When Nora arrived at the hospital, she indeed saw her mother awake.

Doctor Lloyd, who called her earlier, was in the ward as well.

She walked in and flashed a smile. "Morning, Mom, Doctor Lloyd."

Upon hearing Nora's voice, the two who were chatting turned to look over at her.

"Nora."

Seeing her daughter, Nora's mother instantly beamed with joy and opened her arms.

Doctor Lloyd also curled up his lips into a light smile and said considerately, "Mrs. Stock, Nora, you two have a nice chat. Let me know when you need me. I have some other things to get busy with, so I'm leaving." Then, he turned to leave.

Nora stared at Doctor Lloyd's back with a grateful look in her eyes while her mother nodded appreciatively.

When there were only the mother and daughter left in the ward, Mrs. Stock asked Nora, "Tell me, where did you get the fund for my surgery?"

Nora did not expect the quest to be raised so quickly and was stunned for a second, her brain running fast to search for a proper answer.

Should she tell her mother that the money was from Alex?

Definitely not. Nora would rather lie than tell her mother the truth.

After a good while, Nora eventually said, "Well, I borrowed the money from a colleague."

It was a white lie, and Nora's expression was composed.

"A colleague? Who exactly?" Mrs. Stock asked further.

Mrs. Stock had asked Eric Lloyd the same question. However, the doctor only told her that Nora borrowed half a million yuan from someone but did not disclose any detail.

Thus, Mrs. Stock had to turn to her daughter for the answer.

Nora, of course, felt somewhat nervous inside.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared in her mind.

"Mom, I have a colleague called Janie. Her family is rich, and she is working to experience life."

Nora continued lying with a calm expression on her face, and even herself was somewhat convinced by the explanation.

Given no other choice, she had to conceal the truth from her mother.

Mrs. Stock frowned at the thought of Nora's workplace.

Marjorie and Mrs. Stock were good friends. Thus, if there were anything wrong with Nora, she would at least learn something about it.

She inquired about the money source carefully because she was worried that her daughter might do anything horrible to raise the fund.

Nora's mother bought her explanation and revealed a softer expression, saying, "Your colleague has been very helpful to us. You must express your gratitude properly and invite her to our place for a meal someday."

Realizing that she had passed the test, Nora grinned and nodded in agreement. "Sure, I'll invite Janie to our place when you get out of the hospital. She's a nice girl, indeed."

At least, Janie often volunteered to help Nora to rival Lotty.

To avoid her mother asking more about her, Nora took the initiative to wash fruit and peel apple and pear.

However, just as Nora thought that the topic had ended, her mother's fragile voice sounded.

"Nora, I'm sorry to have become your burden." At Mrs. Stock's words, Nora suddenly felt tight in her heart.

Nora had told herself to cheer up before coming over. Still, her mother's words stabbed her heart like a sharp knife.

"Your father was muddleheaded. If he hadn't done those things, he wouldn't have been imprisoned. Girls like you should enjoy your youth rather than borrow money from colleagues to treat my sickness. Nora, I feel so bad inside."

"Mom, it's okay. It's okay."

Nora never hated her parents in her heart, tears welling up in her eyes.

If anyone should shoulder all the blame, it should be she.

If she had not become obsessed with Alex back then, things would not have gone to this point.

When her mother became well enough, Nora had to deal with her father's trouble. She decided that she would travel to another city in between.

She would give birth to the child in the other city during this period. Then, she would not see Alex again for the rest of her life.

Mrs. Stock wiped her tears away and continued in a hoarse voice, "I should have stopped you from falling for the wrong person. Nora, there's nothing wrong with love. The problem was that you chose the wrong man. If we had advised you properly back then, we wouldn't have become..."

"Ouch..."

The sharp knife bled Nora's fingertip, and the woman frowned tightly with pain.