Chapter 2 Visiting Wendy

"Are you out of your mind?" Julian shot to his feet. The light cast his shadow over Sibel, dark and menacing. She instinctively pulled her shoulders in, his voice had startled her.

But he just said in a low, hard tone, "Sibel, you can throw fits and make threats all you want on a normal day, but I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now. Think about what you've done."

"I'm sorry…" A soft, fragile voice came from the doorway.

Wendy sat in a wheelchair. "Julian, please don't be upset. It's all my fault. If I had just held on a little longer today and not come to the hospital, Sibel wouldn't have gotten so worked up over you all taking care of me that she ended up admitted…"

"Don't think that way." Julian immediately walked over and crouched down to comfort her, his voice gentler than Sibel had ever heard from him. "She's the one being unreasonable."

Sibel closed her eyes and listened, laughing coldly inside.

What a performance. Too bad Julian falls for it every time.

"Aunt Wendy, are you feeling better?" Ethan rushed over and asked anxiously.

"The doctor just gave me a shot, so I'm much better now. The shot really helped," Wendy said with a smile. "Your mommy will get better after her shot too, I'm sure of it. Keep her company that'll make her really happy."

She cupped Ethan's face in her hands and pressed her forehead to his. "Just like how happy I feel when you're with me."

"Then I want to stay with you! I don't want to stay with her!" Ethan announced immediately.

He wheeled Wendy inside, looked around, and saw that every other bed was taken. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Sibel's arm. "Get up. Let Aunt Wendy have this bed. You already got your shot and you're fine now, aren't you?"

The painkiller had nearly worn off. When Ethan yanked her arm, a sharp, tearing pain ripped through her upper abdomen. It was so bad that Sibel couldn't hold back a cry. "Don't touch me!"

Ethan froze. Wendy quickly wheeled herself forward and pulled him into a hug. "Sibel, please don't take it out on the child. If you have a problem, take it out on me."

"Sibel, that's enough." Julian said.

The pain was so bad Sibel couldn't speak. She felt like she was dying. She reached out with a trembling hand to press the call button, hoping a nurse would come and get them out.

But the moment her hand stretched out, someone grabbed it.

Wendy.

"Still, Sibel, I have to say something…" She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret, but spoke just loud enough for everyone else to hear. "If the painkiller isn't really working for you, maybe you should stop using it. It's easy to get addicted."

What did she mean, the painkiller wasn't working? There was a ringing in Sibel's ears. She could barely think straight.

But Julian caught Wendy's meaning. "Sibel, you're not even sick, are you? Of course the painkiller won't work if there's nothing wrong with you in the first place."

Sibel blinked hard, but everything in front of her had gone dark. She felt like the rage had literally blinded her.

"Get up! Stop faking it and go home and make chicken noodle soup!" Ethan had run out of patience. He suddenly grabbed the IV line in Sibel's hand and yanked it out hard. "Get out of the bed!"

Blood immediately began running down Sibel's hand.

Ethan went pale with shock.

Wendy let out a sharp cry, her breathing suddenly rapid and labored. "I…I…"

"What's wrong?" Julian seemed not to see Sibel's bleeding hand at all. He scooped Wendy up out of the wheelchair. "Doctor! She's having trouble breathing!"

The footsteps faded away. And then Sibel knew nothing at all.

When she came to, the wound on her hand had been treated. The pain was gone. Even the dried sweat had been wiped from her face.

It was quiet. The curtains were drawn, and the room was dimly lit.

"How are you feeling?" A warm, steady voice broke the silence.

Sibel thought she was dreaming. She stared blankly for a few seconds before she recognized him. "Rayn?"

The man wore silver-framed glasses and a white coat. The badge on his chest read: Surgery, Rayn Jones.

"If I hadn't found you on my rounds, you'd still be out cold. Sibel, is this how you take care of yourself? And you used to say you'd protect me?"

They'd grown up across the hall from each other. Rayn was older, but he'd been a sickly, scrawny kid back then, and Sibel had insisted on acting like his big sister.

They'd always been close, until Rayn met Wendy. After that, he became a different person. He was still good to Sibel, but it only took a few words from Wendy to change everything.

"Sorry. I didn't know you worked at this hospital." Sibel managed a weak twitch of her lips, bitter to the core. "Long time no see. Sorry you had to see me like this."

"Like an apology does anything." Rayn let out a short huff, though he clearly wasn't actually angry.

He held up her chart. "Good news, no kidney stones. You can be discharged in a couple of days. I'm moving you to a private room. Better conditions."

"Though no matter how nice my private room is, I'm sure it's nothing compared to the private hospital your husband would arrange." His tone turned a little pointed. "When is he coming to pick you up?"

"He's probably not coming." Sibel stared up at the ceiling and realized, with some surprise, that her eyes were dry.

Thinking back on everything that had just happened, all she felt was despair and anger.

Five years. She had spent five years taking care of the two of them. She had given up her career, her friends, even her dignity. And in return, they treated her like she was nothing.

She had brought it on herself. She would never be this pathetic again.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked Rayn. "I want to visit Wendy."

The words had barely left her mouth when Rayn's expression shifted slightly. Sibel seemed to pick up on it. She gave a bitter smile. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to her."

Rayn moved fast. Ten minutes later, Sibel stood outside the door of a premium room in the hematology ward.

Wendy had an oxygen tube in her nose and an IV in her slender hand. She was propped against the headboard, her eyes red-rimmed.

Julian held a cup of water and was patiently feeding it to her, one spoonful at a time.

When a drop slid from the corner of Wendy's lips, he immediately dabbed it away with a tissue.

If anyone outside saw this, Washington's most ruthless and decisive Mr. Logan, tender and attentive like this, they would have been stunned.

Sibel had never seen it either.

But she hadn't come here to watch them be sweet with each other.

She waved Ethan over. "Come here."

Ethan was sitting on the other side of the bed, staring at Wendy without blinking. When he heard Sibel call him, his mouth immediately puckered into a pout.

"You scared me just now! I'm not forgiving you unless you apologize!"

"Come here." Sibel said again, her voice calm and even.

Ethan reluctantly shuffled out of the room. "A verbal apology isn't enough. You have to make my favorite food…"

He didn't get to finish. Sibel grabbed him by the collar.

Weak as she was, she was still a grown adult.

And the pain pump had kicked in, so at least she didn't hurt anymore.

She didn't hit him. She just looked at Ethan coldly. Before she could say a word, a voice cut through the air.