Chapter 182
Ava returned to her rented place and made a video call to Howard. After chatting for a while, Howard sounded in good spirits on the phone.
Ava felt guilty.
"Grandpa, my cold hasn't gotten better yet, so I don't dare visit you right now. I might pass it on to you."
"Silly girl, I have plenty of people keeping me company here. You don't need to worry about me all the time. Just focus on getting yourself better."
At the hospital, Howard glanced at the suitcase in the corner and asked,
"Your suitcase is here. Should I have someone send it back to you?"
Ava hadn't told Howard about moving out yet. If she had someone deliver it, Howard would find out, and she didn't dare upset him right now.
Although the suitcase contained her daily folic acid, iron supplements , prenatal vitamins, and other things, she figured she could just buy another set at a pharmacy.
"Grandpa, the suitcase..."
Before she could finish, she saw a handsome face gradually filling her phone screen.
William walked into the hospital room without noticing that Howard was on a video call and came straight into view of the camera.
Like a reflex, Ava hung up the video with a snap.
Howard turned around and shot him a look, scolding,
"What are you doing barging in like that? You interrupted me before Ava and I finished talking."
William was speechless. He hadn't even said anything. They could have kept talking if they weren't done. Yet somehow this was his fault too.
Howard tossed his phone onto the bed and pointed to the corner.
"Ava's suitcase is over there. It has things she needs. Take it back to her, and while you're at it, check how she's recovering these past few days and whether she's taking her medicine on time."
These past few days, William had been doing everything Howard asked, being extra careful with everything he did, afraid of doing something wrong and upsetting the old man again.
He walked to the corner, his eyes landing on the suitcase. It was the same one she had carried a year ago when Howard had insisted on putting Ava in his car during a business trip.
She used to carry this suitcase chasing after him all over the country. Now with the same suitcase, she had packed a few clothes and fled from him like he was the plague.
William's eyes flickered. Seeing that the zipper wasn't fully closed, he grabbed one of the zipper pulls and gently tugged.
With a ripping sound, the zipper suddenly split completely open, and the suitcase fell into two halves.
His brow furrowed slightly. He was sure he hadn't used much force. This suitcase must have been some cheap thing she'd picked up somewhere, otherwise it wouldn't fall apart from just a light touch.
He crouched down and picked up the clothes scattered on the floor one by one, putting them back—wallet, underwear, shampoo...
When he saw two small bottles that looked like they contained some kind of supplements, his movements slowed. He brought them close to his eyes to read the labels carefully.
Folic acid. Prenatal vitamins.
The bottles had been opened, and the pills inside were half gone, clearly having been taken.
His pupils contracted, and a bold guess formed in his mind. Even without experience, common sense told him these were things pregnant women took.
His brain briefly stopped working, his mind in complete chaos. Then he thought it couldn't be possible—he had always been careful with protection, always cautious about that.
Seeing him damage the suitcase, Howard scolded with disgust,
"Clumsy fool, can't do anything right. Ava's been good enough not to mind you, and you just keep acting up. No wonder your wife doesn't want you."
Seeing him frozen on the ground holding two small bottles, which looked like some kind of medicine, he thought to himself that the girl had been looking sickly lately with a poor complexion—could she be hiding some illness from everyone?
"What are you holding? Let me see."
William felt completely numb. He slowly stood up and handed the items to Howard.
After Howard saw the labels on the bottles, he froze and locked eyes with William for a few seconds. Howard had been through this before, so naturally he didn't doubt it. He coughed a few times in excitement and scolded,
"You bastard, your wife is pregnant and you didn't even know?"
Howard's emotions were mixed with both joy and anger. He was happy that the great-grandchild he'd been hoping for so long was finally coming, that he'd finally get to hold a great-grandchild in his lifetime, and would have something to say to his late wife when he met her again.
He was angry about all the trouble this useless grandson had caused. No woman could forgive that. He'd made an unforgivable mistake, and if that girl Ava could still accept this bastard, even he would feel it was unfair to her.
William licked his dry, cracked lips. His throat felt parched, and his chest felt unbearably tight.
"Grandpa, I'll go ask a doctor."
He took the two small bottles back from Howard and hurried out to the outpatient building to find Dr. Hill. Along the way, he replayed all the little details from this period, and suddenly realized he didn't even need to ask a doctor to be certain—Ava was pregnant!
He thought about her unusual behavior during this time, the changes in her appetite, her sensitive moods, her slightly rounded belly, her resistance to his intimacy...
He smiled bitterly, feeling like a complete fool.
Something so obvious, and he hadn't noticed!
In the examination room, Dr. Hill was seeing a patient. He waited outside for a few minutes until the woman inside came out before going in.
The doctor looked surprised to see a man walk in—this was the gynecology clinic.
"Sir, did you come to the wrong place?"
William's mind was in complete chaos, and for a moment he didn't know how to explain why he was here.
He hurriedly pulled out his phone, found the marriage certificate photo with Xu Zhiyang, and placed it on the doctor's desk.
"Dr. Hill, hello. I'm Ava Davis's husband. She was seen by you at the hospital the other day. Can I ask what's wrong with her health?"
The doctor looked up and down at this man who was deliberately suppressing his presence yet still carried himself with distinction.
"Your wife's current condition requires rest. I suggested she stay in the hospital for observation for three days, but she only stayed one day before begging me to discharge her and running off. Take good care of her when she gets back, make sure she rests more, don't let her overwork herself, and no staying up late! Not even three months pregnant and acting like that. Remember, if she feels uncomfortable anywhere, come to the hospital immediately."
Hearing the doctor's words with his own ears, William couldn't describe what he felt. It was different from when he heard Sarah was pregnant. He didn't like children and had never planned to have any. He'd never imagined there would be a day when a doctor would tell him personally that his wife was pregnant.
Kids, those noisy creatures—maybe he didn't hate them that much after all.
"Doctor, is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"
The doctor glanced at him and said,
"No intercourse during the first three months and last three months. And you, as the father, need to take responsibility. Keep the pregnant woman in good spirits. Don't let your wife come to the hospital alone. When she came, she fainted once. In the middle of the night, soaked by the rain,her clothes completely drenched, and with a cold too. She was so weak, looking like she'd lost her soul."
The doctor's words left William's face alternating between pale and flushed. It really was his negligence.
He left the hospital with an irrepressible stirring in his heart. The phone in his pocket started vibrating. He answered the call.
James: "Mr. Morgan, the yoga studio called saying that Mrs. Morgan hasn't attended the prenatal yoga class we signed her up for in quite a while. If she's not going anymore, they can refund the money. I remember we registered for a regular yoga class when we signed up, so they might have made a mistake. But that doesn't matter—should we get the tuition refunded now?"
James figured that with things between Ava and William having gotten to this point, she probably wouldn't be going to that yoga class anymore.
William was silent for a moment.
"They didn't make a mistake. Find out where Ava moved to. As soon as you find out, send me her address immediately."