Chapter 161: Discharged from the Hospital

At the mention of this, Samuel Ford’s gaze darkened, and his expression grew heavy. "Yes, I was just there. My mom told me what happened. I’m sorry."

Amanda Vance shook her head. "You don’t need to apologize to me. Your father didn’t do anything to me."

Even though he didn’t want to see her, he hadn’t done anything to hurt her.

"I’m just wondering why your father is acting this way."

Samuel Ford’s suspicion was much the same as Amanda Vance’s. He guessed it had something to do with his second uncle, but with no cameras in the hospital room, there was no way to know what had been said. The contents of that conversation were known only to his uncle and Mr. Ford.

As for asking Mr. Ford, his mom had already tried several times. He refused to talk, only insisting that he and Amanda couldn’t be together.

Thinking of this, Samuel Ford’s gaze deepened. "I will get to the bottom of this," he said.

’If I can’t get it out of Dad, then I’ll just have to go find my second uncle.’

"Okay." Amanda Vance nodded, leaving the matter in his hands. "Your father has been stable the last few days," she added. "Let Mr. Lynch take care of him for now; he’s more than qualified. You and your mother shouldn’t worry too much. Just focus on your own recovery. If your father wants to be discharged, he can be, once his condition stabilizes in a day or two."

"Okay," Samuel Ford agreed. He couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at her, and Amanda Vance caught him. "What are you looking at?"

’In the future, it won’t be so easy to find an excuse to see her.’

Samuel Ford sighed inwardly. He didn’t voice his thought, only saying, "It’s nothing."

Even if he didn’t say it, Amanda Vance could roughly guess from his expression. Her heart stirred and her lips parted, but in the end, she said nothing. ’It’s for the best if we see less of each other,’ she thought. ’Maybe after a while, he’ll forget about me.’

**

「Two days later」

Mr. Ford had a check-up, and he was discharged the next day.

Amanda Vance didn’t go to see him off that day, but Mrs. Ford made a special trip to visit her. She brought a gift to thank Amanda for all her care.

Amanda Vance smiled. "You’re too kind, Mrs. Ford. I was just doing my job."

Mrs. Ford looked at her, genuinely fond of her. ’Such a pity...’ she thought with an internal sigh. She took Amanda’s hand and said, "Megan, don’t you worry. I’ll get to the bottom of what’s gotten into that old man and get you an explanation."

She looked so indignant on Amanda’s behalf. It was rare for anyone to be so considerate of her.

Amanda Vance chuckled softly and squeezed her hand in return. "It’s really all right. All that matters is that you and Mr. Ford are healthy."

’Such a wonderful girl. I really don’t know what’s gotten into that old man.’

Amanda wrote down a few recipes for medicinal tonics for her. After watching her leave, Amanda returned to her office.

’Under the circumstances, it’s not really appropriate for me to keep living at the Ford residence.’

There weren’t many patients today, so after finishing her consultations, Amanda left and went to the kindergarten to pick up her son.

"Mommy!" Felix Ford took her hand and hopped into the passenger seat, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. "Mommy, how come you had time to pick me up today?"

"I got off work early, so I had time to come. Are you happy?"

"Yeah!" Felix Ford nodded emphatically, his smile so wide his eyes crinkled into slits. His little face was radiant with joy, and seeing him, Amanda couldn’t help but feel her own spirits lift.

"One of Mommy’s patients was discharged today. To celebrate, should we go out for a nice dinner?"

"Okay, okay!" Felix Ford buckled his seatbelt with a grin. As long as he was with his mommy, he wasn’t a picky eater. He would eat anything.

’But, a patient was discharged...’

"Was it Grand... Was Mr. Ford discharged?"

"Yes." Amanda wasn’t surprised. After all, she’d first seen Mr. Ford’s medical file because of Felix, so it made sense that he knew.

"That’s right. Colt’s grandfather."

’Oh, so Grandpa got discharged. That was pretty fast.’

He didn’t know what had happened a couple of days ago; he only knew that his mom’s medical skills were incredible. After all, the other doctors had said his grandfather’s condition was quite serious.

So, of course, he was happy that his grandfather could be discharged.

"Mommy, I feel like I’m in a really, really good mood today because so many good things happened. I hope every day can be as happy as this one."

He then looked at Amanda and added, "But of course, the best, best, best part is that Mommy came to pick me up."

As he spoke, his little legs swung slowly back and forth. It was clear he was genuinely happy.

A child’s happiness is so pure and infectious. If she weren’t driving and her hands were free, Amanda would have pulled him into her arms for a big hug and a kiss.

Reaching out to ruffle his hair, Amanda laughed. "Let’s go."

She took him out for dinner. After the mother and son had eaten their fill, they browsed around downstairs for a bit before heading up.

Noticing she had been looking at houses on her phone earlier, Felix thought for a moment before asking, "Mommy, are you going to buy a house?"

"Yes. It isn’t right to keep living in someone else’s home."

’Someone else’s home.’

Hearing those three words made Felix feel a little uncomfortable. ’This is my home too,’ he thought. ’So it should be Mommy’s home.’

But his parents’ situation seemed different from that of the other kids at school with divorced parents. For starters, other parents didn’t have a child together without even knowing each other. And they certainly wouldn’t be unaware that they had another child out there in the world.

He scratched his head. He felt his family was weird, but he didn’t know why.

And Jean had told him not to let their parents know about each other. He sighed to himself. ’This is so complicated.’

’Grown-up stuff is so complicated.’

He just didn’t get it.

Seeing his face suddenly fall, Amanda found it a little amusing. "What’s wrong? Sad to leave this place?"

"Um, that’s not it." Felix perked up again. ’Who needs Dad, anyway? As long as I’m with Mommy, that’s all that matters.’

With that thought, he pushed aside his earlier melancholy and looked up at her with a grin. "Mommy, where are we going to live then?"

"Mommy’s still looking. I should be able to find a place in the next couple of days."

’It’s just a temporary place, so it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I was going to buy a place when I first moved in, but I got busy and forgot. It’s about time I bought one now.’

"Oh, okay." Felix nodded, then pulled her over to watch some TV with him.

Afterward, the mother and son washed up and went to sleep.

Holding the sweet-smelling, soft little boy in her arms, Amanda’s heart slowly softened.

She murmured, "I still don’t even know your name."

Felix was fast asleep and gave no reaction. Even in his sleep, his little hand clutched the corner of her shirt, a picture of complete dependence.

She gently wrapped her hand around his. The mere thought that she might have to be separated from him one day made her heart ache fiercely.

’No, I can’t let that happen. I need to find a chance to talk to this child’s family.’

Felix had no idea what she was thinking. If he had, he probably would have told her there was no need for a talk; he wanted to stay with her himself.

Completely oblivious to the conversation he had missed, Felix stuffed a few oranges into his backpack before school the next day.

He was taking them to school for Jean. ’He loves sweet things,’ he thought. ’These oranges are so sweet, he’s definitely going to like them.’