Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Most Desperate 10 Minutes of Her Life

"Yvonne, the hospital can’t just fire you for no reason. You can’t just give in! You have to fight them, or at least expose them!" Mina Adler said, filled with righteous indignation.

Yvonne Sutton pulled a large bag of snacks from the bottom drawer and handed it to Mina Adler.

Sometimes they got so busy they didn’t have time to eat, so they’d keep some food on hand to tide them over.

But she wasn’t a big fan of these things; they were mostly for Mina.

"Yvonne, you can’t act so nonchalant! They’re only doing this because they think you’re a pushover!" Mina was so anxious she was practically jumping up and down.

Yvonne shook her head and smiled. "They offered me a good severance package. I reviewed it before I signed."

"Yvonne!"

"Actually, I was planning to resign anyway." Yvonne shrugged. "Riverdale General Hospital is owned by the Reed family. If I want to make a clean break from Vincent Reed, I have to leave Riverdale General."

Hearing this, Mina’s anger finally started to subside.

"So what are your plans now?"

"I’ll take some time off first, then look for another job."

Mina pursed her lips in disbelief. "You? A workaholic? You’re actually willing to take a break?"

"Yeah." Yvonne let out a sigh of relief. "I’m getting married, so I plan to renovate the new house first."

Mina’s eyes went wide. "You—you’re getting married? But you just broke up with Vincent Reed! Where did you even find a fiancé?"

"My aunt introduced us."

As Yvonne carried her box out, the doctors and nurses from her department saw her and waved, their faces full of sympathy.

Yvonne smiled back at them, though in their eyes, it was probably a forced smile.

Mina walked her all the way to the hospital entrance. "You can’t trust men so easily. Anyway, if you run into any trouble, you have to tell me."

Yvonne nodded. "Of course. We’re friends."

Mina stepped forward and gave Yvonne a hug. "With you gone, work won’t be any fun anymore."

"Once my house is renovated, I’ll have you over."

"Definitely."

Yvonne didn’t go back to the villa. Instead, she went to her old house in the Westbrook District.

The Westbrook District had developed rapidly in recent years. Most of the old city’s buildings had been demolished, with only one or two streets occasionally left untouched.

Coming up from the subway station, just across the road, the east side was filled with towering skyscrapers and bustling traffic, while the west side was a quiet alley with decades-old houses and elderly folks taking slow, shuffling walks.

Yvonne walked through the alley until she reached a small, two-story building. This was her home. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Because it had been vacant for so long, the building’s glass windows had been shattered by mischievous children with slingshots. The paint on the wooden balcony was peeling, the wooden door had a hole in it, and the yard was overgrown with weeds.

But the pomegranate tree in the yard was still lush, covered in bright red pomegranates that were ripe for the season.

Yvonne borrowed a chair. Luckily, her wall wasn’t very high, so it was easy to climb over.

Looking at the abundance of large, red pomegranates, she eagerly picked one. When she broke it open, the arils were plump, like tiny rubies.

It was a sweet pomegranate tree. Her mother had planted it in the yard because she loved to eat them.

"My little glutton, are the pomegranates sweet yet?"

Every year, she would look forward to the pomegranates ripening. As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, she would eagerly pick one to taste. But in reality, the pomegranates weren’t quite ripe yet back then.

But when her mother asked, she would always say firmly, "So sweet!"

"So sweet," she murmured, forgetting that there was no one left to ask her.

Her father had fallen gravely ill and passed away shortly after she was born. She didn’t know what he looked like; she only heard from her mother that he was very handsome and that she looked the most like him.

Her mother had also been a doctor, in the emergency department, and often worked late. It was the summer after her senior year of high school. One night, during a heavy downpour, she took an umbrella to the subway station to pick up her mother from work.

As mother and daughter were walking home, a truck behind them suddenly skidded and lost control, hurtling toward them. Her mother pushed her out of the way but couldn’t dodge it herself. She was sent flying over ten meters before landing hard on the ground.

She would never forget that scene for the rest of her life. When she came to her senses and ran toward her mother, she found her lying on the ground in a twisted position, her blood staining the surrounding rainwater red.

"Mom! Mom!"

She threw herself to the ground, screaming for her mother, but her mother couldn’t respond.

The truck driver fled. Because of the rain and the remote location, there was no one else on the road. Her phone wasn’t working. She frantically looked for help, and after a long wait, a car finally passed by.

She flagged down the car. The person who got out was Vincent Reed.

Seeing what had happened, he helped call an ambulance. Then he took an umbrella from his car and held it over her mother on the ground.

The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later. Those ten minutes were the most desperate, terrifying, and helpless moments of her life, and he was there with her through it all.

Later, at the hospital, he was the one who rushed around handling the paperwork, but they still couldn’t save her mother.

He stayed with her until almost noon the next day, only leaving after her aunt and uncle arrived. Before he left, he made a point of buying a cup of hot soy milk and placing it in her hands.

"My name is Vincent Reed. I’m a freshman in the finance department at Aethelgard U. Uh, when you’ve had some time to recover, if you want to thank me, you can treat me to a meal."

She spent the entire summer immersed in grief.

When her freshman year started, she enrolled in the medical program at Aethelgard U. One day, she heard people talking about the most popular figures on campus, and Vincent Reed’s name was at the top of the list. Only then did she suddenly remember him.

She took him up on his offer and treated him to a meal, and they started dating soon after.

That’s why her feelings for Vincent Reed were so complicated. Over the past eight years, she had been willing to forgive him time and time again, largely because of that rainy night.

"Miss, are you stealing pomegranates?"

The voice snapped Yvonne back to the present. She looked up toward the gate and saw a few elementary school students peering at her through the iron bars.

Yvonne smiled. "This is my house."

"Tch, no way! If it was your house, why would you climb the wall instead of opening the gate?" a little boy said with a pout.

Yvonne didn’t argue. She just pointed to the pomegranate tree behind her. "Do you want some?"

The little boy and his friends all nodded, staring greedily at the pomegranate tree.

Yvonne picked over a dozen and gave two to each of them.

"Miss, you should run! The police are going to come and get you soon!" the little boy reminded her with a grin.

Yvonne ruffled the little guy’s hair. "This really is my house."

’I’ve only lost it for now, but I’ll definitely get it back.’

She took a photo under the pomegranate tree and casually sent it to Wyatt Shaw. After sending it, she was surprised by how natural the action felt and by the strong urge she had to share things with him.

But she couldn’t really blame herself. After all, he sent her all sorts of candid photos every day—from his office, from the street, of his meals. He even sent a daily summary of what he’d done, down to the last detail. Luckily, his days weren’t very complicated; it was all just work.

After sending the photo, she put her phone back in her bag. She didn’t have to wait for his reply or wonder why he hadn’t responded. She really liked this kind of relationship.

By the time she got back to the villa, it was already dark. Mrs. Reed and the property manager were in a discussion at her front door.

"I want you to contact the owner of this house immediately. I can rent it for a high price or even buy it, but he cannot rent it to Yvonne Sutton again!"