Chapter 174
When Vivian heard me say that, her eyes instantly lit up.
I reminded her again, "You'd better think it through—he seems too extreme."
Alan used to be easily overlooked. After dealing with him these past few times, I first thought he was cunning and calculating—someone with deep schemes. But after this meeting, I couldn't help but feel there might be a flaw in his personality. He used a calm and refined disguise to hide his true violent nature.
It was as if he were born with this mania.
Vivian smiled and said, "He wasn't like this before. It's just that what he went through made him this way. I'm not asking for much—I just want Mr. Oscar Lopez to tell him that no matter what—I trust him, without any hesitation. And if you could let me know where he is, it would be even better. I'll go find him myself."
All I could do was call out to the balcony, "Oscar, are you done? Come here for a second."
Oscar walked over with a smile. "The hotel staff is preparing dinner now. They'll bring it up soon. Ms. Cook, would you like to join us?"
Vivian shook her head, looking at me hopefully.
I had no choice but to tell Oscar why Vivian had come.
Vivian quickly added, "Mr. Lopez, please, I'm begging you."
Obviously, Oscar didn't understand her request either, but he quickly showed respect. "Actually, if you want to find him and it's pretty simple. You don't need me to pass on a message."
Vivian's eyes brightened. "You have a way?"
Oscar nodded. "Right now, Gregory is in the hospital. Alan got shot, and I haven't gotten a call yet, which means Alan isn't dead. If you go to the hospital and wait by the ward, you might be lucky to catch him there."
Vivian looked confused. She probably couldn't tell if Oscar was being sarcastic or actually trying to help her. "You mean Gregory won't let it go until Alan is dead? What if you're wrong?"
"Then we'll see which one of us knows him better." Oscar sounded very certain.
Vivian opened her mouth to say something, but ended up staying silent.
Even though she wasn't exactly a good person, I couldn't help but speak up. "Maybe what you've been holding onto all this time isn't really worth it. You think it's pure love, but ten years is a long time—too much can change. In the end, you might find that the love you believed in only existed back then."
Vivian's expression was very serious. She shook her head at me. "You all don't understand him. I've seen him at his best, so I know why he became the way he is now. No matter what, I'm willing to trust him."
I didn't want to get involved in someone else's karma. "We'll pass along what you asked us to. Want to stay for dinner?"
When I made it clear the conversation was over, Vivian stood up and took her leave. "No need, I've already bothered you enough. I changed my phone number—I'll send you a message. You can reach me at this number from now on."
I smiled at her. "Okay. My leg is injured, so I won't see you out."
After Vivian left, Oscar came over and massaged my stiff shoulders. "Even if you said those things to her, she wouldn't believe you."
I sighed. "Even though Vivian isn't a good person, when it comes to Alan, I think very few people could do what she does. If it were me, I don't think I could."
Oscar leaned over from behind me, his warm breath by my ear. "Right. If I couldn't come back for ten years, you should live your own life first. You can only wait for a while, but definitely not too long. Even though I wouldn't want to see it, I'd still hope you could find someone good to love you and have a happy life."
I tapped his forehead. "What are you talking about?"
Oscar laughed and kissed my cheek. "Just saying. Our family of three—no, wait, in the future it might be four or five—we'll definitely be happy together forever."
My face felt a bit warm. My hand couldn't help but touch my flat belly. Even after all these days, I still hadn't gotten used to my new identity. I often forgot there was a little life here.
The role of a mother was too unfamiliar to me. I'd never even imagined that one day I would carry a child and raise them.
Oscar's hand covered mine, gently brushing against my cheek. The whole room was filled with warmth.
But this warmth didn't last long. Just as he lifted my chin affectionately, about to kiss me, I suddenly felt nauseous. I quickly pushed him away and limped toward the bathroom, hugging the toilet and dry heaving.
Oscar anxiously followed, looking concerned. "What's wrong? Your leg isn't healed yet—don't run so fast. Are you okay?"
I was about to speak when my stomach churned, and this time I threw up everything I'd eaten at lunch that hadn't been digested yet.
This made Oscar even more flustered. He gently patted my back, and seeing my pained expression, quickly poured water and brought it over. "Why are you suddenly throwing up? I just wanted to kiss you—I'm not that disgusting, am I?"
I rolled my eyes at him. Tears from the physical reaction slid down my face as I weakly took the glass, flushed the toilet, and rinsed my mouth before looking at him. "What are you thinking?"
Oscar asked again, "Did you eat something bad? We ate the same thing—why am I totally fine?"
I was about to walk when he grabbed me and said, "Don't move! You scared me to death running like that just now. Doesn't your leg hurt? Let me carry you. I'll take you to the hospital later. I told you that you shouldn't have been discharged so early."
I quickly said, "This has nothing to do with being in the hospital. It's just normal morning sickness."
I couldn't help but sigh to myself. Before, I thought pregnancy didn't feel any different from normal—life was so strange, quietly taking up residence in my body. Now look—was it afraid I'd forget I was pregnant?
Oscar's brow furrowed. "What? Is pregnancy this painful? Why are you throwing up? Is there any way to make it better? Is this just once or will you throw up a lot? I should ask a doctor."
Seeing him pull out his phone to call, I quickly stopped him. "This should just be a normal reaction. Don't make such a fuss and embarrass yourself."
"This isn't making a fuss—you threw up," Oscar said anxiously.
I took a deep breath and waited until I felt better before saying, "Pregnancy involves throwing up. Even if you haven't experienced it, you've seen it in movies and TV shows, right?"
Only then did Oscar gradually calm down. "You're sure you're really okay? Then when dinner comes, you should eat more."
Hearing the word "eat," my stomach churned again. I turned back to the toilet and threw up once more.