Berton acknowledged and respectfully nodded at Brandon and Sandy before turning to leave.
Once Berton was gone, Sandy turned to Brandon and asked in a soft voice, "How are things going with your business?"
"Still in the process of handling. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of things," Brandon assured her.
Brandon had no intention of involving Sandy in the frustrating matters of the company. He had been keeping the details vague, not elaborating on the issues.
Sandy understood that Brandon didn't want her to worry, so she didn't press further. However, she discreetly tried to inquire through other channels. So far, there had been no detailed response, indicating that the situation was indeed complicated.
Sandy wanted to ask more, but they were in a hospital, so she held back her questions.
Soon, they arrived at Olive's hospital room.
Brandon held Sandy's hand. "If you don't want to go in, we don't have to."
He whispered this to Sandy as they stood at the door.
Sandy shook her head. "It's fine. Since we're here, we should greet them."
Seeing Sandy's determination, Brandon didn't insist. He knocked on the door.
The door was opened swiftly, revealing Nelson with an apple in one hand and a phone in the other, still on a call.
Upon seeing Brandon and Sandy outside, Nelson's brow furrowed slightly. He quickly ended the call and greeted them, "You've come."
Brandon handed the fruit basket to Nelson without hesitation. "What are you doing here?"
Nelson started to say something but caught himself mid-sentence. "Never mind."
After acknowledging Brandon, Nelson turned to Sandy, who was standing beside Brandon, and greeted her with a smile, "Miss Thompson, it's a pleasure."
Sandy shook Nelson's hand. "Hello, I'm Sandy."
Nelson nodded. "I know. I saw you on a variety show before."
After the introduction, Nelson looked at Sandy again. "I'm Brandon's childhood friend, Nelson."
"Nice to meet you."
After exchanging pleasantries, Nelson stepped aside. "Come on in."
As they entered the room, they found only Nelson inside, and Olive was absent.
"Olive went for a check-up. She should be back soon," Nelson explained as he placed the fruit basket aside.
Brandon asked, "Are Mr. and Mrs. Longman not here?"
"They just arrived and went with Olive," Nelson replied. He then turned to Brandon and Sandy. "Don't just stand there. Have a seat."
Brandon gestured for Sandy to sit down, then turned his attention back to Nelson. "How is Olive doing?"
"She's doing okay. She'll probably be discharged in a few days. But she'll need to rest at home. The stab wound was a bit deep and narrowly missed her heart," Nelson replied.
However, they hadn't expected that Brandon would come, let alone with Sandy.
When parents see their child wronged, they tend to instinctively shift blame and responsibility to others. Mr. and Mrs. Longman were no exception.
They attributed Olive's grievances to Brandon and even implicated the innocent Sandy in this matter.
Even though they knew that Olive had brought this upon herself, especially when her life was hanging in the balance, they still tried to assign some of the blame to Sandy and Brandon.
In this meeting, their expressions were anything but amicable.
Brandon felt sorry for what had happened yesterday, but if he had to do it all over again, he would make the same choice.
After all, he had fulfilled his responsibility toward Olive, and he couldn't abandon Sandy and their child for Olive's sake.
He was willing to be seen as cold and heartless if that's what it took.
"I came to check on Olive," Brandon responded succinctly.
Mrs. Longman seemed like she wanted to say more, but Mr. Longman stopped her. "Brandon, you young folks talk. Your aunt and I will go settle Olive's expenses."
With that, Mr. Longman took Mrs. Longman's hand and left the room.
Once they were gone, Nelson, showing keen insight, spoke up, "Well, you two chat. I'll go get some food for Olive."
With that, Nelson left the room without waiting for a response.
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