After Andy and his team left, the Gladstone looked at each other, no one said anything but they were scared.
"Let's go to the hospital and check on her?" Isabella suggested. She was but scared and curious at the same time.
When they arrived the hospital that night, Loretta was moved out of the ICU and was now in a VIP room.
"Het condition is stable," the nurse checking on her told them. Every member of the Gladstone family let out a breath they did not know they were holding.
Just when the family got ready to leave her the machine still attached to her started beeping. A nurse hurried in and a doctor followed immediately.
The family were immediately sent out.
The group waited outside the more time went bye the anxious they became. They were not scared that Loretta would not make it but afraid that the situation might be link to them. After all, Andy coming to search the Gladstone house earlier showed they they were also seen as suspect for the poisioning.
Half an hour later Kevin arrived. He stood silently by the side without saying a word to the others.His expression did not change, only the frightening coldness in his eyes. Everyone from the Gladstone family wanted to say something to him but the were stunned slightly by his coldness.
Nearly an hour later, the doctors finally came ou, their expressions were grim.
The older doctor removed his mask and spoke seriously.
"We have issued a critical condition notice."
The corridor instantly became silent.
Mrs. Gladstone nearly lost her balance.
"What?" she whispered.
The doctor's expression remained serious. "The poison and smoke damage have placed too much stress on her body. We have stabilized her for now, but the next few hours will be extremely important."
Nobody spoke, the words "critical condition" echoed repeatedly in their minds.Even Mr. Gladstone's face became ugly. Tomorrow was supposed to be the engagement party but now...
Nobody knew whether Loretta would even survive the night.
"Do what you must," Kevin said turned around to leave.
Seeing his actions Mr Glandstone finally bite the bullet and called out. "Mr. Goodman..."
Kevin turned around, his gaze was cold almost suffocating.
"I think we should postpone the engagement party." Mr Glandstone said in a low voice trying to ignore his slightly shaking hands. He had no idea why he was so scared of Kevin.
Mrs. Gladstone quietly nodded in agreement. Under the current circumstances, it seemed like the only reasonable choice. After all, Loretta was lying unconscious inside the ICU.
How could they possibly hold an engagement party tomorrow?
Seeing Kevin remain quiet, Mr Glandstone tried to ask, "What if..."He voice went lower he wanted to remind Kevin that Loretta might not survive.
But before he could finish speaking, Kevin interrupted him.
"The engagement party will proceed as scheduled."
The room instantly fell silent.
Mr. Gladstone froze, Mrs. Gladstone stared at Kevin in shock.
Isabella and Benjamin looked confused.
Only Kevin remained calm.
"What if Loretta does not make ..." Mr. Gladstone began again.Kevin's cold eyes slowly shifted toward him.
Then he spoke in a calm voice that made everyone shiver. "You have two daughters anyway."
Silence.
Mr. Gladstone's face immediately turned pale.Mrs. Gladstone's eyes widened.
Benjamin almost thought he had heard wrong.
Isabella's face instantly lost all color her body stiffened as a chill ran through her entire body. She understood what Kevin meant. the engagement party would still happen no matter what became of Loretta and the replacement bride would naturally become her.
"No..."The word escaped her lips. If this had happened two days ago she might have gone to bed laughing but after the accident and what happened in the last forty eight hours, Isabella did not dare dream of this switch again.
Loretta had almost died in a fire and someone has poison her. She had not doubts if the curse was true or false but she would not marry Kevin.
Isabella shook her head but to her surprise, Kevin just turn around and left. Her rejection was nothing to Kevin.
....
That night, the atmosphere inside the Gladstone Residence was extremely tense. Isabella sat between her parents on the sofa, her face pale.
"Dad, Mum, you won't let me marry him, right?" she asked her voice trembled slightly the fear in her eyes was real.
Mr. Gladstone and Mrs. Gladstone exchanged glances they understood her fear.
Mrs. Gladstone immediately held Isabella hands. She wanted comfort her as usual but she remembered Isabella words and decided it was best to le her husband handle it.
Seeing her mother remain quiet, Isabella remembered her words, she could tell her mum was still angry, so she throw herself into her arms and started crying.
"I was wrong, I know I was wrong," she took a deep breath as more tears rolled down her eyes. "You are the best mother ever, I will never doubt you again," the more she shoke the harder she cried. Finally Mrs Gladstone could not take it.
"Fine, I am not angry anymore," she said as she helped Isabella clean her tears. "We will never agree to switching," she added after a pause.
Isabella finally released the breath she had been holding.
Mr. Gladstone sighed heavily, once again he felt proud of his decision to marry Mrs Gladstone. He also felt guilty about his harsh words to her a few days ago..
"The engagement cannot be canceled now," he said. "But we can let everyone know about Loretta's condition."
Mrs. Gladstone immediately understood.
If people heard that Loretta was still unconscious and in critical condition, perhaps the guests would choose not to attend. After all, who would want to attend an engagement party under such circumstances?
Soon, the news quietly spread.
"Miss Gladstone remains unconscious."
"Doctors have issued a critical condition notice."
The news spread throughout the city overnight, many people were shocked others found it unbelievable.
They waited to receive message cancelling the engagement party but nothing. Up till the next morning there was no news about the engagement been cancelled.
They even heard the Gladstone family was preparing for the engagement as planned. The entire situation sounded strange.Naturally, more and more rumors appeared.
Some claims "The engagement party has become a funeral banquet."
"The bride may already be dead."
"They are only hiding it from the public."
"The curse is real, her death has not been announced because the Goodman family are trying to hide the truth,"
The rumors became more outrageous with every passing hour.
The Gladstones waited nervously the worst the rumors are the more confident they got about their plans. No one would attend an engagement that would not hold
Unfortunately, they had underestimated the human mind. That evening, luxury cars began arriving at the venue one after another.The guests arrived on time. The parking area quickly became crowded.
Inside the banquet hall, discussions could be heard everywhere.
"I heard the bride is still unconscious."
"Then why wasn't the engagement canceled?"
"That's why I came."
"I want to see what happens."
A middle-aged woman lowered her voice.
"Do you think this is really an engagement party?"
Her companion looked around cautiously before whispering,
"Has it really become a funeral?"
The people nearby immediately turned to listen.
Someone laughed nervously.
"Maybe it will become a ghost engagement."
"Don't say such things."
"But isn't it strange? The bride is in the hospital."
The hall buzzed with excitement.
Nobody wanted to leave.
In fact, many people had attended specifically because of the drama.
Some wanted to confirm whether Loretta was alive.
Some wanted to see Kevin Goodman.
Others simply wanted gossip.
As the scheduled time drew closer, the discussions became louder.
Even the reporters outside the venue had increased.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting to see whether the unconscious bride would appear.
Upstairs Isabella was pacing in her room. She had recived a dress and set of Jewelry from Kevin asking her to dress up. In the morning when she received it she was still a bit calm after all, as long as there was no guest there would be no engagement but now...
"Mum, what should I do?" Isabella took hold of her mother's hand . She was genuinely frightened.