MTLNOVEL Chapter 533: Betrayal never came from strangers.
Meanwhile, outside —
The car appeared the moment Brenda and Margaret stepped out of the building.
A few people nearby stopped to greet hr, offering polite smiles and respectful nods. Brenda responded with grace, her expression unchanged. No one noticed the slight scrunch at the corner of her eyes —a subtle, yet telling sign of pain —that was slowly making her weak.
Margaret noticed it and reached out to hold her arms, gently to support her stature. "Madam, are you alright?" her voice tinged with concern.
Brenda didn't respond directly. Instead, she motioned toward the car and said in a low voice, "Call the doctor."
Margaret understood instantly. She nodded and gently supported Brenda into the car before getting in herself.
Once seated, the first thing she did was to call Dr. Han, requesting him to meet them at the villa immediately.
Turning to Brenda, she said, "Madam, Dr. Han will be arriving soon. But until then, he asked me to give you this." She pulled out a small bottle from her purse, uncapping it to get a pill and placed it in Brenda's palm. "It will help relieve the pain."
Brenda said nothing. She took the pill without hesitation and swallowed it dry. Then, resting her head against her seat, she closed her eyes.
Silence fell inside the car, but her mind was anything but still.
The words she had spoken to Arwen earlier replayed in her memory. Her lips twitched, almost as if in regret, and a single tear slipped silently from the corner of her eye.
She had told Arwen she could now rest in peace, but the truth was far more complicated. Arwen had only ever had her. With Brenda gone, she would truly be alone.
And Brenda knew it.
She had tried —tried so hard —to fight this illness, to delay the inevitable. But she could feel it now, more than ever. Her body was losing strength, her heart growing weary.
No matter how stubborn she was, there was this one battle she could not win.
Her death.
She had made peace with it. Accepted it. She had decided to let go.
But today, seeing Arwen's eyes —filled with worry, with desperation not to lose her —her heart wavered again. For a moment, she wanted to fight again. Just for a little longer. For Arwen.
But reality struck her back just as quickly. The reality in which every breath has turned a little heavier, every step a little harder. The reality where she knew her time was slipping through her fingers, no matter how tightly she tried to hold on.
She wasn't afraid of dying.
She was afraid of leaving Arwen alone —especially when Catrin had not yet learned her lesson.
Especially when she had come to realize that Catrin would never learn it and accept the wrong she had done to Arwen.
Granna is sorry, Wennie.
Maybe I won't be able to keep this one promise to you. Don't blame me when the time comes …
She muttered under her breath, her voice nearly lost to the hum of the road outside, as she slowly surrendered to the weight of her regrets and helplessness.
—————
At the same time, in Cralens First Hospital —
Aiden sat rigid in Jason's office, waiting. His jaws clenched, and his fingers curled into fists, tight enough to turn his knuckles white.
He had wanted to find the person behind it all since the day he found out what had happened with Arwen.
But nothing had prepared him for this …
Jason watched his friend, not knowing exactly what he should say or do to make things bearable for him.
"Aiden," he said calmly, though there was an unmistakable edge of concern in his voice. "I know what you are thinking. And your suspicion might not entirely be wrong. But don't jump to conclusions just yet —we haven't received the full analysis."
"Besides," Jason added with a slight frown, "doubting Mrs. Davies doesn't feel right. She is the one Arwen had depended on all her life. Her family. It's very unlikely she would do anything that could put Arwen in danger … as serious as this. I don't think she is the one behind this."
Aiden didn't respond. His gaze just remained dark, as though he were lost in deep contemplation.
Brenda was one person Arwen believed in the most. Trusted the most … he knew.
But he also knew —betrayal never came from strangers. It came from the ones you trusted.
And that was why he was here.
To make sure he wasn't guessing it wrong.
He wanted to believe that the one person Arwen depended upon … believed in doesn't turn out to be wrong.
Even he wanted to find himself wrong.
But something was telling him that his suspicions weren't entirely wrong.
That the chocolate he tasted had something wrong in it.
"How much more time will it take for the report to arrive?" Aiden asked, glancing up at Jason. His expression made clear that his patience was wearing thin.
Jason pressed his lips into a thin line. He understood his friend's urgency — but the problem was that he also understood the chemical processes the test subject had to undergo to get the analysis.
"Brother, I have sent it to the lab. As I told you, this might take time. There is nothing else you could do but wait for it. Even if I go there myself, it will still take the same time."
Aiden gritted. But he didn't say anything. He just sat there waiting.
Jason also business himself into his work. He went out and came back in, only to find Aiden sitting the same he had been sitting for hours. Neither did his expression have ease, nor did his posture.
He shook his head and sat back on his chair, getting back into his work.
Only when Aiden's phone went off did he look up to see Aiden finally move.
"Is it Arwen?" he asked, and the furrow that appeared between Aiden's brows revealed that he had guessed it right. "Of course, she would be calling. It's late …" he checked the time on his watch and arched his brow as if momentarily surprised. "Past the dinner time, as I guessed."