Chapter 274
Mason’s phone rang in the middle of the night.
Rising, he leaned on the headboard and turned on the night light. Zoe also woke up when he was talking on the phone.
“What’s wrong, Mom?”
It was Lisa at the other end of the phone.
She sounded calm and collected. “I don’t think Barbara’s going to make it past tonight, Mason. Take Zoe along with you. This could be the last time you guys will see her.”
He remained quiet for about half a minute before responding in a husky voice, “We’ll be right over!”
They got changed in less than five minutes and hit the road in the middle of the night.
The rain splashed down on the black Rolls-Royce. Beads of raindrops streamed down the car, reminiscent of tears.
Due to Zoe’s pregnancy, he didn’t drive very fast. They didn’t say anything to each other. Zoe sat next to him in the passenger seat and looked out the window and into the rainy night. She knew, deep down, that this would probably be the last night she’d see Barbara.
The car slowed down to a halt as it approached a traffic light. He was distressed and had an itch to smoke, but he ended up tossing the packet of cigarettes back into the glove compartment. He lowered his hand and held her fingers.
That was all. He merely held her fingers.
Zoe didn’t pull back her hand either. Barbara had loved Zoe very
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much. So, she was also as heartbroken as Mason was about her passing. Their hearts were shrouded by a cloud as dark as night.
Just like that, he held her hand quietly for about half a minute.
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Then, the traffic light turned green. Mason released her hand and focused on driving. They passed by several intersections after that, but he never held her hand again. She knew, deep down, that he merely lost control of himself that one time due to the weight in his heart.
Half an hour later, a black Rolls-Royce pulled into Lockwood Manor.
Barbara was literally on her last breaths. She couldn’t even recognize Mason and Zoe when they sat down by the bed.
Her eyes were wide when she stared at the ceiling and had trouble breathing. She murmured, “The day Westley left me, it was raining too. Much like tonight! If I was home that night, I wouldn’t have let him leave.
“How could he abandon his wife? How could he leave his own son?
Westley. Oh, Westley… I’ve missed you my whole life ever since. I’ve hated you the entire time!”
Zoe’s lips trembled. She tried to control herself, but she failed and
burst into tears.
Holding Barbara’s hands, he went down on his knees by her bed, gulping. His grandma was going to die any second now. He knew it.
True enough, she experienced a burst of lucidity in the next minute. She called Zoe over and touched the bulged belly with trembling hands. Her eyes were filled with tears when she did. She really, really wanted to see what Mason’s child would look like!
It was shame, though. She was about to move on to a better place.
Leaning in closer, Zoe said gently, “She’s a girl! Mason came up with
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her name. It’s Yanni.”
A smile formed on Barbara’s face. She murmured, “Yanni. What a sweet name!”
She proceeded to repeat this over and over again until she could no longer utter a single word. It was as if her life were the sands that moved from the top half of the hourglass to its bottom half.
In the last few seconds, she kept calling out to Westley again and again. It was as if time had turned back and she was calling her young son to come back home for dinner.
She was about to pass away. Where was her son?
Had anyone seen him?
She kept holding onto her last breath just so she could catch a
glimpse of her son again. However, he didn’t come home. He didn’t
show up.
Where was Westley? Where could he be?
