I've Been There Before

Chapter 325: I Love You

The day for Payne to receive bone marrow transplantation was imminent.

He had changed into a hospital gown and Mrs. James was by his side.

“Payne, don’t be nervous. Nothing will happen,” Mrs. James comforted him, but her son remained silent.

Looking at her son’s thin cheeks, she couldn’t help curse Grace again.

“If it weren’t for that kindhearted person whose bone marrow matches yours, Grace would have almost killed you.”

Payne seemed to be annoyed.

“Mom! Stop!”

“What’s the matter with you?

Mom loves you. Why are you yelling at me?”

“Mom, stop scolding Grace like that.”

“Why can’t I scold her? She doesn’t care about her family at all.”

Mrs. James hated her daughter from the bottom of her heart.

It had been proven that she was wrong about Grace’s identity back then. That girl was indeed her daughter.

However, after knowing the truth, Mrs. Jane still treated her son differently from her daughter.

After all, she raised her son from his childhood, so she was closer to him.

As for Grace … At the thought that she took away the entire property of the James Group after returning to S City, Mrs. James couldn’t help loathing her.

The property should belong to Payne.

In addition, she had pleaded Grace several times, but that girl refused to donate her bone marrow to her brother. In Mrs. James’ view, Grace was an extremely cold-blooded person who didn’t care about her family.

However, at this moment, Payne’s mind was a mess.

He had already seen a glimmer of hope, for someone was willing to donate bone marrow to him. He wouldn’t die, nor would he risk losing his life at any moment.

He should have relaxed, but as time passed, he became more restless.

The paramedics had informed him that the anonymous donor was about to start donating bone marrow.

He reached out and pulled the nurse’s sleeves.

“Wait … can … can you tell me the name of the kind person who donated the bone marrow?”

“Sorry, that person is unwilling to reveal his name.” The nurse smiled kindly and continued, “Don’t worry. You will be fine. Just take good care of yourself.”

With that, she turned around and left.

Payne was even more upset. Mrs. James noticed that her son was a little upset. She thought that Payne might be too worried.

“The paramedics have said that you should rest assured.

“Son, don’t think nonsense. Mom will always be there for you.”

As she tried to persuade him, Mrs. James thought of something that made her sad.

“Jafar is really a bastard. His son is going to have the bone marrow transplant surgery, but he did not even show up.

Perhaps he is having a good time with his mistress. I hope he dies miserably...”

Hearing Mrs. James’ curse, Payne became more agitated. He suddenly got up from the bed and was about to leave.

“Son, what are you doing?”

Mrs. Jane chased after him.

Payne walked faster and faster.

“Wait for me.”

Mrs. James took her valuable handbag and chased after him.

However, Payne started to run and he bumped into the nurse he met just now.

“Wait a moment! Take me there!” he roared in a low voice,

“Please take me to the operating room where the surgery will be carried out.”

He looked flustered. The nurse seemed to be frightened. “Take your hands off me first. The donor is unwilling to reveal his name.”

“Please take me there, okay?” Payne’s tone softened and he pleaded.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

The nurse was a little swayed, but she still shook her head.

Payne refused to let her go. “Is the donor my sister? Her name is Grace.”

He wasn’t stupid. How could there be such a coincidence? His sister had just come to see him, and then a donor appeared that day, whose bone marrow successfully matched his.

These days, he kept deceiving himself that things were not what he thought. The donor must be someone else.

However, he had noticed that things were too coincidental.

He wanted to survive and pretended not to know anything, but he would recall his sister’s words every night.

He asked his mother to bring over a locked diary. He opened it and looked at the contents.

The diary recorded the childhood of Grace and him that he had long forgotten.

The handwriting was childish. At that time, he didn’t even know all the Chinese characters. He gave phonetic transcriptions of some words, and a few sentences he wrote were even incomprehensible.

In an adult’s view, the contents of this diary were funny and childish.

However, they reminded him of the past.

His daily life was recorded in the diary. Sometimes, he was jealous that Grace got praise from their grandfather again. Sometimes, he would record what books Grace read and what movies she watched … After reading through the whole diary, he suddenly realized that he had recorded every event he had as a child, and Grace was always by his side.

He still remembered that Grace told him when they were young, he once helped save her from gangsters.

He looked at the diary of that day, which read: Today is my happiest day, for I protected my sister. It turned out that protecting my sister would make me so happy. From now on, I will always protect her.

The writing blurred, for his tears had fallen onto the paper. His heart wrenched with pain when he looked at the oath that he would protect Grace and make her happy forever. He regretted throwing away this diary at will after he had discord with Grace.

“My sister only has one kidney. She can’t donate bone marrow to me.”

Payne continued, “Please take me there. I won’t force her to donate bone marrow to me anymore.”

The nurse looked at Payne’s pale and haggard face. This man had been greatly tortured by the illness. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt sympathy for him.

Just as he was about to speak, a cold voice rang out from behind him.

“It’s a good thing that you still remember that Grace is your sister. I am relieved that you still care about her.”

When Payne heard the familiar voice, he was shocked. Then he looked up and murmured, “Caden…”

Wearing a cold look, the man stood three meters away from him. He then asked, “Where is your ward?”

“It’s...” Payne wanted to answer, but he suddenly remembered that Grace was taking the risk to donate bone marrow for him. “Caden, you came at the right time. Grace is about to donate her bone marrow. Hurry up and bring her out!”

Mrs. James was dumbfounded.

At first, she was confused, but then she slowly understood what was going on.

A sense of guilt engulfed her, but when she looked at her son’s haggard face, she reached out and held his hand.

“You’re going to have an operation soon. Son, don’t think nonsense. Follow me back to the ward.”

“No. I want to find Grace.”

“Go to the ward. I have something to tell you,” Caden said in a cold voice.

Seeing that Payne was not leaving, he reminded him, “I won’t allow Grace to take risks.”

Caden’s words seemed to illuminate Payne … That was right. Caden would not let anything bad happen to Grace.

…

In the ward.

Caden found a chair and sat down. Opposite him was Payne sitting by the bed.

“She lied to me and donated bone marrow to you.”

Caden broke the silence.

His words sent Payne into the depths of despair, and his face turned pale. “I’ll go find her! I won’t force her to donate her bone marrow!” As he spoke, he stood up and was about to leave.

“When she was injected with growth factors, I took her back home.”

Hearing this, Payne felt a little relieved.

“Then who is the donor...” Payne was puzzled.

“Your brother.”

Payne was struck dumb.

“I knew your brother faked the inspection report, but since Grace didn’t care about you, I just remained silent.

After all, what I need to do is to attend your ceremony and put a bunch of chrysanthemums in front of your grave.”

Payne wanted to say something, but he stopped on second thought. This man was stone-hearted.

He already knew the truth, but he just stood at the side and watched the farce.

“Then Grace began to contact the bone marrow bank. Ever since she found out about your illness, she has been asking others to look for a suitable donor.

I underestimated her kindness.”

As he spoke, Caden curled his lips in self-mockery.

“Since she couldn’t find a match, she decided to donate her bone marrow.

Since she cares about you so much, I can’t just stand by and watch.

I found your brother and your father’s mistress, so the one lying in that ward is your brother.

The one who will donate bone marrow to you is also him.”

Payne wasn’t stupid. His father barely visited him since he was sick, for he didn’t care about him at all.

As for his so-called younger brother and his mother, they had been demanding to return to the James family.

What was their purpose for returning to the James family?

It was just for money.

“How much did you give them?”

Payne was firmly believed that Ollie’s mother was greedy.

Caden looked up at Payne and sneered.

“An advertising company with a market value of 200 million plus 100 million in cash.”

Mrs. James gasped in astonishment as she heard this. She immediately put on a fierce look.

“How can you give them so much?

Are they worthy of it?”

Hearing this, Caden sneered and looked at Mrs. James.

“Is Grace’s life worth it?”

Mrs. James blushed with embarrassment.

“Payne, please remember that your life was saved by Grace.”

With that, Caden stood up and said, “Remember to lead a better life from now on. Don’t muddle along.”

“As for the James Group,” Caden continued with a sneer.

“It is already a mess. Don’t think that Grace got huge profits. The James Group is just a hot potato.”

At the mention of the James Group, Mrs. James could no longer remain calm. “That’s nonsense! That group has huge assets. How could it be a hot potato?

But since the James Group has been given to Grace, we won’t fight for it anymore. You’re afraid that we’ll take over the group again, aren’t you?”

Looking at Mrs. James’ agitated expression, Caden just sneered.

“Can the James Group compare with the Shaw Group?”

Mrs. James was lost for words.

“If Grace wants the Shaw Group, I am willing to give it to her without any hesitation.” Caden was implying that the James Group was nothing compared with his company.

Mrs. James was shocked and she doubted his words … With such a large asset like the Shaw Group, Caden wouldn’t be willing to hand it over to others.

“You’re just exaggerating. I can’t believe you can do that,” she said contemptuously.

Caden smiled and didn’t argue with her.

However, he stared at Payne’s face.

“Have you ever cared about the James Group?

You just ask the company for money when you are penniless.

You have been used to leading an easy life with everything provided, right?”

Payne’s face flushed because of his mockery.

But Caden’s words were irrefutable.

In the past, he had always lived a carefree and unrestrained life. It didn’t matter if he had no money, because his family was rich.

He never worried about money.

“Before Grace took charge of the James Group, it was already a mess.

The opinions of the higher-ups were diverse, and the ordinary employees also had their own thoughts.

Jafar could no longer control his subordinates, so he took advantage of Grace’s entry into the James Group to transfer most of the company’s reserves.

It’s true that the James Group once ran out of funds,”

Caden said calmly.

“Payne, at least you’ve studied finance, and you are familiar with the company’s procedures. You should know how difficult it will be if a company lacks funds, right?”

Payne couldn’t believe what he heard.

At this moment, he was even more shocked!

The James Group once lacked funds!

He really wanted to deny it, but it was Caden who told him this.

He could not refute him.

“Have you ever thought that Grace has never wanted to snatch anything from you?”

After Caden finished saying that, he left.

Only Payne was left standing there in shame.

Grace had been helping him contact the bone marrow bank ever since she came back from Erhai Lake. Perhaps she was thinking that if she couldn’t find a suitable match for him, she would donate her bone marrow.

A feeling of distress nagged at him … It was out of his expectation that Grace had never wanted to snatch anything from him.

She just let Payne and Mrs. James misunderstand that she had benefited a lot from the James Group. She never mentioned that the company was once in a crisis.

He then thought of another thing. The cost of treatment during his hospitalization was high, and his mother was used to leading a luxurious life. However, the monthly expenses paid to his mother and him were never in arrears.

Mrs. James lowered her head. At this moment, no one knew what she was thinking.

No one saw that her eyes had turned red.

However, only she knew whether she loved her daughter or not.

…

Many days had passed since Grace was imprisoned by Caden. Vivian looked for Grace many times, but she was stopped outside the apartment every time.

By asking others, she understood what had happened.

She knew that Grace went to the hospital to donate bone marrow. Fortunately, Caden stopped her.

Truth be told, she was very unsettled now since she owned some shares of the James Group.

She came to the apartment several times, but she was not allowed to see Grace.

Vivian was so anxious that she couldn’t bear it anymore.

Outside the door, she shouted loudly, “You are imprisoning her!

Will you let me in?

If you don’t let me in, I’ll call the police right now! “

Looking at this crazy woman who was screaming and cursing, Ladd was speechless. When she got excited, she even grabbed at his collar fiercely. Vivian was a pretty and charming woman, but when she went crazy, she just looked like a shrew.

“Be quiet! Stop shouting!” Ladd warned her in a low voice.

“Madam is taking a nap. Can you be quiet?”

“You want me to be quiet? Ok. Please move aside and let me in.

I’ll leave as soon as I see Grace. Is that all right?”

Looking at her provocative manner, Ladd did not believe her at all.

He reached out and stopped Vivian. However, she directly bit his hand. “Why did you bite me? Are you a dog?” he gasped.

“Let me in! Let me in!” Vivian used all means she could think of, for she was determined to see Grace today.

She had been waiting downstairs for a long time. She didn’t run to the door until she saw Caden get in the car and leave.

However, Caden was a shrewd man. Before he left, he asked Ladd to guard at the door.

“Grace is not a prisoner! You can’t do this to her!”

“Please don’t make things difficult for me. Please be quiet. Madam is taking a lunch break…”

Just as Ladd was speaking, the crazy woman suddenly shouted, “Smoke! Smoke!”

“Please stop messing around!” Ladd thought that she had come up with another idea. He became impatient and shouted with a sullen face.

“Look! Smoke!”

Realizing that she was not joking, Ladd turned around and looked at the door… Smoke was flowing out from the crack in the door.

Ladd was shocked. He pushed Vivian away and took out the key to open the door. “Madam! What happened…”

Before he could finish speaking, he coughed from the thick smoke.

Vivian immediately rushed in. “Caden, don’t scare me! You can’t commit suicide!”

However, the smoke was too thick and the flames were growing higher and higher.

Ladd called the fire alarm and tried to rush inside, but he failed.

A figure ran past him and ran towards the room.

In the blink of an eye, that person had already rushed into the thick smoke.

“Boss! You can’t go in!

It’s so dangerous!”

Ladd shouted loudly, but Caden turned a deaf ear to him. In the thick smoke, he searched the room for a while, but he did not see Grace.

He rushed to the bedroom door, but the door could not be opened.

“Grace! Open the door! Grace!!! Open the door!”

He pounded at the door desperately, but she didn’t open it. Then he smashed at the door violently, only to find that Grace had placed something big and heavy behind it.

He was so anxious that he almost went crazy.

After soaking himself, Ladd rushed to the living room and balcony to open all the windows that could be opened.

Smoke went out of the window. The room was no longer in low visibility, but the fire was still roaring. Ladd rushed to the sink and turned the tap on. He looked at Vivian, who was stunned.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me put out the fire!”

Fortunately, the room was humid, so the fire did not go out of control. However, due to the humidity, after the curtains and carpets were ignited, the room was filled with thick smoke.

This was probably the most fortunate thing.

The fire in the living room was brought under control, but it was difficult to put out the fire in the bedroom.

No one could enter the bedroom unless Grace opened the door.

Fortunately, the fire station was not far from here, so the police arrived at the apartment quickly.

“I couldn’t smash the door open.”

“We can enter it through the window.”

Caden was stunned, and then he said in despair, “The windows have been equipped with anti-theft railings.”

At this moment, he was extremely regretful.

He kept smashing at the door. “Grace! Open the door! I … I beg you to open the door. Grace, your brother is fine. He has undergone the bone marrow transplantation.

What you’re worried about won’t happen.

Your brother will be safe and sound. Please open the door first. “

She didn’t respond.

“Grace, I found someone to donate bone marrow to him. I’ll take you to see your brother now. Open the door.

Mr. Venus has also been punished for his crime.

I already know what happened six years ago. You didn’t kill Wallis. It was my fault. Grace, open the door!”

He desperately smashed the door. He had never been so scared before, for he was afraid that she would disappear from this world forever.

He kept speaking to her. Actually, he didn’t know what he was talking about. He just hoped that Grace could open the door.

Outside the window was a crane. The firemen on the crane were sure that the woman in the room was still alive. She was sitting on the dressing table which had been pushed against the door. The fire started from the wooden bed and was getting closer to her.

If they forcefully smashed at the door, the woman sitting on the dressing table would most likely be knocked into the flames.

However, if they didn’t do anything, she would also be engulfed in flames.

After smashing open the window, the firemen began to put out the fire first.

They took the high-pressure water guns and sprayed water on the heavily-burned wooden bed.

Outside the door.

Caden didn’t dare to delay for a second. As time went by, he became more desperate.

“Grace, your brother is fine. I already know about what happened six years ago.

It’s my fault to put you in jail for three years.

As long as you come out, I’ll go to jail for three years.

To please you, I am willing to go to jail immediately.

Will you come out?”

Grace leaned against the back of the door and smiled bitterly. This man didn’t know that what happened in the past had ruined her life and everything she owned...

Caden didn’t dare to smash at the door, for he was afraid that when the door was smashed open, Grace would be knocked into flames.

Holding the high-pressure water guns, the firemen rushed into the bedroom through the broken window.

The flames were being put out.

However, the woman seemed to take further actions. The clothes in the cupboard were casually spread out on the dressing table. As long as she lighted the lighter, terrible things would happen...

The firemen immediately informed Caden of the situation.

He was completely panicked.

“Grace, don’t light the lighter! You can’t be in danger. I love you, Grace!” When saying that, Ladd and he used all of their strength to smash at the door.

They must succeed this time!

The flames in the bedroom had almost been extinguished.

However, they couldn’t let Grace have another chance to ignite the fire. Caden hoped he could stop her in time.

They must succeed.

The door was suddenly knocked open.

Caden quickly rushed in. He reached out and hugged the woman who fell to the ground. At this moment, he was trembling all over.

“Grace, it’s good that you’re fine. It’s good that you’re fine.”

Thanks to the heavens! Thanks to the Bodhisattvas and all heavenly deities!

Caden swore that from today on, he would become a vegetarian.

He had always been an atheist, but now he couldn’t hold back his excitement.

He could finally heave a sigh of relief after saving his beloved woman.

Ladd shouted in fear, “Boss!”

Caden, who had always been strong and healthy, suddenly lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Grace was also shocked and she subconsciously stretched out her hand.

Ladd ran over and pushed her away. He took out his phone and called Humbert. “Mr. White, my boss fainted all of a sudden.”

“I’ll drive him to the hospital right now.”

Ladd managed to support Caden up by himself. Fortunately, two firemen came to help him.

Ladd suddenly paused and said, “Madam, don’t do anything stupid.” As he spoke, he called Saul. “Come up and protect Madam.”

His purpose was to restrict her freedom.

But this time, Grace clenched her fists and stood on the spot, watching Ladd leave with Caden on his back. She just kept staring at him.

With mixed feelings, she wore an unreadable look. Finally, Caden disappeared from her sight and she closed her eyes.

From now on, she decided that she would no longer care about him. She wouldn’t love or hate him anymore.

She just wanted to let bygones be bygones. That was the best outcome for them.

However, she knew that the only way to resist him was to stay sober and not let him hurt her again.