Chapter 6

After that, Susan did exactly as she mentioned and pretended to act as if nothing had happened.

Just like she used to, she cooked for Shawn every day and brought all sorts of trinkets to the hospital to cheer him up. Afraid he'd get bored, she brought him his favorite books and came by every day to keep him company.

She even wiped him down, changed his bedpan, and helped him through his rehabilitation process without a single complaint.

"Your girlfriend treats you so well," the nurses couldn't help but praise. "I've worked at this hospital for the longest time, but I've never seen a woman take such good care of her boyfriend."

Upon hearing this, Shawn let out a wry laugh.

…

One day, after finishing his rehabilitation exercises, Shawn noticed something strange when he returned to his hospital room.

The people in the hallway were looking at him differently. Even the nurses who usually chatted with him were now flashing him contemptuous looks. While administering an IV, the nurse in charge of the procedure was deliberately rough, and she even missed his vein several times.

Wincing from the pain, Shawn sucked in a sharp breath and quietly asked, "Would you like to try the other hand?"

To his dismay, the nurse sneered. "You're a grown man, yet you willingly disgraced yourself by becoming a homewrecker? You even got beaten up until you landed in a hospital. Why are you whining about a tiny needle?"

Shawn's eyes widened; he had no idea what she was talking about.

"A homewrecker? What do you mean?"

The nurse yanked her hand away from him. "The news has already spread across the internet. You're a man who broke up somebody else's marriage."

She continued, "The woman who's been coming to see you every day must be the one who's having an affair with you. You knew she had a husband, yet you still threw yourself at her and tried to destroy her family. Have you no shame?"

The nurse's remarks made his heart ache.

With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone. The hottest trending topic at the moment was a scandal involving him.

"Rising Designer Accused of Plagiarism, Then Exposed for Breaking Up a Marriage," the headline read.

Shawn was getting berated all over the internet. To make matters worse, someone had even dug up his phone number and home address.

Not long after the story broke, his phone was bombarded with calls. When he accidentally answered one, he was immediately greeted with a barrage of vicious insults.

Moments later, his sister, Stella Carter, called.

"I saw the news. What's going on, Shawn? Why are they calling you a homewrecker?" she sobbed over the phone. "Some people came to our house. When Dad found out what happened, he got so angry that he had a heart attack. Please come and check on him!"

Shawn's mind went blank, and he immediately felt dizzy. Ignoring the fact that he was still recovering, he hailed a taxi and rushed to his father on crutches.

The moment he saw his elderly father lying unconscious in a hospital bed, he felt incredibly heartbroken.

How did this happen?

Shawn's eyes welled up with tears, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"What's with the online articles, Shawn? Haven't you and Susan been dating for eight years? How did you suddenly become a homewrecker?" Stella choked between sobs.

Shawn clenched his fists. He knew exactly who was behind this. It was none other than Henry Young.

He turned around and went straight to Henry. The moment he saw him, he punched him hard across the face.

The next second, Susan showed up and instantly stepped in front of Henry.

"What are you doing, Shawn?" she demanded.

"Are you aware of what he's done?" Shawn roared.

Susan frowned.

She had heard about the articles that were circulating online. She had also learned that Shawn's father, George Carter, had suffered a heart attack.

So, what?

"Your father's heart attack was caused by netizens with malicious intent. It has nothing to do with Henry. He never expected this to happen either.

"I'll arrange for the best doctors to treat your father, but this is no excuse for you to assault Henry. Apologize to him right now!" she demanded.

Upon hearing this, Shawn burst into laughter. "You want me to apologize to him? If he hadn't spread those lies online, my father would never have gotten a heart attack. If something happens to my father, he'd essentially be a murderer. Are you asking me to apologize to a murderer?"

Susan's expression darkened.

"Your father isn't dead yet, and Henry only posted a few things online because he was jealous. Do you really have to turn this into such a big deal?" she sneered.

As she spoke, she grabbed Shawn's hand and forced him to lower his head before Henry.

"Get down on your knees and apologize to Henry right now," she instructed. "If you do, I'll let this matter slide."

Shawn couldn't believe his ears. "No way!"

Seeing this, Henry instantly put on a sympathetic expression. In a phony voice, he said, "It's okay, Susan. Mr. Carter only acted rashly because he was angry. I don't blame him."

His false magnanimity only made Susan angrier. Turning toward Shawn, she growled, "You refuse to apologize? Fine. Let's see how long you can keep this up!"

With that, she turned and walked away without saying another word.

Shawn remained where he was, staring at her retreating figure. He had lost all feelings for Susan right then and there.

George was still lying unconscious in the hospital. The doctors had informed Shawn that there was nothing more they could do, and they could only hope for the best. Upon hearing this, Shawn felt extremely guilty and could no longer hold back his tears.

When he went to pay the medical bills the next day, the doctor suddenly told him, "Your card has been frozen. Would you like to try another one?"

Shawn went still.

This card belonged to his father. How could it be frozen?

He pulled out his own card and paid the bill. Just as he was about to call the bank, George's close friend, Martin Linfield, called him.

"Hey, Shawn. Did your father offend anyone recently? The company has been shut down. I asked around, and it looks like Langley Group is behind it.

"What happened? How did he manage to offend someone so influential?"

Color drained from Shawn's face.

It was Susan. She had shut down George's company.

After his mother died, George had raised him and Stella all by himself. Over the years, that small renovation company had been their family's only source of income.

Susan had shut it down and frozen every asset under George's name. But Stella was still in school, and George's medical treatment required a staggering amount of money.

Moments later, Shawn finally understood what Susan had meant the other day—she was trying to back him into a corner.