Chapter 312 Car Accident on a Snowy Night

Grace's Villa.

Dinner was done, and as usual, Grace was playing with her two kids in the living room.

Jasper was chilling on the couch, totally absorbed in a book he found interesting.

Bianca, on the other hand, was fidgety and anxious. She kept glancing out the window, barely paying attention to the TV show she was supposed to be watching.

As time went by, Bianca got so sleepy she could hardly keep her eyes open. She pouted at Grace, "Mommy, why isn't the bad guy back yet?"

She rubbed her eyes, which were red from tiredness.

Grace gently pinched her chubby cheek and softly replied, "Daddy's got some work to finish up."

Bianca wasn't happy and slowly lowered her eyelids. "But he said he'd be back early."

Grace smiled and said, "Maybe something came up. It's late now. Go to bed, okay?"

Even though Bianca didn't want to go to bed, she nodded obediently. "Okay."

Grace then turned to Jasper, who was still reading. "Jasper, it's late. Take Bianca and go to bed."

Jasper obediently put down his book, took Bianca's hand, and led her to their room upstairs.

After helping them brush their teeth and tucking them in, Grace finally came out.

She was a bit tired herself and grabbed her pajamas, ready to wash up.

As she walked into the bathroom, she glanced out the window. It was still snowing, and a thick layer of snow had already covered the ground.

Just as she was about to start her nighttime routine, her phone buzzed with a notification.

She opened it to find a local news alert.

The news reported that due to the snow, the roads were slippery, and there had been an accident on a stretch of road in the Blossom Creek District of Silverlight City.

The article detailed the accident and included photos of the crashed cars.

Grace's attention was immediately drawn to one of the photos. Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned because the car in the picture looked a lot like Charles's!

The accident seemed severe, with some people taken to the hospital and others dead on the scene.

Grace started to panic. She zoomed in and out of the photo several times, convinced it was Charles's car!

It was already so late, and Charles hadn't come back yet. Could something have really happened to him?

She lost the mood to wash up and quickly left the bathroom, heading to the kids' room.

She found Bianca's phone on the nightstand, hesitated for a moment, then used it to text Charles: [Are you not back yet?]

She waited for a while but received no reply.

Her anxiety grew, and she began pacing the living room. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Even though they were divorced, Charles was still the father of her two children.

If something happened to him, the kids wouldn't be happy either.

She took a deep breath and decided to ask Nathan next door.

If she couldn't reach Charles, maybe she could contact his driver.

She grabbed her coat and headed outside. Just as she stepped out of the living room and onto the snowy porch, she slipped and fell with a thud, landing on the ground.

Her butt went numb from the fall, and she twisted her injured left leg. It hurt a lot!

Grace gasped in pain, clutching her left leg.

The sound of her fall broke the silence of the snowy night.

Hearing the noise, Mia came out of her room and walked towards the direction of the cold wind.

"Grace, what happened?"

She saw Grace sitting in the snow, holding her left leg, and quickly ran over.

Mia carefully helped Grace up, her face full of concern. "Grace, how did you fall? Are you hurt?"

Grace stood up, enduring the pain in her left leg, and grabbed Mia's hand. "Mia, go next door and find Nathan. See if he can contact Charles or his driver."

Mia asked in confusion, "Grace, what do you mean? Why do you need to find Charles's driver?"

Grace frowned and explained, "I just saw a news report about a car accident. The car that was hit looks a lot like Charles's business car!"

Mia's eyes widened, and she quickly nodded. "Okay, I'll go right away. You go back inside; it's freezing out here."

Mia hurried next door.

Grace was very anxious. Her leg was hurting, and she didn't have the strength to go back inside. She cleared the snow off the steps and sat down, anxiously waiting.

Just as Grace was craning her neck to look out the front gate, Mia returned. "Grace, don't worry. Nathan contacted Charles' driver. Nothing happened. He's just finishing up some work and will be back soon."

Grace finally let out a sigh of relief.

She touched her still aching left leg and smiled. "Mia, you'll have to take me to the hospital."

Mia sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know what to say to you."

All this panic over an unverified news report, and she ended up hurting her leg. There was nothing Mia could do but help her.

Meanwhile, at the only hospital in Blossom Creek District.

Emily, who had fainted in front of Charles's car, had woken up. She was staring at Charles with red-rimmed eyes, looking pitiful.

She sniffled and said in a choked voice, "Charles... you saved me. Thank you."

Charles gave her a cold look. After the doctor assured him she was fine, he turned to leave.

Seeing him about to go, Emily quickly said with a sob, "Charles, don't misunderstand. I didn't do anything. They came after me first! I just wanted to do something on my own, but it turned out like this..."

Charles's expression remained icy. "I didn't misunderstand. You don't need to explain. I saved you because it was convenient."

He continued walking out.

Emily panicked and called out loudly, "Charles, wait!"

Charles paused, his brows furrowing impatiently. "What else do you want?"

He had promised Bianca he'd be back early, and he was already running late!

Emily looked at him pitifully, then took out a ruby ring from her bag.

Seeing the ring, Charles's eyes narrowed.

Emily handed the ring to him, her voice soft and weak. "Charles, you gave me this ring years ago. We have no relationship now, so I thought I should return it to you. I finally saw you today, and I think it's time to give it back."

Her voice was so gentle that it made her seem even more pitiful.

The ring brought back memories for Charles of a rainy night many years ago. He had been chased by his stepmother's people, and if Emily hadn't shown up in time to save him, he might have been dead.

That night had been a turning point for him. He had resolved to fight back and reclaim everything that was rightfully his.

He had gathered all his strength to fight his stepmother and successfully ousted her from the Montague Group.

From that night on, he had transformed and achieved his current status.

He had to admit that Emily had played an indispensable role in all of this.

Looking at the ruby ring, Charles's cold expression softened a bit. "Once given, there's no taking it back. You keep it."

Emily had been watching him nervously. Seeing his tone soften and his gaze warm, she felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

She decided to seize the moment. Slowly sitting up from the hospital bed, tears welled up in her eyes. "Charles, it's been so long. I've been reflecting every day. I know I was wrong. I was just afraid of losing you to Grace, so I did those things."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. "Charles, from now on, I'll pray for you every day. I hope you can be happy. Consider it my way of atoning. Even if I die, I'll be at peace."

Charles took a deep breath, his previously softened expression turning cold again.

He had heard such words many times before and was no longer moved by them.

"You won't die. You're just very weak."

Emily clenched her fists, a bitter smile on her lips. "Living like this is worse than death."

Without Charles, her life was a living hell.