Chapter 2: Divorce
"Don't be nervous, just relax."
The doctor's tone was much gentler with Mia. "You did great. You protected the baby very well. She's perfectly fine."
"But your arm—you need to be careful when you get home. Don't get it wet."
A flicker of concern crossed James's deep eyes. "What's wrong with her arm?"
"Okay, I'll be careful." Mia ignored James and looked at the doctor, pressing on, "What about the baby? What do I need to watch out for?"
"The first three months of pregnancy are critical—the fetus isn't stable yet, so you need to be extra careful. Remember to keep a positive mood and avoid getting too emotional."
The doctor was patient with responsible patients and told her many things to watch out for during pregnancy.
Mia listened carefully. Only after the doctor finished did she say, "Thank you."
"Get some rest. Once your test results come back, you can be discharged." The doctor turned to leave, and James followed. "Doctor, what happened to my wife's arm?"
He had lifted the blanket while they were talking and saw Mia's arm secured with a bandage.
The doctor said irritably, "Minor fracture. When your wife fell, she used her elbow to break the fall to protect the baby in her belly and cushion the impact. That's why your child is fine. As her husband, how can you have the nerve to yell at her?"
With that, the doctor walked away.
James stood there, a flash of heartache and guilt in his eyes.
He knew Mia was afraid of pain. Usually, even the slightest bump would bring her to tears.
Today, with a fractured arm, she hadn't made a sound about the pain—only cared about the baby.
James returned to the room and walked to the bedside. Looking at Mia's cold little face, he softened his tone to coax her. "I was wrong just now."
Mia's hand, resting flat on her belly, slowly clenched into a fist. Her heart ached.
She'd rather he stay cold—that way she could harden her heart, instead of him treating her like this.
Facing her cold response, James showed no anger. Instead, he asked considerately, "What do you want to eat?"
Mia hadn't wanted to respond, but thinking of the baby in her belly, she said quietly, "Anything, as long as it's good for the baby."
James acknowledged this and said, "Okay, I'll go buy something."
Mia didn't reply, turning away to show him the back of her head.
Soon after, she heard the door close behind her.
She hid under the blanket, biting her own hand, tears rolling down like beans.
If he never loved her, he shouldn't be so nice to her.
……
Twenty minutes later, James bought breakfast and specially got Mia a cup of her favorite milk tea.
On his way back to the hospital, he ran into the caregiver looking after Amelia at the elevator.
"Mr. Smith, you're here so early. Ms. Martinez isn't awake yet."
The caregiver tactfully reached out to help. "Let me carry that for you."
"No need."
James coldly refused. Before entering the elevator, he instructed, "Take good care of Amelia."
……
In the hospital room, Mia heard movement and knew James was back.
She wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, not wanting him to see her inner weakness.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she tried to sit up.
"Don't move." James stepped forward and firmly pressed Mia's shoulder, stopping her from pushing herself up with one hand.
He bent down to raise the hospital bed, took a pillow to place behind her, adjusted her to the most comfortable sitting position, set up the small table, and opened all the breakfast items in front of her, including the milk tea he'd specially bought.
After thoughtfully doing all this, James sat to the side to feed her.
Mia didn't open her mouth, silently refusing.
She reached out to take it and ate in silence by herself.
She had no appetite, but for the baby's sake, she forced herself to eat.
Only when she felt full did she put down the utensils, never touching the milk tea.
Seeing this, James picked up the milk tea and brought it to her lips. "I asked the doctor. A few sips won't hurt—it won't affect the baby."
Mia pushed it away with her hand and shook her head slightly. "I'm full."
James didn't insist and called someone in to clean up.
After the nurse left, he turned to see Mia had closed her eyes again.
"Rest for a bit. I'll go get the test results."
He lowered the bed back to its original position, bent down to kiss her forehead, then turned and left the room.
After getting the results and confirming with the doctor that both Mia and the baby were fine, he completed the discharge procedures.
At the hospital entrance, James helped Mia into the car, closed the door, walked around to the other side, and instinctively leaned over to fasten her seatbelt.
The moment Mia sensed him approaching, she quickly moved to the other side, saying coldly, "I'll do it myself."
After fastening it, she didn't look at James and turned to look out the window.
A surge of anger rose in James's heart. He stared silently at Mia's cold profile, but ultimately suppressed his displeasure and sat up straight.
The car started and left the hospital for home.
……
Not long after they left, Amelia woke up and rang for the caregiver.
The caregiver pushed the door open, chattering away with flattering words. "Ms. Martinez, I just ran into Mr. Smith. He's so good to you—he came early this morning to bring you breakfast."
She finished speaking but got no response.
Looking up, she saw Amelia's expression wasn't good. She quickly realized something was wrong—there was no smell of breakfast in the room.
Her scalp tingled. She hadn't expected that James's breakfast wasn't for Amelia.
Yesterday she'd clearly seen James very concerned about Amelia...
"Ms. Martinez, what would you like to eat? I'll go buy it for you." The caregiver asked carefully.
"I'm not very hungry yet. Let's talk about it later." Amelia adjusted her emotions quickly and spoke with a smile.
"Then I'll go take care of some things." Seeing Amelia nod, the caregiver turned and left.
As soon as the door closed, her expression darkened.
She knew very well who James had bought breakfast for early in the morning.
Yesterday his attention had been all on her, so he hadn't seen Mia being wheeled off the ambulance, but she had.
She'd thought James didn't care much about that bitch.
But it turned out...
Amelia's expression grew gloomy.
……
Luxe Haven
The car slowly entered the complex and stopped downstairs. James opened the door and got out.
Mia didn't wait for him. She unfastened her seatbelt with one hand and got out, walking inside.
The two walked into the house one after the other.
Inside, Mia sat down to change her shoes.
Seeing her struggling with one hand, James crouched down to help, but his outstretched hand was willfully kicked away by her.
James's expression changed instantly.
No one had dared treat him like this in many years.
Mia looked at him coldly, waiting for him to lose his temper. But unexpectedly, the man before her glanced at her flat belly and gradually suppressed the coldness on his face.
"Mia, what happened yesterday was my fault, but even if you're throwing a tantrum, you need to think about your own body and the baby—"
Mia smiled bitterly inside. Four years of deception and betrayal, and he brushed it off with a simple "it was my fault."
"James, let's get a divorce."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it pierced James's ears.
A cold aura emanated from him as he suppressed his anger and asked, "What did you say? Say that again?"