Reborn Heiress: Married To My Ex-Husband's Rival
Chapter 55 Conflicted Emotions

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Conflicted Emotions

"Are you two fighting?" Hailey’s small voice echoed, snapping the two adults from their conversations.

Raymond took a step back while Nicole turned to face Hailey. "Let’s just go," Nicole said weakly. She eyed Raymond and then, walked away.

Raymond stood rooted to the ground, not believing his ears. He watched Nicole and Hailey leave and a rumble of Thunder seemed to have exploded in his head.

He didn’t hear wrong. Nicole doesn’t want him. She didn’t want him near her.

She was clear on that. Raymond felt a pang of sadness in the chest but he didn’t want to be some sort of unwanted pest moving around Nicole. He would respect her decision and get out of her sight.

Raymond curled his fists before following up to catch up with the mother-and-daughter pair.

Raymond pushed open the door for them and Nicole and Hailey went in.

Jasmine was on the bed as Kingsley spoon fed her, her back was against the neatly arranged pillows behind her. Her hair was loose, falling on both sides of her shoulders.

The moment the door opened, Jasmine and Kingsley turned to see who the guest was.

Jasmine’s eyes lit up when Hailey rushed in, coming to her side. "Aunt Jasmine, I heard you’re sick."

Jasmine smiled warmly as she rubbed Hailey’s blonde hair. Hailey continued. "You’ll be okay soon, just like mommy."

Hearing the word ’mommy’, Jasmine raised her gaze to see Nicole who was standing near the bed, her face was steel, and her shoulders stiffened as she gazed down at Jasmine.

Jasmine could tell what was running through Nicole’s mind, just like everyone else’s. Jasmine guessed Nicole must be thinking this was her end, just like the others. Just like herself too.

Jasmine suppressed the sad smile she was about to pull out and grinned instead. "Nic..."

"No," Nicole whispered, her eyes blinking nonstop as she stared at Jasmine, the pain swirling in the depths of her eyes.

They were both dressed in the same color hospital dress. While Jasmine had black hair, Nicole’s was blonde.

Jasmine sighed. Kingsley signaled to Raymond and the two men walked out with Hailey, giving the two best friends some privacy to catch up with their emotions.

The moment the door click shut, Nicole rushed towards Jasmine, she broke down as she hugged Jasmine softly, knowing everywhere must probably hurt Jasmine.

"Oh God, Jasmine..." Nicole cried as she hugged Jasmine. Jasmine grimaced a little and Nicole let go.

Her eyes were swollen, her nose and cheeks were red and her hair was scattered. "You don’t deserve this, Jasmine. You don’t..."

Jasmine tried to persuade her friend. "Hey, I can still make it."

Nicole hiccuped. "We both know what the doctor said when you did your third Surgery. Jasmine..." She closed her mouth and shut her eyes as she whimpered. "I’m sorry I can’t share your pain. I’m sorry..."

Jasmine sighed. As she watched her best friend break down, Jasmine couldn’t help the feelings that were starting to rise. The suppressed pain, hurt, and sadness that she had been holding back and masked with a big smile.... all started to leak.

Jasmine felt the tinge in her eyes as her tears started to pour out too, her chest grew heavy as she joined Nicole in crying. "It hurts to think this might be my last time on earth." Shaking her head, Jasmine burst into tears. "I—" she stammered. "I want to live, Nicole. I want to be able to see Hailey grow into an adult, I want to make things right, I want to see you finally happy with a man you love...."

Nicole hugged Jasmine as they cried in each other’s arms. "The thought of leaving kills me, Nicole. I want to live." Her cries came out raggard and muffled. Her shoulder trembled violently as the two friends held each other, sobbing nonstop.

After a while, Nicole pulled away, holding Jasmine’s shoulder, her red eyes looked directly at Jasmine’s. "I believe you will live, I can tell Mr. Elm is doing everything within his powers to make sure of that. He adores you, Jasmine."

Jasmine wiped her snot with the handkerchief she had been holding. Nicole continued. "I trust he will get the best doctor to treat you, Jasmine. You just have to stay strong for us and pull through..." Nicole chuckled but it came out sad, weak, and not as lively as it would have been. "You’re savage, remember? You can fight this."

Jasmine nodded amidst tears. "I pray so." Her shoulders relaxed a little as she added. "Kingsley..."

Nicole smiled a little bit and Jasmine wiped her tears before continuing. "He has been supportive and...I don’t even know how I feel but.." her eyes started to get watery again as she whimpered. "I would want to live for him too."

Nicole smiled bitterly. "I understand, girl."

"Is this normal?" Jasmine wept.

Nicole nodded. "Yes, it is totally normal and okay to want to live for such a caring man. I saw how he was caring for you and I know he’s done a lot more good for you."

After a few moments of talking, they soon diverted to a different topic.

At this point, they were already laughing over what happened at the bar that night they went out for a "freaky Friday night out"

"I wanted to kick his ass.."

"No, you didn’t. You were held by three burly men." Jasmine snorted.

Nicole’s face fell. "I wouldn’t have been in such a situation if I didn’t try to save you."

Jasmine giggled. "But you later became the one who needed to be saved."

Nicole sighed in an exasperated manner. "At the end of the day, I ended up a drunk sack with a pretty bad hangover."

"And I got scolded," Jasmine said and Nicole laughed.

"You don’t mean that."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I do. He scolded me."

Just then, Nicole’s stomach made a funny sound and Jasmine inclined her head to the side while Nicole held her stomach in embarrassment. "It just can’t be mature for once."

Jasmine shook her head before nodding towards the flask on the desk. "My mom brought food for me. You should eat."

Nicole chuckled. "Oh lord, your mom cooks the best meals." She grabbed the flask and dished out some food for herself.

Jasmine had a big smile on her face as she turned on her phone while Nicole ate her meal.

"I called you earlier but it went directly to voicemail," Nicole said as she munched on the potatoes.

"Oh, that. The phone was on silent and Kingsley was helping me charge the phone at the time." Jasmine absentmindedly scrolled through her phone screen and stumbled upon a video.

It was Jack’s video where he was being interviewed in front of his company. Jasmine’s brows furrowed deeply as she stared at his figure.

Jack has lost a lot of weight and his eyes seem to have been pushed into his head. He kept making obvious pauses in his statement as if his brain wasn’t registering his own words on time.

Jasmine asked Nicole. "Have you seen Jack’s latest video??"

Nicole shrugged as she sipped water from the glass cup. "I did, once."

Jasmine paused the video and looked at Nicole this time. "What did you notice?"

"I noticed how much of a so-not-worth-it-bamboo and a scum he is," Nicole said before eating the last piece of potatoes and keeping the flask in the bag.

Jasmine grimaced. ’Wrong question.’

"No, I mean—do you think something is wrong with him?? Like, if he is sick?" Jasmine asked skeptically.

"And why do you care about that?" Nicole asked ridiculously, her eyes seizing Jasmine.

Before Jasmine could reply, the door was pushed open and Kingsley walked in with Raymond behind him. Hailey also followed and lastly, a group of doctors.

Jasmine sucked in a deep breath when she saw the doctors who were with Doctor Williams. They were all older men and looked clean with their lab coats.

Nicole stood up from the bed. Kingsley came near. "Hey." He said softly and Jasmine nervously looked at him. He smiled softly at her before rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "It’s okay. They just want to talk to you."

Doctor Williams came near Kingsley who held Jasmine’s hand, not letting go.

"Mrs Elm, how are you feeling today?"

"A lot better. Just a dull pain in my head as usual." Jasmine reported back. Her eyes moved from Doctor Williams to the three doctors at the back and then, to Nicole and Hailey who were standing at the far end of the wall, and Raymond who was standing closest to the door.

Doctor Williams spoke again, drawing back her attention. "Please meet These men who are top surgeons from California, China, and Mexico. They will be assisting during your surgery tomorrow."

Jasmine’s eyes went to the doctors, she couldn’t believe Kingsley would go this far to bring in surgeons from different countries.

One at a time, the men started to introduce themselves. "Hello, Mrs Elm,My name is Surgeon Yu Ting." The Chinese man said, his accent couldn’t be concealed.

"Hello, Mrs Elm. I’m Surgeon Alejandro" The Mexican said with a big smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Elm. I’m Surgeon Skylar." The doctor from California introduced himself. He looked younger than the rest of them.

"It’s nice to meet you all too," Jasmine said before raising her eyes to meet Kingsley’s. He smiled down at her and it made her insides swell in emotions.

His efforts spoke volumes, leaving her conflicted. ’Does he really adore me?? Or...I’m just another responsibility??’