When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0870

Madison’s words sounded blunt, but she wasn’t wrong.

Joli scratched his head awkwardly. “I… couldn’t remember your phone numbers, so…”

“What about Theodore? Don’t tell me his phone broke too?”

At the mention of Theodore, the light in Joli’s eyes dimmed considerably. “He’s still unconscious and still in the hospital, so he can’t use his phone…”

The three exclaimed in unison, “Unconscious?”

Miranda asked, “What happened to him?”

“Speaking of which, it does involve my family. It’s…”

Suddenly, a coughing sound came from the bedroom. Joli seemed to remember something and quickly turned toward the kitchen. As he left, he called back to the three of them. “I’m sorry, you guys take a seat for now. Julie, pour some water for our guests.”

Julie obediently fetched three rustic cups and began pouring hot water from a thermos. Madison quickly waved her hands: “Don’t trouble yourself, Julie! I’m not thirsty!”

However, she didn’t listen and still poured a cup for each of them.

“Thank you,” Miranda said.

“No need to thank me. You’re my brother’s friends,” she replied. Then, Julie pointed to the couch in a corner. “Please take a seat. I’ll go check inside Belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

With that, she headed to the kitchen.

The bitter scent of herbs hit Miranda as soon as she entered the house. Sure enough…

The pot on the stove was already sizzling loudly Joli wrapped the handle with a cloth, lifted it carefully, and poured the steaming herbal medicine into three bowls.

This was his mother’s daily dose of medicine.

He usually brewed the medicine all at once and divided it into three portions. The last two doses would be reheated later to save on firewood. Then, he poured out the dregs and cleaned the pot thoroughly.

Finally, Joli picked up a bowl of herbal medicine, walked through the living room, and into one of the bedrooms.

“Mom, the medicine is ready. I’ll help you to drink it.”

“Alright.”

Madison couldn’t help but stand up and follow Joli. However, she politely stopped at the doorway without stepping inside.

An elderly woman, Wanda Miller, lay on the bed. She appeared frail and had a head of white hair. She was covered with a thick quilt that had been washed so many times that the color

had faded.

The bitter taste of herbal medicine permeated the air, but it couldn’t mask the heavy atmosphere of hopelessness and gloom looming over the room.

It was hard to describe the feeling, but the atmosphere in the bedroom felt stifling and depressing.

Yet, Joli seemed oblivious. He carefully fed Wanda her medicine and food, wiped her mouth, washed her hands, and gently helped her lie back down before tucking her in.

After completing all this, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Joli turned back to see the three people waiting for him in the living room. His younger sister was looking at him expectantly.

At that moment, a wave of helplessness hit him. There was so much to say, but he didn’t know where to start.

Madison and Sebastian had never encountered a situation like this before.

While they were shocked and taken aback, they felt saddened at the same time. However, they held their emotions in check, making no odd noises or exaggerated expressions of shock.

Joli spoke, “Honestly, I wanted to return to campus in time for the semester, but as you can see, I am facing difficulties at home. My mother’s health… I might be delayed for some time. I will call the dean’s office and explain

So, don’t worry about me.”

my situ hy

Miranda felt that the truth was far more complicated than his simple explanation. “How about Theodore? What’s his situation?”

“Theodore…” Joli paused for a few seconds. His face clouded over with regret and pain. ” He got dragged into this because of my family.

Dragged into it?

Joli looked up at their concerned gazes. After taking a deep breath, he slowly began to tell the story…

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