"What's the matter?" Mrs. Stock anxiously asked her daughter, who was peeling fruit at the other end of the ward.

Nora instantly wrapped the minor wound upon the fingertip with the other hand, thinking that she had to take in some fresh air outside.

"Mom, Doctor Lloyd sent me a message saying that he wants to see me."

Nora took out her cell phone that did not receive any new message, tapped on the dialog box between her and someone else, then lifted her phone.

Mrs. Stock was dubious but also clear that her negative mood was affecting her daughter. Thus, she nodded, saying, "Go ahead, then. Don't worry about me."

At the garden in the rear of the hospital...

"Thanks for your help."

With Eric's help, Nora's left index finger was wrapped around with white gauze, looking like a fertilized cocoon.

Sitting next to the woman and thinking of her nervous expression when she came to him, Doctor Lloyd could not help but laugh out loud. "Did you get injured as you're too excited to see your mother awake?"

"Don't make fun of me. Oh right, thank you for keeping my secret."

The two sat down on a bench and continued the chat.

Nora knew well that if Eric had not kept her secret, her mother would get suspicious of the money source for the surgery and then send someone to inquire about it.

Doctor Lloyd curled up his lips into a faint smile yet with a trace of worry in his eyes. "I indeed concealed information about the money. But Nora, can you tell me where exactly that half a million yuan came from?"

Eric recalled that the surgery got canceled one day and then resumed the next day, then guessed that Nora must have offended someone.

Presumably, the person who eventually provided Nora with half a million yuan had a strong background.

Nora currently did not want to tell anyone about her relationship with Alex. She was worried that people who learned her identity as her ex-husband's surrogate would look down upon her.

She, of course, did not want to lose her dignity.

Thus, Nora replied to Eric with a smile, "Doctor Lloyd, I appreciate your help in keeping my secret. And I'd like you to keep it from my mother until she's fully recovered. Is that okay?"

The woman narrowed her pretty eyes with a sincere, expectant look inside. Eric found it hard to take his gaze off her shining, bright countenance.

The doctor managed to withdraw his eyes and flashed a gentle, warm smile, saying, "No worries, I can make it."

He lifted his hand to rub Nora's head with care.

He had witnessed the woman's care and love of her mother all the way.

Once again, Nora expressed her gratitude to Eric.

Before Eric could warm the bench, he received a call from another patient.

After hanging up, the man said to Nora with an apologetic, helpless look in his gentle eyes, "Excuse me. An urgent situation has happened to one of my patients, and I must rush over."

"I see. Go ahead then. Don't worry about me. Your work comes first."

A doctor's job was closely related to the lives of his patients. Of course, Nora could understand the situation.

"I promise I'll take good care of your mother during her time in the hospital. So, no worries about that."

Nora felt genuinely grateful.

Before leaving, Doctor Lloyd looked back at Nora and then disappeared.

Nora was left alone on the bench, staring at the light blue sky.

"Sorry to have kept you around all night long."

"That's fine. Are you feeling better? Do you still feel uncomfortable in any part of your body?"

Sitting on the bench, Nora snapped her eyes open and looked around, feeling somewhat weird.

Nora wondered why she heard Alex's voice when she closed her eyes.

"I don't know why, but I feel bad lately from time to time. That's quite annoying, indeed."

"You should have come to the hospital earlier before it's getting too late, as I told you. You know?"

At the words and voice, Nora's blood froze all over her body in an instant, and her mind went blank.

She turned around stiffly and caught two faint figures on the bench through the bushes behind the one she was sitting upon.

She saw the man in a black suit and found his slim back incredibly familiar.