Chapter 177 - An Unhappy Visit (5)

3 February, Hospital in City T

With trepidation, Lexi followed by Matthew approached the room Anna was in. How in the world could she talk to a woman, who in the last two days had gone through childbirth for twins, and lose one? How devastating was that for anyone. Ever since Matthew broke the news, she wondered if going in to see Anna was the right move.

As they reached the door, a young couple was standing outside the room, and the man spoke "You must be Lexi Yao and Matthew Rong. I am James Jones, Anna's little brother and this is my wife Alecia."

Shaking hands Matthew said "We are. How are your sister and brother-in-law?"

"Medically Anna is recovering, but regardless of what the two of them say the death of Aaron has devastated them. They were so looking forward to the twin's birth but due to all the complications with her pregnancy those of us who knew hid the situation from them both, as increased stress would cause implications for Little Jang as well."

"You are a doctor?" questioned Matthew.

Laughing James shook his head "Why is it everyone presumes males in the medical field are doctors only."

Alecia, laughing added "No my husband is a qualified nurse. Now Anna and Uncle Yi are waiting for you in the room. They will kill us if we keep you too long."

"Uncle Yi?" questioned Lexi. Wondering what complicated relationship this family had. At least with her and Matthew, it was only their brothers marrying each other.

"He is my godfather. Uncle Yi and my father, despite being business competitors are good friends, and started a joint venture…"

"That I think I know about it was the reason for their trip to our hometown."

"I believe it was. I am just an entry level employee, so I have little idea about what the CEO's decide and do…"

"Low level employee, ha" responded James. "Heiress to one company who can twist her father around her fingers…"

"That you have to be grateful for, as that is how I got him to agree to our marriage."

"True," and with that James leant down and gave Alecia a brief kiss before adding "We will get going, but can you tell Anna and Yi that we will come back to visit them later. Just be prepared that they may snap or start crying at a drop of a hat as they are really hurting, but they are trying to hide it from everyone."

Matthew nodded as James and Alecia started to walk away. A nurse stopped them outside the room, and after being informed of their names, knocked on the door, and quickly entered. A minute of so later, the nurse came back and said "You can go in."

On entering Lexi took one look at Anna and realised how devastated at the turn of events she was. While her interactions with Hou Yi were less she could see he was also impacted by the loss of their baby.

As Lexi came more into Anna's line of sight, she could see a genuine smile cross Anna's face. In that moment for Lexi she observed that her visit was a positive for Anna. Hopefully the items in the bag she was carrying would be something Anna liked. She quickly moved over to the bedside and gave Anna a hug before saying "I keep my promises." She then reached into her bag and added "For you."

On observing Anna, Lexi realised that something had interested her. Maybe it was the fact that Matthew had accompanied her today, and based on her in person and telephone discussions over the last few weeks, Lexi knew that while Anna respected the rule of law, one thing she detested is those who use the strict interpretation of the law for themselves. Maybe, Matthew was going to be a target for her quick wit.

Lexi pulled a chair and sat down beside Anna, quietly asking "Be truthful, how are you?"

"I really do not know. But it is good to see a friend who does not, in some way feel beholden to my husband."

"You know I am a phone call away. Now, please do not hate me, in the bag there are two christening gowns that I designed for your twins. I debated when I heard about the death of the younger one as to whether I should take it out, but I thought that you could use it to dress him in his coffin, and as the other one is matching when you have a christening for the one that lives using the matching designed gown..."

Anna teared up slightly. Everyone else since Aaron had died wanted to avoid talking to the two of them about realities they faced, but here was Lexi who had some idea about the fact that Aaron had a short life, but he was as important as Little Jang.

Seeing the couple of tears Lexi said, "Anna your husband will get annoyed with me if he sees you."

"Lexi, it is so thoughtful. I had no idea how we were going to make sure Aaron had a role in Little Jang's christening, but you have given me the perfect way. Plus, if we have future children, I should be able to use the same gown, so he is part of all the christenings."

Meanwhile, Matthew paused just inside the room, not wanting to disturb his wife and her friend. From observation he knew how the parents of soldiers took being advised of their son or daughter's death, but that came from a choice that they made to serve. In this case, it was a baby that was only about a day old. How devastating was that for a parent.

Out of the corner of his eye Matthew observed Hou Yi walking towards him, and he said "Colonel Rong, a surprise to see you."

"CEO Hou, Lexi promised your wife she would come and visit, but given the situation I had to come with her."

"Do you need me to arrange a hotel for you?"

There was no way Matthew wanted Hou Yi to know where they were staying. While he seemed friendly enough the last thing that was needed was for that information to get into the wrong hands. Promptly, and without room to question Matthew responded "Actually no. I have a meeting with the local military leaders tomorrow morning, so we are staying on the base tonight in visiting officer accommodation. I should be a couple of hours so Lexi will come back and re-visit Anna before we leave."

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