As Thomas spoke, he then waved toward the door.
A bald little boy walked into the room.
"Nate, come here and say hello to Uncle James," Thomas said gently.
Nate, the boy, looked hesitant to enter. However, Thomas took his hand and brought him to my bedside gently. This hurt me.
This boy was the child Eleanor had with Thomas. That year, she told me she went abroad to expand the market. But now I realized it was a lie.
Suddenly, Thomas placed his hand on Eleanor’s belly.
"Nate, come and feel it. There is your little brother in here. He will save your life. Just wait a few more months and everything will be okay. No one will feel pain again," he said softly.
His words pierced my heart. They were like sharp needles.
Even if I agreed to let Eleanor give birth to this child, how could a newborn baby possibly donate bone marrow? That was impossible.
It felt like they were planning to kill my child.
My mind went completely blank. I looked at Eleanor for an explanation. She was smiling at Thomas and his mother like nothing was wrong.
Deep inside, she might really agree with everything Thomas was saying.
"Eleanor," I asked slowly.
"Do you want to trade one life for another, don’t you?"
"What will you do if the match fails?"
Her expression turned cold and hard.
"There is no 'if.' That won’t happen," she replied.
"My child must not be sacrificed for anyone," I said firmly.
"If this baby dies, then that’s on you!"
Eleanor glared at me.
"If the child dies, then so be it. That’s your fault!" she snapped.
I pointed at Thomas. My emotions exploded.
"Shut up!" I shouted.
Eleanor grabbed a water cup and threw it to the ground. Her eyes were full of fury. But the next moment, she changed her expression and ran into Thomas’s arms, acting like she was deeply hurt.
Thomas held his hands over Nate’s ears and cried quietly.
He then looked at me with confusion. For a second, I felt regret. I wanted to explain myself.
But Thomas spoke first. Tears filled his eyes.
"Eleanor, it’s all my fault. I cannot save our Nate because I’m infertile. James is right to hate me. I should have never fallen in love with you."
He continued, "But Nate is just a child. He did nothing wrong. If I could take his place, I would."
"I didn’t mean anything by making the full English breakfast. I only hoped James could take good care of him."
"I understand now why you brought me here today. You want me to accept reality. James doesn't want to save Nate. You didn’t want to say it out loud because you didn’t want to hurt me."
"Eleanor, it’s okay. This is my and Nate’s fate … "
His act worked immediately. Eleanor looked terrified, more than I had ever seen before. She held his shoulders tightly and began making promises.
"Thomas, listen to me. Don’t think like that. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise Nate will be okay."
"I love you. I love Nate. Don’t you remember? We’re supposed to go on a family trip to Europe together!"
"I will definitely save our son. If this child doesn’t match, then I’ll have another one with someone else!"
"I, Eleanor, have money and power. Not even death can take my son away!"
Her words were meant to comfort Thomas, but to me, they were like a knife to my heart.
It seemed that Eleanor forgot that all her money, her status and everything she had came from me. She had already taken everything from me. And now, she wanted to crush what was left of my pride and dignity.
My voice turned cold.
"Stop this," I said.
"Let’s end things peacefully, Eleanor. Let’s not hurt each other anymore."
It was like she didn’t hear me at all.
After Eleanor placed Thomas and Nate in the hospital's VIP ward, she came back to see me.
"Don’t say those things in front of Thomas again. He will feel guilty."
I didn’t answer. I stayed silent.
Seeing me like that, she continued, "James, I know you are angry. But if a married couple keeps talking about divorce, it will hurt their relationship. You know I will never divorce."
