Love Knows No Bounds

Chapter 629

Toddy was at the table talking to his mother.

"Who's that girl?" Marion asked. "This isn't your number. You've never brought a girl home to see us, and whenever we ask you about it, you keep saying you don't have a girlfriend. Are you dating someone, Toddy? That girl is your girlfriend, right? What was her name again? Emma Finley? That's a nice name. I'm sure she's a lovely girl. When are you going to let us meet her? Should I head over to your office to take a look myself?"

Marion was all smiles. It was clear that she had been fretting over Toddy's love life.

Toddy and Dylan were about the same age, but Dylan was about to become a father now while her son was still single.

Marion tried to urge Toddy into marriage, but all her attempts failed, and she couldn't do anything.

Thus, it was unsurprising that she was thrilled that a young woman had called her. She could tell that the young woman's relationship with her son was far from ordinary.

"She's the person I like, Mom, and she's a wonderful girl. She used to be my colleague and she was very good at her job."

"You're looking for a wife, not a business partner. How good she is at her job doesn't matter. All that matters is that she's a good person and that you like her. Where's she from? Is her family from Orapolis too? How far have you gone with her? When are you going to invite her parents out? We should meet them too."

It was as if Marion couldn't wait to start planning the wedding.

Toddy could tell how happy his mother was. He didn't know how to tell her what was happening.

"Why do you seem upset, Toddy? Do you not like Emma? Or did you hurt her in some way? Did she call me to complain about you?"

Marion knew her son well.

Despite her joy, she picked up on the awkward tone in her son's voice and guessed that he wasn't in a good mood right now.

Thus, she assumed that the two had argued and her future daughter-in-law was calling her to lodge a complaint.

"Emma and I aren't arguing, Mom. Let me explain first. Emma's not my girlfriend yet. I hurt her badly in the past and I'm going to hell and back to try and win her over again."

Marion immediately became furious and started berating Toddy. "How did you hurt Emma, you brat? You're already in your thirties! You're fortunate enough that she likes you and yet you hurt her? Do you plan on spending the rest of your life alone? Going to hell and back to try and win her over again? Does that mean Emma liked you a lot back then? Did you hurt her because you were so confident in her love for you, you silly boy? You have no idea how much I wish I could teach you a lesson right now. Do you think you're so great because of all your accomplishments? You should be over the moon that someone wants to marry you! How dare you hurt her instead?"

"Mom, I—"

"Don't call me Mom! I was so worried about your love life that I started getting gray hairs, and yet you went around hurting a woman before trying to win her back again! You deserve to stay single your whole life! Where's Emma? Pass the phone back to her. I'll talk to her and see if I can salvage the situation. Don't bother coming home if I miss out on this daughter-in-law thanks to you, you brat! I'll throw all your things out!"

Marion was beside herself with fury.

"Mom, can you let me finish before giving a tirade?" Toddy pleaded helplessly. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

His mother had a fiery temper, and when angered, she wouldn't hold back at all.

If he made a mistake at home, he'd have to run for his life. Otherwise, he'd feel like crying from all his mother's scolding.

Not only was Marion good at scolding, but she was an expert nagger too. Toddy was most afraid of his mother.

"Fine. Go ahead. If you don't explain yourself properly, I might very well send you to hell myself."

Marion did her best to quell her temper.

Toddy didn't waste a single second. He was afraid that his mother would start berating him again.

He hadn't even had his dinner yet. Getting scolded would only make him lose his appetite.

Though, it was not as if he was in the mood to eat right now. The thought of Emma being ill made him so upset that he couldn't swallow anything.

"Emma has always liked me, Mom, but I didn't like her back then, so I was extremely cold to her. Recently, she decided to give up on me, and that's when I realized that I had feelings for her too. When I tried to salvage things with her, someone else started wooing her too, and that person's a huge threat to me."

"You deserve it, you fool! You brought it on yourself! And to think that you're a senior executive at Coleman Empire Holdings too! You're so blind to your emotions that you didn't even know whether or not you loved her!"

Marion was so infuriated that she wanted to throw her shoes at him.

Alas, her foolish son wasn't in front of her right now. No matter how mad she was, she couldn't resort to anything physical.

"I'm trying to win her back now, Mom, but she just showed me a few of her medical reports and insisted that I talk to you to see what you think."

"What medical reports? What's wrong with her health?"

After a moment of silence, Toddy filled his mother in. His voice was pained as he explained, "She could have primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus, which means a malignant tumor on her esophagus. This illness spreads extremely fast and she says she doesn't plan on getting surgery. She wants to get conservative treatment instead. She's still so young. She's…"

Toddy choked up.

He couldn't bring himself to think what would happen if Emma did indeed have cancer. What was he going to do?

His life would lose all meaning if he lost her! It'd be a fate worse than death!

"What kind of tumor? Is it cancer?"

"Yes, it's cancer."

Marion gasped. "How did she get cancer at such a young age? Has the diagnosis been confirmed?"

"Not yet. The doctors just think that it's highly likely."

"Take her to a good hospital and run a few more tests," Marion immediately commanded. "Maybe it's just a misdiagnosis. Even if… it's true, we can't give up. You must convince her to get proper treatment. Didn't they invent some kind of molecularly targeted therapy that can be used to treat cancer now? We have more than enough money. You must take her to the best hospital and find the best doctors for her. Why doesn't she want to treat it? We must make sure she goes for treatment. Even if it doesn't work, we must try. What if it ends up being effective? Also, you're not allowed to turn your back on her now. Don't you dare walk away from her, you hear me? If you do, I'll beat you up myself."

Toddy's heart settled down a little as he asked, "Won't you mind if she's ill, Mom? Aren't you afraid that if I stay with her, I'd end up burning through all my money and still lose her anyway?"

"I'm scared, of course," Marion replied without hesitating. "Anyone would be worried about that, but that doesn't mean you can abandon her and leave her to die. Just follow your heart. You don't need to worry that I might drag you down. Tell Emma that I won't dislike her for it, and I don't mind either. All that matters is that she complies with the treatment. Tell her not to worry. Medicine has advanced a lot these days. There's bound to be a way for the doctors to cure her. It's important for patients to be in good spirits. You need to spend more time with her and make her happy. If you can, take her on a trip to relax and take her mind off things. If her mood improves, her health will benefit too."

With Marion's support, Toddy became even more determined.

He never thought about abandoning Emma. Regardless of whether she had cancer or not, he was going to spend the rest of her life with her.

"Thank you, Mom. I know what to do now. When Emma comes back, you should tell her these things too. I don't want her to think I'm lying to her."