“Did something happen to Emma?!” Janie suddenly realized.

Luca looked at Abel worriedly. Thankfully, Abel was fully unconscious right now, or he would have gone mad if he heard the news about Emma. On the other hand, Luca wondered how Ms. Emma was doing. He crouched down into a kneeling position and said a silent prayer to protect the couple from any further suffering.

…

Waylon and Benjamin rushed into Emma’s room and found her surrounded by several doctors with solemn expressions on their faces. Waylon immediately grabbed Emma’s wrist, but he could not feel any pulse. Did this mean… Was Emma…? He dared not finish his thoughts.

“Has Master Adelmar been notified?” he asked the doctors.

“Yes, he has,” one of the doctors responded. “Is there… any hope left?”

Waylon could not answer the doctor. His eyes fogged up with tears. Was there any hope left? He wondered the same too. He could only hope that his father could give Emma a chance. He took out a few silver needles and tried a last-ditch attempt at reviving Emma.

Janie began to sob out loud, crying into Benjamin’s chest. “Ben, Emma… She…”

Benjamin held onto Janie, but he was in shock himself. “Emma, don’t… don’t leave us…” he chanted those words like a prayer over and over again.

Not long after, Robert Adelmar arrived and chased everyone out of the room except for his son who would serve as his assistant.

“Father, is there… any hope left?” Waylon asked tentatively.

“Let me see…” That was all Robert said before getting to work. The father and son worked on saving Emma from morning until late afternoon.

Benjamin was slumped outside the room, repeating the same prayer over and over again.

“Emma, I’ll do anything for you as long as you live… I promise to protect you wholeheartedly and unwaveringly… Emma, please live…” he prayed and sobbed, while Janie sat by his side.

Janie could not help but feel a sense of overwhelming sadness as she saw Benjamin in such a state. Even until now, Benjamin never considered her as someone he could grow to love. His entire world was occupied by Emmeline. The man was promising some higher power that he would never leave Emma’s side as long as she woke up. What about her then? Even then, Janie could not stop praying for Emma too. After all, there were other types of love apart from romantic love. There was familial love, and love among friends…

…

Back in Abel’s ward, he had been given a sedative and remained in a deep sleep, under orders from Waylon himself. Waylon was afraid of Abel’s condition worsening if he found out about Emma. However, Abel managed to wake up by the afternoon, perhaps as a result of his strong willpower fighting the effects of the sedative.

“I need to be with Emma. She’s all alone in that room…” Abel groaned.

“Mr. Abel!” Luca tried to stop him. “You can’t leave, Ms. Emma…”

“What happened to Emma?” Abel demanded to know. “Luca, what did you say? What happened to her?!”

“Not… Nothing, Mr. Abel…” Abel wanted to slap himself for almost spilling the beans.

“But I heard you mention her name! What happened to her, Luc?” Abel pressed.

“Ms. Emma… is still unconscious. That’s all I was trying to say,” Luca said unconvincingly. “Mr. Abel, you shouldn’t go over. You need to be on bed rest right now.”

“No, I need to be with Emma. She must be lonely on her own. Emma… Emma, wait for me…” he said out loud as he tried to get down from the bed, just as the door to the ward opened and Waylon strode in.

“Mr. Waylon, please talk to Mr. Abel. I can’t stop him!” Luca looked at Waylon like he was his savior.

“Abel,” Waylon said a little tiredly, but pleasantly, nonetheless. “Just lie down and let the IV drip do its job. It’ll help your condition.”

“I don’t need help. I just need to be with Emma…” Abel insisted and tried to fight his way out of the ward before Waylon flicked his nose with his palm. Abel smelled a familiar scent from that night in the emergency room with Emma, right before he passed out…