Chapter 148
"James, we should be grateful and repay kindness, but if someone uses it as leverage to keep demanding more, we can't just keep indulging them."
"So, do you understand what you did wrong now?"
James answered in a low voice: "I was wrong to keep letting her have her way."
Indigo sighed: "Do you really know you were wrong?"
James nodded.
Indigo took a deep breath and pointed at me, saying to James, "James, there's something I've been hiding from you all these years."
"Do you know why I wanted you to marry Sophia?"
James looked at Indigo blankly and shook his head.
Indigo's voice choked up: "James, do you remember when you got lost as a child and spent some time in an orphanage?"
James's pupils contracted sharply: "I remember..."
"If Sophia hadn't protected you in that orphanage back then, with your stubborn temper and weak body, you would have been bullied to death by those kids who picked on the weak, or beaten to death by that heartless director."
"Without her, could you have escaped from the orphanage, been rescued by Amelia by chance, and lived to see us?"
James completely froze, then suddenly turned to look at me, his eyes full of shocked disbelief.
I was equally stunned.
The little boy I protected in the orphanage was James?
I could hardly believe it.
"Grandma, are you saying Sophia is the one from the orphanage back then..." James's voice was extremely hoarse.
"Yes, Sophia is that little girl." Indigo looked at James and me, both heartbroken and regretful. "I didn't adopt Sophia right away because I was worried she was too young and wouldn't adapt well to a new environment."
"Later, I heard that the orphanage was 'dirty,' so I spent some time gathering evidence and finally managed to deal with that evil director, then started the adoption process for Sophia."
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd think Sophia was using her kindness as leverage. I wanted your relationship to develop naturally."
"But you were so lukewarm toward her back then. I was afraid you'd miss your chance, so I had no choice but to force you to marry Sophia."
"I thought being together, you two would develop some feelings for each other, but who knew Amelia would interfere and cause all these misunderstandings."
"I wanted to step in, but I was afraid you'd hate Sophia even more because of it."
"I thought Sophia had told you about this before, but from your reaction, it seems she never mentioned it to you."
James knelt on the ground, looking up at me with trembling lips and reddened eyes.
In his eyes, there was realization, regret, and a kind of pain from having found and lost something precious.
"Sophia..." he called to me hoarsely, not knowing what to say.
I looked at him, my heart also in turmoil.
No wonder... no wonder when I first met James, I always felt a strange sense of familiarity and closeness. We had known each other so early on.
But fate played tricks on us, and after all that time, we still ended up separated.
"Sophia." James looked at me, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Do you... Do you remember, before I left the orphanage, I gave you something?"
I tried hard to recall, fragmented images flashing through my mind...
A thin but stubborn-eyed little boy secretly slipped me something cold and hard, saying softly: "Sophia, this is for you. Wait for me, I'll definitely find my family and come back for you..."
I unconsciously murmured: "A... badge?"
James's eyes immediately lit up, then quickly blurred with tears: "Yes, with a wave pattern on it. Do you... Do you still have it?"
I nodded: "I was organizing my things recently and found an old badge."
"Can I see it?"
"The badge is at my place."
"Sophia, where's the badge? I'll go get it for you." Liliana volunteered.
"It's in the yellow suitcase in my room."
Liliana gave an OK gesture: "I'll go get it right now."
She rushed out of the hospital room.
"Sophia, if you're okay, I'll leave now. I'll come see you again after I finish my work." Andrew felt it wasn't appropriate to stay and found an excuse to leave.
I nodded: "Thanks for everything."
"We don't need to be so formal with each other." Andrew opened the door and left.
Indigo still felt sorry for James and waved her hand: "Alright, get up first. It won't look good if someone sees you kneeling like this."
James didn't get up: "Grandma, I did something wrong and should be punished."
About an hour later, Liliana came back holding the old badge. "James, see if this is the badge."
James took it and rubbed it a few times: "Yes, this is it."
"So it was you, it was actually you..." he choked up, his voice broken. "How could I not recognize you? How could I treat you like that..."
Indigo looked at me, then at James, kneeling on the ground, looking lost, and let out a heavy sigh.
James kept looking at me, his gaze almost consuming me.
He opened his mouth again, as if he had a thousand words to say, but couldn't utter a single one.
Indigo spoke again: "What's done is done. Talking more about it now won't help."
"James, since you and Sophia weren't meant to be, you should let go and stop bothering her."
She walked to my side and held my hand: "Sophia, now that you're pregnant, you must take good care of yourself."
"That damned Amelia almost killed the only heir of the Smith family. I definitely won't let James be foolish enough to let her go."
Hearing this, James suddenly looked up and pressed his lips together: "Grandma, this child isn't the Smith family's child."
As soon as he said this, the hospital room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Indigo was stunned at first, then flew into a rage, raising her cane to strike James!
"You fool, what nonsense are you talking about? This child is your child."
James didn't dare dodge and took several hits.
Indigo trembled with anger, pointing at James, heartbroken: "No wonder Sophia wants to divorce you!"
"You're the kind of jerk who doesn't even trust his own wife. If it were me, I would have broken your legs and thrown you out long ago!"
James was scolded so badly that he couldn't lift his head, but still replied: "Grandma, this child has nothing to do with the Smith family. You can't take it back to the Smith family."
"Don't you care about Sophia the most? Why would you forcibly take Sophia's child away? What would Sophia think?"
"If you really want a great-grandchild, you can recognize her child as an adopted great-grandchild. They can still inherit the Smith family in the future. I have no objection."
I sat on the bed, looking at him coldly and laughing: "James, why won't you believe the child I'm carrying is yours?"
James knelt on the ground without moving.
He looked at me, his eyes showing a hint of hope.
"Sophia, what do you mean?" he asked hoarsely. "Could it be that the child in your belly is mine?"