Chapter 121
It was James.
He knocked Andrew down with one punch.
"Andrew!" I went to help him up, but James grabbed me.
I glared at him coldly: "Let go of me! We're already divorced. Why are you still coming here to bother me?"
James's eyes locked onto me: "Sophia, we just got divorced, and you're already so eager to throw yourself into another man's arms?"
I laughed at his words: "James, what right do you have to control me? We're already divorced. I can be with whoever I want."
"We haven't gotten the divorce decree yet!" he said in a low voice. "Legally, we're still married!"
I took a step forward, blocking Andrew: "In a month, if I don't get the divorce decree, don't blame me for making this public."
"If it affects the Smith Group's stock price, don't blame me. You forced me to do this!"
I didn't want things to get this ugly.
James's chest heaved, his eyes churning with emotions I couldn't read.
He looked at me, then at Andrew, and finally let go like he'd given up.
"I'm not here to cause trouble." His voice softened, "Grandma's in the hospital."
My heart sank: "What happened?"
"This afternoon." James rubbed his forehead, looking exhausted. "Reporters caught something they shouldn't have. Grandma saw the news and fainted from anger."
I frowned: "Caught what?"
James didn't answer, just looked at me: "Sophia, the doctor said Grandma's condition is very serious this time. She might never wake up."
My mind went blank.
All these years, only Indigo had truly treated me like family. I hadn't even repaid her kindness yet.
My vision went dark, my head spinning.
Luckily, Andrew caught me, or I would have fallen.
I leaned on Andrew's arm for support: "Which hospital is Grandma at?"
"I'll go with you," Andrew said.
But James blocked him: "Mr. Anderson, the hospital room isn't convenient for so many unrelated people."
I shook my head at Andrew: "The studio needs you. Go back first, don't worry about my situation."
Andrew nodded: "If anything happens, just call me. I'll get there right away."
"Okay!"
I got in James's car. Neither of us spoke the whole way.
When we got to the hospital and reached the ICU, I heard muffled crying from inside.
Amelia sat on a bench in the hallway, her eyes red and swollen, her wrist wrapped in thick bandages.
Seeing us, she immediately stood up and called out timidly: "James..."
Then she looked at me: "Sophia, why are you here too?"
I ignored her and walked straight to the glass window.
Indigo lay in the hospital bed, tubes all over her body, her face frighteningly pale.
"What did the doctor say?" I asked.
James stood beside me: "Brain hemorrhage. Heavy bleeding. She's already had surgery, but the doctor said the chances of her waking up are very small."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath: "What exactly happened?"
Something major must have happened, or Indigo wouldn't have gotten so emotional.
Behind me came Amelia's sobbing.
James was silent for a long time. Just when I thought he wouldn't answer, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Reporters caught me hugging Amelia and wrote all kinds of nonsense."
"I tried to stop it, but it was too late. After Grandma saw it, she fainted."
Amelia took over, crying and trembling: "I, I really didn't mean to."
"I know I did something bad. I hate myself too. I couldn't think straight for a moment and cut my wrist. James brought me to the hospital."
"He hugged me to comfort me, and someone just happened to photograph it and post it online."
"I really didn't know this would blow up so big and even hurt Grandma..."
She covered her face and kept crying, unable to even speak.
I didn't know how much of her act was real. I raised my hand and slapped her.
Amelia didn't even react that I would hit her. She froze, forgetting to cry.
"Sophia, I really know I was wrong. Can you please not be angry with me?"
She tried to hold my hand. I slapped it away and gave her another slap across the face.
"Amelia, don't think I don't know what you're scheming. If Grandma really doesn't wake up this time, I won't let you off."
The news incident—no need to think about it—definitely had Amelia's fingerprints on it.
She also knew Indigo couldn't handle stress, yet she still did this. If this isn't premeditated murder, what is?
If something really happens to Indigo, I'll make Amelia pay with her life.
I stared coldly at Amelia.
Amelia stood up in fear and hid behind James: "James, Sophia is too emotional. I'm scared..."
"Sophia, calm down. Hitting her won't help now."
I nodded, my eyes moving to him: "Hitting her won't help?"
"Fine, then I'll hit you." With that, I slapped James across the face. "Whether as a husband, a father, or a grandson, you're terrible at all of them."
"I really don't know why people praise you for being smart. If you're so smart, why can't you see through Amelia's schemes?"
"Is it that you don't want to see through them, or you don't want to say it out loud?"
"If she really wanted to kill herself, do you think you could have saved her?"
James suddenly looked up: "Sophia, what do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" I looked at him. "I mean, you've been played. Played by the person you love most."
"I didn't!" Amelia screamed. "James, believe me. I dreamed about your brother. In the dream, he blamed me and said he'd kill me. I was so scared and upset that I couldn't control myself and cut my wrist."
Amelia grabbed his sleeve, crying pitifully: "James, you have to believe me. You must believe me."
I watched this scene coldly.
James looked at her, then at me, and finally said quietly: "Amelia, calm down."
"James, tell me, do you believe me or not?" She wouldn't let go.
"Enough." I interrupted this performance. "James, if you two want to put on a show, go do it somewhere else. Don't dirty Grandma's ears here."
James pushed Amelia's hand away and walked toward me: "Sophia, this is all my fault. I didn't handle it well, which led to Grandma's accident."
"Good that you know," I said.
"The doctor said having people Grandma likes stay with her and talk to her might stimulate her will to live and help her wake up." His voice carried a plea. "Sophia, could you come talk to Grandma every day?"
Looking at Indigo unconscious behind the glass, my heart ached.
She was one of the few people who had truly been good to me.
"You don't need to ask. I would come stay with Grandma every day anyway."
James breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you."