Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
With that, the door to the mansion slowly closed, and Estella‘s tiny figure was gone from Roxanne‘s sight.
Missing the little girl dearly, Roxanne took a deep breath and forced her tears back in.
They had spent quite some time together, and the kid had obviously grown fond of her and the boys. On top of that, her illness showed evident signs of improvement
If at all possible, Roxanne wished that she could continue to stay with Estella and take care of the latter until she had completely recovered. How I wish I could hear her say a full sentence…
Unfortunately, it seemed that was no longer possible.
As Archie and Benny walked down the stairs after Roxanne and Estella, the boys could tell that their mother was sad to send Estella away. Although they, too, felt the same, they kept their words to themselves.
When they saw how saddened their mother was, they snuggled up in her arms and promised, “Don‘t be sad, Mommy. We promise we will always be with you.”
Roxanne hugged the cuddly kids in her embrace, and her heart slowly became filled with warmth once more.
Although she was reluctant to part with Estella, her challenging job made it impossible for her to deal with other matters as she was preoccupied with her work every day.
On that fateful day, Roxanne followed her routine and left the research facility when it was time to pick up her kids from kindergarten.
When she was on her way, she received a call from Larry.
Roxanne picked up the call. “Hi Larry, what‘s up?”
Larry sounded a little troubled when he spoke on the other end of the line,
“Are you free to talk? I‘d like to ask for a favor.”
Roxanne could tell that something was off, so she agreed to help him without hesitation, “Ask away.”
Larry replied, “It‘s easier if we talk in person. I‘ll send you a location later. Let‘s meet there.”
Roxanne agreed to meet up and hung up the call. After that, she sped up and drove quickly to the kindergarten to pick up her kids. Upon dropping them off at her home, she asked her friend to babysit them, then hurried off to meet Larry at the restaurant he picked.
Larry was already there when she arrived, and he had a grim expression on his face.
“Sorry for asking you to come here out of the blue,” said Larry when he saw her sitting down.
Roxanne didn‘t mind, so she grinned. “It‘s fine. I‘m free tonight anyway. So, what do you need my help for?”
While they were talking, a server showed up to serve their dishes so that they could eat while they chatted.
“Initially, I planned to only stay here for a short while, but an elderly member of my extended family suddenly developed an illness in his brain. I‘m the only medical practitioner in the family, so I stayed behind to help out,” said Larry. “I‘ve read his medical file, and he needs a craniotomy. Unfortunately, he is getting too old, and the risk involved is rather high.
The success rate is only 20%”
They both worked in the healthcare industry, so Larry could explain the patient‘s situation in a few short sentences.
Those few words also allowed Roxanne to understand what Larry wanted her help with.
“We worked together on several occasions when we were living overseas, and of all the doctors I know, you are the most skilled one in this field. That is why I was hoping.” Larry trailed off as he became hesitant.
After all, craniotomy was a difficult and risky procedure, so the surgeon performing the task would have to endure tremendous stress.
Roxanne had no obligation and didn‘t need to take a risk like that.
Nevertheless, she understood that Larry was worried about her being burdened by the risk involved. Hence, she didn‘t bother waiting for him to finish his sentence and immediately said, “Where is the patient now? If possible, I think I should go check his condition in person. It‘s as you said. I specialize in this field, so I might be able to come up with another solution. Who knows? Maybe we can avoid surgery entirely.”
Larry was still pondering how to finish his sentence when her words prompted a bewildered glint to flash past his eyes.
D–Did she agree to help out just like that?
“If it’s fine with you, I can free up some time tomorrow and drop by the hospital to examine the patient,” suggested Roxanne after she thought about her work schedule for the next few days.
Larry came back around and quickly nodded. “Okay, then I’ll be counting on you. If you ever need anything in the future, please feel free to let me know.”
Roxanne grinned. “It’s fine. You’ve helped me a lot while we were living overseas. Besides, it is our duty as doctors to help the sick. Since you believe that I can do this, there’s no reason for me to back down.”
The two of them chatted a little longer before they settled on a time for Roxanne to visit her patient.
On the following afternoon, Roxanne finished up her work at the research institute and went to meet up with Larry right away at the entrance of the hospital.
“I spoke to the rest of my family, so I will be the only one staying overnight here. You don’t need to feel pressured at all,” said Larry. He then led her to the hospital room.
Lying on the sickbed was an elderly man whose hair had been shaved. He was still unconscious at the time.
He had gotten ill suddenly, so the color on his face hadn’t faded yet. That was why he looked as though he was an ordinary elderly man who was simply sleeping.
“Are you Janet?” asked the medical experts in the room, who were in charge of treating the elderly man.
Larry had shared Roxanne’s alias with the others before he even dropped by. Those medical experts had long heard about the renowned Janet, and they were surprised to see such a young woman standing behind Larry. Most of them even wondered if there was something wrong with their eyes.
Roxanne nodded slightly, then turned her attention to the patient. “Sorry,
but now’s not the time to exchange pleasantries. Please tell me more about the patient’s condition. Also, please allow me to perform a few examinations.”
The medical experts turned to Larry to get his approval when they saw how professionally she acted.
Larry nodded in response.
With his approval, the medical experts quickly helped Roxanne. They showed her the patient’s medical report and helped her perform some examinations.
They worked for hours before Roxanne finally had the full picture of her patient’s condition. She couldn’t help feeling disheartened by what she had learned
Unfortunately, she had to admit that the patient’s case was tough, even for someone as skilled as herself.
“What do you think? Can you help him?” asked Larry in a concerned tone.
Roxanne’s expression turned grim. “I need some time to figure this out. He can hold out for two more days, and I will use that time to hold a conference to discuss his condition.”