"Seth, wait for me in the car for a bit. I'm going to say a quick prayer, too."

He also wanted his career to take off!

Jude was quick and came back after making her offering, taking only ten minutes in total.

She was mainly afraid that Seth would get annoyed if he had to wait too long.

After getting in the car, she asked Seth, "Are we heading straight to the hospital to see Mr. Harcourt?"

"Yeah," Seth grunted, then closed his eyes and fell silent.

Jude, long accustomed to this, simply drove toward the hospital.

Meanwhile, Claire was also on her way to the hospital.

After they came down from the mountain, Old Mrs. Quigley kept complaining about a tightness in her chest.

Given her pre-existing health conditions, Claire was worried and insisted on taking her to the hospital for a check-up to be safe.

After running some tests, the hospital informed them that the old woman's chest tightness was caused by high blood pressure. They advised the family to keep a close eye on her and seek immediate medical attention if anything changed.

Since Claire wasn't always with Old Mrs. Quigley, she knew she had to inform Felix of these instructions.

So she unblocked his number and gave him a call.

The call connected almost immediately.

But before she could speak, she heard Madeline's voice on the other end.

"Claire, are you looking for Felix? He went to get my scans for me."

Claire paused for a moment, then asked, "Which hospital are you at?"

"Rivercrest Hospital. Why?"

"Perfect. I'm at Rivercrest Hospital too. I'll come see you," Claire said, her tone remarkably calm.

Madeline was taken aback.

Claire hung up directly, gave a quick instruction to Bianca, who was looking after Old Mrs. Quigley, and headed straight for the orthopedics department.

When she arrived, Felix hadn't returned yet, and Madeline was the only one in the room.

She had sent Genesis away, hoping for more alone time with Felix.

Perhaps due to a guilty conscience, Madeline's usual bravado seemed to falter when she saw Claire.

Claire walked over and looked at the chart at the foot of her bed.

Sprained ankle.

A mild one, at that.

Occupying a hospital bed for something so minor was a waste of medical resources.

So, Felix had ditched her and Old Mrs. Quigley just because Madeline had sprained her ankle, and had run off to the hospital to take care of her?

"You got into a car accident and only ended up with a sprained ankle? Felix actually believed an excuse that ridiculous? There's seriously something wrong with him," Claire said mockingly.

Madeline bit her lip. "So what if he believed me?"

"Oh, that's great. Since he believes anything you say, could you do me a favor and convince him to sign the divorce papers? Wouldn't it be better for him to marry you sooner rather than later?"

Claire sat down in a nearby chair, speaking in a slow, deliberate manner. If this drags on any longer, you might end up with people calling you a homewrecker. That would be so embarrassing."

Madeline's eyes flickered.

She wanted that, of course.

But she couldn't push for it.

Besides, Felix didn't seem to have any intention of divorcing Claire.

She still hadn't figured out why.

Facing Claire, all she could do was feign innocence. "There's nothing going on between Felix and me. I'm not afraid of what others might think."

"Looks like you haven't managed to climb into his bed yet. What's the matter? Is he not interested in you?" Claire said with a derisive smile.

She knew Madeline all too well.

If anything had actually happened between her and Felix, she would have been screaming it from the rooftops to secure her position.

Still, Claire was surprised.

Did Felix have no ulterior motives toward Madeline, or was he just reluctant to touch her?

It was most likely the latter.

He cared so much about Madeline that he would abandon his own wife and his

nearly eighty-year-old grandmother for her.

How could there not be feelings involved?

Perhaps he was just afraid of Madeline being labeled a homewrecker, which was

why he hadn't crossed that line.