Lewis secara naluriah menoleh ke arah Keira, menanyakan dengan matanya: bolehkah aku memberitahunya?
….
Setelah semalam percakapan tanpa pamrih, Keira menceritakan kepada Lewis soal sebab kematian Keera dan sekadar menyebutkan kondisi ibunya.
Saad itu Lewis berkata, "Aku sudah bantu urusan Nyonya Olsen, tapi sampai sekarang belum ada kabar."
Terlepas dari hubungan akrab Lewis dengan Paman Olsen, fakta bahwa Nyonya Olsen adalah ibu Keira membuat Lewis selalu menganggap urusan ini serius.
Namun, dia belum paham alasannya sebelumnya, tapi sekarang paham.
Usai berbagi informasi, mereka menyadari bahwa mengingat latar belakang Keluarga Horton dan Keluarga Olsen, ketidakmampuan mereka menemukan "Keluarga South" justru menunjukkan betapa misteriusnya Keluarga South itu.
Satu-satunya cara menyelamatkan ibunya adalah mengeluarkan ular dari lubangnya!
Keluarga South pasti akan menghubungi Keera, jadi Keira tak bisa mengembalikan identitasnya untuk saat ini; dia harus terus berpura-pura jadi Keera untuk memancing mereka muncul.
Lewis, yang tak ingin wajahnya mengaitkan Keera dengan Keira, memutuskan setelah memikirkan sebentar untuk menyembunyikan identitasnya dan tinggal di sisi Keira.
Dia batuk dan hendak mengada-adakan nama atau apa saja saat Mary tertawa. "Masak? Keera, kamu akhirnya balik baik? Pacar kecilmu ini, benar-benar di bawah telapak kaki ya? Dia takut bilang namanya?"
Lewis termangu.
Dia diam saja.
Mary tak memusingkan soal itu malah senang untuk Keira.
Saat itu, HP-nya bergetar lagi.
Dia melirik ke bawah, dan alisnya berkerut. "Sialan!"
Keira santai tanya, "Ada apa?"
Mary menghela napas. "Paman ku ini benar-benar… Mendengar Lewis datang ke Clance, dia suruh aku cari kesempatan 'bertemu kebetulan' dengannya, buat nyoba…"
"Ehem!"
Keira naluriah melirik ke Lewis.
Mary berkata dengan kecewa, "Kamu percaya? Dia kira aku tak bisa menikah? Dia suruh aku rayu Lewis? Kudengar dia baru saja ditinggal mati istrinya! Dia duda!!"
"Pfft!"
Keira tak tahan menyemburkan segelas air lagi!
Lalu dia memandang Mary dengan ekspresi sulit digambarkan… dan di belakangnya, Lewis dengan ekspresi serupa.
Keira batuk. "Yah, Mary, Lewis sebenarnya cukup oke kok…"
Mary mendengus. "Latar belakangnya memang bagus, menikah dengannya jadi istri kepala keluarga, setara lima keluarga besar, tapi kalo Lewis ini tua dan jelek gimana? Hampir tiga puluh… Tapi aku minat. Soal gadis-gadis belum menikah di Clance, siapa tahu!"
Keira tercengang.
Dia batuk dan menunjuk ke Lewis. "Menurutmu dia gimana?"
Mary bilang, "Tentu, dia anak anjing lucu. Kelihatan baru awal dua puluhan, kan?"
Lewis, yang "baru awal dua puluhan", kini benar-benar wajah datar.
Susah payah menahan tawa, Keira berkata, "Baiklah, bukannya kita mau ke rumah sakit? Aku ganti baju dulu, sebentar lagi!"
Mendengar itu, Mary sedikit terkejut dan mengangguk.
Keira lalu masuk ke dalam.
Lewis mengikuti seperti ekor kecil.
Saat ini dia merasa sangat tidak aman, khawatir dalam sekejap mata Keira bisa hilang lagi…
Melihatnya begitu, Keira tak bisa menahan, "Bisa berhenti mengikutiku?"
Lewis menjawab, "Kamu lagi berbahaya. Aku khawatir kalo tak mengikuti."
Faktanya, dia diam-diam sudah mengikutinya sebulan!
Keira menjawab dengan pasrah, "Tapi dengan status apa kau ikut-ikutan? Kalo orang kenal kau, gampang mengaitkan aku dengan Keira."
Lewis menunduk. "Jadi pengawal pribadimu gimana?"
Keira tercengang.
Dia berbalik, melingkarkan lengan ke lehernya, mendekat, dan berbisik, "Tadi Mary bilang, banyak wanita di Clance mengincarmu… Yakin jadi pengawal pribadi wanita yang dua kali menikah dan punya anak?"
Lewis segera memerat pelukannya di pinggang Keira dan menjawab lurus, "Seperti kata temanmu, aku duda tua dan jelek, cocok banget buatmu!"
Keira tak tahu mau bilang apa.
Dia pasrah menjawab, "Lah terserah kau, tapi tetap hati-hati jangan sampai identitasmu kebocor."
"Oke."
Keira ganti baju dan mengulurkan topi hitam ke Lewis. Dia memakai kaos putih dan celana katun putih, ditambah topi hitam, memancarkan semangat muda yang menyegarkan Keira. Saat mereka keluar dan turun tangga, Mary mendekat. "Lagi apa? Tak mau pisah?"
Keira batuk dan menjelaskan, "Dia mau jadi supir kita."
"Booleh."
Mary melempar kunci mobil ke Lewis dan duduk di belakang bareng Keira.
Di jalan ke rumah sakit, Mary mulai cari info di HP. "Keera, kelihatannya aborsi butuh minimal 42 hari kehamilan…"
Keira bilang, "Kalo aborsi medis seharusnya tak ada batas waktu, menurutku."
"Beneran?"
Mary lanjut, "Menurutmu bayinya sekarang merasa apa? Sakit nggak kalo aku aborsi?"
Keira jelasin, "Seharusnya nggak, karena baru telur yang dibuahi."
Mary tak tahu bilang apa.
Dia tak bisa menahan menatap Keira. "Keera, kenapa kamu nggak nyuruh aku pertahankan bayinya?"
Keira tersenyum, menatap lurus ke matanya. "Kamu mau pertahankan?"
"Tentu nggak."
"Lalu tak usah dipersuasi. Jangan takut, kudengar dari orang aborsi itu cepet. Cuma tidur, bangun sudah, bayinya hilang."
Mary diam.
Meski Keira tahu Mary segan melakukannya, dia sengaja bilang begitu karena paham semakin dia bicara seperti itu, semakin sulit Mary melepaskan.
Bener saja, sampai depan rumah sakit, Mary menatap papan nama dan tak berani masuk.
Di luar poli kebidanan dan kandungan rumah sakit.
Keira bantu Mary ambil nomor antrian lalu menunggu bareng di bangku sampai nomor dipanggil.
Mary sangat gugup, telapak tangannya berkeringat.
Di luar rumah sakit.
Saat Ellis keluar dari rumah sakit, dia kebetulan melihat Lewis dan terkejut, "Lewis? Benar-benar kau! Kenapa berpakaian kayak gini, dan di sini lagi?!"
Lewis malas menoleh ke atas.
Ekspresi lesu di wajahnya hilang. "Lalu kau ke sini buat apa?"
Ellis menjawab, "Teman sakit, aku mampir… Kau ke RS kebidanan buat apa? Apakah…"
Matanya melayang ke bagian bawah perut Lewis. "Kamu punya penyakit tersembunyi?"
Lewis termangu.
Melihat ekspresi congkak Ellis, mengingat saat dia datang menawarkan beberapa kata belas kasihan di saat kesedihan mendalam milik Lewis, lalu memikirkan Mary yang sedang menuju aborsi…
Dari cuplikan percakapan Mary dan Keira, dia sudah duga anak itu milik Ellis.
Dan pria ini, santai menikmati pertunjukan…
Lewis tiba-tiba menampilkan senyuman mengejek. "Aku tak perlu membuktikan apa-apa padamu, tapi kupikir kau harus lebih peduli pada dirimu sendiri."
Ellis langsung loncat. "Peduli diri sendiri buat apa? Aku baik-baik saja!"
"Yakin?"
Lewis tersenyum. "Aku cuma kira tadi lihat Nona Mary Davis naik ke atas ke poli kebidanan dan kandungan…"
Ellis tiba-tiba terkejut. "Apa?!"
Chapter 312
Lewis instinctively looked toward Keira, asking with his eyes: can I tell her?
….
After a night of unreserved conversation, Keira told Lewis about Keera’s cause of death and incidentally mentioned her mother’s situation.
Lewis had said at the time, “I’ve been helping out with Mrs. Olsen’s issue, but so far, there’s no news.”
Setting aside the cordial relationship between Lewis and Uncle Olsen, the fact that Mrs. Olsen was Keira’s mother meant that Lewis had always taken the matter seriously.
However, he hadn’t understood the reasons before, but now he did.
After sharing information, they realized that, given the backgrounds of both the Horton and the Olsen families, the fact that they couldn’t find the “South family” indicated just how mysterious the South family actually was.
The only way to save her mother was to lure the snakes out of their hole!
The South family would be in touch with Keera, so Keira couldn’t resume her identity for the moment; she had to continue posing as Keera to entice them to make contact.
Lewis, wanting to avoid his appearance linking Keera with Keira, decided after some thought to conceal his identity and stay by Keira’s side.
He coughed and was about to conjure up a name or something when Mary laughed. “No way? Keera, have you finally turned things around? Your little boyfriend, he’s really under your thumb, isn’t he? He doesn’t dare utter his name?”
Lewis was speechless.
He said nothing.
Mary didn’t fuss over this and instead felt happy for Keira.
At that moment, her phone buzzed again.
She glanced down at it, and her brows knitted together. “Damn it!”
Keira asked casually, “What’s wrong?”
Mary sighed. “My uncle is really something… Hearing that Lewis has come to Clance, he told me to find an opportunity to ‘bump into’ him, to try…”
“Ahem!”
Keira instinctively glanced at Lewis.
Mary said indignantly, “Can you believe it? Does he think I can’t get married? He wants me to seduce Lewis? I’ve heard he just lost his wife! He’s a widower!!”
“Pfft!”
Keira couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of water again!
Then she looked at Mary with an expression that was hard to describe… and behind her, Lewis with a similarly indescribable expression.
Keira coughed. “Well, Mary, Lewis is actually quite all right…”
Mary huffed. “His background isn’t bad, and marrying him would make someone a family head’s wife, on par with the top five families, but what if this Lewis is old and ugly? He’s almost thirty… However, I’m not interested in him. As for those unmarried girls in Clance, who knows!”
Keira was dumbfounded.
She coughed and pointed at Lewis. “What do you think of him?”
Mary said, “Of course, he’s a cute little puppy. Looks as if he’s just in his early twenties, right?”
Lewis, who was “in his early twenties”, had by now gone completely expressionless.
Struggling to keep a straight face, Keira said, “Alright, aren’t we supposed to go to the hospital? I’ll change my clothes and be right there!”
Hearing that, Mary was slightly startled and nodded.
Keira then went inside.
Lewis followed her like a little tail.
At the moment, he felt very insecure, worried that in the blink of an eye, Keira might disappear again…
Seeing him like this, Keira couldn’t help but say, “Can you stop following me?”
Lewis said, “You’re in a dangerous situation right now. I get worried if I don’t follow you.”
In fact, he had secretly been following her for a month!
Keira said in resignation, “But in what capacity will you follow me around? If someone recognizes you, it’s easy to link me with Keira.”
Lewis looked down. “Shall I be your bodyguard?”
Keira was dumbfounded.
She turned around, wrapped her arm around his neck, leaned in close, and whispered, “Just now, Mary said, many women in Clance are eyeing you… Are you sure about being a bodyguard for a twice-married woman with a child?”
Lewis immediately tightened his embrace around Keira’s waist and said outright, “As your friend said, I’m an old and ugly widower, a perfect match for you!”
Keira didn’t know what to say.
She resignedly responded, “Then suit yourself, but still be careful not to reveal your identity.”
“Okay.”
Keira changed her clothes and handed a black cap to Lewis. He wore a white T-shirt and white cotton pants, topped off with the black cap, radiating a youthful vibe that refreshed Keira. When they left and descended the stairs, Mary approached them. “What’s going on? Can’t bear to part?”
Keira coughed and explained, “He wants to be our driver.”
“That’s fine then.”
Mary tossed her car keys to Lewis and took a seat in the back with Keira.
On the way to the hospital, Mary started looking up information online. “Keera, it seems that aborting a baby requires at least 42 days into pregnancy…”
Keira said, “For medication abortion, there shouldn’t be a time limit, I think.”
“Really?”
Mary continued, “Do you think the baby feels anything right now? Would it hurt if I had an abortion?”
Keira explained, “It shouldn’t, because it’s only a fertilized egg at this point.”
Mary didn’t know what to say.
She couldn’t help but look at Keira. “Keera, why aren’t you persuading me to keep the baby?”
Keira smiled, looking straight at her. “Do you want to keep it?”
“Of course not.”
“Then there’s nothing to persuade. Don’t be afraid, I’ve heard from people that an abortion is quick. Just lie down and sleep, and when you wake up, the baby will be gone.”
Mary fell silent.
Although Keira knew Mary was reluctant to go through with it, she still deliberately said those words because she understood that the more she spoke like that, the harder it would be for Mary to let go.
Sure enough, when they reached the hospital entrance, Mary stared at the sign and couldn’t bring herself to step inside.
Outside the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital.
Keira helped Mary get a number and then waited with her on a bench for their number to be called.
Mary was very nervous, her palms sweating.
Outside the hospital.
When Ellis walked out of the hospital, he happened to see Lewis and was surprised, “Lewis? It really is you! What are you doing dressed like that, and here of all places?!”
Lewis lazily looked up at him.
The listless expression on his face was swept away. “And what brings you here?”
Ellis replied, “A friend of mine is sick, so I came to visit… What are you doing at an obstetrics and gynecology hospital? Is it…”
His gaze swept over Lewis’s groin. “You have some kind of hidden condition?”
Lewis was speechless.
Watching Ellis’s smug expression, remembering when he had come to offer a few words of sympathy during his own moments of deep sorrow, and then thinking of Mary on her way to get an abortion…
From the snippets of conversations between Mary and Keira, he had figured out that the child was likely Ellis’s.
And here was this guy, leisurely enjoying the show…
Lewis suddenly took on a teasing smile. “I don’t need to prove anything to you, but I think you should be more concerned about yourself.”
Ellis immediately jumped. “Concerned about myself for what? I’m absolutely fine!”
“Really?”
Lewis smiled. “I just thought I saw Miss Mary Davis heading upstairs to the obstetrics and gynecology department…”
Ellis was suddenly taken aback. “What?!”
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!