Chapter 4

Sophia's POV

The moment Jonathan saw the blood at the corner of my mouth, he instinctively let go of Irene.

Panic flashed across his face. "Sophia, are you okay? I didn't mean to…"

Just as he took a step toward me, Irene burst into tears.

She clung to her arm and put on a wounded expression.

"I was just here to thank Sophia for delivering my baby. I didn't think she'd throw your divorce agreement in my face and call me a homewrecker."

Tears streamed down her face as she covered her cheek and pretended to be frightened. "I told her that we really love each other, and she slapped me. She even told me to get out of our apartment."

As Jonathan's expression darkened, a flicker of triumph crossed Irene's face.

She lifted her chin and shot me a smug grin.

Without hesitating, Jonathan yanked me out of the hospital bed.

"Apologize to Irene," he roared.

I fell to the floor and looked up at him.

Then, I laughed. "What part of what she said isn't true? Why should I apologize? Well, she got one thing wrong. She's not the other woman. She's the seventh one."

"You—"

Irene burst into tears and collapsed into Jonathan's arms.

I pulled myself to my feet, gave Jonathan one last cold look, and headed for the door.

"What if people start calling our baby a bastard because she won't apologize?" Irene cried. "I'd rather die than let my child go through all that!"

In the blink of an eye, someone grabbed my wrist.

Jonathan looked at me with so much contempt that he might as well have been looking at his sworn enemy.

"Apologize."

Then, he issued a threat. "Don't forget that your grandmother is still in the intensive care unit. She's only alive because of the medical resources I provide."

He pulled out his phone and called Timothy.

"Stop producing Mrs. Yeager Senior's medication."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at the man in front of me.

He knew my grandmother, Susan Larson, was the only family I had left in this world, yet he was threatening to take her life for Irene's sake.

Jonathan glanced at his watch impatiently. "Without that medication, her condition will worsen within three days."

Even though my legs felt like they were made of lead, I turned around.

Tears filled my eyes as I forced myself to apologize to Irene. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Irene timidly leaned against Jonathan.

"She doesn't seem to mean it. Is she really apologizing? She hit me, yet she doesn't even have to face any consequences for that? My face still hurts."

At some point, Jonathan had called for his bodyguards. One of them kicked me in the leg.

My knee slammed into the floor. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

Jonathan looked down at me. "Kneel and apologize to Irene. You're going to stay there until she believes you're sincere."

I didn't move.

He immediately made another call.

A voice came from the other end. "Jonathan? Where's my granddaughter?"

"Don't!"

I lunged forward, snatched the phone from him, and ended the call. "Don't tell my grandmother. She can't take this. I'll apologize."

And so, I knelt outside the hospital room and repeatedly apologized to Irene.

Passersby stopped and watched the scene unfold with excitement.

I lost track of how long I had been there. By then, my knees were badly swollen.

Irene covered her mouth and yawned. "Jonathan, I'm tired."

Jonathan immediately picked her up.

As he passed by me, he coldly said, "Consider this a lesson. Don't come after her again."

My strength gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor.

After some time, someone suddenly dumped urine on me.

"Is she that shameless quack doctor? She slapped a woman who just gave birth three days ago!"

"So she's Mr. Shaw's wife? Hasn't her husband fathered seven illegitimate children?"

"I can't believe someone like her can be so cruel. She's even on the news."

The sound coming from the television in the hospital room made me freeze.

I forced myself to stand and rushed toward my grandmother's room.

Chaos filled the room. Doctors were desperately trying to save her while footage of me kneeling on the floor played on the television.

When my grandmother saw me, her eyes widened.

She clutched my hand tightly. "Sweetheart, leave him. I can't keep being a burden to you."

After saying those words, her eyes stayed wide open.

Then, she stopped breathing.

I held her in my arms and stayed there until a shadow fell over me. "I'm sorry for being late."

"My grandmother's dead. I'll make sure none of them get away with this," I said hoarsely.

I looked up. My eyes were red, but I smiled. "You'll help me, won't you?"

…

Third-Person POV

Meanwhile, after tucking Irene in, Jonathan still couldn't shake the uneasiness weighing on him.

He called Timothy. "How is she?"

"Mr. Shaw, something bad happened. Mrs. Shaw sold all the company shares under her name at a massive loss. The stock market has crashed."

Just then, Jonathan happened to look up at the hospital's obituary board.

The names of those scheduled for burial were scrolling across the screen.

Among them was Susan's name.