Chapter 4
"What's going on?" James's deep voice came from the stairway. I looked up and saw him striding down the stairs, his handsome face full of displeasure.
"Daddy!"
Isabella was scooped up directly, shrinking into James's arms and pointing at me, her tear-filled eyes full of grievance.
"Aunt Sophia just pushed me and called me a bastard child without a father!"
At those words, my whole body trembled. I could hardly believe a five-year-old child could tell such a vicious lie.
"That's not true, James. I didn't. She grabbed my medical report and tore it up!"
I struggled to get up from the floor, a dull pain in my abdomen. I tried to piece the report together to show him our child, but no matter what I did, I couldn't put it back together.
James gave me a cold glance, the chill in his eyes making me feel like I'd fallen into an ice cave. "Sophia, Isabella just called me daddy once, and you can't even tolerate that?"
His voice carried obvious irritation, as if saying one more word to me was a waste.
My heart felt like something was gripping it hard, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe. Tears still slid down uncontrollably.
I thought I'd seen enough storms to be strong enough, but facing James's baseless accusations, all my pretended composure vanished.
"Is this what you think of me?" I took a breath, staring at him quietly, my voice heavy and bitter. "No matter how low I am, I would never do that to a child..."
"Enough!" James cut me off sharply, his eyes full of disgust and mockery. "Pregnant? How long are you going to keep lying to me with this? Robert already proved you're not pregnant at all!"
"He made a mistake. I went to the hospital again today for another checkup. The doctor clearly told me I'm three weeks pregnant." I crouched down urgently, trying to pick up the pieces on the floor to prove I was telling the truth.
"Look, this is the medical report. Even though it's torn up, you can still see it when pieced together..."
"Isabella, if anything happens to you, I don't want to live either!" Just then, Amelia suddenly rushed out, tears still on her face, looking pitiful.
James's whole body was surrounded by a low pressure, but with her appearance, the coldest center of this silent storm gradually softened.
"Amelia, Isabella is fine."
His voice was slightly hoarse, mixed with some restraint, his hand gripping her shoulder with distinct knuckles.
The heartache in James's eyes gave me an indescribable jealousy.
Everyone said he was cold-blooded and emotionless, never smiling easily, but only I knew he gave all his tenderness to Amelia and Isabella.
"I'm sorry. Isabella missed Jasper so much that she made Sophia angry. It's all my fault. Sophia, if you're angry, take it out on me. Isabella is just too pitiful!"
I hadn't said a word, yet she'd already put me on trial.
Such despicable and childish tactics, yet James, who'd seen countless people, couldn't see through them at all.
Perhaps it wasn't that he couldn't see through them—he didn't want to.
"Aunt Sophia said I'm a bastard and don't deserve to call you daddy..."
Watching this scene, I just felt my stomach churning.
Amelia and Isabella sang in harmony, performing their hypocritical act perfectly.
"Apologize to Isabella." James stared at me with emotionless eyes, commanding in a deep voice, the disgust in his gaze about to swallow me whole.
I stubbornly shook my head, clutching those fragments tightly in my hand. "I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?"
"Why can't you just behave? Why do you have to make the whole family miserable?" James stepped forward and grabbed my wrist, with such force that it almost crushed my bones.
The pain nearly made me lose my balance, but I still stubbornly raised my head. "Who's really making trouble? James, open your eyes and see clearly. From beginning to end, they've been the ones provoking!"
"James, don't do this..." Amelia pretended to stop him while secretly adding fuel to the fire.
"Sophia only cares about you so much that she's hostile toward me and Isabella. If anyone's to blame, blame me. I shouldn't have let Isabella call you daddy..."
"Of course you shouldn't!" I suddenly turned to glare at Amelia, venting the grievance suppressed in my chest.
"He's your husband's brother, not your husband! Amelia, I understand you've been lonely for years after losing your husband, but please get this straight—James is my husband!"
"Sophia!" James roared and forcefully pushed me away.
I staggered back several steps, my waist hitting the edge of the coffee table hard. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, instantly making me break out in cold sweat.
I really wanted to ask what James's heart was made of—why couldn't I warm it no matter how hard I tried?
"Enough!"
Suddenly, Indigo's authoritative voice came from the stairs.
She walked down quickly, her face livid.
"James, you really can't tell right from wrong!" Indigo glared at James, her cane hitting his chest hard. "Sophia is your wife!"
James's eyes were deep, containing an unquestionable determination. "Grandma, you're being biased."
He'd always respected Indigo, but for Amelia, he could even turn against her.
Indigo trembled with anger, her cane hitting the ground heavily, yet never hitting his heart.
"I'm biased against her? James, have you forgotten how Jasper died? If she hadn't insisted on dragging Jasper to go diving, how could Jasper have..."
"Grandma!" Amelia dropped to her knees with a thud, crying her heart out.
"What happened back then was my fault. All these years, I've been living in pain. If it weren't for Isabella, I would have followed Jasper in death long ago!" She raised her tear-filled face, looking at Indigo meaningfully, then suddenly stood up and rushed toward the corner of the table. "Jasper, this family has no place for me. I'm coming to join you!"
Isabella burst into loud tears, shouting. "Mommy, don't go!"
James quickly caught her in his arms, holding her as carefully as a rare treasure. "Amelia, don't do anything foolish."
He lowered his head, his gaze like the most delicate feather, gently brushing across her tear-stained face.
James had never looked at me with such devoted eyes, not even for a moment.
Between James and me, his heart had built high walls against me. I crashed into them bloody and bruised, while Amelia only had to frown, and he'd give up the entire fortress without hesitation.
"You..."
Seeing them embracing each other inseparably, Indigo pointed at Amelia, her chest heaving violently, her face suddenly turning pale.
I sensed something was wrong and forced myself through the abdominal pain to support Indigo. "Grandma, what's wrong?"
Indigo gasped for breath, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She couldn't say a word.
"Grandma!" James panicked too and quickly came forward to help support Indigo.
Indigo's breathing became more and more rapid. She clutched at her chest, closing her eyes in pain.
I endured the abdominal pain and dialed the emergency number with trembling hands.
The living room was in chaos. Isabella was terrified and started crying loudly.