Chapter 123
"I'm not lying to you." There was an almost desperate insistence in his eyes. "Nothing happened between her and me."
I laughed out loud. "James, if you say nothing happened, then tell me—how did Amelia end up pregnant?"
He fell silent.
"Can't answer that?" I took a step forward, staring him down. "James, are you happy now? The woman you love most is carrying your child."
"It's not like that." He shook his head. "Sophia, what I feel for her isn't..."
"Stop talking." I cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. Everything you say now makes me sick."
My stomach churned again. I couldn't hold it back—I bent over and dry heaved.
"What's wrong?" James tried to help me.
"Don't touch me!" I slapped his hand away and straightened up. "Just seeing you, hearing your voice—it makes me sick."
His face went pale.
"James, you've really opened my eyes," I said slowly. "And you've really disappointed me."
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
"The month is up anyway. Let's go get the divorce decree right away, so you can get the birth certificate for your child." I spoke faster and faster, but my voice grew colder. "And congratulations, James. This time you're really going to be a father."
"Sophia!" He shouted to stop me. "That's enough."
"I'm going to say it!" I looked up at him. "I will say it, James. You did it, but you won't let me talk about it?"
"Sophia..." He reached out to touch my face.
I didn't dodge. I just looked at him.
His hand stopped in mid-air, then slowly dropped.
"I'm sorry," he said.
I laughed. "What good is sorry? Will sorry wake Grandma up? Will sorry turn back time? Will sorry change the fact that you got another woman pregnant?"
"I..."
"James, I'm tired." I interrupted him. "After we get the divorce decree, let's never see each other again. Let's just pretend we never knew each other."
I looked toward the ICU. "Don't worry, even after the divorce, I'll still come see Grandma every day and talk to her."
"But please, you and your lover—don't appear in front of me. I don't want to see you. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and do something I'll regret."
"Sophia, don't be like this." His voice carried a pleading tone. "I'm investigating the truth right now. I'll find out what happened and prove my innocence."
"James, it's all over. It doesn't matter anymore." I laughed lightly. "Let's just end this with dignity."
That one sentence left him speechless.
I turned to leave, but my stomach churned violently again.
This time, I couldn't hold it back. I threw up.
"Sophia!" James rushed over to support me.
I vomited until the world spun, tears streaming from my eyes.
When I finally recovered, I realized I'd thrown up all over James's expensive suit jacket.
He didn't care at all. He just held me, patting my back. "What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"
I pushed him away, stumbling backward. "Stay away from me."
"I'll take you to see a doctor," he insisted.
"No need." I leaned against the wall, breathing hard. "I'm fine. Go back and take care of Amelia. She's pregnant—nothing can go wrong."
"If something happens to her and she blames me, I can't afford to pay for it."
James stood there, my vomit still on his suit, looking completely disheveled. His eyes were full of sadness.
This was the first time I'd seen such emotion in his eyes.
What was he sad about?
Amelia was pregnant—shouldn't he be happy?
I stared at him, and he looked back at me. We stood there facing each other until a nurse's voice broke the silence.
"Mr. Smith." The nurse said carefully. "Ms. Martinez is emotionally unstable. She's crying and asking to see you."
I forced a smile. "Go on, Mr. Smith. Your lover needs you."
James looked at me, then toward where the nurse had come from, and finally lowered his eyes. "Let me take you to see a doctor first."
"I said no need." I stood up straight. "If you don't leave now, I'll leave the hospital right away and never come back to see Grandma."
His pupils contracted.
"I mean what I say," I added.
James was silent for a long time—so long that the nurse quietly urged him again—before he finally spoke. "Fine, I'll go. But promise me you'll see a doctor."
I didn't answer.
He looked at me deeply, then turned and followed the nurse away.
I watched his figure disappear around the corner of the hallway, and then it was like all the strength drained from my body. I slid down the wall to sit on the floor.
The floor was cold.
I hugged my knees and buried my face in them.
I don't know how long passed before I lifted my head, wiped the tears from my face, and stood up.
Walking to the restroom, I threw up again uncontrollably.
After finishing this time, I sensed something was wrong.
It wasn't just nausea—there was a vague, indescribable unease.
I counted the days, and my heart sank.
No.
It couldn't be.
I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face over and over, trying to calm myself down.
The person in the mirror looked panicked, her face deathly pale.
I took a deep breath, straightened my clothes and hair, and walked out of the restroom.
I walked to the VIP room where Indigo was staying and leaned against the wall outside.
"Grandma," I touched the wall gently and said softly, "you need to wake up soon. I have so much to tell you, so much to share with you."
"Didn't you always want to hold a great-grandchild?" I touched my lower abdomen, my voice even softer. "Maybe when you wake up, there'll be a surprise."
After saying that, I laughed at myself.
How could that be possible?
I took the morning-after pill that day.
There was no way I could be pregnant.
Maybe I'd just been too tired these past few days, and my body wasn't feeling well, which was why I kept throwing up.
I didn't want to see them, so after standing outside the door for a while, I left.
The next morning, I went to the hospital again.
Before leaving, I stood in front of the mirror for a long time. The dark circles under my eyes were obvious, and I didn't look well.
I put on some light makeup to make myself look more alert.
"You're here." James's eyes lit up when he saw me.
I ignored him and walked to the bed to look at Indigo.
Indigo was the same as before, lying there quietly. Only the jumping lines on the monitor proved she was still alive.
"The doctor came by this morning and said her vital signs are stable, but there's still no sign of her waking up," James said behind me.
I nodded. "Got it."
"Did you... eat breakfast?" he asked.
"Yes."
I lied to him. I'd felt nauseous when I woke up this morning and couldn't eat anything.
"Sophia, can we talk properly?" He took half a step forward.
"There's nothing to talk about," I said flatly. "I told you, whatever the truth is doesn't matter to me."
He fell silent.
Being with him made me very uncomfortable. I made an excuse. "I'm going to the restroom."
In the restroom, I threw up again.
This time was worse than yesterday. After vomiting, I leaned against the stall partition, completely drained, unable to recover for a long time.
Something was wrong.
This was definitely wrong.
I walked out of the stall and rinsed my mouth at the sink. I looked terrible in the mirror.
After hesitating for a few minutes, I walked out of the restroom without going back to the ward.