Chapter 88: Misunderstanding About The Child

Inside the hospital room, only Matthew was speaking, while Flora remained silent, her lips sealed, saying nothing.

After about ten minutes, the door to the room opened again, and the doctor standing outside addressed the person inside:

"The family should step outside to let the patient rest, don't bother her too much."

Matthew stared deeply into Flora's brown eyes, as if he was hopeful she would speak.

But she merely closed her eyes, avoiding eye contact.

Not receiving the response he longed for, Matthew had no choice but to leave.

His mind was filled with thoughts about his relationship with Flora, completely oblivious to the unusually intense gaze of the attending physician.

Once he had left, the doctor stepped into the room.

She first cautiously locked the door, then pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed.

The doctor removed her mask, revealing the kind face of a middle-aged woman in her forties to fifties.

She checked the bandages on Flora's wounds, seeing no blood soaking through the gauze, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Flora dear, when will you stop making your mother and me worry? You're in your late twenties, but still behave like a pubescent girl.

Stabbing yourself... you are really..." She glared at the woman she considered a daughter, who was putting on an innocent face: "You're so reckless! What if something serious had happened, how would I explain it to your mother?"

"Aunt Eirlys." Flora looked up at her mother's close friend, bracing herself to sit up: "I had no other choice, I was at a dead end.

Though this choice was truly stupid, it was the only way I could think of to protect myself, and to protect... my child." Her hand gently caressed her slightly protruding abdomen.

Her child had already suffered enough.

When she first learned of the child's existence, she hadn't had a chance to tell the father, Matthew, before he disappeared.

She had barely managed to wait for his return when one problem after another cropped up.

She felt forced to use this last resort.

Only by making those lurking predators outside believe that her child was gone, could she ensure its safety.

She didn't interact much with the underworld, but her intuition told her that the current situation was extremely unstable.

No one could guarantee her and her child's safety, except herself.

"I've checked for you, the baby is still healthy, though slightly undernourished.

I'll find a way to have Matthew hire a caregiver that I arrange for you." She frowned slightly: "But this time, you scared him and made him worry.

After everything is over, the two of you..."

"Aunt, you don't need to worry about that.

I know my decision is unfair to him.

I will resolve our issues myself.

You've always said that I'm an adult now."

Flora had her own thoughts.

Matthew didn't trust her, didn't want to listen to her explanations, and didn't believe that the baby in her womb was his.

Their relationship had really hit a deadlock and become stifling, it needed a turning point to resolve the conflicts and return to the way things were.

This move of hers was also a way to break the current stalemate.

Granted, it was unfair to Matthew.

She admitted to harboring some vengeful feelings.

Why could he arbitrarily doubt her feelings, push her aside, refuse to listen to her explanations? If she had encountered this situation and he had been indifferent, then their relationship should end here.

Luckily, he did not disappoint her, his reaction helped her understand that deep down, he still cared for her and their child.

Temporary conflicts can be resolved.

Once love has run dry, the only choice is to let each other go to find their own happiness.

"Alright, I won't say more, lest you call me a nagging old woman.

Rest here for a while, until these wounds heal, then go back to your mother, let her 'educate' you." After a pause, she sighed: "I'm old now, my heart isn't what it used to be.

Don't scare me like this next time."

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

Aunt Eirlys startled, suddenly remembering something: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, someone special has come to see you."

The gleaming pair of leather shoes entered her line of sight.

She smiled faintly: "You two chat, I'll go handle some work and will visit later, alright?"

In this interval, Matthew was far from idle.

No sooner had he left the hospital than he received a call. Immediately, he changed direction and sped towards the outskirts.

His car roared like a bullet through the desolate streets, finally halting before a decrepit warehouse.

Passing through the iron doors, the sight within the warehouse was in stark contrast to the dilapidated exterior.

Familiar with the path, Matthew walked ahead, accepting a pair of gloves from an underling and smoothly donning them.

"Ethelbert is moving exactly as we had anticipated, our men are subtly leading him on. You can rest easy about this, boss." The underling was speaking rapidly: "And inside is the one who harmed Miss Flora.

She is a temporary maid from the Patrick's house, who ran away as soon as the incident happened.

Our people had a hard time tracing her, there's a high possibility someone deliberately covered for her." It wouldn't be surprising if someone intentionally erased the traces because a normal maid, with no grudges against Flora, wouldn't randomly plot against her.

Someone is definitely manipulating behind the scenes.

While waiting for the doctors to assess Flora's injuries, Matthew had become more alert.

He called his subordinates, ordering them to investigate the incident between Flora and Patrick.

At the beginning, he hesitated to approach the truth.

But now, he suddenly thought, he should pursue to the end, seeking a clear answer.

Unexpectedly, before he requested, some of his subordinates had taken the initiative to find clues and investigate.

Thus, the subsequent investigation went more smoothly than expected.

The woman in question was quite young, barely over twenty, with short hair and wearing baggy clothes, as if intentionally disguising her appearance.

From the moment she was bound to the chair, her expression shifted from furious to terrified and ultimately silent.

It seemed she had guessed, being captured here, her fate would not be pleasant.

The dark room suddenly flashed for a moment.

Her eyes, struck by the abrupt light, quickly shut.

When she opened them, two men were now in the room.

One tall and handsome, but with a poker face, the other was one of the people who had brought her here.

"Who are you? Let me go! Kidnapping is illegal, I will call the police!" As soon as the tape was ripped from her mouth, she started to yell..

"Patrick..." Flora's brown eyes widened in shock, looking at the man who had just entered: "You..." She really didn't know what to say to him.

They were once childhood friends, the closest to each other, never hiding anything.

Even recently, she still considered him a special existence in her life.

Even if they couldn't be together, even if they couldn't be a couple, he would forever be her Patrick.

Only, she didn't understand why he acted the way he did.

She's not a fool, if he hadn't agreed to it, how could someone else take advantage?

She could easily guess who was behind everything, but she couldn't guess his thoughts.

"Flora..." The man maintained his usual gentle demeanor, a bouquet in hand, hesitated outside the hospital room, not daring to step in.

"Come in already." Flora sighed: "Come in, sit down, and tell me what happened... Patrick, I always thought I knew you, but now I realize, you aren't the Patrick I knew.

Why, exactly?"

Patrick couldn't bear to look straight into the beautiful yet pale and exhausted face of Flora.

He bowed his head, catching sight of her emaciated arm with a needle feeding her a bag of blood.

The red blood slowly flowed into her veins.

Slowly, he followed her instruction, entering the room and sitting down.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't accept your apology.

I need an explanation." Sorry? She had heard too many apologies, to the point that she didn't want to hear them anymore.

"But... Flora... apart from apologizing, I truly don't know..." Patrick's voice choked: "Don't know what else to say to you..."

"So are you apologizing to me, or to the child in my womb? Patrick, we're both adults, you should know that sometimes an apology can't solve the problem." Flora spoke calmly, her voice barely a whisper, as if she didn't have much energy to waste on talking.

Pausing for a breath, she continued: "Actually, I don't blame you, I mean it, because I believe you wouldn't want to hurt me.

I just need an explanation, I want to know why you agreed to her plan." She had no feelings for Patrick, she didn't blame him either.

Because she knew, the person behind it all wasn't him.

With a long, languid sigh, Patrick let the words seep into the room: "She told me that if I did as she said, everything would return to its original orbit." He was forever haunted by regret, the aftermath of a moment's folly where he relinquished her hand, obliterating any chance of being by her side.

Hence, in a blink of myopic trust, he listened to the venomous lies: "Matthew will return to her, and you... you will return to my side."

Flora's gaze froze upon him, her silence stretching across long, ponderous moments.

She had thought he let go long ago, never imagining that the crux of everything was this painfully simple.