"Go ahead." Ivy Jackson looked at Emina Meyer. She could never adopt an indifferent attitude towards the two sisters because they had been sincere towards her since the past, and they still are. Though she rarely kept in touch with them, every meeting felt like catching up with old friends, and neither party indulged in polite platitudes.
Emina Meyer gazed into Ivy Jackson's eyes, being straightforward and not skirting around the issue, "Your health is deteriorating greatly, you could say you're practically running on fumes now. If you continue like this, I can't ensure that your stomach won't fail completely. And... If you don't rest for a while, you will absolutely collapse. And... you won't even make it to fifty!"
Freya Meyer's mouth dropped open in shock. Emina gently held Ivy's hand, who still maintained a stoic exterior but she knew she was struggling internally, "Ivy, don't suppress yourself too much, you are also human... Your body can't afford any more turmoil, you should at least... allow it to return to baseline, and then slowly start to recuperate. That's my advice as a doctor and as your junior."
Ivy Jackson just nodded dumbly: "I got it... Thank you... Emina."
Freya had a good cry on behalf of Ivy before being forcibly dragged out by Emina. The isolation of the sick room suddenly seemed eerily quiet, making her feel even more panicked and suffocated than in Ivy's room.
Ivy kept ruminating over Emina's words. Overdraft... fail... collapse... end of life... how could this be happening?
Ivy lightly rested her hand on her stomach, tears finally couldn't be held back any longer and began to fall relentlessly.
In order to be an outstanding daughter, to be the pride of her parents, she had always imposed stringent demands on herself. In order to strive for excellence, for extra time to spend with Bryan Oakley, she'd lost the time for exercise, forfeited the opportunities a woman should have to go shopping and dress up, she'd even neglected meals and sleep for work...
Yet it was that slap that made her realize clearly, she had never been the recipient of her parents' affection; that very proposal banquet which didn't belong to her made her perceive that she hadn't won Bryan Oakley's love. The ones she'd loved her way all these years had cast her into hell on the same day, she was really filled with self-loathing... she was filled with hatred for herself!
On the way home, Ivy wandered leisurely along the roadside at about 25 mph, starting and stopping repeatedly, stopping at red lights, proceeding at green.
At the crossroads, she looked up at the commercial advertisement for the largest travel agency downtown. Clifford Island— your peak summer, liberate yourself, find the beach paradise that is truly 'you'.
Ivy looked down at the reflection of herself in the rearview mirror. Her face was pale and haggard. She was much better off compared to this morning due to the medicine Emina had given her, but the suffocation and despair of last night's moment was still lingering in her chest, unforgettable.
Upon returning to the Jackson Family home, Blake Jackson was sitting in the living room, his face grimly cold and serious. At this moment, aside from him, everyone else seemed to have hidden themselves. Even Mrs. Tian was not there, and it seemed that Othela Green and Wendy Jackson had not yet returned, so was Blake... waiting for her?
Ivy walked through the door, hearing the noise, Blake looked up at her--his gaze instantly turned icy.
"Ivy Jackson, where have you been? Why didn't you go to work!?"
Ivy was startled, and suddenly felt like laughing. Should she tell him she had been to the hospital? Or should she first answer why she hadn't gone to work?
But Ivy didn't feel like answering any of his questions. For the first time, she didn't want to engage with her father. She wanted to act like a petulant child, who could rage against him after being hit.
But Blake didn't care, he didn't care about his slap from last night.
So he roared angrily, "Ivy! I was asking you! Where have you been, and why didn't you go to work? Don't you realize Bryan called your sister when he couldn't reach you, and your sister called me? Do you have any idea how worried your family has been about you?"
"Worried?" Upon hearing that word, Ivy felt like crying. Bryan's resorting to Wendy thus Wendy resorting to their father, and then their father coming around to deal with her... it was just about her job, why must they tire themselves so?
"You guys were truly worried about me?" Ivy raised her head to look at Blake, "Father, this is my job. Whether I go to work or not, should be questioned by my boss, not by you!" Quickly, Ivy made her way to the staircase. She was really very tired, growing weaker with every moment.
"What are you talking back for!" Blake burst out angrily, "How could you do this?! Why have you turned out like this!?"
"I'm also curious...as to why I've become like this... I... I don't even know who I am..." Ivy lightly tapped her eyes. She suddenly wanted to ask herself who she was, but she felt a foreboding unfamiliarity with herself, a dreadfully fearful unfamiliarity.
"Ivy Jackson!" Blake took two steps forward, his eyes displaying hatred. "You are simply disappointing me! Your actions now are tarnishing the Jackson family name!"
"The Jackson family is not just me... I can't uphold the prestige of the Jackson family alone, Father, I'm very tired. I'm going to rest!". Ivy rushed back towards Blake before advancing quickly up the stairs. Blake's face turned gloomy, he stared in the direction that Ivy had disappeared to, his face showing a mix of disappointment and rage...
As soon as Ivy reached the top of the stairs, she saw Mrs. Tian hiding there. Ivy paused a moment, Mrs. Tian appeared to be absolutely mortified.
"Miss Ivy..." Mrs. Tian hadn't expected Ivy to come up so soon, so she hadn't yet had the chance to hide herself.
"Mrs. Tian..." Ivy weakly called out, "Could you make me some porridge for dinner? And then bring it up to my room."
"Of course."
"Thank you." Ivy gently nodded her head to Mrs. Tian, turning around to enter her room.
Everyone was unable to contact Ivy because she had thrown her cellphone in yesterday's bag. After finding her phone and turning it on, she saw she had dozens of missed calls.
Ivy changed into her lounge-clothes and sat down on the chair by the window. Looking at the phone number that had called the most. It was Bryan Oakley with twenty calls. Ivy was somewhat hesitant, she didn't know whether she should continue to stay in touch with him. But after all, he was her boss. Ivy didn't want to let go of the job she had striven for many years just for Wendy's sake.
After hesitating for a long time, Ivy still dialed the number. It was swiftly answered on the other side. Bryan Oakley's voice conveyed a bit of impatience and irritation, she just thought she was overthinking again.
"Why is it like this with you, Ivy? Why aren't you picking up phone calls all day? Wendy also said that you weren't at home, your father said that he couldn't get through to you either, what's wrong with you? You never used to be late or leave early, but today you randomly decided to go absent from work without any reason, do you know how serious this is?" Bryan Oakley's anxiety and anger caused Ivy's heart to contract agonizingly. He knew nothing, he was oblivious to her pain, her struggles, and sadness.
It took a lot of effort for Ivy to get Bryan to finish talking. She took a deep breath- "Bryan, I haven't taken a single day off in the past five years. Accumulated over four years, it should amount to twenty days. Tomorrow, I'll go to the hospital to complete the procedures. Thank you... goodbye." Having said that, Ivy quickly hung up the call and turned off her phone.