Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 498

Chapter 498

Bang! It was pure chaos in an instant as debris flew and the car caught on fire. The cheering audience started screaming instead. Seeing the shocking accident in front of them, Max’s fans all stepped forward to save him. “Watch out, everyone! Don’t get too close to the car. It could explode anytime!” As Jinn guided the audience, he also instructed a few people to pull Max out of the car. Max had suffered severe trauma to his head and fractured his right leg. He was now barely awake. Before he completely lost consciousness, he mumbled under his breath, “Yelena… Send me to the hospital she is in…”Chapter 497 Surgery Yelena’s breathing had stabilized as she lay in the hospital bed. It seemed like she was no longer in critical condition. “Hank, you have worked hard taking care of Yelena. You should go and have a rest since there is time. Yelena will be sad if you collapse from exhaustion by the time she wakes up.” Elspeth felt something she couldn’t put into words when she looked at the serious and focused expression on the man’s face. “I’m alright. I slept for an hour just now.” “You’ve been here all day and you’ve only had an hour to sleep?” She sighed. Just as she was about to continue persuading him, she suddenly noticed small signs of Yelena opening her eyes. She immediately exclaimed, “Is Yelena waking up?!” When Hank came back to his senses, he watched the fingers in his palm trembling slightly. It was as if she really was about to wake up. As expected, Yelena opened her eyes a few moments later. “Hank…”

Seeing the man whom she had been thinking about day and night, Yelena called out his name in a hoarse voice as tears filled her eyes. Hank poured some warm water into a glass on the table beside him, slid in a straw, and brought it to her mouth. “Have some water. Your voice is all raspy.” Yelena gave a nod and took small sips of water. She looked like she was doing well. “Elspeth! You came, too!” The aggrievance Yelena felt made her want to cry when she saw Elspeth standing behind Hank. “You really don’t make things easier for me, do you? You don’t even take care of yourself when you are abroad!” Elspeth scolded her out of worry. However, her guilt quickly bubbled up when she looked at Yelena’s pale face. Yelena obviously didn’t mind. She even flashed an embarrassed smile and curled up her lips. “Alright, alright. I will pay attention next time.” “Did I hear you say ‘next time’?!” Elspeth roared. It pained her to see Yelena in her current condition. Elspeth and Hank thought about letting Yelena rest for a while, now that she had finished drinking the water. Hank turned to Elspeth and suggested, “Why don’t the two of you get some rest? You can leave Yelena to me.” “We are done resting. You should go rest instead.” Elspeth then loudly snitched on Hank to Yelena. “Hank rushed here first thing after he found out something had happened to you. He hasn’t had any shut-eye at all.” Yelena was touched when she heard this, and she reached out with difficulty to tug on his finger. “Get some rest, Hank.” Hank’s eyes were utterly red, but he was determined as he shook his head. “I’m not sleepy. I feel more at ease if I watch you here.” “I will be fine. You must rest. No one can take care of you if you fall sick as well.”

Under normal circumstances, Yelena would have pointed at him and started to nag. Now, she could only lie on the bed and speak in a trembling voice. However, it was exactly these words of hers that Hank listened to. He looked at her with a deep gaze and nodded. “Mhm, I got it. I will go take a rest. Let Elspeth know if you don’t feel well in any way, okay?”

Yelena only beamed again after hearing that. “Don’t worry. I know what to do.” As Hank stood up, he felt a wave of dizziness hit him due to the long hours without sleep and food. He struggled to find his footing before he turned around and solemnly reminded Elspeth, “Remember to alert me first thing if something is wrong with Yelena.” Elspeth promptly agreed to it. After Hank left, Yelena looked at Elspeth’s face and told her in a tired voice, “I’m a little sleepy, Elspeth. I feel like sleeping for a bit.” Elspeth nodded, and she felt as though her heart had melted when she reached out to pat Yelena on the head. “Rest up,” she cooed. “I will be right beside you.” Hearing that, Yelena slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Elspeth and Callum then took a seat on the couch beside them. The volume of their voices had lowered by many decibels as they chatted. “Why isn’t Max here yet?” Callum suddenly remembered that they called Max earlier, but the man was so busy with his competition that he couldn’t make it. However, it had been two hours. Logically speaking, the race should have ended by now. Elspeth also thought something was strange. She took out her phone and called Max again, only to have her call ring until she reached the voicemail box. “No one picked up. He’s probably still busy.”

Despite her words, Callum had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. The Max he knew wouldn’t drag it out for so long. Feeling that something was off, he muttered, “Surely nothing happened to him?” Elspeth shook her head. “Highly unlikely. His coach must have kept him there for a reason. I heard his voice from the call earlier. The coach sounded like a stern man.” “But—” She smiled and patted Callum on the shoulder. “Come on. Don’t worry too much about it. Max is no longer a child. He wouldn’t be so impulsive.” But at this exact moment, Callum’s phone began to ring. He immediately had a bad feeling when he saw that it was an unknown number from Wohler. A panicked and worried voice rang out after Callum took the call. “Mr. Callum Winthrop? Your brother had an accident during a race. He has been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.” Callum’s heart dropped to his stomach when he heard those words. He couldn’t hide the concern and anxiety showing in his eyes as he stood up and demanded, “Which hospital has he been sent to?” “Wohler Central Hospital.” Wohler Central Hospital… Isn’t this the hospital we are at?! After the call ended, Callum lifted his head and informed Elspeth, “He got in an accident. He is at this hospital’s emergency ward now.” Elspeth almost dropped her phone as her hand shook. “What? Max got into a car accident?” “It’s probably because he wasn’t in his best headspace after he found out about Yelena.” Callum then started to leave before Elspeth held him by the hand. “Should I go with you?” “It’s alright. Someone needs to take care of Yelena. You can just wait here. I’ll go

check on him.” Elspeth turned to look at a sleeping Yelena and gave it some thought. Thinking that it made sense, she released her grip on Callum. The red light outside the emergency room was still on when Callum hurried over. There was a middle-aged man nervously waiting outside. He immediately looked relieved when he saw Callum. “You are Callum Winthrop, aren’t you?” Callum was now extremely glum, and his voice was frighteningly cold when he asked, “What happened?” “The thing is, your brother drove too fast. That’s why he…” “And? You insisted he joined the race even though he wasn’t himself, did you not?” With his right fist clenched, Callum didn’t hold back his words. He knew that he wouldn’t be in the mood to do anything else if something happened to Elspeth.Chapter 498 Donate My Bone Marrow to Yelena Despite that, this coach insisted on having Max participate in the race. He made Max join such a high-intensity and high-risk competition even though Max was not in the best state. A hint of hatred flashed in Callum’s eyes when he thought about this. Jinn must have realized that Callum was about to lose his temper, so he quickly softened his tone. “Please don’t get mad, Mr. Winthrop. W-We had no choice too. The organizer would definitely be upset if Max had left just like that. It wouldn’t be good for his future development…” “‘Future development’? He is my younger brother. Does he even need to race to have a good future?” Indeed, Callum wasn’t wrong. The Winthrop Family ran a big business. Even if Max sat around and did nothing, he could still enjoy the rest of his life without worry.

Jinn was immediately at a loss for words upon hearing that. “I will let it go if Max is fine, but if something were to happen to him…” Callum didn’t continue the rest of his sentence, but Jinn knew for sure that the man would be after his neck. And so, he shut his mouth and quietly prayed. The red light was still on even after two hours. However, a doctor did come out of the ward. “Which one of you is Max Winthrop’s family?” Callum stood up and walked up to the doctor. “I am.” The doctor looked at Callum’s dark expression and sighed. “I’m sorry. We did our best.” They did their best? Callum’s eyes turned red as the veins on his forehead bulged. Instead of a human being, he looked more like a beast out of control at this moment. “Say that again,” he warned. “Mr. Winthrop, I know that it is hard for you to accept this, but we have been trying to save him for so many hours. We are sure there is little to no chance to keep him alive.” The doctor also felt regretful at the thought of a fresh-faced young man like Max losing his life because of a mistake he made during the race. “Little to no chance? So, there is still a chance.” Callum’s eyes narrowed. His gaze was practically on fire as he growled, “You must keep him alive no matter the cost.” After all, Max was his younger brother. He was his baby brother who grew up stumbling after him while calling his name lovingly. There was no way Callum could accept the fact that such a young life was coming to an end just like that. “Don’t worry, Mr. Winthrop. We will do our very best. However, I would like you to be mentally prepared. There is only a small chance that he will live.” novelbin

The doctor regretfully lowered his head and turned around to reenter the emergency room. Jinn, who was behind Callum, could feel the goosebumps all over his body. Something terrible really did happen to Max. What is Callum Winthrop thinking? Does he think that it’s my fault? Will he take his revenge on me? Jinn’s mind was a mess now. Rubbing his hands together, he was worried that the man in front of him would turn around and throw a punch at him. “Mr. Zaydon.” Jinn couldn’t help but cower when the cold voice sounded. “Yes, Mr. Winthrop? Is something the matter?” “Look at my brother now. Care to explain yourself? When Callum turned his head to look at Jinn, his eyes were filled with unadulterated ruthlessness and murderous intent. “Mr. Winthrop, I-I know that I did wrong, but it did not happen because of me! I only carried out my responsibility and advised him to finish the race. I didn’t cross any lines! Also, I didn’t do anything to his car that caused him to crash!” Jinn was at a loss for what to do. I’m not even the direct cause of the accident, so why is Callum blaming everything on me?! And yet, he didn’t dare fight back. He knew how violent Callum’s temper could be, and he had heard about the ways Callum got things done. At that thought, Jinn could only plead guilty. “I admit that it was not appropriate for me to persuade him to continue with the race, but all this has nothing to do with me!” Callum took a deep breath as he swore, “You have to pay the price.” Jinn froze as soon as he heard that. I’m dead. Even if he doesn’t threaten my safety or my life, he won’t let me live another peaceful day for the rest of my life! Not only me, even my family, my son… They will be affected in one way or another. “I heard that you have a son, Mr. Zaydon,” Callum mentioned with the corners of his

lips curled. He had a fierce look in his eyes. “Please, Mr. Winthrop. Don’t do anything to my son. He is only 18. He doesn’t know anything.” Jinn couldn’t possibly let his son, who was his lifeline, get hurt. Their ancestors would never forgive him when he joined them in the afterlife! “My brother, Max Winthrop, is only 19.” After hearing this, Jinn fell to his knees and burst into tears. “Mr. Winthrop, I will take responsibility for this. Please! Don’t hurt my son!” Callum didn’t bother to answer. He kept his eyes on the door that determined Max’s life and death. Jinn kept wailing and disrupting the order in the hospital. Due to him making too much noise, a few doctors eventually came over and dragged him away. The door to the emergency ward opened again after three hours. The same doctor came out and this time, he had a grave look on his face. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Winthrop. We really did all we could.” For him to use the word ‘really’ twice in a row meant that there was no hope left. “If you would like to talk to your brother, please follow me to put on a hospital gown while he is still conscious. You can come in with us.” Callum felt a sting on the tip of his nose upon hearing those words. This was the first time he truly felt how somber someone’s death could be. “Alright.” He quickly put on the gown and followed the doctor into the ward. After he got in, he almost burst into tears when he saw Max lying on the operating table with tubes all over his body. “Max?” Callum carefully called out, for fear of disturbing his brother. Max forced himself to open his eyes when he heard his name. When he saw Callum in front of him, he squeezed out a smile and greeted, “Callum… you’re here. The

doctor said that I won’t last for long. I’m glad I get to see you before I go.” Callum couldn’t bear to listen to these words and he quickly reprimanded, “Don’t say that. You will be just fine.” “There’s no need to lie to me, Callum. I know my condition. I can feel it.” Max might always seem haughty, but Callum knew that he was just a child—a purehearted, naughty brat. Callum reached out to gently hold Max’s hand. “Max, is there anything else you would like to tell me?” “Geez… Why are you crying, Callum?” Callum only realized then that his tears had rolled down his cheeks at some point. He let his tears fall as he sucked in a deep breath. “Because I’m sad.” Even though Callum didn’t say anything too sentimental, Max could feel an overwhelming sadness wash over him. “I’m fine, Callum,” Callum choked out. He sounded extremely weak as he mumbled, “Please donate my bone marrow to Yelena while I’m still alive.” Callum immediately looked at his brother in disbelief. “What?”