I went to find Lucas that afternoon, but he hadnât been in the Goldstein residence recently. Due to his weak body, he was hospitalized once again after catching a cold from attending a party. When Christopher and I arrived at the hospital, he was flipping through his medical record. Upon seeing me rush in, he frowned. âDid the Goldstein residence catch fire? Why are you in a rush?â
âItâs something even more serious than that.â Seeing that he looked fine, I went straight to the point. âItâs about my mom and⦠Dad. How much do you know about them? Is there anything that I donât know?â
Lucas was at a loss for words. A while later, he finally asked, âWhat do you mean? They are your parents. If you, as their daughter, donât even know whatâs going on, how the hell am I supposed to know? Are you out of your mind? Iâm your cousin, not your biological brother.â
âBut you grew up in the Goldstein residence, so shouldnât you know more than me?â I was a bit desperate at that point.
âWhat do you want to ask?â Lucas asked. He knew I had some questions in my mind and his anxiousness rose when I couldnât bring myself to voice them after a while.
I began to panic when I recalled hearing weird sounds from Isabelleâs side whenever I called her. Quickly, I turned to Christopher for help.
He patted my back lightly to comfort me before saying in a calm voice, âShe wants to ask you about the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein. Are they enamored with each other? Or do they quarrel frequently behind people?â
Hearing that, Lucas cast me a meaningful gaze. âYou should at least tell me the reason for asking me that out of the blue, no? Otherwise, I donât know what I should say.â
I took a deep breath and forced myself to face the issue. âI found some wounds on my mom and I donât know what happened since I wasnât home these two nights. Did they fight?â
Despite struggling for so long, I only managed to utter those words. Lucas was amused. âIsnât it normal for a couple to quarrel? Why are you so nervous? Itâs because you and Christopher are still a new couple; thatâs why you two have never fought before. Havenât you heard of the seven-year itch?â
âBut Mom is badly injured!â In actuality, I, too, felt strange for asking such questions, yet I couldnât stop worrying if I didnât ask.
âUncle Mark is cruel, but he treats all the women around him fairly well. Heâs not interested in women. Your mom is the only woman beside him for years. He was madly in love with your mom when he was young. Now, do you still think that they are on bad terms? Donât be so paranoid. If Uncle Mark hears about this, he will surely be sad. After all, youâre his daughter.â
He then paused briefly before continuing, âSometimes, people tend to lose control when they are too stressed out. Itâs just once in a while, so donât worry. I bet heâs even more upset than you are right now. Instead of running your mind wild here, why donât you go back and take care of Aunt Isabelle?â
The meaningful gleam in Lucasâ eyes went unnoticed as I was too concerned about Isabelle.
âItâs odd to hear such words from you.â I sighed. âForget it. Perhaps Iâm truly overthinking. Youâre my friend, so I trust you wonât lie to me.â
I was somewhat relieved at his reassurance. âGet some rest. Iâll go back to take care of my mom then.â
âHow heartless! Iâm sick and you didnât even ask me about my wellbeing. And you call yourself a friend? Am I a tool that you can throw away after using it?â A bitter smile crept onto his face as he looked at me.
Ignoring Lucas, I leaned closer to Christopher and exchanged a passionate kiss with him. After that, I walked out of the ward while saying, âIâll let Chris accompany you for a while. Heâs a busy person and his rate is more than a hundred thousand each second. Now that heâs doing it for free, you should feel honored.â