Chapter 3
"How is that possible?"
Evelyn looked puzzled. She took the test report from me, glanced at it, and smiled.
"The doctor who examined you probably got careless for a moment and forgot to turn on some switch on the machine. That's why there was a mistake."
A mistake?
On the way out of the hospital, my mind was in chaos, my thoughts all tangled up.
To be fair, I didn't want to suspect Robert.
After all, when I used to live at the Smith Mansion, he treated me like his own junior, so warmly. When I was sick, he took care of me day and night.
But with Robert's qualifications and expertise, would he really make such a basic error as forgetting to flip a switch?
My breathing gradually quickened. Some things I couldn't even explain to myself; was I unable to figure it out, or unwilling to think about it? Just then, I got a call from Indigo.
"Sophia, come home for lunch." She said lunch, but I could tell from Indigo's tone that this was serious. I quickly agreed.
I was originally an orphan raised in a welfare home. When I was sixteen, I happened to run into Indigo on the street when she was having a heart attack. I called an ambulance for her and stayed with her at the hospital all afternoon.
After she was discharged, she brought me back to the Smith Mansion.
James was only twenty-two at the time. He had just graduated from college and came back to take over the company.
Back then, he was actually very good to me. Combined with Indigo's affection, it once made me feel like I was the happiest person in the world.
But all of that was completely shattered after that ridiculous night.
When I walked into the Smith Mansion, I realized everyone was there except me. Indigo waved at me, signaling me to sit beside her. She looked coldly at Amelia, who stood before her not daring to say a word.
"In front of Sophia, I'm telling you again. From now on, whether it's Isabella or you, if you have any issues, you can contact Robert yourself or come find me. Don't go disturbing her and James's life."
I didn't expect Indigo to find out about yesterday's incident so quickly. I felt a bit awkward. James, sitting nearby, frowned and spoke in a low voice. "Grandma, Isabella is too young. As her uncle, how can I not care?"
"You know you're just her uncle, but when Isabella was refusing to take her medicine earlier, why did I hear her calling you daddy?" Indigo spoke sternly, glaring hard at James.
"Everyone outside says how capable you are, how well you manage the company. If you're so smart, how come you don't know that an uncle should keep his distance from his brother's wife and niece?"
James explained, "My brother died young, Isabella just misses her father..."
"Shut up!" Indigo's face turned red with anger, her chest heaving violently. "You dare mention your brother? Have you forgotten how your brother died?"
When I moved into the Smith Mansion, Jasper Smith and Amelia were still living abroad. I'd never met them.
I only knew he was a very gentle person. After learning that the Smith family had adopted me, he sent me gifts every year.
But such a good person was dragged by Amelia to go deep-sea diving, then died in an accident.
"Grandma, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I'm the one who killed Jasper!" Hearing Indigo bring up the past, Amelia trembled all over, immediately cried.
I clearly saw a flash of heartache in James's eyes. Then he turned to look at me, giving me a look that signaled me to help plead for her.
He was very thoughtful, knowing that if he spoke up himself, it would only make Indigo detest Amelia more.
If this were before, I definitely would have helped persuade Indigo as he wished. But this time, I ignored James's hint and sat quietly beside Indigo, saying nothing.
From the moment I walked in until now, only for Amelia's sake would he even look at me.
I wondered if in his eyes, I was a person with my own consciousness, or just a tool he used to protect Amelia.
"Enough, crying and making a scene in the living room - what kind of behavior is this!" Indigo scolded Amelia with a stern face, her tone very serious.
"You did make a huge mistake, and not just the Jasper incident. Now go face the wall for two hours and think carefully about what else you've done. Don't come out until you've reflected properly!"
"Grandma!" James suddenly stood up, his face particularly grim. But Indigo just had the butler Nolan take the pale-faced Amelia away. Indigo looked at him and frowned.
"Come to the study with me."
Before going upstairs, Indigo gently patted the back of my hand, meaningfully. "James and I need to talk. Sophia, wait in the living room by yourself for a bit. You should also think carefully for yourself, for your own family."
James already hated me. After today's incident, he would only hate me more deeply. What "family" was there to speak of?
Watching James's back as he went upstairs, I laughed at myself. Unconsciously, I mentally prepared myself to face his fury tonight.
No matter what, as long as I showed him the diagnosis later, and with Indigo's help, he absolutely couldn't divorce me.
And I couldn't possibly let my child be like me, born without parents.
Even if this marriage existed in name only, even if James and I would only be a resentful couple from now on.
As long as my child could have a complete family, it would all be worth it.
I gently stroked the tiny dark shadow on the test report. Thinking about how this child would soon grow slowly in my belly, my mood gradually calmed down. But soon, I heard a childish voice in my ear.
"Bad woman, my mom is being punished facing the wall, and daddy is being scolded by great-grandma in the study. Why do you get to sit here just fine!" Isabella, wearing cute bunny pajamas, glared at me arrogantly. Where was any sign of being sick and weak?
When Jasper died, Amelia was pregnant. Thinking about how Isabella, like me, never even met her biological father, I really couldn't bring myself to criticize her. I could only try to soften my voice. "Isabella, James is your uncle, not your father."
"No way! He is my daddy. If you weren't clinging to him, he would've moved in with me and my mom long ago!" Isabella cried and rushed over to kick me. Holding the diagnosis report, I instinctively dodged to the side. I didn't expect her to be so cunning; taking advantage of my distraction, she snatched the diagnosis report from my hand and tore it hard.
"Bad woman, I hate you. If you keep fighting with me over daddy, I'll tear up all your stuff!"
The diagnosis report had an image of my child on it. It was my only proof to show James I was pregnant!
I jumped up to grab the report back, but I kept instinctively protecting my belly. Isabella was very nimble. She triumphantly stood on the coffee table and tore the diagnosis report to shreds.
"So mad, so mad at you!"
"You..." I suddenly felt dizzy, couldn't control myself, and sat down hard on the floor. Even my vision was blurry. I only heard Isabella, who had been so triumphant just moments ago, suddenly burst into loud tears.
"Daddy, Aunt Sophia is bullying me!"