“Sophie, don’t be angry.” Sophie quickly grabbed his arm. When she turned, her eyes were full of apology. “Grace, he’s just too nervous right now. Don’t take it personally. By the way, why did you come to the hospital?”
“My daughter is sick.” My throat tightened, and my voice barely escaped between clenched teeth.
Charles sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Why are you pretending?”
“Why would I joke about my child’s life?” I tightened my grip on the payment slip in my hand.
“Aren’t you a repeat offender?” His eyes were icy knives. “You used dirty tricks to force me into marriage.”
Sophie quickly stepped forward, trying to smooth things over. “Sophie, stop.”
She turned to me with a fake smile. “I heard Emily’s birthday is next week. How about we celebrate it together? Maybe it’s time Emily officially acknowledges his ancestry.”
Because Charles' parents thought it shameful that I married Charles, almost no one knew about our wedding, and they refused to let us register our marriage.
To this day, Emily lives with me but has no official name or status.
This was the one thing I cared about most. I had raised it many times with the Shaw family, only to be met with silence.
Sophie took my arm gently. “When the time comes, we’ll register Emily’s household registration.”
I said nothing.
Charles glanced at me impatiently but reluctantly nodded at Sophie’s request.
I turned and walked away. Behind me, I heard their whispered conversation.
“Sophie, I told you, Grace was your ex-wife and your stepsister. Please don’t treat her like this all the time. Just for my sake, okay?” Sophie’s voice was soft.
Charles sneered. “She’s always been good at playing the victim. Do you really believe her?”
I didn’t stay any longer. I hurried back to the clinic.
The doctor treating Emily was an old friend of Charles’s.
He noticed my frown. “Emily’s heart still needs surgery. You have to be prepared mentally.”
“When Charles came back, I told him there was a suitable heart match. Did he tell you?”
Have you told him?!
I was stunned. “When?”
He thought for a moment. “About three years ago.”
Three years ago.
Suddenly I remembered—we had reached out to each other then.
When I asked about Emily’s condition, his voice was indifferent, like it wasn’t his problem.
“I checked. No suitable treatment for now. We can only manage it conservatively.”
Then he hung up.
It felt like a lightning strike.
There was a suitable heart match all along. Why did he hide it? Why did he let Emily suffer for three long years?
I closed my eyes, tears slipping down my cheeks.
He didn’t just not care about me—he disregarded Emily’s life.
My phone suddenly rang. It was Charles.
I answered, heart heavy with disappointment and hate. His voice came through cold and commanding.
“Hurry home and pack your things. Don’t think you can get away with anything just because I agreed to let Emily enter the family registry.”
“Emily is my daughter. She carries Shaw's blood, so she deserves an identity. But you? You have nothing to do with this family. Don’t covet what isn’t yours.”
“If you know what’s good for you, be grateful and come back now. Pack up your things in your room and move to the backyard!”
I listened to his harsh words and thought of all the pain Emily had suffered these past three years.
I couldn’t help but sneer silently.
The me who once begged him so desperately now seemed utterly ridiculous.
