Chapter 98 Accident
"Mr. Smith, Michael's in the hospital!"
The next morning, William rushed to the hospital as soon as he heard the news. He deliberately softened his voice as he pushed open the door.
Inside, Sophia was watching over Michael as he received his IV drip.
Seeing Michael lying weakly on the hospital bed, his heart tightened. He asked softly, "How did Michael suddenly get a fever?"
She glanced at Michael, arranged for someone to watch over him, and led William out to the corridor.
"Michael did it on purpose."
That morning, when Allan went to wake him up for school, he found the room unusually cold, and Michael was already lying in bed, groggy and confused.
On the way to the hospital, Sophia had someone check the room's surveillance footage and discovered that Michael had turned the air conditioning to the lowest temperature before bed and slept all night without covering himself with a blanket.
"When he was delirious with fever, he kept saying... he wanted Mom and Dad to be together."
Michael's intentions weren't hard to guess, but Sophia felt heartbroken that he would use his own body as a bargaining chip.
As soon as she finished speaking, William's jacket landed on her shoulders.
Sophia looked up and found herself staring into his deep eyes, as if he had carved out a quiet space just for her. There was something dark spreading within that she couldn't understand, but it vanished in an instant.
Everything happened so suddenly that Sophia didn't have time to change clothes and came to the hospital directly in her pajamas. Although the air conditioning in the inpatient ward was quite cold, she had been so focused on the child that she hadn't felt cold.
The jacket still carried William's body warmth. Sophia stepped aside, "No need, thanks."
She returned the jacket to him and walked to the other side.
William had come in a hurry, not wearing a suit but casual clothes he'd grabbed from the closet before rushing over. His hair was also uncombed, and his eyes, under the messy bangs, were very bright.
In the quiet hospital corridor, she heard his voice, low and hoarse, "Just wear it. We already have one person who caught a cold at home."
Sophia shot him a look, "Watch what you say in public."
William fell silent.
He glanced at the time, "I'll have the driver take you back. I'll stay here."
Sophia said she wanted to wait until Michael's fever broke before she could feel at ease, but he looked at the bloodshot in her eyes and persuaded her, "Be good. Emily will worry if she wakes up and can't find you."
Be good?
She shuddered: "You sound so cringey."
Michael would need to stay in the hospital for at least several more days, and he would need to eat breakfast after his IV was done.
Sophia stayed with Michael for quite a while, but he didn't wake up. Looking at Michael sleeping peacefully inside, she decided to go back to pack some clean clothes for him and bring some food over.
William comforted her: "Michael will be fine."
Sophia responded with a faint acknowledgment.
William walked her out, his well-defined, delicate features outlined with extreme softness by the dim corridor lighting.
At the elevator, he seemed to want to say something, but Sophia didn't give him the chance.
William stood at the elevator entrance, not leaving for a long while.
Now his relationship with Sophia was cold and distant—except in front of the children, they had no other interaction.
Clearly, this should have been the kind of atmosphere William wanted most, so why did his heart feel so sour?
He put his hands in his pockets, his fingertips cold. After a long time, he slowly walked back to the ward.
The bodyguard who had been keeping Michael company inside saw him return and went to stand guard at the door.
In the room, pale and weak, Michael lay quietly on the hospital bed with fever-reducing medication dripping, looking very frail.
Seeing Emily's eyeballs moving under her eyelids and her eyelashes trembling slightly, clearly awake but not daring to open her eyes to look at him.
William didn't call him out on it. He brushed aside the child's hair that was stuck to his face from sweat and slowly sat down on the chair by the bed where Sophia had been sitting.
After waiting a long time without hearing William speak, Michael couldn't help but secretly half-open his eyes to look at him, only to be caught red-handed by a pair of smiling eyes.
William looked gently at his trembling, evasive eyes and asked, "You're awake. Do you still feel bad?"
Michael sniffled and nodded.
A large palm landed on his forehead again, gently stroking, "Don't do this again."
Michael mumbled: "Dad..."
"Michael, I know you're trying to bring your mom and me together, but there's one thing I hope you remember: no matter what it's for, you can't joke around with your own body."
His low voice carried the sound of fatherly love flowing through the air.
"To Dad and Mom, the health of you three siblings is more important than anything."
William's naturally superior brow bone and thick, long lashes cast faint shadows under the room's lighting, and those handsome eyes held all his patience and love.
Michael nodded as if he understood.
He thought William would definitely scold him once he knew the truth, but he didn't, which surprised him a bit.
But he really liked Dad the way he was now, and Mom too.
The sun gradually rose, the cicadas' chirping faded with the end of summer, and the crisp bird calls brought joyful songs.
Sophia went back to change clothes and brought breakfast and clean clothes for the child.
Michael, who had finished his IV, was in much better spirits, though his forehead still felt a bit warm to the touch.
She took out the breakfast she had specifically instructed the family chef to make light and unpacked it on the small table next to the hospital bed.
Sophia said to the child, "Should Mom feed you?"
Michael's eyes brightened, "Thank you, Mom."
Watching Sophia gently open the breakfast, the food still steaming, blowing on it, and only bringing it to his mouth when it wasn't hot anymore, his eyes were full of happiness.
He also secretly glanced at William's expression and felt relieved when he saw it wasn't bad.
The Smith family's education of their heirs had always required self-reliance.
William didn't miss Michael's little glances and felt helpless about Sophia indulging Michael's behavior.
Looking at the same food as Michael's in front of him, William raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and silently ate this long-missed Johnson family breakfast.
The child only knew that getting sick would keep Mom and Dad by his side, not knowing his own limits. This high fever came on suddenly—if it hadn't been discovered in time, he would have burned himself silly.
After breakfast, Michael fell asleep.
Since they were staying at a hospital under the Peace Group, the ward was naturally the best executive suite available.
It even came with a private study, which was convenient for William, who needed to handle work.
As for Sophia, she sat on the living room sofa video calling Emily.
Emily was crying to come see Michael, threatening to cry if they didn't let her come. James, who hadn't gone to class, also wanted to come.
Having no choice, she had Allan bring extra bodyguards to escort the two children over.
When James led Emily into the room, Sophia was reviewing the latest project data from the lab.
She took the two children to check on Michael sleeping in the inner room, then had them play in the living room. Allan had packed many toys, and they played quietly to avoid waking Michael.
Sophia sat to the side, looking at data, occasionally turning to check on the two children.
James was helping Emily draw.
She could faintly hear the sound of a meeting coming from the study.
Emily had just finished drawing a family portrait when she turned and saw the study door that wasn't fully closed, and the man inside.
She looked at Sophia, then at James, who was absorbed in drawing, and carrying her artwork, walked on her happy little legs, and pushed open the study door.
William was looking stern, about to coldly rebuke his subordinate for incompetence, when he felt his pant leg tighten.