Sienna Johnson smiled and looked tenderly at her daughter, asking, "So you really want to go to Abyanabad?"
"Of course I want to go. It’s Dad’s ho, so it’s my ho too! Dad said Abyanabad is beautiful, and Curly wants to go see it."
Originally, they could have settled the trip in the next two days, but after the fake Aiden Howard incident, Sienna beca sowhat uncertain.
"When your dad cos back, we’ll discuss it and decide."
"Hurry up and talk to Dad then. I’ve already packed my bags." Curly urged, "You adults are always like this, dragging your feet."
"Alright, when your dad cos back, I’ll talk to him, okay?"
"Mhmm." Curly was finally satisfied and stopped pouting at her mother.
"You eat more, and Samara, you too." Sienna put so food on their plates. Samara smiled, "Sister, you’re pregnant, so eat more too."
"Mhmm."
"Miss, it’s terrible, it’s terrible..." Auntie Ingrid rushed in, panicking, disturbing the few people at the table. Sienna was displeased and was about to scold her, but when she saw the tears on Auntie Ingrid’s face, she realized sothing serious must have happened.
"Auntie Ingrid, what’s wrong?"
"Miss, Madam attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills..." Auntie Ingrid sobbed.
A loud bang went off in Sienna’s head, and she didn’t react for a mont.
Suicide? Pauline Briggs committed suicide? Everything was fine, so why would she commit suicide? Sienna couldn’t understand the situation at all, or what Pauline truly wanted to do.
Scared pale by the news, Samara dropped her chopsticks and urgently asked, "Auntie Ingrid, what are you saying? What happened to my mom?"
Auntie Ingrid was usually a composed person, but she was now completely disoriented and just kept crying.
"Stop crying! What exactly happened?" Sienna asked sternly.
Auntie Ingrid shuddered before finally answering, "This morning, Madam said she was feeling unwell and wanted to rest. She also instructed that no one should disturb her. I didn’t think much of it and went about my work. At lunchti, I noticed Madam still hadn’t co out, so I went to ask what she wanted for lunch. When I went to her room, I saw her lying on the bed. Beside the bed, there was a broken glass and many pills... I called out to her a few tis, but Madam didn’t respond..."
After listening, Sienna asked, "Have you called for an ambulance?"
Auntie Ingrid was too frightened and had obviously forgotten to call an ambulance. She shook her head, "No, no, I forgot."
There was no ti to wonder why Pauline had attempted suicide; saving her was the priority. Sienna quickly grabbed her phone and called for an ambulance.
"Sister, what should we do? What should we do now?" Samara looked desperately at her sister, seeking help.
Samara and Pauline had similar personalities; they lacked strong opinions of their own and relied on others to make decisions for them.
Sienna looked at the crying Samara and the frightened Curly, furrowing her brows, an indescribable feeling welling up inside her.
She told Kiki, "You stay here and take care of them. Don’t let them run around. I’ll go and check the situation."
"Okay, got it."
Sienna didn’t have ti for her al. She rushed to Serene Residence to check on Pauline’s condition. What on earth was Pauline thinking? Why would she commit suicide when everything seed fine?
"Sister, I’m coming too." Samara caught up to her.
Sienna saw Samara was insistent on coming and didn’t stop her. However, Sienna’s expression was so grim that Samara, intimidated, hardly dared to breathe loudly. They both hurried towards Serene Residence.
As they passed the back garden, Sienna recalled the morning’s events. She couldn’t afford to be afraid now and strode quickly through it, heading for Serene Residence.
Serene Residence was quiet. The macaw Pauline kept on the porch was also gone.
The two pushed open the door and entered, finding an eerie silence inside. Samara stood at the door, hesitating, not daring to go further. In the blink of an eye, Sienna had already walked inside.
"Sister!" Samara walked in fearfully.
Entering their mother’s bedroom, Samara slled a fragrance; the incense burner was lit with her mother’s favorite lily scent. Her mother lay on the bed, dressed in her finest clothes and wearing makeup, her hands folded on her chest. If not for her deathly pale face, one might have thought she was rely asleep.
"Mom..." Samara ca to her mother’s side and held her hand, only to find it icy cold. It wasn’t a normal human temperature.
Samara rembered her father’s body being just as cold when he died, and her heart pounded with fear.
"Sister, Mom’s hands are so cold. Will she die? When Dad died, his body was freezing too..."
Sienna was clearly calr. She lifted Pauline’s eyelids; Pauline’s eyes had already turned white. Sienna then checked her pulse; it was faint. The situation was far from optimistic.
"Sister, is Mom going to die? Please save her. We’ve already lost Dad. If Mom dies too, won’t we beco orphans?"
Samara, after all, was still a child, unlike Sienna, who was a mature adult. Samara was much more attached to Pauline.
"..."
"Sister, I don’t want to be an orphan!"
The only treatnt for suicide by sleeping pill overdose was gastric lavage; there was no better thod. So, Sienna patiently waited for the ambulance.
She called the paradics on the ambulance, confirming their location and how long it would take them to arrive.
"...The patient took sleeping pills... I don’t know how many she took. Her pulse is very weak now, and her body temperature is dropping..." Sienna briefly told the paradics about Pauline’s condition, hoping they would be prepared when they arrived.
"..."
"What should I do now? ...Okay, good. Please hurry. The patient’s condition is not optimistic." Sienna finally hung up the phone.
Samara asked, "Sister, when will they arrive?"
"Soon."
Samara looked at her mother. She was dressed in her most beautiful clothes, wearing makeup, and adorned with the jewelry her father had given her—the pieces she cherished most.
Thinking about her mother’s unusual behavior over the recent days, Samara was overwheld with self-bla. "It’s all my fault," she sobbed. "I noticed sothing was wrong with Mom, but I didn’t ask... If I had just cared more, paid more attention, maybe she wouldn’t have attempted suicide."
Sienna looked at Pauline, dressed in her finest. She chose a dignified way to die, Sienna thought. Recalling how Pauline had divided her jewelry between her and Samara, Sienna guessed she must have been planning this for a long ti.
For Sienna, who firmly believed that ’a wretched life is better than a good death,’ Pauline’s suicide was incomprehensible.
"Sister, do you think Mom will die?"
"I don’t know," Sienna said coldly.
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