Chapter 77 Adopted

Chapter 77 Adopted
Chapter 77: Adopted

Dianna.

When I woke up again, the hospital room was already dimly lit. I simply lay there staring at the ceiling while trying to gather my senses.

A few hours had passed, my body still felt weak and heavy from everything that happened earlier, but the sharp pain from before had lessened into a dull ache that spread across my lower stomach and back.

Slowly, I turned my head to the side and there he was.

Theodore had fallen asleep beside my bed.

He sat awkwardly in the chair with his arms folded against the edge of the mattress, his head resting on top of them as though he had only meant to close his eyes for a moment before exhaustion completely overtook him.

Even in sleep, his brows remained faintly furrowed, like his body still refused to relax properly.

I stared at him quietly.

I've seen him asleep too many times, but somehow, right now, he looked guarded and tensed.

His hair was slightly messy, his sleeves rolled unevenly to his elbows, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes that made him look older than I remembered.

The Theodore sitting beside me now no longer resembled the spoiled and arrogant heir people used to know. Somewhere between losing me and finding me again, life had hardened him in ways I was only beginning to understand.

My chest tightened painfully at the thought.

How long had he stayed there?

Had he even rested properly at all since I woke up?

I lowered my eyes briefly toward his hand resting near mine on the bed. Even in sleep, he stayed close enough to touch me, almost like he was afraid I might disappear again the moment he let his guard down.

A deep ache slowly spread through my chest.

Even after everything…

He still chose me.

After all the secrets I kept from him.

After leaving him without explanation.

After carrying his child alone while convincing myself it was better if he hated me.

He still stayed beside me.

I looked down at my stomach instinctively, my fingers slowly resting there.

The baby was safe.

That thought alone nearly brought tears back to my eyes.

Earlier, I truly thought I was going to lose everything. But somehow, both of us survived.

And Theodore… well, he looked like someone who had barely survived it too.

A small breath escaped me as my eyes returned to him again.

Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if we met differently.

If our lives had not already been tangled in the mistakes of our parents before we even knew each other existed.

Maybe we would have fallen in love normally.

Maybe Theodore would have remained carefree and irritating instead of becoming someone capable of carrying so much anger inside himself.

Maybe I would not have spent months convincing myself that loving him was selfish.

But life never gave us anything simple.

Everything between us came with pain attached to it.

I stared at his sleeping face quietly while another thought slowly crept into my mind.

Does he know?

The question immediately made me sigh.

Vanessa somehow knew Theodore was adopted, and she knew about my past too. She used that truth against me months ago while trying to destroy everything between us.

At that time, I assumed Theodore already knew too, but end up finding out he did not.

How could he not?

It was something so significant that I could not imagine it being hidden from him his entire life.

I thought about the way Theodore reacted every time Victor was mentioned. The hatred in his voice. The bitterness he carried whenever the topic of his mother came up. Even now, years after her death, he still looked deeply wounded whenever he spoke about what Victor did to their family.

No.

If Theodore truly knew he was adopted, would he still have hated my mother that much?

Would he have looked so devastated after learning she was involved with Victor?

The thought unsettled me deeply.

Because if he did not know…

Then everything became even crueler.

I looked up and realized Theodore had stirred in his sleep. His brows tightened faintly before he slowly lifted his head from his folded arms, clearly disoriented for a moment.

Then his eyes landed on me.

Immediately, he straightened in his seat.

“Dianna?”

His voice came out rough with exhaustion and panic at the same time.

I blinked at him softly. “Did I wake you up?”

Theodore stared at me for another second before rubbing his face tiredly with one hand.

“You’re asking me that?” he muttered hoarsely. “You nearly scared me to death. But I am glad you're recovering well.”

Despite myself, a small smile tugged at my lips which he noticed immediately.

“There,” he said while pointing weakly toward me. “You’re smiling. That means you’re feeling better.”

A soft laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “That’s your conclusion?”

“Yes.”

His answer came so quickly that I laughed a little more properly this time.

Theodore froze for a brief second after hearing it.

Then his entire expression softened so visibly that my chest tightened again.

God... The way this man looked at me sometimes felt unbearable.

Like simply hearing me laugh again was enough to undo months of pain inside him.

He leaned back slightly in the chair while continuing to study my face carefully.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“Tired,” I admitted honestly. “But better than before.”

His eyes immediately lowered toward my stomach.

“And the baby?”

I placed my hand there again before looking back at him.

“We’re okay,” I whispered softly.

The tension in his shoulders eased so visibly that it almost hurt to witness.

“You should sleep properly,” I murmured softly. “You look exhausted.”

Theodore let out a quiet scoff. “You just woke me up after nearly dying and somehow you still found the energy to insult me.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

He leaned forward again, resting his arms against the side of the bed while keeping his eyes fixed on me.

“I’m not sleeping anywhere else,” he said quietly. “I'm staying wherever you are.”

Something inside my chest softened painfully at those words.

Because he meant them and I could tell.

Theodore probably would have stayed sitting in that same uncomfortable chair the entire night just to make sure I kept breathing.

I looked down briefly before gathering enough courage to ask the question that had been bothering me ever since waking up.

“Theodore…”

“Mhm?”

I hesitated.

Then finally spoke carefully.

“Did you know…” I paused softly, watching his face closely. “That you were adopted?”

Theodore stilled completely.

The change in him happened so suddenly that my breath caught.

His expression did not immediately twist into anger or shock.

Instead, he simply went still.

Like the words themselves did not fully register, until his eyes finally lifted toward me.

And the look in them made me flinch.