His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 96: Brother's Hardship

"Something happened to my little nephew. I'm at Riverfront Hospital too."

"No way, that's a coincidence!" Zoe sounded shocked and then asked after a second, "What happened to him?"

Iris didn't want to talk about Ethan's family problems, and she wanted to spare Emily some pride. She made up a quick excuse. "He broke a bone by accident. He's gotta stay in the hospital for a couple days."

Zoe frowned. "He needs to stay in the hospital just for a broken bone?"

"He's too little. Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah, whatever. Hospitals these days just wanna take every penny you have."

"Zoe, your brother's a doctor too. Don't diss hospitals like that."

"Fine, my bad. I shouldn't have said that."

"I gotta go. I need to get back to my nephew."

"Bye, see you tomorrow."

Iris said goodbye, hung up the phone, and headed back to the ward.

Ethan had tons of deliveries to make that afternoon. He felt terrible about both Iris and Frank. He couldn't take care of his own son, and he was wasting his sister's free time.

He just kept apologizing, over and over again.

Iris hated seeing Ethan looking so down and worn out. She felt terrible, but no amount of comfort could take away the pain and guilt eating at Ethan.

He had to leave Frank with Iris so he could go work and make ends meet.

Right then, she was the only person he trusted.

He was even too scared to let his parents find out Frank had been hurt by Emily and was in the hospital. He was more afraid his parents would get into a fight with Emily.

He secretly called the travel agency, paid extra for his parents' trip, and asked them to cover for him. The agency would throw in a few complimentary extra travel days to let them stay away longer.

Night rolled around.

Ethan had been busy all day. He hadn't eaten dinner. He bought two sandwiches and a can of beer, put them in a clear white bag, and rushed to Riverfront Hospital.

The ward was dim. Frank was already asleep. Iris sat in the corner, reading an e-book on her phone.

He pushed the door open softly.

Iris looked up from her phone.

"Asleep?" Ethan whispered, moving slowly.

Iris nodded. Her eyes lingered on the bag he clutched, which contained two sandwiches and a can of beer.

Her heart hurt sharply, like ants were gnawing at it.

Ethan walked over to Frank, gently touched his forehead to check his temperature, then leaned down and kissed his cheek. He turned and sat in the chair next to Iris.

They sat side by side, watching Frank sleep.

Ethan let out a big sigh, like he could finally relax and eat. He opened the bag, took out one sandwich, and handed it to Iris quietly. "Have one."

"The hospital delivers food. I already had dinner."

"Have it for a snack." Ethan smiled.

Iris couldn't smile. Tears filled her eyes. "Ethan, you eat it."

Ethan took out the beer and carefully popped the can open, trying not to make noise. He took a sip.

Iris watched him eat the sandwiches.

He bit off half the sandwich in one bite, and finished the whole thing in three bites flat.

Ethan ate the sandwich and spoke softly. "Iris, thanks so much today. It's real late. Go home and rest. I'll take care of things here."

Iris put down her phone and whispered gently, "Ethan, you just got off work. You go home and rest. I can handle this."

"You gotta work tomorrow. Go rest." Ethan urged quietly, "I'm closing the fruit shop for a couple days. I'll ask a friend to help with the warehouse deliveries. I really can manage."

"Ethan..."

"Enough. That's settled." Ethan's voice got a little stern.

Iris sighed helplessly, grabbed her bag, and packed her charger and phone.

"Iris, that 50 thousand dollars I borrowed from you... I might not be able to pay it back until next month..."

Iris cut him off. "Ethan, don't stress about the money. We're siblings, family. Family doesn't bug each other about money all the time."

"You're married now. You have your own family to look after. I have to pay you back."

Iris stood up, her voice steady. "When you're doing better, debt-free, and well-off, then you can pay me back. I'll take it gladly. But not now—not when you're barely scraping by just to come up with the money."

Ethan looked tough on the outside, but he was soft and emotional deep down. He was secretly wiping tears away. "Okay."

Iris pointed to the foldable bed next to them. "It's ten dollars a night. I already paid for it. Make sure you get some sleep."

"Okay." Ethan hung his head as he bit into the last sandwich, so choked up that he could barely swallow.

"Good night, Ethan." Iris spoke softly, glancing at Frank. "Call me if anything happens."

Ethan cleared his throat. "Be careful on your way home."

"Yeah." Iris picked up her bag and left the ward. She closed the door gently. As soon as she turned around, her eyes were full of tears.

She hated that she wasn't strong enough. She couldn't help Ethan, and she couldn't protect Frank.

All she could give Ethan now was a little bit of money, which felt so useless.

But Ethan had almost died because of her.

During winter break when she was a sophomore in high school, a group of underage thugs from outside the school noticed her. They harassed her every day.

She even called the police a few times, but since the thugs were underage, nothing ever came of it.