Lionel didn't mind Julia's expression. He approached her gentlemanly and handed over the thermos box he was holding. "This is a soup made by the housekeeper. I don't know if you've had breakfast. If not, you can drink some now. If you have, you can drink it after the surgery."
Who knew that his words would set Julia off immediately?
"Don't think you can bribe me into changing my mind. I won't drink your soup."
With that, she turned and got into Deanna's car, pulling Deanna along and instructing the driver to start the car.
The driver looked at Deanna instead of moving.
Deanna, not wanting to embarrass her friend, nodded slightly.
Lionel stood there, looking helplessly in the direction Julia had left, then turned around and got into his car to follow them.
On the way to the hospital, Deanna looked at her fuming friend and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say you'd settled it with him? Why are you still so angry?"
"I don't know. Just seeing him makes me mad," Julia said, frowning.
Deanna sighed, then seemed to think of something and asked cautiously, "From what you said earlier, it sounds like Mr. Grant wants this child?"
Unexpectedly, this question set Julia off again.
"Of course, that man wants this child! Deanna, you have no idea how well he's planned this out. He doesn't want to get married, but his family wants him to settle down and have kids. So he wants me to have this child so he can avoid his family's pressure to marry. What does he take me for?"
The more Julia spoke, the angrier she became, gritting her teeth.
Deanna frowned as well, clearly displeased with Lionel's actions.
She gently patted her friend's back to comfort her and said, "You're right to refuse."
"Of course I refused!" Julia huffed.
Seeing this, Deanna continued to comfort her softly.
After a while, Julia finally calmed down a bit under Deanna's soothing words.
By then, they had arrived at the hospital.
They registered and went for a check-up.
After nearly an hour, the surgery was finally scheduled.
Since there were people ahead of them, Deanna and her group waited in the corridor.
Perhaps out of fear, Julia clung tightly to Deanna's wrist, her face pale. "Deanna, do you think it will hurt?"
"I don't know. But the doctor said it's painless, so it shouldn't hurt. Don't be afraid; we'll be right outside," Deanna reassured her.
But Julia wasn't comforted. Her voice trembled as she said, "I read online that this surgery is very damaging to the body. They say it's painless, but you can still feel it..."
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a terrible scream came from the operating room.
Julia shuddered in fear, her legs giving out as she leaned entirely on Deanna.
Deanna was also startled and hadn't expected Julia to lose all strength. She couldn't hold her up in time.
Just as they were about to fall, Lionel stepped forward and caught Julia, giving Deanna a chance to steady herself.
Seeing that it was Lionel who had caught her, Julia felt awkward but still managed to say thank you out of politeness.
At that moment, another scream came from the operating room, making Julia tremble all over.
Lionel held her tightly but hesitated to speak several times.
He wanted to use this opportunity to get Julia to agree to his previous proposal, but his upbringing wouldn't allow him to take advantage of her vulnerability.
Deanna looked at her friend's pale face and felt terrible for her.
But she couldn't persuade her friend to keep the child either.
Not only would an unwed pregnancy be stigmatized, but given her friend's situation, having the child would only complicate things further.
After all, she knew who her friend truly loved.
If she had the child, she might never be able to pursue her true love again.
Just as she was thinking of how to comfort her friend and tell her not to be afraid, Julia was already terrified by the sounds coming from the operating room.
"I don't want to do this anymore. I want to go home."
With that, Julia struggled out of Lionel's arms and shakily pulled Deanna away from that terrifying place.
It was too scary; she never wanted to come back again.
Deanna looked at her wrist being pulled and felt a bit dazed.
When she came back to her senses, she couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Once they were out of the hospital and back in the car, Julia finally let go of Deanna's hand and patted her chest in relief. "That scared me to death. They said it wouldn't hurt; why were they screaming so badly?"
"Maybe the anesthesia wore off while the surgery was still ongoing," Deanna suggested as the only possible explanation.
Even so, Julia was shocked. "Can anesthesia wear off during surgery?"
Deanna nodded. "It's possible. It varies from person to person; some people have a natural resistance to anesthetics."
"Alright," Julia said dejectedly, thinking about how she had backed out at the last minute.
She looked at Deanna helplessly and said pitifully, "Deanna, what should I do? I'm afraid of pain. Should I just have this baby?"
"But giving birth hurts even more," Deanna said seriously as she looked at her friend.