Chapter 732: Something Is Definitely on Her Mind

“I’m fine.”

Jasmine Sterling forced a smile, not wanting her daughters to worry. “Maybe it’s just that things at the company have been busy lately. I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

Cecilia Sterling and Lily Sterling exchanged a suspicious glance but didn’t press the matter. Lily took the plate of shredded potatoes to the kitchen. “I’ll throw this out. Let’s just eat the other dishes.”

During dinner, Cecilia kept glancing at her mother, still feeling that something was off with her.

Usually, even if it was just her and her mother, dinner was filled with laughter. But today, her mother was unusually quiet, clearly with something on her mind.

“Mom, if you’ve run into any trouble with the business, you can tell me,” Cecilia couldn’t help but say.

Jasmine Sterling placed a piece of beef rib in her daughter’s bowl. “It’s nothing. I can handle it. Your aunt also said she’ll come to help me in a few days, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Have you seen Emeric Grant recently?”

Cecilia shook her head. “He’s been really busy lately. He got transferred from the inpatient department to the OB/GYN outpatient clinic. He said there’s a surge of pregnancies in the month or two after Valentine’s Day, and the department is swamped.”

A silence then fell over the table.

Cecilia looked at her mother and saw her holding her bowl, just staring into space. She clearly hadn’t been listening.

“Mom?”

“Ah.” Jasmine snapped back to reality and nodded. “Your classes are starting soon, too. You two should make time to see each other more.”

Cecilia’s brow furrowed, her face etched with worry.

Lily had noticed too. “Mom, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“No, I’m not unwell.”

Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a half-commanding tone, “I’m going to the hospital to find Emeric tomorrow. Mom, you’re coming with me. I’m taking you for a check-up.”

“Didn’t I have a check-up last year? There were no problems at all,” Jasmine said.

“That was six months ago. You need to get regular check-ups, or you won’t even know if something’s wrong with your body. Don’t make breakfast tomorrow morning. Come to the hospital with me on an empty stomach.”

Jasmine pressed her lips together but didn’t argue in the end. A check-up was important, after all. Now that the family didn’t have to worry about money, the most important thing was their health so they could properly enjoy life. Her daughter had said that, and she thought it made a lot of sense.

So, the next morning, Cecilia set an alarm and got up at seven o’clock.

“Mom, did you not sleep well? Why do you look so pale?”

Seeing her mother’s slightly sallow, dull complexion and the obvious dark circles under her eyes, Cecilia asked worriedly, “Don’t you usually sleep really well when you’re tired?”

Jasmine touched her face. “Do I look that bad? I slept just fine!”

She was lying. She hadn’t managed to fall asleep until three or four in the morning, only getting three or four hours of sleep.

‘My mind is a complete mess. I just couldn’t fall asleep.’

She wanted to drive, but her daughter stopped her. “I’ll drive.”

Once they arrived at the hospital, Cecilia took her mother from one department to the next—registration, blood tests, X-rays, and so on.

Jasmine was very cooperative, but she was clearly lacking in energy.

After a flurry of activity and a thorough head-to-toe examination, some reports would take one or two days, but the ones they got back showed no issues.

Cecilia relaxed a little. Seeing this, Jasmine smiled. “See? I told you there’s nothing wrong with my health.”

“I was worried because you weren’t acting like yourself.” Cecilia sighed helplessly and looked at her mother. “Since there’s nothing wrong physically, it must be something on your mind.”

“Mom, what exactly happened yesterday? You’ve been acting completely out of character. I didn’t say much in front of Lily, but you have to tell me clearly now.”

Jasmine gave a faint smile and shook her head, feigning nonchalance. “What is there to be on my mind? Stop overthinking things.”

Inwardly, Jasmine resisted telling her daughter what was bothering her. She felt it was too difficult to bring up.

Besides, she didn’t even know if it was true or not. She didn’t want to cause a huge fuss over nothing.

“You should go see Emeric. I’m heading to the company.” Jasmine said, holding out her hand. “Give me the car keys.”

“You mixed up the sugar and salt. How can I trust you to drive?” Cecilia said firmly. “I’ll take you, or you can take a cab. You’re not driving.”

“I’ll take a cab then.” Jasmine chose the cab without hesitation. Afraid her daughter would keep questioning her, she quickly waved goodbye and hurried out of the hospital.

Cecilia’s gaze darkened as she watched her mother’s retreating back. Since her mother was unwilling to talk, she didn’t press her, but she was certain that something was weighing on her mind.

She then made a video call to her aunt.

“Auntie, didn’t you bring Mom lunch yesterday? Did you notice anything off about her then?”

Yvonne Sterling sounded surprised. “Off? Not at all. She seemed to be in a good mood. She ate almost all the food I brought.”

“What’s wrong? What’s off about your mom?” Yvonne asked in return.

Cecilia told her aunt what she had seen and suspected.

“What?” Yvonne was shocked. “She mixed up the sugar and salt? How is that possible? Your uncle and I have been working with those two seasonings every day for decades and we’ve never made that mistake.”

“So you thought she seemed distracted after she got home in the evening?”

Cecilia nodded.

Yvonne recalled, “Nothing particularly unusual happened when I was at your mom’s place yesterday. That big boss who’s pursuing her sent a bouquet of flowers, but he didn’t come in person. Then a client came, and your mom met with her personally. She was a very classy woman with the surname Wynn. They didn’t talk about much, just normal business.”

“Then, as she was seeing Ms. Wynn out, one of your mom’s friends showed up to give her some bird’s nest soup. Your mom called her… what was her name…”

Cecilia instinctively prompted, “Monica?”

“Right!” Yvonne immediately remembered. “It was Monica. That Monica also knew Ms. Wynn, and they seemed to be on good terms. But they just chatted for a bit before leaving Cleanscape together. Then I collected the lunch containers and left too. Your mom was perfectly fine when I left.”

Hearing her aunt’s recollection, Cecilia felt a little more at ease, wondering if she had been overthinking things.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard her aunt suddenly add, “Oh, right. After I left, while I was waiting by the road for my rideshare, I saw that Monica go back inside.”

“Cecilia, do you know this Monica?”

“I know her. I’ll ask her if anything happened after that.”

“Okay. If something really is wrong, remember to let me know. Don’t make me worry.”

Cecilia hung up and sent a message to Monica Coleman: “Miss Monica, are you free for a video call right now? There’s something I need to ask you.”

Soon, Monica Coleman called her back via video.

The video connected, revealing Monica Coleman sitting in a corporate office. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw Cecilia on the screen. “Cecilia, long time no see.”

“Long time no see, Miss Monica.”