Liam looked very worn out and weak. His normally bright and energetic eyes had lost their sparkle, and his sickly appearance made Victor very uncomfortable. He didn't like seeing Liam like this.
Was it because he scared Liam that night? Was that why Liam was standing outside Carolyn's door so early in the morning...
Victor carefully picked up Liam, who was lying in Carolyn's arms, with his large hands.
Concerned, Carolyn asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking him to the hospital." With that, Victor carried Liam and noticed that he was surprisingly light and his body felt unnaturally soft, hot like a charged little stove, abnormally hot.
Carolyn saw Victor about to leave and said, "You need to feed him something before going to the hospital."
"We can talk about it when we get to the hospital," Victor said, feeling that Liam's fever was somehow his fault. Perhaps out of guilt, he couldn't stand seeing Liam sick, so he rushed off.
Victor went to the hospital and immediately went to the emergency room. The doctor quickly came to examine Liam's body and administer intravenous fluids. Normally, it is not recommended to give intravenous fluids to young children as it can be harmful, but Liam's fever was not going down, so the doctor had to rely on medication and physical cooling. It took over half an hour for his fever to finally subside.
Liam's face remained pale. He curled up in bed, weakly calling out "mommy." Though his voice was faint, Victor still heard it. He frowned and called Jessica.
Jessica was overjoyed and excitedly asked, "Victor, is everything okay for you to call me this late?"
Hearing her cheerful voice, Victor couldn't help but furrow his brow, his gaze turning darker as he looked at Liam lying on the bed, barely hanging on...
"Victor?" She waited a long time for Victor to respond, so she sat up. "Where are you? I can come to you."
In her words, Jessica showed no concern for Liam at all.
Victor was certain that Liam and Jessica knew each other, but their exact relationship remained unknown.
Suppressing the icy coldness in his eyes, he said, "It's nothing." After that, Victor hung up the phone.
Jessica found him strange, so she called back several times in a row, but each time the call was hung up. Eventually, she stopped calling and went back to sleep.
Victor stayed by Liam's bedside, waiting for him to recover.
Carolyn, worried that Liam would be hungry, rushed to the hospital with a thermos filled with food. It happened to be when Liam woke up. She felt heartbroken and said, "Liam, you must be starving. Come, have some milk to fill your stomach. You'll feel better when you have energy."
Liam obediently took a few sips and didn't vomit again.
Carolyn was greatly relieved and turned to scold Victor. "You jerk, Liam wouldn't have caught a cold and gotten a fever if you hadn't scared him so late at night. I won't hold it against you this time for bringing Liam to the hospital. However, if there's a next time, I won't forgive you!"
Victor pressed his thin lips together. "What does this have to do with me?"
"How does it not have anything to do with you? From now on, if Liam is in this house, you can't be here! Do you hear me?" Carolyn scolded Victor as she handed water to Liam.
The doctor removing Liam's IV tube beside them couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth upon hearing Carolyn's words. He always felt that this child was more important than Victor. If one didn't know the situation, they would think Liam was Carolyn's biological child and that Victor was the one who was adopted.
After Liam had been treated, he stayed in the hospital for another half hour of observation before he could leave.
He drank almost half of the milk and didn't want to drink anymore, so he blinked his half-opened eyes pitifully. It seemed that he saw Victor and instinctively moved towards Carolyn's embrace.
Upon seeing this scene, Carolyn scolded Victor even more diligently. On the way home, she scolded Victor all the way, saying, "As an adult, what skills do you have besides being good-looking and making some money? You have no wife, no children, and you only know how to scare Liam in the middle of the night! What can I expect from you?"
The driver in the front seat trembled as he held the steering wheel, his face looking very bad.
However, the person involved, Victor, didn't mind and didn't think Carolyn was scolding him. Instead, he appeared indifferent.
Carolyn became more and more angry as she scolded. "What are you pretending to be profound for? Even if you disguise yourself well, it's all in vain if no woman likes you! Where did you go tonight? Did you go to Johnson Villa again? Let me tell you, I will never accept that kind of daughter-in-law. If you dare to marry Jessica, I will break your legs!"
"Mom, that's enough. You've scared Liam." Victor impatiently replied.
Carolyn quickly lowered her head and saw Liam curled up in her arms, looking confused with his big eyes wide open. So she quickly stroked his head and gently comforted, "Liam, don't be afraid. I'm teaching your Uncle Victor a lesson."
"Okay." Liam made a soft sound and pouted, "Mrs. Hastings is right, Jessica is not a good person. Uncle, you should go check your eyes, maybe you're blind?"
"Cough..." Victor lightly coughed a few times and looked back.
Liam was scared and quickly hid his head, as timid as a little turtle.
Carolyn was furious. "What are you staring at? Liam is right, you should go see an eye doctor."
"Well, if you like Liam so much, why don't you just adopt him as your son?" Victor coldly retorted. He felt that ever since they had this little child in the family, his status within the family had significantly diminished. Therefore, Victor thought it was necessary to remind Carolyn that he is her biological son.
Carolyn didn't give Victor any face. "That's what I think. If you continue to not make any effort, then I will raise Liam and let him inherit the Hastings family's business."
Liam raised his head in surprise. "Mrs. Hastings, isn't this not good? I am not a part of the Hastings family. If you say that, Uncle Victor will not be happy."
"It's all his own fault for not working hard enough. Liam, don't be afraid, I will protect you. If he dares to bully you in the middle of the night again, I will kick him out."
After the car pulled into Hastings Villa, Carolyn carried Liam out of the car, completely ignoring Victor behind her.
The driver couldn't help but feel sorry for Victor and said, "Mr. Hastings, Mrs. Hastings is just upset. Please don't mind her words."
Victor shook his head and walked in. He was an adult and didn't need to argue with a child. However, seeing Carolyn's exhausted face, Victor told her to rest first.
Carolyn said, "I'm going to rest. Who will take care of Liam? We don't have many servants who know how to take care of children. What if Liam gets a fever in the middle of the night?"
Victor said, "I will take care of him. If Liam doesn't feel well at night, I'll take him to the hospital."
"You?" Carolyn looked skeptical.
Victor said, "I'm used to staying up late. You go rest, your hair has turned gray."
"What? Gray?" Carolyn was shocked and immediately ran to the mirror. She did see a few gray hairs and was quite frightened, but she also worried about Liam and said, "Are you sure you can take care of him?"
"Hmm," Victor nodded.
She said, "You won't bully him just because you don't like him, will you?"
Victor looked displeased. "What do you take me for? Am I that kind of person?"
Carolyn was very serious. "Yes, you are!"