Chapter 133
Matthew gently wiped Chloe's tears away.
He pulled out a small phone on a cord from his pocket and hung it around Chloe's neck. "This is my gift to you. It has my contact information. Whenever you miss me, you can reach me."
Chloe slowly stopped crying. She lowered her head, cradling the pink phone in her little hands, examining it from every angle.
The contacts list held only one number, labeled "Dad Matthew."
Her tears hadn't dried yet, but the corners of her mouth were already curving upward.
Pearl smiled gratefully at Matthew. "Sir, thank you again!"
"Take good care of Chloe." Matthew couldn't help adding.
Today Chloe had told him so much, and he'd learned that while Pearl seemed careless, she actually loved and protected Chloe and her brother deeply.
Pearl carried Chloe to the car.
From the nanny van nearby, Evelyn watched Matthew stand in place for a long time, watching the car disappear around the corner.
The streetlight stretched his shadow long.
He stood there alone, still holding the puppy, like a lonely statue.
Evelyn couldn't quite identify what she was feeling.
It had been him who'd forced her to abort their child back then, yet now he was the one showing such care for Chloe.
Why were people so complicated?
She didn't dwell on it further and signaled her driver to follow the nanny van ahead.
Only after the vehicles had been gone for a while did Matthew snap out of it and get in his own car with the puppy.
The driver dropped him off at his apartment building. He got out with the puppy, then hesitated.
The puppy had just been discharged from the hospital today.
He planned to raise it himself, but wasn't comfortable leaving it in his apartment.
He worried it might damage things—those things that were evidence of the life he and Evelyn had shared.
The pain of Chloe's departure surfaced again, vague but persistent.
Eventually, he went to the garage, got another car, and drove aimlessly through the city.
Night deepened.
Passing a flower shop, Evelyn habitually had her driver stop so she could buy a bouquet.
Matthew happened to drive past at that very moment and saw this scene.
Remembering Evelyn's warning yesterday—not to disturb her or have her followed anymore—
Matthew lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
Perhaps he was distracted, or something else—he crashed into a fire hydrant on the roadside.
The airbag deployed instantly.
Matthew closed his eyes and lost consciousness.
When Evelyn left the flower shop with her bouquet, she saw a crowd gathered at a nearby street corner—apparently someone had been in an accident.
Evelyn wasn't one for rubbernecking, but when her eyes caught that license plate number, she instinctively stopped.
That car was Matthew's.
Her heart sank abruptly. She hurried forward several steps.
Through gaps in the crowd, she saw Matthew unconscious in the driver's seat.
Half his face was covered in blood. The steering wheel was deformed. The airbag had deployed.
"Matthew!" Evelyn cried out. The flowers scattered from her arms across the ground.
She ran to the car and saw clearly now—his forehead had a gash, blood streaming down his cheek, staining his shirt collar red.
The car door had popped open from the impact. He slumped in the seat, motionless.
"Matthew, wake up! Matthew..."
Evelyn didn't dare shake his head. She only gently pushed his arm, trying to rouse him.
No response.
The car's hood was damaged, gasoline dripping steadily.
She took a deep breath and made a snap decision—unbuckled Matthew's seatbelt and used all her strength to drag him to the roadside.
She crouched down and placed her fingers near his nose.
His breathing was steady, but he was unconscious.
She checked his limbs—no bleeding elsewhere.
Panic fluttered through her mind as worst-case scenarios flashed by: internal bleeding? Concussion?
She didn't want any more entanglement with Matthew, but she'd never wished anything bad on him either.
"Matthew, wake up." Her voice unconsciously carried a trace of urgency.
Matthew seemed to hear her. His eyelids moved. His eyes half-opened, slowly focusing on her face.
"It hurts..." He frowned, breathing lightly.
Bystanders had already frantically called for an ambulance when the crash happened.
Just as Matthew woke, the ambulance arrived.
Well-trained paramedics rushed over with a stretcher. A doctor lifted Matthew's eyelid to examine him, listened with a stethoscope, and seemed to exhale in relief.
Seeing this, Evelyn's heart settled. She prepared to leave.
Though she was concerned about Matthew, she didn't want to linger and risk exposing herself.
But Matthew—whether from being dazed by the crash or something else—gripped her wrist tightly and wouldn't let go.
Evelyn froze and instinctively tried to shake him off.
"Miss, you absolutely can't move suddenly!" A paramedic quickly stopped her. "He's not in life-threatening danger, but large movements could cause a concussion!"
Evelyn was helpless.
Just like that, he held onto her as she got into the ambulance.
In the vehicle, Matthew's eyes were half-open, half-closed, as if he'd regained some awareness.
Evelyn said coldly, "Mr. Perkins, you're in the ambulance now. Please let go of me."
Matthew's eyes remained half-closed, but his grip only tightened.
"Honey... don't leave me..." His voice was slurred, dreamlike. "Honey, I was wrong... don't leave me..."
After those two sentences, his eyes closed again.
Evelyn was stunned.
Honey?
In those few seconds of her daze, the medical staff had already misunderstood.
"You're family, right? You need to come with us to the hospital—if surgery's needed, you'll have to sign!"
"I'm not—"
"Hurry up!" The paramedic pressed her into a seat and ordered the driver to go. "There's another accident ahead—we'll pick them up too!"
Evelyn sat in the ambulance, utterly speechless.
Matthew's hand still gripped her wrist tightly.
Any sympathy she'd felt for him evaporated entirely. She almost wanted to chop his hand off.
She pulled out her phone and called her driver to leave first, then called Susan to let her know she'd be home late.
Putting down the phone, she looked up at the medical staff. "I'm not his wife. Have his contacts come take care of him later."
"But... the patient seems to be unconscious..." a nurse said quietly.
Evelyn rubbed her forehead.
She naturally didn't have any of Matthew's contacts saved. She'd have to wait until he woke up to deal with it.
Matthew was placed in a private room.
After the medical staff left, Evelyn tapped the back of his hand again. "Mr. Perkins, let go. You're hurting me."
Matthew opened his eyes, his face full of grievance. "If I let go, you'll leave."
Evelyn frowned. "No matter how much I dislike you, I wouldn't leave you alone in a hospital."
Matthew obediently released her hand.
Evelyn sat back, putting some distance between them.
Seeing her movement, Matthew pressed his lips together, looking even more aggrieved. "You really don't want to be near me that badly?"
"What do you think?" Evelyn looked at him. "If you had an obsessive stalker following you around, how would you feel?"