I Quit Being a Stepmother (Cypress Gem) novel Chapter 624

"Come here, you two," Lauren said.

Arielle and Adrian hesitantly shuffled closer to her.

"Did you bring my bag?" she asked.

They did, since they needed her ID at the hospital.

Arielle handed it over, and Lauren propped herself upright in bed with some effort. Then, she unzipped her bag and took out a small wallet that she never went anywhere without.

She took a bank card out of the wallet and pressed it into Arielle's hand. "Keep this safe in your bag."

"What's this for?" Arielle asked.

Lauren was too weak to remain seated for long. Tossing her bag aside, she eased herself back down to lie on the pillow.

A sharp pain stabbed at her chest every now and then. Her head wouldn't stop pounding, and she felt weak.

It really did feel like she was running out of time.

Looking at the kids, Lauren explained, "This is everything I have left. It's for you guys."

She couldn't bring herself to say the word "inheritance".

The bank card didn't contain much. All that was left was the four million dollars she had saved up over the years.

Even when she'd been so broke that she had to borrow money and scrounge for food and a place to stay, she'd never once considered using this money.

She had pried that money out of Andrew, and though it wasn't exactly clean money, it was her last act of love.

"It's not much. You each get half. Adrian, yours is for when you get married someday. Think of it as the engagement gift I'm giving your future wife. And Arielle, the other half will be your wedding funds," Lauren said.

It was all she had left. She had long since lost everything else.

An odd calm settled over her.

That bank card summed up her brief life.

"So that's it, huh? This is what my life amounts to," she inwardly mused.

Lauren had no plans left to make. She didn't even care what illness she was diagnosed with.

If it weren't serious, an injection or two would do the trick. If it were something worse, she could start looking for funeral homes.

By then, there would no longer be any need for her to receive treatment. She figured that it would be too tiring for her to handle.

Carter stood outside the ward, holding the fever medicine the doctor had just given him. For a split second, he seriously considered hurling it at the woman's face.

He swallowed his fury and stepped back inside. "You two, go play in the next room," he instructed.

They were in a private ward, complete with an adjoining room for family members.

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