"Mom, you’re done now," Olivia Zane rolled over in her chair, "Yeah, I just got off the operating table."
Ariana Evans responded, the woman just over fifty, her expression and voice both permeated with the gentle and tranquil charm accumulated over the years.
The man buried in work on the sofa also stood up, giving a slight nod as a way of greeting.
Ariana Evans also nodded lightly and pushed the wheelchair over to the bed.
"Mom..." Titus Zane opened his eyes, lying on the bed with no intention of getting up.
The side of his face that had been slapped was resting on a soft pillow, worrying that his mother would see the marks and feel heartache, but his voice couldn’t hide his grievances when he spoke.
Since childhood, his parents had never punished him, and Logan Ray especially had always doted on him, never having experienced such injustice.
Ariana Evans sat beside the bed, in her white hospital coat, and took her daughter’s hand with a gentle voice.
"Titus, going to the hospital for surgery without telling Mom, doing it alone is so dangerous. If you really hurt yourself badly, you’ll regret it for life."
Ariana Evans tapped her daughter’s forehead, although the words were of reprimand, her tone was full of indulgence and spoiling.
Titus Zane felt even more aggrieved, having always been closest to his mother since childhood.
Holding his mother’s hand back, he pouted, "Mom, I was worried you wouldn’t have time."
No matter how mature a woman is, in front of her parents, she’s always the child that hasn’t grown up.
"Even if Mom is busy, can’t she find the time to accompany her own daughter for a minor surgery?" Ariana Evans pretended to be displeased, staring at her daughter.
Titus Zane smiled, "You said it was a minor surgery, I didn’t expect my health to be this poor."
"You..." Ariana Evans tapped her daughter’s forehead again, her speech filled with endless indulgence and spoiling, then turned to look at the daughter in the wheelchair being ignored, her expression instantly became serious.
"Olivia, as a younger sister, how could you not take care of your sister? Nathan is busy with work, he has no time, but are you also too busy with work?"
Both daughters, yet Ariana Evans’ treatment of them was so starkly different.
Her words were not only an accusation against her younger daughter but were essentially directed at the man continuing his work on the sofa.
His woman having an abortion but as a man, not being by her side, using work as an excuse; no matter how busy, is there really not even an hour to spare?
Clearly, he just doesn’t want to be involved!
Ariana Evans is a traditional and virtuous woman; unable to openly criticize her son-in-law, she can only vent all her displeasure on her daughters.
"Mom!" Olivia Zane pursed her lips and then looked down at her legs covered with a blanket, before looking up with a hurt expression, "Look at me now, how can I accompany my sister to the hospital."
"Your sister couldn’t come to the hospital for her surgery, but now you can!" Ariana Evans’ tone did not soften at her younger daughter’s complaint but became even harsher.
"Mom..." Olivia Zane called softly, then hung her head, her long eyelashes trembling, clearly feeling wronged.
The man engrossed in work on the sofa couldn’t listen any longer.
The same daughters, but treated differently by their mother; if she weren’t the mother of the woman he liked, he would have thrown her out of the hospital room.
He put aside his laptop with a bit of force, a manifestation of his dissatisfaction.
Standing up, when all eyes turned to him, he nodded slightly towards Ariana Evans, "I’m going out for a smoke."
Having said that, he strode out of the hospital room.