"Oh, right—yesterday you and Ned were giving each other those weird looks. Do you know why my mum suddenly collapsed?"
Sophie had already sensed something was wrong when she got home last night. She had planned to ask the head nurse today what exactly had happened after she left the hospital yesterday afternoon.
Since Archibald was here now, she went straight to him. Yesterday, the moment they'd arrived at the hospital, he had gone to the head nurse and gotten all the details. At the time Sophie had been too heartbroken to process anything, so she'd pushed it out of her mind.
"Aunt Victoria came to the hospital yesterday," Archibald said quietly. "According to the head nurse, she met up with another young lady here. The two of them kicked up a huge scene in the ward, terrified your mother so much that she fainted. Afterwards the nurses searched the entire hospital for them, and I checked the security footage myself. It was definitely Victoria—she was here a little after two o'clock yesterday afternoon."
Halfway through his explanation, tears were already sliding down Sophie's face.
She had always believed she would be the one to face the storm head-on. She never imagined her mother would shield her from it—and in such a devastating way.
She would rather have taken all of Victoria's and Lara's insults and ridicule herself a thousand times over than let them disturb her mother in the hospital. Especially when her mother had brain cancer. This single incident had pushed her to the very edge of life and death.
Regret, guilt, and agony crushed her…
Sophie bit down hard on her lower lip, desperate to keep the sobs from escaping. Clutching her chest, she folded in on herself and crouched on the floor. Then she remembered what a classmate had mentioned this morning—that Lara had been asking everyone where she was.
Of course. It had to be Lara. Lara must have followed her to the hospital and then called Victoria to come and cause chaos.
It was her. Definitely her. Mum had even said she'd seen a girl peeking around the doorway, and Sophie herself had felt eyes on her for days…
Right now she was in excruciating pain. It was all because of her. If she had never started dating Ned; if she had never "stolen" Lara's man; if she had never gone to that birthday dinner; if…
Watching Sophie hug her knees and cry silently beside the chair, Archibald panicked. He had no idea what words could possibly comfort her, but he crouched down anyway and awkwardly patted her back.
"Try to calm down," he said softly. "The surgery was successful, wasn't it? Auntie's going to be all right."
"I was wrong… I know I was wrong. Mum… she never should have been put through that kind of shock," Sophie's voice cracked with anguish. "I thought… I thought I could handle everything… ah—"
She fought to keep her voice down, biting her lower lip until it hurt, tears pouring down her face in torrents.
Archibald's heart ached watching her blame herself. He stepped forward and pulled her tightly into his arms. "Stop torturing yourself. This will all pass. It's not your fault."
At the end of the corridor, Ned caught sight of the scene just then: Sophie, soft and pliant, nestled in Archibald's embrace. He couldn't hear what they were saying or see their faces clearly; all he could see was how intimately close they were.
Carrying flowers and a fruit basket, he walked forward with his father. The two were still locked in that embrace, and a strange, sharp pang twisted in his chest again and again.
Only when he and Jonathan drew near did the sound of their footsteps startle the pair apart. Archibald finally realized it was Uncle Jonathan and Ned who had come to visit Sophie's mother.
Seeing Sophie curled up beside the bench, hugging her knees and sobbing quietly, Ned felt a wave of relief. They hadn't been embracing like that—Archibald had only been comforting her. Gently, he helped Sophie to her feet, sat her back on the bench, then settled beside her and began murmuring soft reassurances.
Jonathan asked, "Has Sarah woken up yet? Have you spoken to Dr. William? Do they know when she might regain consciousness?"
Archibald stood up and answered politely, "Uncle Jonathan, that's exactly how things were when I arrived. I haven't had the chance to do anything yet."
Jonathan glanced at Ned, who was tenderly stroking Sophie's hair and comforting her, then turned back to Archibald. "Come with me, then. We'll ask the doctor together—and find out what needs to be arranged for her post-operative care."
Archibald pointed at his own face in surprise. "Uncle Jonathan… you want me to go with you? Me?"
Jonathan clapped him on the shoulder. "Quit dawdling. Yes, you. Who else could it be? You're the one who rushed her to the hospital in the first place, you helped bring Dr. William over from America, and you were here for the entire surgery yesterday. It's got to be you!"
"B-but I didn't really do anything! I don't even know that much!" Archibald stammered, completely flustered by Uncle Jonathan's sudden praise.
"Ned wasn't involved in any of it. You're the only one who's been part of this from the very beginning, so no more excuses. Come on, lad—step up and take some responsibility!"
Archibald, who usually avoided getting tangled in other people's business, had no choice but to accept his fate. He trailed after Uncle Jonathan all the way to Dr. William's office.
...............
"Ned, tell me the truth—was it Lara and your mother who came to the hospital and caused a scene? Is that why my mum suddenly—" Sophie's abrupt question caught Ned completely off guard.
"I… I don't know!" He and his father had already agreed to discuss the matter tonight, so he wanted to buy time until he had the full picture and could explain everything properly to Sophie.
"You do know. You definitely know. Why are you still protecting them?" Sophie had calmed down; she just wanted to see how he would react. If he kept shielding his mother no matter what, then the two of them…
"Don't let your imagination run away with you. There are still a few things I haven't figured out yet. Once everything's clear, I'll give you a proper explanation. Trust me." Ned sidestepped the heart of the issue, his mind already on the serious man-to-man talk he was supposed to have with his father at ten o'clock tonight.