multiple times in just the past few days. Her face had gotten so pale that it was almost completely white. There was no way that anyone who cared about her would fail to see that she was already on the brink of death. The hospital ward fell silent once more after Marcus had left. It was already well past midnight at that point. Skylar did not sleep and just sat by the bed. He did not know how long he had stayed there before the door quietly opened and Ezra came inside. Before Skylar could ask anything, Ezra said, "I heard from a friend at the hospital that something happened to Elaine, so I'm here to check on her." Skylar responded with a hum and nothing more. Ezra pulled up a chair and sat down. "If I'm not mistaken, it's something to do with Thea again, isn't it? I heard that Elaine even stopped breathing at some point. We all have but one life. Can you really say that you won't regret it if she dies?" Skylar's expression darkened as he replied, "Elaine put the knife to her neck by herself. If she dies from that, it's on her. None of this would've happened if she hadn't been acting so recklessly." Ezra sighed and said, "I don't mean to lecture you, but I've heard about some of the things you've done since Thea came back from abroad. You're really going too far with how you treat Elaine. Thea said that Elaine hurt her, and you just believed Thea without even asking anything or looking into the matter?" Skylar was displeased. "Thea wouldn't lie about something like that. I know her well." Ezra countered, "Then do you not know Elaine well? Think about how she treated you in all these years. Elaine may not be a saint, but she's never been the vile and scheming type." Skylar replied coldly, "You can't judge a book by its cover. She's good at putting on an act." Ezra couldn't take it anymore. "Look, I know I'm bringing up the past again, but I want you to think about it. Do you remember how Elaine took care of you for all these years? Remember when you were paralyzed from the car accident? Thea abandoned you and went abroad while Elaine, who was only 19 at the time, dropped out of school to do nothing but care for you for an entire year. "She spent every single day and night in the prime of her youth inside the hospital. She personally cleaned your body for you and even asked me to teach her massages that could help you recover faster. After learning how to do it, she started massaging you every day." Skylar naturally remembered all of that, but he didn't really want to dwell on it now. That was nothing short of the most humiliating period of his life. As for Elaine's devotion to him, he simply thought that it was because Elaine felt guilty after hurting Thea. He scoffed and replied, "Elaine was the one who forced Thea to go abroad. If Thea had stayed, she would've taken care of me too. Besides, it was Thea who saved my life back then, so I didn't do anything wrong." Ezra laughed. "I don't know much about how Thea saved you, so I have no comments on that. But you're saying that Elaine chased Thea away so that she could have you for herself, yeah? Let me ask you then, Mr. Frey, what exactly did Elaine have to gain from doing that? "She already held shares in Frey Holdings back then. Be it money or power, Mrs. Frey Senior had already given her more than enough. As for you, the doctors had already concluded that you'd be a vegetable for life. Do you think that Elaine gave up on her entire future and her own happiness just to spend the rest of her life taking care of a vegetable?" Skylar impatiently interrupted Ezra, "I know what I'm doing with my own affairs, Ezra. You don't need to keep speaking up for Elaine like this. The only reason I'm letting her live is because she owes Thea her life. She has to be alive to atone for what she has done." Ezra looked at Elaine's ashen face on the bed and replied, "Alright then. It's not my place to say anything more. Just don't say that I never warned you about this. A day may come when you will start to have regrets and want to make it up to Elaine, only to find that it's already too late." Skylar remained indifferent. "I have nothing to regret. Elaine's the one who needs to atone for the things she's done." Their conversation came to a halt. Ezra stayed a little longer and finally left after seeing that Elaine was in stable condition. Somehow, Skylar could not stop thinking about what Ezra had just said. A seed of doubt had been planted into his heart. He recalled how Thea had suddenly barged into the hospital ward earlier that day. He then recalled everything that happened after and felt that things did not seem right. He called Frank into the ward and asked, "Have you found my grandma's old caretaker yet? Her name's Wendy Smith. She should know about what really happened between Grandma and Thea back then." Seeing that Elaine was still resting, Frank lowered his voice and replied, "We've already tracked her down. We'll bring her back as soon as possible." After a pause, he continued cautiously, "If I may give a piece of my mind, sir, I've served the Frey family for many years, so I know Mrs. Frey Senior's character well. In my opinion, Mrs. Frey Senior wouldn't have gone so far as to drive Ms. Lancelot away even if Ms. Shelton really did somehow try to get Mrs. Frey Senior to do so. "Besides, Ms. Shelton has always been a kind and gentle person. I can't imagine her doing such a thing." Skylar really didn't want to doubt Thea at all as she had once saved his life. He could not bring himself to hurt her without absolutely solid proof. He replied, "That's enough, Frank. You don't need to say more. You can go now." Frank stopped talking and turned to leave. Just then, the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering rang out from outside the ward. Skylar immediately stood up and walked toward the door. "Who's there?" He opened the door and saw Thea turning to leave. With the door already open, Thea had no choice but to stop. Her expression was filled with noticeable panic.