Easton didn't catch Leonora's quiet, pain-stricken murmur. Lowering his head, he gently pulled the blanket over his wife. "Get some rest. I'll check on you later."
He had no intention of arguing with her while she was in such an unpredictable mood.
"Leonora, you're picking on Susannah again." The harsh demand echoed as the ward door slammed heavily against the wall with a jarring bang.
A tall man strode into the room, his face bearing an eighty-percent resemblance to Leonora's, brimming with fury. When his eyes landed on her deathly pale face, he hesitated for a brief second before his tone grew even more aggressive.
"You knew today was Susannah's birthday, yet you had to stir up trouble this late at night? Who are you trying to spite?" Bryce Sedgwick glared at Leonora lying on the hospital bed, his anger flaring. "Is making the entire family miserable the only thing that brings you joy?"
He was convinced Leonora was merely feigning illness to ruin Susannah's celebration.
Leonora clenched her fists. She lay helpless on the mattress, her entire body wracked with excruciating pain, yet her own brother could only cross-examine her on why she was sick and why she had come to the hospital.
A suffocating wave of sorrow washed over her.
"Can a person pick and choose the exact day they fall ill?" she shot back coldly, her raspy voice laced with sharp irony.
Bryce's eyes flared with disgust and impatience. "Fine, I won't argue about your illness. Answer me this: Susannah came here purely out of goodwill. Why did you make her cry?"
Just outside in the hallway, he had clearly seen Susannah wiping away tears.
There was no doubt in his mind-Leonora must have bullied her.
She had always been like this, armed with a venomous tongue, acting as if the entire world owed her something.
Leonora looked past Bryce's shoulder and saw Susannah standing there with crimson eyes, weeping softly with an air of delicate vulnerability.
"Bryce, please... it has nothing to do with her. I just... I just got something in my eye."
Such an explanation only added fuel to the fire.
Sure enough, Bryce's brow furrowed tightly. "Leonora, drop those petty, malicious schemes of yours. Let me make one thing clear: the Sedgwick family owes you nothing, and Susannah owes you even less."
"Bryce, stop it. She's still pregnant," Susannah pleaded, tugging gently at his arm. "Besides, it's my fault. I knew she was expecting, but I still insisted on keeping Easton with me to celebrate my birthday. That's why she ended up in the hospital..."
As she spoke, tears as large as raindrops began streaming down her cheeks once more.
Leonora dug her fingernails into her palms, forcing herself to swallow the rage boiling in her chest.
She didn't want to engage in this futile argument-after all, she would be the only one left suffering in the end.
Yet Bryce had no intention of letting it go. "Plenty of women get pregnant every day. What makes her so special?"
"That's enough," Easton interrupted, frowning. While he agreed that Leonora was being unreasonable, Bryce was clearly crossing a line.
Bryce, however, was far too consumed by resentment to stop. Sneering coldly, he spat out, "Pretending to be sick now... who knows if she'll use the baby as a pawn for something else later?"
"With such a spiteful and neurotic mother, the child in her belly is doomed to suffer anyway."
If Easton's cold skepticism had been a blade piercing her heart, Bryce's cruel words were a barrage of arrows tearing her to pieces.
Leonora trembled violently with rage. Grabbing her pillow, she hurled it at Bryce with all the strength left in her, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Get out. Get the hell out of here."
Tears spilled continuously from her despairing, pain-filled eyes.
She had long given up on expecting Bryce to be a decent brother, but even so, he had no right to say something so atrocious.
Bryce brushed the pillow aside, his temper flaring out of control. "Did I say something wrong? The baby isn't even born yet, and you're already using it to stage a fake illness. Aren't you afraid the child might actually die in your womb?"
Those words were downright malicious.
"I said enough." Easton snapped, fixing Bryce with a dark, warning glare.
Though he too was exasperated by Leonora's outburst, he could not tolerate anyone speaking about his wife and unborn child in such a vile manner.
"I told you all to get out." Leonora's eyes were bloodshot. Scrambling up from the mattress, she grabbed whatever was within arm's reach and threw it at Bryce as if he were her mortal enemy.
Easton quickly seized her wrist and pulled her back toward his side. His deep frown betrayed his growing displeasure. "Leonora, haven't you made enough of a scene?"
Leonora suddenly went dead silent. Tears trickled down her pale, ghostly cheeks, while her bloodshot eyes burned with a terrifying, venomous hatred.
"You get out too."
Her pale lips parted slightly, spelling out the words with absolute coldness and disdain.
"Leonora." Easton's patience snapped, his voice dropping to a heavy, threatening register.
"Leonora, please don't get so worked up. Think about the baby." Susannah rushed forward, reaching out as if to support her, her delicate eyes brimming with deep concern.
"Don't touch me." Leonora violently yanked her wrist free from Easton's grip and lashed out to keep Susannah away. The sudden movement was so chaotic that her hand struck the back of Susannah's hand.
Susannah clutched her hand, letting out a sharp cry of pain. "Ah."
"Leonora Sedgwick." Bryce roared, stepping forward as if he wanted to tear her apart alive. "Susannah was only trying to care for you, and you physically attacked her."
"Apologize to her right now."
A searing, excruciating pain surged from deep within her lower abdomen. Leonora trembled uncontrollably, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.
She bit her lip until it almost bled to suppress the agonizing scream rising in her throat.
"It's not her fault... I was just careless," Susannah stammered through her tears, her voice shaking pitifully.
"Easton, are you just going to stand there and watch?" Seeing that Leonora remained motionless, Bryce turned his furious gaze directly upon Easton.
Leonora raised her head to look at Easton as well. Even though she knew all too well what kind of man her husband was, in this haze of unbearable agony, a faint, foolish glimmer of hope still flickered within her.
If Easton cared even a little bit, if he paid any actual attention to her, he would surely realize that something was terribly wrong.
"Leonora, Susannah came here with good intentions. You're taking this too far," Easton said, lowering his eyes, his tone laced with absolute detachment.
Leonora forced herself to stand upright. Her long hair cascaded messily over her shoulders, framing a face that was unnaturally drained of color.
Her dark, hollow eyes locked onto Easton, her voice chillingly quiet: "Easton... didn't you hear? He just cursed your child to death."
She had been lying on that hospital bed, her face paper-white and frail, yet Easton assumed she was merely faking an illness. Bryce had cursed their child to die, yet Easton remained indifferent. She had done nothing more than push Susannah away, accidentally brushing against her hand, and he accused her of going too far.
Such blatant, unapologetic favoritism.
A profound sense of pity for herself rushed through Leonora.
She possessed neither the love of her husband nor the affection of her family.
All she ever received was endless suspicion and cruel humiliation.
She truly had no idea how utterly worthless her position as his wife was in Easton's heart.
"Bryce didn't mean it like that," Susannah spoke up, offering an apology on Bryce's behalf. "He only said those things because he was worried about me. Leonora, I apologize to you on his behalf."
Bryce cast a grateful look at Susannah, his affection for his younger sister deepening. Naturally, his resentment toward Leonora grew all the more intense.
"Everyone, leave," Easton commanded slowly, his brow furrowed as he stared at Leonora. "Continuing this commotion will only harm the baby."
Leonora gritted her teeth, but the sharp, tearing agony in her lower abdomen suddenly intensified. Her vision flickered and turned completely pitch black. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she collapsed heavily onto the floor.
