Useless Husband is now a Muti-Billionaire

Chapter Five Awake

“Mother?”

Abel sat beside the bed, holding her hand. He had stayed at the hospital all night, and at six in the morning, the doctor had finally let him in.

Maryjane’s eyelids fluttered. “Abel…” Her voice was a dry whisper. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.” He pressed her hand gently. “You’re awake.”

She tried to sit up and winced.

“No, no. Don’t.” He rested a hand on her shoulder and eased her back. “The doctor says you need a week of rest before the wound heals. No sudden movements.”

“What happened to me?”

“Your blood pressure collapsed, and your heart couldn’t keep up. They operated last night.” He smiled. “It worked. You’re going to be fine, Mother.”

Maryjane studied his face for a long moment, then looked around the room. “Where is Adora?”

Abel’s smile didn’t move, though something behind it did.

“She left a few hours ago. She needed to change.”

It was a lie. He told it easily, because the truth would only make her worry, and she had a wound to heal.

“I see.” Maryjane gave a faint nod. “And the bill? Surgery like this must have cost…”

“You don’t have to think about that.”

“Abel.”

“Mother, I promise it’s taken care of.” He squeezed her hand. “Your prayers were answered. That’s all you need to know for now. When you’re strong enough, I’ll tell you everything.”

She looked at him for a moment longer, a little puzzled, then smiled and closed her eyes.

“Time’s up, Mr. Kane.” A nurse appeared at the door. “She needs to rest.”

Abel kissed his mother’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

***

The hospital felt different in the morning.

Two nurses at the front desk stopped talking when he passed. The receptionist stood up. By now, word of the extra fifty thousand had gone through the whole ward, and he could feel the glances following him to the exit.

Yesterday, nobody had looked at him at all.

Outside, the old Corolla sat in the same parking spot where he had left it. Abel stopped beside it and ran his hand along the faded paint.

Only yesterday, he had sat in this seat with tears on his face, wondering where he would find the money to save his mother.

He got in and turned the key. The engine coughed twice and caught.

His phone was still off. He had no plan to turn it on. The Clements could keep calling a number that no longer answered to them.

But he couldn’t walk into a boardroom in clothes that smelled of the hospital. The suit he owned that didn’t look like a delivery uniform was back at the mansion, and he would have to change before the board met him.

He pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward Blackridge Hill, hoping Adora wasn’t home to watch him do it.

****

Across the city, in the Clement mansion, Adora lay in bed glaring at the ceiling.

She dialed Abel’s number again.

“The number you are trying to reach is switched off. Please try again later.”

She threw the phone onto the sheets.

She had been trying to reach him since last night. Her nails were chipped, her breakfast hadn’t been made her way, and no one had been there to polish her toes. He had never skipped a night before. Not once in five years.

He would be punished for it. She would make sure of that.

But the silence irritated her more than the missing breakfast. Abel didn’t switch off his phone. Abel didn’t ignore her.

She grabbed her phone again and opened iMessage. A name sat at the top of her recent chats.

Tyler.

“Where are you?”

The reply came in seconds. “Home. Why?”

Adora sat up and swung her legs out of bed.

“I’m coming over. Don’t go anywhere.”