Chapter 129 Steven Helped Them
Willie answered the phone, his tone gentle and conciliatory as he tried to negotiate with her. "Olivia, just drop the case, okay? You know Mom cares about Willow the most. If you really send Willow to prison, Mom won't let it go. She's still my mother - I can't just lock her up and not let her leave the house, can I?"
Listening to these words, Olivia couldn't even count how many times she'd been disappointed anymore.
Her chest heaved violently as she said coldly, "Willie, Eleanor is making a scene at my hospital room door right now. Either come over and take her away, or call her and tell her to leave. Otherwise, I'm calling the police to handle this!"
"Why do you have to create chaos in the family to be happy?" Willie asked, as if he didn't understand.
Olivia hung up the phone abruptly.
She had called him to solve the problem.
She never expected that not only did Willie not want to solve the problem, he continued to blame her, saying she was causing chaos in their family?
Who had been stirring up trouble all along?
Olivia was so angry that her hands trembled. She wanted to call the police, but didn't have the strength. With reddened eyes, she said to Nora, "Nora, call the police for me!"
"Okay." Nora picked up her phone.
Eleanor's voice came from outside, "Who are you people? Don't pull me! I have high blood pressure..."
It seemed someone was dragging Eleanor away.
"Ah! I'm dizzy, I can't breathe, don't pull me..." Eleanor was still wailing outside.
"Looks like someone's dragging her away. I'll go check."
Nora opened the door and saw several security guards dragging Eleanor, trying to remove her.
Eleanor was lying on the ground, crying and shouting.
She refused to leave.
The security guards ignored her and simply lifted her up and carried her away.
"Eleanor!" The child followed behind crying, leaving with them.
The hallway finally returned to quiet.
Who had called the security guards?
Nora looked puzzled, then caught a glimpse of a black coat behind the glass door at the end of the hallway.
It was Steven.
He was wearing a black trench coat, his features cold and emotionless.
The two made eye contact through the glass door.
Nora froze for a moment.
Had he called the security guards?
James, having dealt with Eleanor, walked over to Steven and said, "She's been removed, and I've also filed a complaint against the nurse who let her in."
"Yes," Steven responded, the pressure around him very low.
Chris had said someone was bullying Nora at the hospital.
And it was true.
He had just come upstairs and saw Eleanor kneeling at the hospital room door, crying, with no one handling it.
So Steven called the hospital director.
The director was so scared he nearly fell off his chair and immediately had security come deal with Eleanor.
Seeing Nora standing at the door, Olivia walked out to take a look.
"Has Eleanor been taken away?"
Olivia glanced around - Eleanor was nowhere to be seen, but she spotted Steven standing in the distance.
He and Nora were looking at each other, both their gazes quiet and lingering, yet neither spoke.
Olivia wanted to give them a chance to talk, so she waved at Steven, "Steven, come here."
Steven snapped back to attention and said to James beside him, "You go back first."
"Yes!"
James left.
Steven, carrying a fruit basket, pushed through the door and walked over, his handsome and striking face impossible to look away from.
"Steven, you're here." With many onlookers still at the door, Olivia welcomed Steven into the hospital room. "Come in quickly."
Steven walked gracefully into the hospital room, where there was a caregiver.
Steven set down the fruit and said politely, "Olivia, you've been in surgery for so many days - I only had time to visit today."
"It's fine. I wasn't feeling well the past few days, so even if you'd come, I wouldn't have been able to host you properly." Olivia asked the caregiver to wash the fruit.
The caregiver answered a phone call, then said to Olivia, "I'm sorry, Ms. Adams, your husband just called me and said my wages are settled through today, and I can leave now."
The caregiver's pay had been settled.
She was leaving.
Olivia's expression changed - Willie did this on purpose!
Eleanor had just been dragged away, and Willie had already stopped the caregiver's services.
Maybe tomorrow, he wouldn't have meals delivered anymore, or worse, he might stop paying her medical bills!
Olivia couldn't even manage a bitter smile now.
Six years.
She had been with Willie for six years.
And this was how it ended?
Miscarriage and hospitalization, husband stops the caregiver, stops medical payments, won't have food delivered...
If she had actually given birth to a child in this situation, with the Reed family treating her this way, besides having a crying baby, she might have no money, no food, no caregiver, and... no one to help her with the child...
Maybe adults really do break down in an instant.
Olivia's emotions suddenly gave way. She squatted on the ground and began crying loudly.
"Olivia." Seeing Olivia cry, Nora's eyes also reddened. She walked over and hugged Olivia.
She gestured to Steven.
Signaling him to take the caregiver out.
Steven understood, took the caregiver out, and left himself, closing the door for them.
With Olivia crying, he didn't feel comfortable staying inside, so he sat outside in the hallway.
Olivia cried for a long time, then slowly lifted her head from her hands, looking at Nora with bloodshot eyes.
Her eyes were full of red veins, which startled Nora.
"What right does Willie have to treat me this way? The baby in my belly—it was his baby too. His relatives caused me to lose the child, and he still stands on their side, joining them in going after me."
"I've been with him for six years. In college, I didn't mind that he was poor. I ate canned food with him every day. When he said he wanted to start a business, I didn't hesitate to give him all my savings to help him. Nora, you know about those years, too. We started the business together. We were so poor we couldn't bear to buy or eat anything..."
She remembered the hardships of starting the business.
She was out running errands, so thirsty, feeling like her throat was on fire. She really wanted to buy a bottle of water. She walked into a convenience store, saw that a bottle of water cost 1 dollar, and gave up. She didn't buy it, endured it for an hour, and went home to drink water.
To save money, she couldn't bear to take the bus. Every day, she walked 45 minutes to help Willie send international shipments.
During the startup, she felt lost, depressed, and in pain countless times.
Willie always vented his frustrations to her, saying he was stressed and suffering.
Each time, Olivia would hold him, comfort him, encourage him, telling him to hang in there a bit longer, work a bit harder, and they'd have good days ahead.
Finally, they built up the company.
They weren't short of money anymore.
Olivia thought her good days had come, but who knew Willie would bring his whole family to South City, and they'd bully her relentlessly.
Before marrying Willie, Olivia had only met Willie's parents once - on their wedding day.
They rushed back to their hometown from South City, registered their marriage, and returned to South City the next day to continue working.
They raced against time to make money - they didn't even have a wedding or take wedding photos.
Now thinking about it, was it because she compromised too easily that the Reed family members kept pushing boundaries?
She cried, "Isn't my child's life a life? Isn't my life a life? Why do they bully me like this? Do I deserve to be sacrificed?"
"Olivia..." Nora hugged Olivia tightly, tears in her eyes. "It's the Reed family members who are shameless. They're shameless. You helped Willie so much, and he's ungrateful. He's a bastard. If it weren't for you back then, he'd definitely still be poor now!"
"I was really too stupid." Olivia, tired from crying, said weakly, "I got pregnant without seeing clearly what kind of people they were, which led to being controlled like this. They give me just a little living expense each month. Now I finally understand why they only gave me so little money - they were afraid that if I had money, they couldn't control me."
Nora's feelings were complicated.
Willie really was a bastard.
Because Olivia wouldn't drop the charges, the Reed family just left her alone in the hospital.
Without family support, this miscarriage would have left Olivia with nowhere to turn.
Being abandoned at your most vulnerable moment is a major blow. Anyone not strong enough could become depressed at best, or commit suicide at worst.
Nora was afraid Olivia might be like those postpartum women in the news who committed suicide. She helped Olivia to the hospital bed and wiped away her tears.
"Olivia, it's okay. Without a caregiver, I'll take care of you. Starting today, I'll stay here to look after you. You'll be discharged in a few days. Let's not let these awful things affect our mood. Rest well - your health is what matters."
She wasn't working lately anyway, so she could take care of Olivia. Once Olivia emerged from this low point, she could get busy with her own things.
Olivia hugged Nora. "Nora, I feel so much pain..."
She could barely hold on anymore.
Since getting pregnant, all she'd seen was darkness, layer upon layer of darkness. She felt like she'd walked into hell.
The Reed family members kept breaking through her boundaries.
If she'd known they were like this, she would never have married Willie, even if it killed her.
Unfortunately, time couldn't be reversed.
"Olivia, it's okay. The darkest hour is just before dawn. Let's keep going a bit longer, and we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel.." Nora hugged Olivia tightly, wanting to give her all the warmth she had.
In the whole world, she and Olivia were closest to each other. She absolutely wouldn't allow anything to happen to Olivia.
Steven, sitting outside, could hear Olivia's heart-wrenching sobs. His heart felt heavy.
The Reed family had gone too far.
He suddenly felt glad he'd come over tonight. Otherwise, how would they have faced this moment?
Olivia cried herself to sleep.
Nora tucked her in and walked out of the hospital room.
Steven stood in the hallway. Seeing Nora come out, he asked, "How is Olivia?"
"She's asleep." Nora's voice was soft. It was good that Olivia had cried - releasing all that pent-up bitterness would keep her from getting depressed.
The two stood quietly for a while.
Nora asked him, "Did you call the security guards tonight?"
Steven nodded, not denying it.
Nora said gratefully, "Thank you."
Steven glanced at the door behind him and said in a flat tone, "Do you want to have Olivia transferred to Alton's hospital?"
That hospital was called Grace Private Hospital. It was a hospital he and Alton jointly owned, but Nora couldn't know he was involved.
"What?" She looked up.