“I… I…” Joyce’s iris constricted as her lips twitched.
Noticing that Joyce was stuttering, things became clear as day to Natalie. She sneered, “So you knew about this right from the start?”
“Sorry, Nat. I’ve known for a while that Stanley knew hypnosis, but I did not deliberately keep this from you because I’ve never expected for him to use it against you.” Joyce lowered her head guiltily.
“Okay.” Natalie breathed in deeply and tried to contain herself. “Do you know that he suffers from mental illness too?”
Joyce kept mum for two seconds before mumbling an affirmative response. “Yes. He had been diagnosed with mental illness back when he was still a teen, but it wasn’t anything serious…”
“You’re mistaken about that. His condition is very serious. For goodness’ sake, he almost killed Mr. Shane yesterday!” Natalie clutched her sheets tight and interrupted Joyce with a poker face.
“What? Are you serious?” Joyce’s voice raised an octave.
“It’s true. Luckily Mr. Shane was great at defending himself. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened to him. Even so, he still suffered a minor injury. Then, Mr. Shane asked a psychiatrist to diagnose Stanley. The doctor said…”
“What did he say?” Joyce egged her on, anxious to listen to what Natalie had to say.
Natalie sighed aloud as she noticed her friend’s overly anxious tone. “The doctor mentioned that Stanley had to undergo therapy immediately. Otherwise, he’s going to go out of hand, and will become a threat to everyone else around him as he no longer would be able to behave rationally.”
“Why… How did it become so serious?” Joyce covered her mouth in shock as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“That’s the truth.” Natalie lowered her eyes.
“Then, where is Stanley right now?” Joyce breathed in deeply as she tried to contain her emotions. “Nat, you do know where he is, right?”
“He’s at the hospital. Dr. Baker has put him under quarantine,” Natalie admitted.
“I’m heading there right now.”
“Ah, I see.” Natalie nodded and did not ask further. She poured him a glass of water and went to wake her children up.
After they were done washing up and had breakfast, Natalie handed them over to Shane.
After they had left, Natalie wasted no time to lounge around the apartment. She went back to her room to change her clothes, put on heavy makeup to conceal her dark eye circles before heading to the hospital.
Upon reaching the hospital, she asked where Stanley was and headed toward his ward.
She had just reached the outside of his ward, and Stanley’s spiteful voice filled the hallway. “Get lost! Cut the crap and get out of my face!”
“Stanley, will you please calm down?” Joyce held his hands as she sobbed and pleaded with the man. “Please listen to me and undergo the therapy, okay?”
“Therapy?” Stanley broke into derisive laughter upon hearing her. “I have the Rivers to thank for the way I am today! You’re crying crocodile tears for asking me to undergo therapy! Let me repeat myself. Get the hell out of here! I don’t want to see you!”
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