Simon Forrester chuckled and pulled her into his arms, "I’m fine, very healthy."
"You’re hiding sothing from , aren’t you?" Sienna Thornton wiped her red eyes, "You’ve been acting strange ever since you got that phone call that night!"
Simon looked at her, feeling there was no need to hide it, sooner or later she would know.
"Actually, the call that night was from Tobias Blackwood. I’m sorry I lied to you."
Sienna also knew that Tobias’s bodyguards had been secretly protecting linda at The Springs Residences recently, and upon hearing this, her heart, which had been hanging, lifted again.
She looked at Simon with a pale face, "Is it my mom...?"
"No." Simon’s tone was heavy, "Gage Grant had Ian contact breast cancer specialists in the United States, planning to send Aunt Grant there for treatnt."
"What’s wrong with Ian?"
"Breast cancer."
Sienna was shocked, too stunned to speak, sitting back into her seat, squeezing her right hand tightly, trembling slightly.
"How could this be...? She was just at my mom’s a few days ago... arguing with us... didn’t seem unwell at all?"
Simon shook his head, sighing, "It seems she was only diagnosed on our second day in Yorai, she must have felt unwell a few days before and went for a check-up, then waited so ti for the report."
"So... what stage is it now? Can it be treated?"
"I heard it’s advanced, I’m not very clear on the specifics, I’ll call Ian this evening to find out more."
Sienna nodded blankly, sniffling, then swallowing hard. She was too shocked, with too many complex feelings, leaving her in a state of helplessness.
She appeared to be sitting well, but seed uneasy, with vacant eyes, clenching and unclenching her fists repeatedly.
Seeing her like this, Simon felt worried, pulling her back into his embrace, rubbing her arms to give her a sense of security.
"Tell , what are you thinking?"
Sienna ca back to her senses, lowered her eyes and sighed, "She may be awful, but she’s still Mina’s mom, my dad’s wife, and a life, so..."
She couldn’t continue, swallowing hard, trying to calm the aching sensation in her throat.
"Everyone has their fate, let’s hope she’ll be alright."
Not knowing the exact condition of Ian, and how this matter would impact Quentin Thorne, Sienna, or even linda, Simon couldn’t be sure, so he didn’t say much in front of Sienna.
That evening, after returning to their ho in Brimfield, having eaten and tidied up, Sienna felt an urge to call Quentin Thorne.
Simon steadied her and called Scott Langford, keeping the call on speaker.
They heard that Ian had the most aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, which had tastasized to the bone, and that the tumor was too large to operate. They could only reduce the tumor with radiation therapy before attempting surgery. However, dostic doctors thought surgery was aningless, so the Grant Family considered going to the United States for treatnt.
The Lockwood Family, who work in high-end dical services, has access to the world’s top dical resources and can arrange for Aunt Grant to receive treatnt from the world’s most authoritative breast cancer specialists. However, Scott Langford, a forr surgeon, bluntly stated that even with treatnt, it would only prolong the patient’s not-so-promising survival period, and the treatnt process would be very painful, and the patient might not endure it.
Sienna typed a line on her phone and handed it to Simon, "Ask about the prognosis and how much ti there might be."
Simon asked, and initially, Scott didn’t answer but later admitted, "Surviving more than a year would be a miracle."
After learning about the situation, Sienna hesitated about whether to call Quentin. Simon suggested she first call Quentin to touch base and also gauge Quentin’s tone.
Sienna called.
Quentin finally picked up after a long delay, and before saying anything, Sienna heard Aunt Grant’s hysterical crying from the other end.
Her scalp tingled, and a fear grew in her heart, montarily leaving her speechless. After a prolonged silence, Quentin repeatedly called "Annie," prompting her to feign calmness, "Dad, we’ve returned from Yorai today, brought you a gift, are you free tomorrow so I can bring it to you, or shall I take it to Mom’s?"
"Annie..." Quentin called her again, and she could hear a note of grief.
Her heart twisted in pain, she tried to keep her voice steady, "Dad? Are you okay?"
"I’m fine." Quentin’s background noise quieted, possibly to take the call away from Aunt Grant, "I won’t be in the country for a while, leave the gift at your mom’s; I’ll pick it up when I’m back."
"Alright."
Sienna, feeling distraught, hung up the phone.
Simon leaned over to ask, "How did he seem?"
"I felt like he wanted to cry."
Simon sighed, "Even if he doesn’t get along with Aunt Grant, they have a child together. Just thinking about his beloved daughter losing her mother would certainly be painful."
"It is like that."
Simon reminded Sienna that if Quentin didn’t want her to know about it, she should pretend not to, to avoid causing more trouble.
Sienna agreed with him.
That night, Sienna tossed and turned, unable to sleep well, worrying about Quentin and also fearing after reading breast cancer stories on Zhihu. She kept examining herself according to online thods and even asked Simon to help check her.
It was late into the night before she finally fell asleep.
The next day, after lunch, they packed a few clothes and went to linda’s, planning to stay overnight.
Perhaps because of Ian’s situation, Sienna was especially clingy with linda that night, eventually dispatching Simon to sleep alone while she stayed in linda’s room.
Simon understood her, suggesting they stay at linda’s for a week.
.
On March 1st, Sienna returned to the Treaty and Law Departnt, and Simon returned to Forrester Group, both diving into their busy work.
On the first day back, Director-General Linton called Sienna into the office, assigning her a new case.
Trade law is one of Sienna’s fortes, so she had no issues, accepting the case on the spot.
Director-General Linton subtly inford her that the case was highly valued by higher-ups, and if she managed it successfully, it would be a significant boost for her career.
He even said, "Thorne, the higher-ups have a lot of faith in you, and it’s been decided to focus on your developnt internally. Just concentrate on the case, no need to worry or fret over anything else!"
The implication was that as long as she ensured smooth work during this period, her climb up the ladder was inevitable at a future point.
Though Director-General Linton didn’t spell it out, Sienna understood. She felt both flattered and too shy to show it, simply nodding humbly and responding, "Thank you, Director-General."
"Click," the door to Director-General Linton’s office closed.
Sienna clutched the case file tightly, so thrilled her legs felt weak.
The Director-General’s secretary, sitting outside the door, greeted her with a smile, "Director Thorne, back from your honeymoon?"
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