Chapter 13
Louise looked down and suddenly noticed that the light outside the courtyard was on, and Melvin was closing the door.
She immediately walked downstairs and shouted at Melvin, “Melvin.”
Melvin turned around and respectfully asked, “Miss Adkins, haven’t you slept yet?”
“Hmm. I was awakened by something just now. I found Brian wasn’t in the house. Where did he go?”
Melvin lowered his eyes slightly, but his mind was turning quickly. He calmly said, “It seems the company has something urgent.”
“Really?” Louise pursed her lips.
“I’m not sure about the specifics,” Melvin replied.
Louise nodded and turned back to the room.
Not long after, Brian and Grace arrived at the hospital. Grace followed Dr. Ford’s instructions and found Dr. Stewart. Dr. Stewart nodded to her and took her to the second floor while saying to Brian, “The family is outside. I’ll take her for a check–up first.” Brian nodded slightly.
Dr. Stewart closed the door and said to Grace, “Follow me.” Dr. Stewart led her through a door, through a corridor, and up to the third floor, which was the OB/GYN department.
After the examination, Grace asked anxiously, “Doctor, how is it? Is there anything wrong with the baby?”
“There is a slight bleeding. Did you stand too long today?”
Grace nodded.
“Remember not to stand like this again. I’ll give you some medicine later, and you’ll have to take a drip. Then you have to rest well when you get home.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll take you downstairs.”
Brian received a call from Melvin, who repeated everything Louise had asked him. Brian had just hung up the phone when he saw Grace walking out with the doctor.
He narrowed his eyes and asked, “How is she?”
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“She may have hurt her stomach by not eating on time. Dr. Ford also said she had a stomach problem. It have worsened a bit because of not eating on time. In addition, she has a little anemia, which is her old problem,” Dr. Stewart told him. Brian breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll prescribe some medication for her, and she’ll need an IV tonight.”
“Okay.”
Grace went into the hospital room, lost in her thoughts, while Brian followed her inside. It didn’t take long before a nurse hooked her up to the IV.
“Aren’t you going back?” Grace asked, seeing him still seated in the room.
“Why? Does my presence bother you?” Brian glanced at her, furrowing his brow, his tone sour.
“No.”
Deep down, she longed for his company, but after these past two years, especially since Louise arrived, she understood she shouldn’t expect kindness from him. Yet today, Brian surprisingly showed an
unprecedented tenderness, even telling her, “Go to sleep. I’ll stay here watching the drip. I’ll leave once the IV’s done.”
Grace was taken aback by this attention, even questioning if she had misheard. She hadn’t thought he could be so caring.
After a while, his phone suddenly rang. Grace could guess who would call Brian at such a late hour.
Sure enough, the next second, she heard Brian gently say into the phone, “Louise.”
Louise’s voice trembled. “Brian, where did you go? I had a terrible dream and wanted to find bedroom was empty. I’m so scared!”
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“There was an emergency at the company.” Brian glanced at Grace on the hospital bed, his eyebrows lightly knitted. He spoke to the phone, “Alright, go to sleep first. There are plenty of people at home. You’ll be fine.”
Louise’s voice fell silent momentarily as if she hadn’t expected him to say that. In that silence, Brian felt a strong sense of disappointment coming from the other end of the call. Suddenly, he felt a heavy burden in his heart.
“Okay, then… I’ll wait for you to come back.” Louise bit her lip, her voice trembling.
“Louise, you don’t have to wait…” Before he could finish, Louise hung up the phone, and all Brian heard was the beeping sound of the disconnected call,
After the call ended, Brian looked at his phone, his forehead creased in a frown.
On the hospital bed, Grace gave a bitter smile. “You should go. I don’t need someone to keep me company.”
Brian retorted harshly, “Enough talk! You’re sick, and you still have the energy to blabber?”
“I have the call button here. When I need to change the drip, I’ll use it. You better go home and keep Miss Adkins company. Hurting Miss Adkins would probably trouble you, wouldn’t it!?”
“When did you become so eloquent?” Brian squinted.
“I’m just stating the facts,” Grace replied.
Brian scoffed. “Don’t assume others are as petty as you are. Louise won’t mind this kind of thing!”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Grace self–mockingly laughed, turning away from him and falling silent.
Brian glanced at his phone, becoming hesitant. He wanted to stay with Grace, yet he also wanted to be with Louise. He didn’t know what to do.
His phone suddenly received a text message from Louise. [Brian, I can’t sleep. I want to come to the office to find you. Can I?]
Seeing the message, Brian’s heart sank. Eventually, he stood up from the chair. “I’ll leave. Call the nurse if you need anything.”
Upon hearing this, Grace’s heart plummeted. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek, absorbed by the pillow. She inwardly mocked herself, realizing she should have anticipated this outcome. She felt
foolish for believing Brian would actually stay. Now, she paid the price for her foolishness, having to endure the immense pain of this disappointment.
Brian headed straight for the elevator. Once the elevator arrived, he seemed to remember something and turned back to find the doctor.
Seeing his demeanor, Dr. Stewart asked, “Sir, are you planning to leave?”
“She’s been unwell lately. Are there any other health issues she might have?”
Dr. Stewart’s expression turned icy. Now she understood why Grace wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret. Brian seemed utterly indifferent to Grace’s condition, and as her husband, he planned to leave first. In her mind, she couldn’t help but curse Brian as heartless. Despite finding his handsome face appealing, his terrible personality made her feel disgusted.
“Her poor health isn’t solely due to physical reasons. There might be significant psychological trauma as well. If her family could show more care to improve her mood, her physical health would naturally follow. Have you ever seen someone who’s always gloomy with good physical health?” Dr. Stewart’s tone carried a hint of reproach.
“I understand.” Brian pressed his thin lips, his expression somewhat complicated. After saying that, he turned and left.
Dr. Stewart didn’t expect that, even with her blunt words, he chose to leave. She couldn’t fathom what could be so important for Brian to abandon his wife like this.
She sighed, lamenting, “Men nowadays really can’t be relied upon!”
Brian rushed home only to find Louise crouched in a corner, crying.
“Brian, you’re finally back! I was so scared.” Louise saw him and rushed over, hugging his waist while crying.
Suddenly, she caught a faint, elusive fragrance on his clothes, definitely not Brian’s cologne.
“Why didn’t you turn on the lights?” Brian switched on the lights.
Louise shook her head. “I wanted to sleep, but when the lights are off, I get scared and can’t move.”