When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in an unfamiliar hospital room.
“Water…”
My throat burned with dryness and my voice came out weak and broken. I didn’t expect anyone to answer me in the dim light.
“Faye, you’re awake?”
It was Dustin. His voice was full of joy and excitement.
I frowned and quietly pulled my hand out of his grip. Before I learned about his affair with Giselle, before I knew what he had done to my Noah, I would have melted into that familiar warmth.
Now, every touch from him only made my stomach turn.
“Faye, you’re pregnant. Why didn’t you tell me? This is my fault. I’ve been too busy lately. I didn’t take good care of you.”
He gently touched my lower belly and looked at me with tender eyes.
But cold sweat instantly broke out across my body. I tried to sit up, to get away from him, but I had just woken up and had no strength at all.
“Giselle wants to apologize. You know Jonah is still just a child…”
I waved my hand to stop him. “I’m tired. I want to rest.”
I quietly turned my back to him. Three minutes later, I heard him talking to Giselle on the phone.
“Dustin, I really didn’t mean it. I was just scared when I saw Jonah fall. What mother wouldn’t protect her child? If Faye is angry, I’m willing to kneel and apologize, as long as she doesn’t blame Jonah.”
Her words tightened something in my chest.
Yes. What mother wouldn’t protect her child?
And I failed.
The image of Noah lying on the cremation table forced its way into my mind. His bright eyes would never open again. His once rosy cheeks had turned pale from massive blood loss.
And the hollow place in his chest after his heart was taken out…
Everything reminded me how unworthy I was to be a mother.
My hand slowly moved to my lower belly. There was a new life here now. This time, no matter what, I had to protect this child.
“I’ve already talked to Faye. She’ll forgive you. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Jonah. You’re the most important people in my world.”
“Then… will Faye still be willing to give stem cells from the baby in her belly to help Jonah’s immunity? You won’t stop caring about Jonah just because she’s pregnant, right?”
Her words slithered into my ears like poison. She still wanted to hurt the child inside me.
And Dustin’s answer made my heart sink into ice.
“No. You and Jonah will always come first. As for the stem cells, I’ll make Faye agree.”
I covered my mouth and tried hard not to cry. Dustin, who was deeply immersed in his sweet talk with Giselle, did not notice me at all. He hurried toward the underground parking lot where they had agreed to meet.
Half an hour later, Giselle appeared in front of my hospital bed.
“Faye, how should I thank you? You really are the lifesaver of me and my son.”
“If your unlucky son had not died, how could my Jonah become the only future heir of the Arnell Group?”
“You killed my child.” I looked at her with burning hatred in my eyes.
She didn’t care. She gently touched her chest.
“You really are impressive. You took a company on the edge of bankruptcy and brought it to the stock market. But unfortunately, you’re a failed wife. And an even worse mother.”
Every word pierced straight into the deepest wound in my heart. She knew exactly where to stab.
Before I realized what I was doing, I grabbed her by the neck and slammed her down onto the bed. Her face turned red from lack of air, yet there was still mockery in her eyes.
She lifted a thin finger and pressed hard against her chest.
“Here. This is your son’s heart. If I die, the last trace of him in this world disappears too.”
“Go on. Use more strength.”
I instantly pulled my hands back.
As I watched her walk out laughing wildly, I tremblingly sent a message to Javier Frost.
[The plan has changed. Help me investigate something.]
