The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)
Chapter 78 Seventy Eight

When Isabelle got to work later, she sat down at her desk and sent a short straightforward message to her father. She wasn't asking him for permission or his opinion.

She simply wanted to give him a heads up that soon, Jacob would be aware of their scheme. A part of her felt like she was being unfilial, especially because Francis and Lucy had adopted her from the orphanage and raised her in their own home.

Lucy and Naomi might not treat her like family, but at least Francis did his best. It was for his sake that a part of her felt awful about revealing their secret.

But she couldn't keep allowing them to use her for their benefit while deceiving another innocent person in the process. She felt that even if they had kept their promise, she wouldn't have been able to keep deceiving Jacob any longer. Not with the way things had turned out to be.

After sending the message, she put her phone aside and turned on her computer. Britney appeared at her desk then. "Oh my God, girl. I heard that you were sick and that's why you missed work yesterday. Are you okay?"

Isabell smiled at her and nodded. "I'm good now."

Britney nodded. "You do look okay." She leaned over Isabelle's desk, taking a closer look at her face.

Confused, Isabelle asked, "What is it?"

"What do you use on your face? You are glowing."

Isabelle touched her face with the back of her hand and smiled. "Oh, thanks. Nothing special."

"I want that nothing special," Britney said.

Isabelle wasn't sure what her coworker was talking about. She hadn't changed her face products lately. She ended up giving Britney a list of the products she used.

"You also look happier," Britney said, narrowing her eyes. "Is that the secret? Happiness?"

"I suppose," Isabelle joked. But she knew Britney was on to something. Since that morning, she had been fighting a battle against the spontaneous smiles that kept cropping up on her. And she knew why. From the moment she had left Jacob's bed, she seemed to have an abundance of feel-good hormones in her body. Was it the sex? Or was it the guy? Both?

"Or maybe your husband gave it to you real good this morning," Britney said, her eyes landing on the ring on her finger.

Isabelle blushed fifty shades of red and hid her hands on her lap. "What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

Britney laughed, and then straightened. "Thanks for this," she said, waving the post-it note with the list of products. "Let's have lunch together today." "Sure," Isabelle said, waving her goodbye.

She looked at her phone, but there was no new message from her father. He must be busy. She knew that the moment he saw her text, he would call her right away.

Hours later, she was hurrying up to finish a bit of work before going to lunch when her phone rang. She expected it to be her father, but it turned out to be the hospital where Ruth was admitted.

Her insides twisted with a sick feeling. The last time the hospital had called her, it was to tell her that they had found a kidney match and were waiting for the surgery fees to be settled before proceeding. She was still to pay the money.

"Hello, am I talking to Isabelle Cruz, Ruth Daniels's guardian?" the person on the other side asked.

"Yes," Isabelle replied, "it's me."

"Please come to the hospital right away. Ms Daniels is in critical condition."

Blood drained from her face. "What?"

"Please come as soon as you can."

"I...I don't understand."

"You'll talk to her doctor when you get here. I have to go."

The person hung up, and Isabelle's phone slipped from her hand to the desk. It made no sense. Critical condition? No, they must be wrong. She had talked to Ruth on the phone yesterday, and she had been doing okay. She sounded fine. She was getting dialysis while she waited for her transplant. She should be okay. What were they talking about?

Her head was swimming as she got up from her chair and made her way to Grace's office. She was trembling as she asked for an emergency leave. Grace approved right away, pointing out that she looked pale and asking whether she needed help.

Isabelle assured her she was okay, and then rushed back to her desk. Quickly, she shoved her phone into her bag, turned off her computer, and left the office. She hailed a taxi at the front of the building and got in. The ride to the hospital was ten minutes long, and that sounded like forever to her.

Her phone pinged in her bag, and she reached for it to replace a new message from her father.

Don't do this, Isabelle. Let's talk first. I'm abroad right now on business. Wait until I get back.

She didn't have enough time to dwell on that when another message arrived. She bit her lip when she saw it was from Logan Larson.

Hello, Ms Cruz. Please see me in my office right away.

She groaned. Of all the times for the CEO to request her to see him! She couldn't even begin to imagine why he wanted to see her. But she couldn't see him at the moment, anyway. She replied;

I'm very sorry, Sir, but I can't see you right now. I have an emergency and just left the office. I'll get back to you once I'm available.

She bit the inside of her cheeks and bounced her legs nervously as she waited for his reply. At this rate, she was going to lose her job. She got offered a raise on Monday, missed work on Tuesday, and now she was giving excuses to the CEO.

Her phone pinged seconds later.

What kind of emergency?

Thinking that he was mad, she typed back a detailed reply quickly.

I have a family member in hospital, and I just received a call that she is in critical condition. I'm her guardian. I'm on my way right now. I'm really sorry, Sir, but I can't see you right now.

His next text wasn't what she expected.

What hospital?

She didn't know why that mattered, but she sent him the name of the hospital anyway. He didn't reply after that, and she got back to looking at the taxi's map to check how far they were. She still had five minutes to go.

She could only sit and hope that Ruth would be okay. A few minutes later, her phone rang. When she saw that it was Naomi calling, she put it on silent mode and ignored the call. She was not in the mood to deal with her sister. She never was.

Seconds later, she got a new message from Naomi.

Dad told me what you're planning. Don't you dare! Let's meet right now.

As if Naomi was going to scare her anymore than she already was.

A few minutes later, she left the taxi and rushed into the hospital. She made her way to Ruth's room and opened the door. She was aware of someone calling to her, asking her to stop.

She came to a halt when she took in the scene in the room. There was a doctor, and about four nurses, and a crash cart standing between her and Ruth's bed.

She took a step forward, but someone wrapped a hand around her arm and pulled her backwards.

It was a nurse. "You can't be in there, Miss. Please wait."

"No, I...what is...what is going on? I don't. I don't understand." She tried to get back through the door, but one of the nurses inside pulled it closed.

"Please wait outside here," the nurse instructed. "You'll talk to the doctor when she is done."

"What's wrong with her? She was okay yesterday. I talked to her yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Miss. She got an infection. That's all I can tell you. The doctor will explain."

Isabelle wiped a hand across her face to get rid of the tears that were already streaming down her cheeks. She turned around and peeked through the little glass window in the door. "Will she be okay?" "They are doing everything they can," the nurse assured her.

Isabelle clasped a hand over her mouth as a sob escaped. This must be a nightmare. An infection? This was not how it was supposed to be. None of this sounded right to her.

Everything faded as she watched the team inside move around the bed, passing various medical instruments among them. Her eyes drew to the monitor in the room, and she felt faint. Why was it flat? Was it working?

She saw the doctor stand up straight and wipe the back of her hand against her forehead. She handed something to a nurse, and then looked at her watch. No. What was she doing? Why had she stopped checking on Ruth? Ruth... Isabelle craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse of the woman who meant everything to her. Was she out of danger?

The door opened and she took a step back. It was the doctor.

Isabelle rushed forward and took her hand. "How is she?"

The doctor patted her hand gently. "I'm so sorry, Isabelle. We tried everything."

"No." She shook her head. "No." Her eyes got blurry with tears. "Tell me she is okay. Ruth..." Letting go of the doctor, she made her way into the room. This time, the nurses made way for her to get to the bed. She wiped her eyes quickly to get a clear view of Ruth. Her beloved caretaker lay on the bed, eyes closed, as if she was sleeping peacefully.

Pain turned her gut inside out as she reached for Ruth's hand and shook it. "Ruth. Ruth? It's me, wake up. I'm here, please wake up. Don't do this to me. Wake up, please."

But Ruth lay perfectly still, unresponsive. Isabelle doubled over her body, hugging her close as she cried harder.