The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

As soon as the court hearing was over, Evelyn didn’t waste any time flying over to Antimosa City to be with her mother. This time, Zevian hadn’t followed since he needed to make up for missing many days at the Reign Empire, and she insisted he stay behind. The little bear, Kiana, had thrown a tantrum, but Zevian held her back, knowing how important it was for Evelyn to spend some alone time with her mom.

"Ma’am, you should wear this." Rita walked over to her, passing a thick leather jacket. "I checked the reports, and by the time we land, it will be quite chilly."

Evelyn accepted it with a grateful smile. A few of Damien’s men were also traveling with her in the jet along with Rita, so she didn’t need to worry about safety. But now that she was completely alone, her thoughts couldn’t stop drifting to what had happened in court.

Lucius had suggested dropping the case since it would be hard to make the maid tell the real truth. They needed to concentrate more on Gracia’s return and her well-being, but she still couldn’t digest how unfair it was for Annabelle. Her killer was not just walking around freely; she even claimed to have loved and missed her dearly, though Annabelle was William’s daughter in the world’s eyes.

And much to her horror, Elias didn’t bother to confess the truth either. Was hiding whatever secret more important than someone’s life? Her skin prickled in disgust, her heart filling with bitterness for him. Sophia was molding him to be one of her kind, and she dreaded a future where she might have to fight against him—against her most cherished person.

All the thoughts started giving her a headache. If he had turned evil, could she still forgive him? Evelyn sighed heavily, never anticipating their relationship to crack to this point.

Heaving another sigh, Evelyn closed her eyes and rested in her seat. Rita, who had been closely observing her, felt bad and rested too, equally drained from all the mental pressure over the past week. At least Annabelle’s case was cleared for Evelyn, and they could now focus solely on Gracia.

After almost a day of traveling with one layover in between, the group reached Xather’s Airport. Derek was already present to escort them to the outskirts of Antimosa, to the military hospital where Gracia was shifted for a more secure and speedy recovery.

"How is she?" Evelyn inquired to Derek, who looked a little worried. Rita moved closer too, keen to know the progress as Damien had been unreachable, dealing with the Lobo organization that had held Gracia captive for the last two decades and trying to find more dirt on Sophia.

Derek pursed his lips and replied, "Better, but she hasn’t been fully conscious yet, Ma’am."

Evelyn’s hopeful expression fell, and she nodded in response. Her mind raced with all the negative thoughts, even though she tried her best to stop them, leaving her heart racing anxiously. As long as she was alive, there was still hope!

They reached the hospital directly at Evelyn’s request. Derek escorted them inside, leading them to the safest wards. They were stopped by a few military guards, but when Derek showed them his ID card, the trio was allowed to enter the restricted premises.

"This is Doctor Wismay," Derek introduced the doctor in the office. "He is in charge of Gracia." He added, pulling out a chair for Evelyn to sit.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Reign," Wismay spoke in English, his accent thick. "We have been taking care of your mom, and she is doing fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about."

"But why hasn’t she woken up yet?" Evelyn asked in a worried tone.

"Yes," Rita nodded in agreement and added, "If I count correctly, it’s been already four long days."

"Well, she has reacted a few times, but we can’t dismiss the fact that she is in a minimally conscious state," Wismay replied, passing them a file containing Gracia’s reports. "It’s a state of partial consciousness. She has been through frequent electric shocks and physical injuries, and her mind needs time to recover. Forcing her to wake up could cause significant trauma and leave many aftereffects."

Evelyn sighed softly as she went through the file. Gracia had survived quite a lot of abuse, the marks all over her body discovered during examination making it clear. In the name of treatment, she had also been subjected to shocks in the asylum, and only God knew how she had survived all of them. Something must have kept her super strong, giving her the much-needed strength to endure this hell.

"And most importantly," Wismay leaned forward, his expression turning serious, "we are still not sure if she was just pretending to have gone mad all these years, as you strongly suggested, or if it was real." With a small sigh, he added, "We need her to be mentally stable to conduct tests and treatments."

Evelyn nodded in understanding. The doctor was trying to put it in simple words rather than using highly professional terms, and she was grateful for it.

"But I can at least see her, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Wismay replied with a nod. "In fact, it’s better if you visit and talk to her when she is asleep or half-conscious. My staff has observed her calling out for Bunny in her slumber."

His words kept the little hope in Evelyn alive that her mother was probably just pretending to be mentally unstable. Given the torture Gracia had endured, she must have done it to protect herself from worse treatment.

"Thank you, Doctor," Evelyn replied with a small smile.

Wismay returned the smile and got up from his seat. "Let me take you to her room."

Evelyn and Rita followed him, along with Derek. When they reached the room, the guards quickly opened the door for the women to enter with the doctor. Derek stayed behind, having a chat with them about the situation here.

"Ms. Gracia! Look who is here!" Wismay spoke as if Gracia wasn’t asleep. His gentle smile and cheerful voice comforted Evelyn, relieving her heart that her mom was under the best care. There was someone looking after her the way she deserved, the way Evelyn should have done for her.

Evelyn closed the distance to the bed in a few hurried strides, stopping right beside her mother. Her heart clenched as her eyes observed her beautiful face, pale and marred with scars. Gracia was sleeping like a baby, the quilt tucked in properly, covering the bruises on her hands.

"Sit," Wismay pulled out the chair for Evelyn. "Look who is here, Gracie! It’s your daughter, your little bunny."

Evelyn didn’t have a clue how to react, her emotions overriding her rational thinking. She gently reached out for Gracia’s face, caressing it lovingly. "I-I am glad to see you again, mom." The words slipped out of her mouth, tears trickling down her face. "P-please don’t leave me ever again."

Evelyn started gently sobbing, barely keeping herself calm. Wismay placed a hand over her shoulder, caressing it with sympathy. Her cries only grew louder, recalling all the painful memories of her mother’s disappearance, the rough days without her, and the torture she went through for the past two decades.

Rita’s expression changed to worry since Evelyn had been crying a lot these days. Her eyes moved to Gracia, silently praying for her to react. Well, it was difficult in just the first meeting, but they shared a strong bond, and anything was possible.

"You will make her sad," Wismay whispered to Evelyn. He glanced over at Gracia, his eyes subtly narrowing as they fell on her cheek.

"Can you cry a little louder?" Wismay asked, sounding absurd. Evelyn paused for a moment. "Yes, please cry a little louder. She might react to it!" he added, his eyes fixing on Gracia’s face.

Though the request was strange, Evelyn started crying again, her sobs louder than before. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Gracia, and as Evelyn continued to wail, a tear jerked out of Gracia’s eyes.

Rita gasped out loud while Wismay pressed the alert button, asking for his assistants to rush over immediately.

"Mom, can you hear me?" Evelyn moved closer, getting up from her chair. She leaned over and wiped the tears from her mother’s cheek. "I missed you so much," she confessed, her tears flowing freely.

Two nurses and an assistant doctor rushed inside. They all walked over, and Wismay ordered them to note down the reactions in Spanish.

Evelyn let her heart lead the way and gently placed a kiss on Gracia’s forehead. "I am sorry you had to go through all of it. I am really sorry for not finding you earlier, mom." She continued to cry, her words stirring something in Gracia.

Tears trickled down Gracia’s closed eyes, falling over her cheeks. The assistants noted how her heartbeat changed and her fingers twitched ever so slightly. Wismay smiled in small victory. Yes, they had found the best medicine for Gracia’s recovery, and it was her daughter’s love. No one would be able to stop Gracia from waking up to normal again!