The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Chapter 193

After Madam Ye left the ward, Mango went to the bedside of Rita.

"Mommy, why are you so thin? I almost couldn't recognize you. Is it because you're so tired after taking care of a sick brother?"

Rita reached out her small hand in distress and she gently touched Mango's face.

Her hand was so cold that it did not match a child's usual temperature.

Before this, Mango always thought that it was her fault. However, she knew now that it was because of a lot of external factors.

Hence, Mango felt a mixed bag of emotions, but it was mainly self-accusation, remorse and heartache. Thus, she did not know what to say when she heard Rita's words. In the end, she just held Rita gently in her arms.

"Do you think that mommy has become ugly?"

"No, Mommy is always beautiful and I've missed Mommy so much!"

Rita curled up in Mango's arms and she acted like a pampered child.

Mango could feel Rita's body spasm. Perhaps Rita was in a lot of pain, but she smiled at her mother the same way she smiled while facing life's problems.

Mango spoke in a sad tone, "Oh Rita, does it hurt?" "Hehe...Not at all."

Nevertheless, Rita still managed to force a smile.

This caused Mango's tears to slip down her face.

"Rita, you don't have to force it in front of Mommy. I know that you are hurting a lot now, right? Mommy is very happy that you're strong, but Mommy doesn't want you to bear it alone. Tell Mommy, does it hurt?"

"Yeah, it hurts!"

Immediately, Rita stopped smiling and her nose wrinkled. Next, her body subconsciously moved closer to Mango.

"Mommy, I don't know why my body hurts so much ever since I came here. But Grandma, daddy and Brother Wisdom are so good to me. I'm scared that they will hate me if I say that it hurts."

"Silly girl, no one will hate you. Dad, grandma, Mommy, and Brother Wisdom all love you. Mommy knows that Rita is hurting, and I'm hurt too. Mommy is also sick, just like you. Both of us need treatment, but we have to defeat our own obstacles first, do you understand?"

Mango stroked Rita's hair with a distressed heart and she felt very upset.

Rita raised her head and she looked at Mango with her large, beautiful eyes. Then, she asked softly, "Mommy, does Uncle Abyss hate me? Does he not want me anymore because I'm not healed?"

"What are you talking about? Rita is so adorable, of course everyone likes you." This content © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

Mango's emotions were very complicated at that moment.

Initially, she was going to tell Rita about what Abyss had done to her, but Madam Ye's words cautioned her otherwise before she left the room.

Rita was so innocent.

Over the past five years, Abyss had been a father figure in Rita's heart. If she told Rita the truth now, she did not know whether Rita could handle it or not.

In this regard, Madam Ye was obviously more thoughtful than she was.

However, Rita was not placated even after she heard Mango's words. She whispered, "I overheard Auntie Zhang telling those bad guys to find me and then kill me. Auntie Zhang is Uncle Abyss' secretary so I'm sure that he hates me. Now that I'm hurting so much, it can't be cured, right?"

"Stop talking nonsense, Rita." Mango said to her.

In fact, Mango did not know that Rita had heard such cruel words. Hence, she felt even more distressed.

Rita held Mango's hand and she said, "It doesn't matter, mommy. If it can't be cured, then forget it. Can you take me home? I miss Brother Zion. Plus, Brother Wisdom said that he would take me to the amusement park. I know I can't get on the rides, but at least I can watch. If it really can't be cured, you can't cry, mommy. You still have Brother Zion, so you won't be lonely."

"What are you talking about, Rita?"

Mango held Rita in her arms, and her tears flowed down her face involuntarily.

"Zion is Zion, and you are you. Both of you are my sweethearts, and no one can replace you both! Mommy wants you to live happily and healthily. You can do it! Rita, your daddy is the president of HY Group and the mayor of Ocean City. No matter what, he'll find a way to cure you. What would mommy do if something really happened to you?"

Mango's voice was rough and she choked on her sobs.

God was cruel to her. Even after so much hardship, why couldn't her baby be healthy?

When Rita saw Mango crying, she hurriedly wanted to wipe her tears.

"Mommy, don't cry. I'm not hurting at all, really."

Rita's little face was pale, and her palms were bleeding where her nails had pierced the skin. The scarlet blood made Mango feel extremely uncomfortable.

"It doesn't matter if it hurts because Mommy will be with you. From now on, no matter where you go, Mommy will accompany you."

Then, Mango hugged Rita tightly.

In the end, Rita could not take it any longer. Thus, she whispered, "Mommy, I want to hear you sing."

"Okay, what do you want me to sing?"

"Mommy, I'll like it no matter what you sing."

Rita had curled up in Mango's arms and her whole body was trembling.

Moreover, there were already tears glistening in her eyes and her forehead dripped with cold sweat. However, Rita was so determined to not cry out a single sob.

Truthfully, Mango really hoped that Rita would cry. If she cried, perhaps her heart would not be so distressed. However, this feeling made her feel as if she would go insane.

Nonetheless, she agreed to Rita's request.

"My bonnie lies over the ocean, my bonnie lies over the sea..."

Mango hummed Rita's favorite song and she sang it over and over again tirelessly.

As Nathaniel stood outside, he felt his heart was shattered into pieces.

Ever since he was a child, Nathaniel had thought of himself as omnipotent. However, he could do nothing about this situation.

The two women inside were the most important people in his life, but now he could only watch them and suffered. In the end, there was nothing he could do.

Madam Ye sighed softly and she said, "Right now, Mango is the only thing that can keep Rita going."

"But Mango is sick as well. You know, she's very weak and she wouldn't eat anything for the past few days. Mom, do you think that God is punishing my wife and daughter for a crime I did in my past life?"

"Quit spewing that nonsense." Madam Ye chided her son.

Madam Ye knew that Nathaniel was a resilient man, but now his resilience had started to crumble. Clearly after this series of unfortunate events, no one would be able to cope with it.

After a while, Thomas returned. He stood behind Nathaniel and he said, "Mr. Ye, the experts are here."

"Invite them in quickly!"

Right then, Mango screamed loudly. The sound scared Nathaniel and the others so much that they hurriedly opened the door and they rushed in.

"What's wrong?" Nathaniel asked.

"Rita's fainted."

Mango's eyes were full of tears as she held Rita's thin body tightly with both hands. At the same time, her body shook with the force of her sobs.

"Get her to the operating room now!"

After that, Nathaniel picked Rita up and he ran quickly towards the operating room.

"Thomas, take the experts directly to the operating room."

Nathaniel said as he ran.

"Noted, sir!"

Thomas dared not delay, so he turned around and he ran off.

Mango had wanted to follow Nathaniel but as soon as she got out of bed, she felt dizzy and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Madam Ye held on to her.

"Don't worry. Nathan has already made the necessary arrangements. Rita will be okay. I promise you, we will cure Rita even if it costs the Ye Family everything we have."

Madam Ye's words touched Mango's heart deeply. "I'm sorry. For the past five years, I..."

"What's past is past. No matter who was right or wrong, we're all supporting Rita now. Mango, I don't know what you've experienced, but you are a mother, and Rita needs you. But with your current physical condition, you can't be with her, do you understand?"

Madam Ye was telling the truth.

Obviously, Mango was upset but she still nodded.

"I know, I'm fine, I just can't get through my mental trauma, I..."

"Do you think that the things you've experienced are more important than Rita?"

There was wisdom in Madam Ye's eyes and it made Mango realize something right then.

No one else in the world was more important to her than Rita and Zion.

"Sure, Rita is my life."

"So whatever you're going through isn't so big of a deal, is it? As long as you can overcome your demons, you need not be afraid and nothing else matters. Rita is a strong girl, and you're a great mother for educating your child like this. I thank you on behalf of the Ye Family. She is still holding on at such a young age, for your sake and for Zion's as well. Do you think she is not in pain when she does not cry? Mango, there are some things in life that no one but you can solve. I believe that if you can teach Rita to be so brilliant, then surely you can overcome your problems too, right?"

Madam Ye's words made Mango feel ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think it through."

"You don't have to apologize to me because you didn't do anything wrong. Instead, it was the Ye family that let you down. Will you give us some time to make up for that? You know, Nathan spent the past five years like a zombie. I didn't care about your marriage five years ago because I thought it was pointless. Nathan was never an impulsive child, but he married you impulsively. But, Nathan has changed ever since he married you. He just didn't realize it. We don't have time to investigate the strange causes of the fire now, but you have to be strong to discover the truth about what happened. What's more, I haven't seen my grandson Zion for so long. There are so many things that you need to do. Mango, Rita will be fine. You have to believe me, Nathan, and the power of the Ye family. All you have to do is be able to eat because right now, Nathan is spreading himself thin dealing with all these problems."

There was a hint of pleading in Madam Ye's eyes.

Instantly, Mango understood.

Nathaniel was a parent to the children, as was she. Though he made less contributions these five years, that was because he didn't know the children exist.

As he came to know about the fact now, Zion had disappeared and Rita was like this before he could even be a responsible father to them.

Moreover, if something were to happen to her right now, there was no one could if Nathaniel would be able to bear it.

For the past three days, she had tortured herself as well as Nathaniel. He had barely slept and his onyx eyes were dull with exhaustion. Now that Rita was like this, would her collapse be the last straw that caused Nathaniel to collapse as well?