Chapter 71 Passed Out from Anger
Even while unconscious, William's hand still gripped her wrist tightly, making it impossible for her to break free.
Sophia had no choice but to message Harper, explaining the situation.
Harper grinned knowingly, "I get it, I get it."
Sophia fell silent.
Looking at William's test results and the final summary, she was stunned for a long while: How could he have fainted from anger?
William wasn't sick—he simply passed out from being angry?
Sophia began replaying their conversation in her mind, thinking it over from every angle, but couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
Her gaze fell once more on William, lying in the hospital bed with his eyes closed. His chiseled, handsome features—high nose bridge, thin lips, pale complexion—carried a naturally aloof and cool air, distant and noble, making it impossible to look away.
"Tony, come here for a moment."
Tony's body trembled at being called. He had a bad feeling about this.
More than ten minutes later, William woke up to see Tony's miserable face.
There was no sign of Sophia in the hospital room at all.
Meeting his cold stare, Tony quickly explained, "Mrs. Smith went back to be with the kids."
A light scoff escaped from William's hoarse throat. His back teeth ached, his five fingers gripped the bedsheet tightly, and veins bulged on his arms.
William directly pulled out the IV needle and threw off the covers to get out of bed.
Tony was alarmed: "Mr. Smith, you're still sick!"
William strode toward the door with long steps, his whole body radiating an intimidating aura that warned others to stay away.
Tony immediately pushed the wheelchair to follow William.
Outside Sophia's residence, under that familiar tree again.
Through the large floor-to-ceiling window, he could clearly see the "man" sitting with his back to the window.
Sophia sat across from him with a beaming smile, gently serving him food.
His brain was rationally analyzing the current situation and how he should handle what came next, but deep in William's heart, a bewitching voice urged him to knock on the door, to question her, to claim what was his.
The emotions surging forth like a flood were too unfamiliar.
William just stood there under the tree, separated by a window, his brain constantly analyzing this sense of déjà vu.
He vaguely remembered that on the day he first learned of Sophia's "affair," his heart had felt just like today—trapped in a small container, squeezing tighter and tighter, unable to find peace.
Behind him, Tony, pushing the wheelchair, felt the atmospheric pressure around them continuously dropping.
He sneaked a glance inside the house: So this is Mrs. Smith's current husband? Just from the back, isn't he a bit too thin?
Due to the angle, Sophia had no idea that her every move was being watched.
She looked at Harper's face, which had lost a lot of weight, and said with concern, "No matter how much you love photography, you can't starve yourself like this."
Harper smiled helplessly, "This really isn't my fault. You have no idea how terrible the food is in those countries."
The two chatted while eating, cherishing their time together.
All three children could eat without needing help.
After James and Michael finished eating, they even took the initiative to look after Emily, waiting for her to finish before going to play with new toys together.
Harper looked at the children's faces admiringly, "Babe, you and your ex-husband really have great genes."
Sophia's hand holding the water glass paused. She glanced at the three children and said quietly, "He doesn't know Emily is his daughter."
Hearing this, Harper perked up.
She propped her chin on her hand and guessed, "He doesn't think Emily is yours with another man..."
Sophia smiled bitterly and nodded.
Harper looked at her in shock and asked urgently, "Haven't you thought about explaining it to him?"
Sophia pulled at the corners of her mouth in self-mockery, "The day I found out I was pregnant, I called him, and his phone was off. I only learned through trending topics that he was with another woman at the time. Under those circumstances, is there any need to explain?"
Meeting the sympathy in Harper's eyes, she smiled and continued, "It's all in the past. I'm doing well now."
Harper condemned William in her heart but didn't ask any more related questions. She changed the subject and shared many of her shooting experiences abroad.
"By the way, I photographed an absolute stunner this time!"
"His looks are on par with your husband... no, your ex-husband."
"This is the first time I've done portrait photography."
"I'm planning to use it in my upcoming photography exhibition. Come to my room and help me decide."
Sophia readily agreed.
As she stood up, she accidentally bumped her shin, making her gasp in pain.
Harper quickly supported her, "Are you okay?"
Sophia shook her head. Just as she was about to walk, her friend scooped her up horizontally with ease.
Harper smiled proudly, "How's that? Your 'honey's' recent workout results aren't bad, right?"
She hooked her arm around her friend's neck helplessly, "Yes, yes, yes, Ms. Anderson's arm strength could kill a tiger."
Harper raised an eyebrow, "I don't know about killing a tiger, but carrying a beautiful woman is easy as pie."
The two smiled at each other and entered the guest room together.
Time passed minute by minute, and the people inside still hadn't come out.
William's face grew darker and darker, the coldness around him gradually gathering into a cold wave that froze people's blood.
As chief secretary, Tony steeled himself to console, "Mrs. Smith might just be chatting with her current... with her friend about things, that's why she hasn't come out. It's not necessarily, necessarily..."
Great, making it worse!
A low, clear voice came with the wind. William turned around coldly: "Let's go back."
Tony quickly pushed the wheelchair to follow, "Mr. Smith, why don't you sit down, and I'll push you back?"
William's steps didn't stop, not until Tony's next sentence came.
"This was specially arranged by Mrs. Smith for Mr. Smith."
Tony hadn't expected William would actually sit in the wheelchair. Wasn't he walking pretty fast just now?
William sat upright in the wheelchair, eyes closed and silent. His profile alone exuded an aura that commanded submission.
That night, just as Sophia lay down, she received a call from Amelia. Linda's condition had deteriorated again.
Since coming to the lab, this poor girl, Linda, had entered the operating room three times. Although she was resuscitated and her external injuries had healed, she still refused to wake up.
Sophia didn't have time to grab a coat and rushed over in her pajamas.
"Professor Johnson, Linda's vital signs are dropping rapidly. If this continues..."
Sophia abandoned her usual gentleness with patients and spoke bluntly to Linda.
"Linda, do you think dying will make Alvin sad for the rest of his life?"
"Don't be naive. He'll be sad for a while at most, then after some time he'll be back in someone else's arms."
"For someone rich and good-looking like Alvin, your death is just a handful of dirt in his youth. You don't really expect to punish him with your death, make him regret it forever, and stay faithful to your memory, do you?"
"He didn't cherish you when you were alive. Do you still hope he'll cherish you when you're dead?"
The indicators on the monitor began jumping rapidly, showing faint signs of recovery.
Sophia glanced at it and continued, "Linda, you still have a chance to live. Why give it up for some playboy?"
"Professor Johnson, Linda's indicators are rising!"
When Sophia came out of the operating room, it was already late at night.
Linda had woken up.
This time, she was truly saved.
Passing by William's hospital room, she saw the lights were still on. Just as she approached, she heard Tony's voice.
"Mr. Smith, it's Ms. Rivera."
Hearing Tony's words, Sophia withdrew her hand from the door handle.
She suppressed the self-mocking curve of her lips, turned around, and quickly left. Because of this, she didn't hear William's cold words that followed.
"From now on, don't answer Alice's calls anymore."
William put down the last document in his hands, pinched the bridge of his nose, and his thoughts drifted back to Sophia's matters.
Over the next few days, he focused on recovering in the hospital room.
In the mornings, the three children would come hand-in-hand to see him, and in the afternoons, they'd be picked up by people Sophia arranged.
What William heard most from the children was about Sophia's "honey."