Chapter 335 Working well

They arrived at the hospital ward.

Alana fed her grandmother some bone broth and a little light meat porridge.

Her grandmother’s complexion was looking better and better; it seemed the treatment was working well.

According to the doctor, barring any complications, she should be able to be discharged in about two weeks.

Alana looked forward to the day her grandmother would be discharged.

“Grandma, once you’re discharged, why don’t you stay in the city? It’ll be easier for me to take care of you.”

Grandma smiled. “Silly girl, I won’t be a bother to you once I’m out of the hospital. I’ll take good care of myself. Besides, back home, there are the fruit trees I planted for you, and the vegetable garden, they all need tending. If Grandma doesn’t go back, who’s going to take care of them?”

Alana paused in surprise. “Grandma, didn’t you say the house back home was scheduled for demolition?”

Upon hearing this, Grandma’s expression faltered slightly. “Yes, that’s right. Oh, my memory is getting worse and worse. I almost forgot that the old house where we used to live together is going to be demolished. Oh, it’s such a shame. I lived there for decades. If it gets demolished, I won’t have a home anymore.”

As she spoke, Grandma felt a pang of sadness in her heart, and it was very painful.

Alana bit her lip.

She could tell that Grandma was still very reluctant to part with the house back home. After all, that house held so many, many memories.

If only the house weren’t going to be demolished.

Alana took her grandmother’s hand. “Grandma, if you don’t want the old house torn down, then let’s not tear it down. Maybe there’s a way to stop them from doing it.”

Grandma shook her head. “We should just tear it down. We’ll get a few millions for it, and besides, I’m getting old, I won’t be living there much longer anyway.”

Alana felt a heavy weight in her heart and didn’t know what else to say.

Every time the old house came up, her heart grew heavy.

Grandma looked at Alana and sighed. “Alana, I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old and thinking about things more and more. Lately, I’ve been dreaming about your mother all the time.”

“So many years have passed. I wonder if she’s doing well. Back then, she abandoned you in a fit of anger. I spoke harshly to her, telling her that once she left, she was never to return. I was just speaking in the heat of the moment, but I never expected she’d take it so seriously. It’s been over a decade, and she really hasn’t come back.”

“Tell me, how could she be so heartless?” The more Grandma thought about it, the more it pained her; tears welled up in her cloudy eyes.

Alana pressed her lips together, picked up a tissue, and gently wiped away her grandmother’s tears.

Her throat felt tight, as if blocked by a stone, and she couldn’t find the words to comfort her.

She felt sorry for her grandmother, but she couldn’t empathize with her.

Because in her heart, Agnes was not only a failure as a daughter, but also a failure as a mother.

Grandma’s mood improved slightly. After taking her medicine and receiving an IV drip, she gradually grew drowsy and fell asleep.

Alana stayed at the hospital until Grandma’s IV drip was finished.

During that time, when she was bored, she texted Eve to share what had happened over the past few days.

Eve was overjoyed to hear that Alana had been accepted by her future mother-in-law.

She even suggested they meet up later to celebrate properly.

Alana had no objections.

She instructed the caregiver to take good care of her grandmother and was just about to head out.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

She picked up the phone and saw it was an anonymous call. She didn’t think much of it and hung up immediately.

But unexpectedly, the moment she hung up, the same number called again.

Alana paused for a moment, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to answer, and tapped the button to pick up.

“Hello, may I ask who this is?” A very gentle voice came through the phone.

“Hello, I’m Darla Gordon’s mother, Agnes. Darla has mentioned a few things about you to me. May I ask if I could meet with you?”

Upon hearing the woman’s voice and her name, Alana froze in place.

Agnes?!

Was this the woman whose name had been etched deep in her mind all this time?

No way!

It couldn’t possibly be that coincidental!

Perhaps it was just a woman with a similar voice who happened to share the same name.

But when Alana heard that voice on the phone, along with that identical name, she still couldn’t control her emotions.

She had thought that upon hearing this familiar name, she would be able to remain calm and composed, without even the slightest flicker of emotion.

But she realized she had overestimated herself. Even as Alana kept telling herself that the woman on the phone wasn’t her, her body still trembled uncontrollably...

There was no way this could be a coincidence!

How could that woman possibly be Darla’s mother?

That’s impossible!

Alana took a deep breath and gradually regained her composure. “Hello, Mrs. Gordon. Why are you calling me?”

Agnes paused for a moment when she heard Alana’s voice. Vaguely, she sensed a sense of familiarity.

It felt as though she had heard this voice somewhere before.

“May I ask your name, young lady?”

“My surname is Martin.”

Agnes was taken aback. The surname Martin?

It turns out we have the same last name.

The sense of unease in her heart grew even stronger.

“Miss Martin, could I meet with you? Let’s discuss this in person.”

Alana paused for a moment before refusing, “If there’s anything you need to discuss, we can just talk over the phone. There’s no need to meet in person!”

After all, she and Darla were rivals in love at the moment. It was obvious what Darla’s mother’s intentions were.

It would likely be something like persuading her to break up with Stephan and give him up to Darla.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew full well what demands the other woman would make, so why would she foolishly agree to meet her?

That would be asking for trouble.

Agnes spoke up, “Miss Martin, if we can’t discuss this clearly over the phone, perhaps we should meet in person...”

Alana cut her off, “I don’t think I have anything to discuss with you.”

Agnes’ expression shifted.

She hadn’t expected this young woman to be so stubborn, she wouldn’t even give her a chance to meet.

Besides, Darla had said this girl had stolen the man she loved, was that true or not?

“Miss Martin, what would it take for you to agree to meet with me?”

“Mrs. Gordon, forget about meeting. I have things to do. I’ll hang up now.”

Without giving Agnes a chance to reply, Alana hung up the phone.

To be honest, the woman on the phone felt all too familiar to her, and she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

After the call was hung up, Agnes froze for a moment.

This girl has such a terrible temper, she hadn’t even said a word yet, and the call was already hung up on her.

Could it be that Darla was right, that this girl was a scheming woman who had stolen the man she loved?

But deep down, Agnes knew that if that man truly loved Darla, no other woman could ever take him away from her.

That was why she couldn’t resist calling the girl to find out what was going on.

But clearly, the girl wasn’t playing along.

Agnes fell silent for a moment. She decided she’d better talk to Darla to get to the bottom of this first.

********

Alana arranged to meet with Eve and recounted the strange phone call she’d just received.

Eve was surprised. “What? Your rival’s mother actually called you?”

Alana nodded. “Yeah. She was probably trying to convince me to break up with Stephan or something.”