Chapter 29
[She Stole My Boyfriend AND My Child!]
Bianca was trying to nail her to the pillory forever, making sure she'd never recover.
Matthew reached up his small hand, gently touching her cheek. "Don't be sad, Mommy. It's all lies."
Juliana held her son tight, greedily soaking in this warmth that belonged only to her. In this world, some people wanted to drag her to hell, while others loved her with everything they had.
The next day, Juliana was woken by a call from the Sharps' butler.
"Dr. Wells, Mrs. Sharp is very unstable today. Do you think..."
Juliana eventually agreed. She was a doctor. Ashley was her patient.
After the session, Lucas drove her home. Overnight, the online narrative had flipped again. She'd gone from a doctor with a 'messy personal life' to a 'scheming homewrecker who stole another woman's boyfriend and child.' And the man responsible for it all sat behind the wheel like nothing had happened.
At a red light, Lucas picked up his thermos from the cup holder and took a sip. Juliana glanced over casually and noticed his knuckles were pale where he gripped the thermos. His complexion looked even worse than yesterday. Her doctor's instincts kicked in, making her frown.
"You look terrible. Have you been having insomnia lately? Heart palpitations and headaches too?"
Lucas's hand paused on the thermos. "Just focus on my mother's condition."
That same ice-cold dismissal again. Juliana's lips twisted in a bitter smile. What was she thinking, trying to help?
As they approached the Sharp estate, Lucas suddenly spoke. "Next weekend, I'm taking Dami to visit the Hale family."
Juliana's body went rigid. The Hale family—Bianca's family.
"He should meet his other family, after all."
"Lucas, you know exactly what kind of person Bianca is. You let her trash me all over the internet, and now you want to take my son to meet her family?"
Lucas glanced at her sideways. "She's Dami's biological mother."
"You—!"
Juliana trembled with fury. She finally got it—this man was a complete and utter bastard!
The car stopped. Juliana didn't want to spend another second with him. She unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved the door open.
"Wait."
Lucas got out too, walking around to the passenger side. He seemed about to say something when his body suddenly swayed. Juliana instinctively reached out to steady him. He was burning up.
"You have a fever?" She frowned.
Lucas's handsome features tightened. The next second, his tall frame went limp and he collapsed against her without warning.
"Lucas!"
The man crumpled completely into her arms, unconscious.
It took every ounce of Juliana's strength to get the unconscious Lucas back to his room. His pulse was erratic, heart rate dangerously fast, temperature alarmingly high. This wasn't just a fever.
Juliana pulled out her portable equipment and ran a series of tests. When the results appeared on the screen, her expression grew grave. He had an old internal injury that had never properly healed. Over time, combined with his relentless work schedule and chronic sleep deprivation, it had begun causing systemic complications.
No wonder he'd been having trouble sleeping all these years.
Juliana felt the compassion of a doctor, and something else she didn't quite recognize—a twinge of concern. She quickly pushed aside those messy thoughts and pulled out a specialized sedative and fever reducer from her medical kit.
But within half a minute of the injection, Lucas's body went into violent rejection. His breathing turned ragged. Large patches of red hives erupted across his exposed skin. Harsh, pained sounds rattled from his throat.
Allergic reaction! Juliana's face went white. There was no time to get him to a hospital.
Without hesitation, Juliana opened a hidden compartment in her medical kit. Inside lay a set of acupuncture needles of varying lengths, wrapped in velvet. She selected a needle, sterilized it over an alcohol lamp, located the pressure point on his chest, and inserted it with steady precision.
One needle. Two. Three... Her movements were swift and precise, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
After what felt like forever, Lucas's breathing finally steadied. The hives began to fade. Juliana exhaled in relief, her entire body sagging with exhaustion.
She looked at the man bristling with needles like a porcupine and muttered, "What a pain in the ass. Running yourself into the ground like you're invincible."
Just as she started removing the needles, the door cracked open. Matthew's little head peeked through.
"Mommy, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, sweetheart." Juliana waved him in.
Matthew stepped inside. He glanced at Lucas's needle-riddled form on the bed, pretending not to recognize him. "Is that the bad guy who kissed you? He looks pretty pathetic."
Juliana couldn't help but laugh. "He's not pathetic. He deserves it."
While mother and son talked, neither noticed the supposedly unconscious man's eyelashes flutter. Lucas struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling, then his own arms—covered in acupuncture needles.
What the hell...?
With tremendous effort, he turned his head. And then he saw it. A little boy in dinosaur pajamas, looking up at Juliana with pure affection.
That face... That face was identical to Damian's!
Lucas's pupils contracted sharply. A hallucination? Fever-induced hallucination?
"You..."
Juliana's heart leapt into her throat. Crap, he saw Matthew! Her mind raced, scrambling for an explanation for this bizarre coincidence.
But before she could speak, Matthew leaned forward on his own. He looked at the pale, needle-covered man on the bed without a trace of fear. Instead, he tilted his head and spoke with innocent matter-of-factness:
"Daddy, why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"