Chapter 4

Water dripped from my hair onto my face, doing nothing to cool the burning ache in my heart.

My throat felt tight.

Jade opened the door and showed me the text message containing the positive diagnosis report.

She said aloud, "I'm talking to you here. I'm really pregnant."

She was smiling with undisguised joy.

I looked up at her and said in an eerily calm tone, "Then, tell me—How did you conceive when we haven't slept together in three months? Who's the child's actual father?"

Jade was caught off guard, her smile freezing on her lips. Her joy quickly receded like the tide.

She flung her phone to the floor, pointed a finger at me, and yelled angrily, "Aiden Shaw, you're slandering me! This… This child is clearly yours!"

As she spoke, she took on a look of utter disappointment.

"I knew it… All you do is beg for money. You contribute absolutely nothing to this family otherwise," she continued.

She spoke very softly but not softly enough that I couldn't make out every word.

She first gave Nicholas 200 thousand dollars, then another 50 thousand dollars.

Apart from the aforementioned 250 thousand dollars, her bank records showed that she'd transferred him a total of over 200 thousand dollars across multiple transactions.

Despite this, I couldn't even get her to lend me 30 thousand dollars.

Three months ago, she started refusing to let me touch her, using the excuse that she was busy.

And now, she was inexplicably pregnant.

I felt like the biggest cuckold in history, but she kept insisting that I was a greedy money-grubber.

I lay down in bed and turned away from her.

A short while later, a hand reached around my waist.

Every time she wanted some action in bed, she would first test the waters like this. In the past, I always went along with her, but I avoided her advances tonight.

My refusal clearly angered her.

She abruptly sat up and roughly grabbed the hem of my shirt.

"Let me guess—if I were to give you 30 thousand dollars right now, you'd do it with me. Am I right?"

I clutched the bedsheets and snapped quietly, "Jade! What do you take me for?"

With her gaze fixed on me, she asked coldly in return, "No, Aiden. What do you take me for? An emotionless wallet? You're pulling out the divorce card and giving me attitude just because I didn't lend you money. You even slandered me and accused my unborn child of being a bastard!

"In fact, you won't even fulfill your marital obligations right now. If you'll only sleep with me for money, how are you any different from an escort?"

Blood rushed to my head, and my teeth clacked together audibly.

I stared at Jade for a long time, long enough for my initial anger to fade away completely.

There was a suffocating silence in the air.

The young lady from years back who ran all across campus with my grandparents' medical records, begging people to let me remain as a student, no longer existed.

That night, Jade never returned after leaving the house.

The next morning, I visited a law firm.

Less than ten minutes after taking a seat, my phone rang.

"Am I speaking to Mr. Aiden Shaw? Your grandparents were involved in an accident and have been admitted to the local public hospital."

By the time I arrived at the hospital, my grandparents had both been wheeled into the operating room.

The nurse urged me to pay the bill quickly.

When I inserted my credit card, the payment terminal spat it right back out.

"Sir, your credit card is maxed out and can't be used," said the nurse.

Her words made my legs go weak.

"How's that possible? I just got this card."

A second later, my phone chimed with a notification, informing me of a transaction totaling over 30 thousand dollars that had just gone through.

The amount just so happened to match my credit card limit.

I could no longer afford to care about dignity or self-respect.

With gritted teeth, I dialed Jade's number.

A dial tone sounded through the receiver even as the nurse's urgent requests for payment rang in my ears.

The operating room's dazzling overhead lights shone in my eyes, and the heart rate monitor beeped unceasingly.

Jade answered the call promptly, almost as if she'd already been waiting for it.

"I'll pay for your grandparents' surgery, but in return, I want you to sign… a private settlement form," she stated immediately.

I felt like someone had ripped out a piece of my heart.

In a trembling voice, I asked, "What did you say?"

After a moment's silence, Jade slowly replied, "Nicholas was driving the car that hit them. He mistook the accelerator for the brakes…"

My ears rang, and my tongue refused to work.

Jade's voice softened for a change.

"Sign the private settlement form, and I'll pay for their surgery. Your grandparents have pretty much lived out their whole lives, but Nicholas' has only just begun! He didn't do it on purpose. He…"

My chest ached dully, as if someone had stabbed me ruthlessly with a knife.

My grandparents were on the verge of death, but Jade only cared about getting her favorite student acquitted of blame.

Before I could argue, the operating room's alarm suddenly started ringing.

Then, two stretchers covered with white sheets were wheeled out of it.

A doctor followed them out, shaking his head regretfully.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shaw. Their surgery was delayed for too long. You have my condolences," he said.

My head buzzed. I felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come.

The emergency doctor handed me a red piece of paper with tears in his eyes.

He explained, "Your grandmother asked me to give this to you before she closed her eyes for the last time."

I unfolded the paper with shaking hands.

It was the 30-thousand-dollar check I'd given them last night, except it was now stained red with blood.

It was such a glaring red.

I couldn't tell whether the blood on the check or the blood pooling next to my feet was redder in color.

As I slumped to the floor, I heard Jade's anxious voice in my ear.

"Aiden, hang in there! You haven't signed the settlement form with Nicholas yet!"

I grabbed her by the sleeve and glared fixedly at her.

"How do you two have the nerve to ask me for a settlement when you killed my grandparents?"

My phone chimed in my pocket.

I took out my phone and held it to my ear.

Then, while looking straight at Jade, I declared slowly, "Let's begin. I'll make sure both of you are completely ruined!"