Colin sighed. “This is such a mess. She’s a grown woman, why can’t she be more sensible? She’s constantly worrying the family. She’s married now, part of the Blake family. This shouldn’t be entirely our problem, should it?”
“Sebastian’s attention is completely on Bella now. Are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending not to see it?” Brandon shot back. “Do you honestly think he’s going to step in for Lillian?”
As the eldest brother, Brandon felt that he couldn’t completely ignore Lillian’s situation. He couldn’t just stand by and watch her completely sever ties with the family, creating an irreparable rift. If that happened, she would truly have nothing left. A divorced woman who had a child and had been to prison, even if she was still an heiress, was someone most men wouldn’t dare to touch. Let alone if she were cast out of the family—what kind of future would she have then?
“That Sebastian is a real piece of work,” Colin muttered. “He has his cake and wants to eat it too. Lillian has been nothing but good to him, never wronged him in any way. How could he treat her like this?”
“Shut up!” Brandon immediately snapped. “Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten who the Mercer family relies on to stay afloat?”
“Brandon, I was just saying it in private.”
“Walls have ears. Bella is loyal to Sebastian first, and to us second.”
“I know, I know. I’ll go talk to Lillian alone later.”
——
After leaving the Mercer house, Lillian was picked up by Leonard and taken back to Crowncrest Heights.
“From now on, we’ll stay at Crowncrest Heights, not the hospital.”
Lillian didn’t argue. “Give me your account number, and I’ll transfer the rent to you.”
“You don’t need to pay rent to live with me,” Leonard said. “We already agreed, remember? It’s mainly to make sure you don’t die somewhere and waste a perfectly good kidney.”
She was a bit confused. “If your home is set up like this, why do you still live at the hospital?”
“More people at the hospital. It feels livelier.”
That was the last thing Lillian had expected. Who would ever consider the hustle and bustle of a hospital to be genuinely lively? The smell of disinfectant mixed with the constant presence of life and death... She dreaded hospitals and avoided staying in them despite her own precarious health.
Leonard seemed to sense her confusion. “Don’t worry. The only reason I stay at the hospital is because I’m not dying anytime soon. I just get lonely and bored. With my physical limitations, I can’t work for long periods or go out and have fun. It’s more interesting to be at the hospital, observing other people’s situations, than to be bored at home.”

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