From His Wife to His Uncle's Wife novel Chapter 122

"Jared, how are you feeling?" Juliana leaned in, her eyes shining with hope as she watched her son, who had just woken up.

"Mom, give Jared a break," Eleanor said gently. "He just got out of surgery. He’s still weak. You’re asking so many questions, he can barely keep up."

Juliana shot Eleanor a look. "I’m just worried about him. Not that you would understand."

Jared shook his head, his lips pale and pressed together. "Mom, please don’t talk to Eleanor like that."

Juliana fell quiet, her mood sinking as she watched her two kids stick together.

"Fine, fine, you two are the real family. I’m just the outsider, right?"

Jared managed a small smile. "That’s not what I meant, Mom. Thank you, Eleanor. And thank you, Mom."

He looked at his mother, his voice soft. "I’ll be here to celebrate your birthday with you next year."

Juliana’s eyes filled with tears. "Oh, my sweet boy. It finally feels like things are looking up for us."

While her mom fussed, Eleanor slipped out to thank the chief surgeon. She brought along a few fruit baskets and some flowers.

"Thank you, Doctor," she said sincerely.

"No need to thank me, Ms. Rolland," the doctor replied, smiling warmly. "Jared’s surgery was a big success. We’ll keep an eye on him for a few days, do some follow-up checks, and if everything goes well, he should be able to go home in three to five days."

He looked genuinely pleased. "Congratulations. Jared is on the road to recovery."

Eleanor felt a wave of relief. "That’s wonderful. I hope he never has to stay in the hospital again."

The doctor chuckled. "That might be too much to hope for. Don’t worry, I’m not saying anything bad will happen. He’ll just need regular check-ups. If things stay stable for three months, he should be fine. Still, he should come in every six months for follow-ups. Tell him to take it easy, rest, eat simply, and keep his spirits up."

"Do that, and he should do just fine."

Eleanor let out a breath and smiled. "We can handle that."

She started to wonder if, once Jared left the hospital, she should find a quieter place for them to stay. But she decided she’d wait until after the divorce to make any big decisions.

...

On the other side of town, Max got the update too.

At the hospital, Jared was doing better than anyone expected.

"Eleanor, you don’t have to keep coming to see me. Go home and eat!" Jared said, looking at her with concern.

"The doctor said if my numbers are good tomorrow, I can go home the day after."

"Eleanor, the day after is Saturday. Can you come pick me up?" His voice was careful but excited.

Eleanor grinned. "Of course I can. I’ll bring you home myself."

She didn’t stay too long. She hurried back to her apartment to cook for Max.

Since it had been a while, Eleanor put extra care into dinner, making four dishes and a soup, just the way Max liked.

Sitting at the table, Max gave her a small smile. "Dinner is perfect. Thank you."

Eleanor felt a little shy. "It’s the least I can do, Mr. Clarkson. Sorry for taking so many days off lately. I promise it won’t happen so often from now on."