Novel Square
Chapter 197
Estrella sighed, “I have no idea, Thomas. And honestly, it’s not my circus, not my
monkeys.”
She had been a bit under the weather a few days back with a mild cold, but it had been over two weeks since she last saw Jason. If he had caught something, it certainly wasn’t
from her.
Thomas chuckled, teasing her, “Who’s pinning anything on you, Estrella? I’m just saying, our boy Jason here is sick with longing for you. Ever since you dropped the divorce bomb, he’s been down for the count with a fever hitting the high 104s. The docs at the hospital are stumped-his fever just won’t break. If he keeps going like this, he’s gonna be
toast.”
Hearing Thomas’ over-the-top story, Estrella laughed, “A fever that high? He wouldn’t need cremation at that point.”
Estrella, seeing she had rendered Thomas mute, playfully smacked his head with the stack of papers she was holding, “You should be on a comedy stage.” If someone had a fever that high for days, they’d be a goner, not waiting around till now.
“Estrella, you messed up my hair,” Thomas said, smoothing back his locks before adding, “No joke, I’m dead serious about Jason. If you don’t believe me, go see him at the hospital. He’s burning up with no sign of cooling down.”
“Enough, Thomas. I’ve got better things to do than trade barbs with you all day.”
Estrella straightened his rumpled collar with a pat and turned, heading for the parking lot. Thomas called after her retreating figure, “If you can find the time, maybe drop by the hospital to see Jason. Otherwise, you might miss your chance to see him for the last time.”
Without turning back, Estrella waved dismissively at Thomas, slid into her car, and drove off. Thomas’ words were like a late-night infomercial-more fiction than fact. Even if Jason was genuinely sick, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell she’d visit him.
The next day, after wrapping up a meeting about an environmental case with the authorities at the governmental facility, Estrella was all set to head back when she spotted Jason walking towards her, with Drew in tow. Jason appeared as if nothing was wrong, and Estrella was even more convinced that Thomas was full of hot air.
As they approached, Drew hurriedly greeted her, “Ms. Estrella.”
“Hey,” Estrella responded, then turned to Jason, “Thomas claims you’re hospitalized with a raging fever.”
Drew, eager to clarify, said, “Ms. Estrella, Mr. Jason was indeed sick this morning, spiked a 102, but he insisted on attending a meeting here; we couldn’t talk him out of it.”
With a pitiful look, Drew finished his explanation. Estrella glanced at Jason and saw his lackluster eyes and evident exhaustion. Without delving into Jason’s illness, Estrella simply said, “You two take care.”
As she walked away, Jason turned and kept his eyes on her. He had been surprised to run into Estrella just now. The one silver lining for him was that during their brief exchange, she hadn’t brought up the divorce. That would’ve really chilled him to the bone.
“Mr. Jason, Ms. Estrella’s long gone,” Drew murmured, noting Jason’s lingering gaze.
Jason, after a moment, finally turned away.
Beside him, Drew sighed resignedly, wishing Jason had been more attentive earlier. He sneaked a glance at Jason’s forlorn expression, understanding the guilt Jason felt for past mistakes-broken promises, ignorance of her miscarriage.
After crossing paths with Jason, Estrella went straight home to be with her kid. Nowadays, her life revolved around work and spending time with Isaac. She had plans in the pipeline. Once the environmental case was settled, she’d be joining the team at Justice Guardians LLP.
Later that afternoon, after tucking Isaac in for his nap and returning to her study to sort through case files, Thomas’ call came through “Estrella, Jason’s in bad shape. You should come to the hospital.”
Estrella was tempted to throw her phone against the wall.
“Estrella, it’s serious. The doctors are all doom and gloom, saying it might be some sort of mental problem,” Thomas went on.
Estrella replied coolly, “I ran into him at the governmental facility this morning. Next time, try to make your act more convincing.” With that, she hung up.
Did they think she was born yesterday? Playing these childish games with her? Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
In the hospital room, Thomas stared dumbfounded at his phone as Jason, irritated, tossed a pillow at him. “Do I look like I was at death’s door to you?”
Thomas, using one hand to shield his face and the other to catch the pillow, protested, “No, Jason, Estrella said she saw you at the facility this morning.”
Drew chimed in, “She did, indeed.”
Thomas sighed, “Jason, if you’re sick, make it believable. Why were you out and about, making me look like a fool in front of her?”
Jason simply shot him à withering look. He really was ill, and he had gone to the meeting, but returned to continue his treatment. Thomas just underestimated Estrella, thinking a bit
of sympathy would soften her up.
Besides, what was Jason’s fever compared to the pain she endured during her miscarriage?
Back at her desk, Estrella switched her phone to vibrate and refocused on her work. However, as she immersed herself in the files, her head began to feel heavy, and her energy waned. A deep discomfort settled in her spine and shoulders, a burdensome weight that seemed to grow by the minute.
Juggling a stack of documents in one hand and pressing the other to her forehead, Estrella was taken aback by the heat emanating from her skin. “Why am I burning up?” she wondered.
Realizing that something was off with her health, Estrella grabbed the thermometer and took her temperature. She wished she hadn’t-39 degrees Celsius was glaring back at
her.
Staring at the reading, Estrella swiftly pulled out a face mask and put it on, then she packed up the case files on her desk and went looking for her mother. “Mom, I’ve got a fever. I’m going to check it out at the hospital. Can you keep an eye on Isaac for me? Maybe take his temperature too. I’m afraid he might’ve caught it from me.”
She had intended to check on Isaac a moment ago, but with the fever raging, she decided against going near him.
Autumn, hearing Estrella’s words, quickly asked, “Can you manage on your own at the hospital? I’ll get your dad to come home and accompany you.” In Autumn’s eyes, Estrella, even as a mother, was still her child, her ever-growing daughter.
“It’s okay,” Estrella replied, slipping on her shoes. “There’s a lot of fevers going around lately, I’d better not stick too close to you guys. I’ll head to the hospital and get a blood test done first.”
With that, Estrella grabbed her cellphone and car keys and headed out the door. If she lived alone, without a child, she wouldn’t be so worried. But now as a mother, she had to be cautious. Firstly, to prevent passing anything to Isaac, and secondly, to ensure she could take care of him.
Autumn watched Estrella drive away before going upstairs to check Isaac’s temperature. Estrella had come back home, more mature and sensible than she had been three years ago. That’s the strength of motherhood.
At the hospital, after registering, Estrella waited for her blood test results when a young nurse approached her. “Estrella, we’ve got a couple of rooms available upstairs. Do you want to get admitted now? Otherwise, if your fever doesn’t subside, we might run out of rooms later. We’ve been swamped with patients lately.”
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