Chapter 731 Eleanor Transfers To Tayhaven
Since Amelia failed to reach an agreement with Benjamin, she could only try negotiating with Eleanor instead.
“Mom, something cropped up in the company, but I also need to look after Tony, so I cannot stay long in Saspiuburg. Considering your health right now, I was thinking of transferring you to the hospital in Tayhaven. What do you think of my proposal?” suggested Amelia.
She knew the Huttons had a strong foundation in Saspiuburg, so Eleanor would be receiving naught but the best treatment there. Yet, Amelia had merely been away for a few days, only to be greeted by the worsening of her mother’s condition upon her return. She became reluctant to let her mother continue staying in the current hospital. Besides, it was as clear as day that her mother had grown increasingly dependent on her. Because of that, she had to muster up the courage to seek Benjamin’s view on transferring Eleanor to Tayhaven. Alas, Benjamin had completely turned Amelia down.
Eleanor gave it a thought and raised an inquiry. “If I were to head to Tayhaven, wouldn’t I be disturbing you?”
“Of course, not!”
Her daughter’s words brought a bright smile to Eleanor’s face. “All right, then. I’ll go with you. Being in my sixties, I’ve learned to let go of a lot of things. Worse comes to worst, I’d choose to be at home if my treatment didn’t go well. I’d rather die in my own home.”
“I don’t want to hear you saying such things, Mom.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll stop.”
What Eleanor had told Benjamin after that remained a mystery. The next day, Benjamin magically concurred with the idea of relocating Eleanor to the private hospital where James was working at.
Benjamin instructed someone to send Eleanor, Oscar, and Amelia Winters there on a private plane first, for he still had to sort something out before heading there.
Looking at the plane departing, Amelia Hutton fumed, “Dad, Mom’s being reckless, don’t you think? Why would you do her bidding?”
“She’s already in this state. What more do you expect me to do?” came Benjamin’s croaky voice. “Your mom’s not young anymore. She’s seen enough vicissitudes of life. You’ve also witnessed with your own eyes how she heeded your namesake’s advice. Given how she’s been tending your mom, I actually think it might help to improve her condition.”
Amelia Hutton gnashed her teeth, snarling, “Dad, you’ve over-indulged Mom.”
“Things would never have turned out this way if you haven’t been spouting nonsense in front of your mom. I haven’t even settled the score with you!” Benjamin glared daggers at his daughter.
Feeling indignant, Amelia pouted. “But I didn’t do it on purpose, Dad! Mom eavesdropped on it. If I had known my words would reach her ears, I wouldn’t have even said it.”
“That’s enough. You can save your ifs because you know nothing. I’ll cut you some slack, so you can forget about the dues you haven’t paid. Still, you’d better watch your mouth in front of your mom next time. Or else, you can kiss your allowance goodbye.”
“Dad, are you thinking that Amelia Winters is more reliable than me now?”
“I’ve always called her names, but yes, she’s more mature and trustworthy than you by a mile. You ought to learn a little something from her. No wonder your mom depended on her instead of you.”
Nothing came out of Amelia’s mouth.
All she could do was grit her teeth in anger.
“My dear Amelia, don’t blame me for being harsh on you. Look at you! Instead of contributing anything, you’ve only been dolling up yourself and wasting money on luxury items.”
Upon hearing that, Amelia hung her head low, concealing the wrath in her chest.
Benjamin gave his daughter the cold shoulder and hopped into the car there and then. Despite her burning grievance, Amelia could only follow her father’s footsteps and slide into the car as well.
On their journey home, the father-and-daughter duo kept their lips buttoned. The atmosphere in the car quickly turned tense.
However, no matter what happened between them in the car, Eleanor had successfully touched down at Tayhaven with Amelia Winters on the plane. On that very day, Eleanor was admitted to James’ private hospital. Olivia and Owen even made a trip to the hospital to visit Eleanor.
“Long time no see, Mrs. Hutton. We didn’t get to chat the last time we met. I didn’t expect us to see each other again in the hospital though. How are you feeling now?” greeted Olivia gracefully as she made her way to the bedside.
Pointing toward the seats at the side, Eleanor gestured for Olivia and her husband to sit down. “Please have a seat. I just arrived in Tayhaven. Thank you both for paying me a visit, and sorry for the trouble.”
“You’re Amelia’s mom, and we’re her in-laws. It’s only right for us to come to see you. We heard Amelia mention you were under the weather before, but we thought it was nothing serious.” Olivia stopped making a sound for a moment as a hint of sympathy flitted across her eyes. “The last time I saw you, you looked as fit as a fiddle. With such fair skin like yours, I can’t even tell you’re over sixty, so it doesn’t seem logical to me for you to get sick all of a sudden. Never would I have anticipated seeing you like this.”
“It’s okay. No one can predict the ups and downs in life as it is part of the cycle. I’m already in my sixties, so I don’t suppose I can hold out much longer. I was afraid of dying in the past because I haven’t found Lia. But now, she’s leading a great life, having a talented, dashing husband and a well-mannered son. Not only that, but she has you two as her in-laws. I know she’s in good hands, so I have no more regrets.” Eleanor poured her heartfelt feelings out on the table.
“Don’t think of it that way. Although Amelia’s already thirty, she’s only a child to us, so she’s still very much in need of your guidance. Please don’t always talk about leaving her and the world behind. Unlike us, she would be utterly heartbroken to hear those words coming from you.”
Eleanor curled her lips upward in return. “All right, all right. I won’t.”
Olivia then slipped into a moment of deep thought before blurting out, “Is Mr. Hutton that busy? I’ve never had a chance to meet up with him. I thought if he were here, we could invite you all to the Clinton residence. Amelia’s been with us for almost eight years already. You’ve just reunited with her, so I’m sure you’d like to know her better, don’t you?”
Eleanor’s eyes lit up in a heartbeat. “Really? Can we go now, then? I’ve been wondering what Lia would do every day. I know the Clintons can provide her with the best, but I want to see it with my own eyes. I’ve always been living with this guilt in me, thinking about leaving her with all the finest things I have.”
Olivia froze for a bit on that note. She then let out a chuckle. “Why the rush? You’ve just got off the plane, so you must be beaten. Let’s wait for a few days until you get better, and then we’ll take you to our house. The Clinton residence is not going anywhere anyway.” She paused for a brief moment, appearing to have thought of something. “It seems like Amelia’s spiritually drawn to hospitals. She’s always in and out of them.”
A peal of thunder escaped from Eleanor’s lips as she listened to that. Even so, there was a tinge of remorse flashed across her eyes.
Olivia stayed with Eleanor at the hospital as they shot the breeze for nearly two hours. When the former caught a glimpse of lethargy on Eleanor’s face, she figured it was time to take her leave.
Amelia and Oscar saw Olivia out of the ward. “Take good care of your mom, Amelia. She’s been through a lot herself. I can tell that she cares for you wholeheartedly,” Olivia said.
“I understand, Mom.” Amelia nodded and continued, “Dad, Mom, thank you both for coming over today.”
“Don’t be silly. She’s your mom, Tony’s granny. I know I’ve been mad at you at times, but we should let bygones be bygones. The Clintons will always have your back, so don’t overthink things, you hear? Go in and accompany her now. I’ll go back with your dad first.”
Amelia bobbed her head in appreciation.
After seeing Olivia and Owen off, Amelia and Oscar stepped back into the ward and chatted with Eleanor for a little while before coaxing her to sleep.
Prior to that, Amelia had arranged for two professional caretakers to watch over her mother. Although she would always be by her mother’s side most of the time, she still had her own family to take care of. Therefore, she knew she wouldn’t be able to attend to her mother at the hospital at all times.
With that, Amelia sat by the bedside to keep her mother company until the wee hours. As Oscar caressed his wife’s cheeks, a stinging pang rose from within him. “Let’s go home to catch some sleep, Amelia. The caretakers will carry out their jobs well.”
Amelia shook her head, trying to keep her sleepiness at bay.
“Stop wagging. You’re already not that smart, to begin with. It’ll only get worse if you keep on doing that.” Wrapping his arms around his wife, Oscar tugged her into his embrace. “You should really go home and sleep. You haven’t been sleeping well for several days since the plane incident. We have the caretakers here to wait on Mom. I can assure you that they wouldn’t dare to slack off, so you can just come again tomorrow to relieve them on duty, okay? If you happened to wear yourself out, I might end up locking you up and grounding you.”
He might’ve sounded as if he was in a fit of anger, but in actuality, he was still holding onto resentment toward the Hutton family. Ever since Amelia got entangled with them, myriads of misfortunes had been knocking on her door one after another. He was against the idea of a reunion at that stage of her life. Yet, seeing that Amelia had acknowledged her family, he had no choice but to acquiesce in her wish. It was just that it had almost cost Amelia her life in the process that he couldn’t hinder his blood from boiling. As a result, he became not very fond of Eleanor.
“Oscar, why don’t you—”
“No deal. I demand you to get home and rest up. You’d better take good care of yourself. This is my bottom line.”
Left with no choice, Amelia relented and ultimately went home with Oscar.
The next day, she woke up in bed, only to notice her husband wasn’t next to her. She scratched her head and grabbed her phone to peek at the screen. It was already almost eleven in the morning. She reckoned she must’ve been drained by those incidents in the past few days. Not only had she been panic-stricken when the plane crashed on the deserted island, but she had also been disturbed by the swarm of mosquitoes during the night. After she returned safe and sound the other day, she even had to entertain the showers of concerns from her friends and relatives before catching her flight to Saspiuburg on that very evening as well. There hadn’t been a time for her to catch a breather. Due to the overwhelming exhaustion, she crashed out the second she lay in bed the night before.
She rose to her feet and went to wash up. As she made her way downstairs with her bag hanging on her shoulder, she saw Tony there. She then approached her son to give him a peck on the cheek. “Good morning, Sweetheart. I’ll ask your godpa and Mr. Hugo to send you to Grandma, okay?” asked Amelia lovingly.
Tony looked up. “Are you going to the hospital, Mommy? Can I come with you? I want to see Granny. I heard she’s sick, so I want to go and huff her pain away.”
“You really want to come with me?”
Tony inclined his head in response.
“Okay, then. But don’t say anything that would upset Granny, you hear?”
“Got it!”
With that, Amelia brought Tony along to the hospital. As they got out of the car at the hospital entrance, Amelia caught sight of Jennifer and June walking side by side into the hospital. The pair didn’t appear to be intimate, though.
With her son in her arms, Amelia suddenly thought of the fact that her mother was also in the hospital, coupled with the conflict that they had had with Jennifer and June. Her gaze stilled abruptly as she made haste inside, for she was afraid that the shameless duo would find fault with her mother. In her opinion, not only was June as stubborn as a mule, but he was also as cunning as a fox, not to mention he was so full of himself and totally a pain in the neck.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” A puzzled look marred Tony’s countenance.
“It’s nothing. I simply wanted to train my legs. You’re so heavy now, but that’s okay because I get to also train my arms this way.”
Tony rolled his eyes outright at that. “I’m still your adorable darling, ain’t I, Mommy?”
Hearing her son’s words, Amelia burst into laughter. “Yes, yes. My Tony is the most adorable boy in this entire universe.” Even though she played along, she didn’t stop trailing behind Jennifer and June.
