By the time Elysia and Tarquin left the hospital, it was already past midnight.
Victor was fine—he’d just gotten all worked up, so now Benjamin was looking after him.
Once they got outside, Elysia finally saw Winona’s message.
Winona had texted her about half an hour ago.
Blossom was already asleep. Winona told her not to worry, just to finish up and head home to get some rest.
Not wanting to disturb anyone, and knowing the kids had school early in the morning, Elysia decided not to swing by Tanhe Manor. She just asked Tarquin to drive her straight home.
On the way, Elysia stared out the window and let out a long breath.
Tarquin glanced over. “Feeling down?”
“Not really. Honestly, it felt good to put Sabrina in her place. She’s a disaster for medicine. Kicking her out of the field is a relief.”
“Then why the frown?”
Elysia sighed again, turning to Tarquin. “I just—suddenly, I get where Grandma was coming from.”
“No wonder she worries so much about the future of medicine, even at her age. It’s kind of sad.”
“These days, Victor’s the best we’ve got, but he’s not even close to Grandma’s level! The Stevenson family doesn’t have anyone to carry the torch, and it’s not like there’s some new prodigy out there. What’s going to happen to medicine when Victor’s gone?”
“Benjamin told me our standing in the World Pharmaceutical Organization keeps slipping lower and lower. We barely have a voice anymore.”
“Our traditional medicine used to be so respected, but now, most countries just look down on it…”
“No, no, I have to keep working at this. We come from a huge country with thousands of years of history—there’s no way we can lose out to the rest of the world!”
“I’ve got to do my best, and so does Baby. We have to make our country proud. That’s everyone’s responsibility!”
Tarquin listened to her rambling, his eyes full of warmth.
How amazing was Elysia? She was the best woman in the world!
Did she even like traditional medicine that much? Not really.
But for the greater good, for her country’s dignity, she’d push herself to work harder!
She was just an ordinary woman, but her heart carried the weight of a whole nation.
She loved her country, and she was raising her kids to do the same!
She had more grit and responsibility than plenty of men he knew.
She was a true daughter of her homeland.
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