Chapter 3

“It’s all in the past. We’re both still young. We can have another child.”

Caleb’s body stiffened, and the smile on his face almost slipped.

He walked to Claire, bent down, and crouched in front of her.

“The reason I didn’t want you spending too much time with Serena was because I was afraid it would make you think of those painful things.

“Claire, I promise. I’ll make sure the culprit is brought to justice. I’ll get an answer for your grandma… and for our baby.”

Caleb’s face was solemn as he made the promise.

To Claire, the sight was absurd.

She said nothing. She only looked at him calmly.

Seeing her like this, Caleb frowned slightly.

“Claire?”

Guilt appeared in his eyes.

“It’s my fault. I’ve already hired a professional caregiver for Serena. From now on, I’ll stay with you, all right?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone he had left on the table began ringing urgently.

He answered it, and the sobs of a panicked woman came through on the other end.

“Caleb, what do I do? The baby keeps crying. I can’t calm him down…”

“Serena, don’t panic. I’m coming over now.”

Caleb gripped his phone and immediately started to leave.

Then he remembered the promise he had just made to his wife. He turned back awkwardly.

“Claire, Serena…”

This conversation felt painfully familiar.

Serena had called Caleb away countless times in the middle of the night.

In the past, Claire had never thought anything was wrong with it.

Now that she was finally awake, she thought back on everything that had happened and found herself almost laughably stupid.

How had she never noticed that Caleb and Serena had such an unclear, improper relationship?

Had he terminated her pregnancy just to make it easier for him to fool around with Serena?

Her heart went cold.

If she did not still need to avenge her grandma, she would have divorced him on the spot and told him to get out.

After a moment, Claire picked up her coat.

Meeting Caleb’s confused gaze, she said, “I’ll go with you.”

Caleb frowned but said nothing more.

When they arrived at the postnatal retreat and got out of the car, he draped his coat over Claire’s shoulders.

“Don’t catch a cold.”

On the way to the room, he was clearly anxious, but he still kept an arm around her.

Claire did not want him to notice anything wrong, so she let him.

“Caleb, I’m sorry to bother you so late. You…”

The moment they entered, Serena spoke in a soft, delicate voice. But when her eyes landed on Claire in Caleb’s arms, she froze.

Her eyes were already red, and now they filled with glittering tears.

Serena lowered her gaze to the baby lying in the crib and murmured, “If only Gideon were here. Then I wouldn’t have to bother the two of you at a time like this.”

“Serena, don’t say that.”

Caleb immediately let go of Claire and strode over, comforting Serena in a gentle voice.

Watching him bend down to wipe away Serena’s tears, Claire curled her lips coldly.

Then her gaze landed on the baby, who had started crying again in the crib.

The baby’s cries were short and weak, even fainter than they had been during the day. His skin was beginning to show an abnormal purplish-red tinge.

Her brows tightened at once, and she stepped forward to check on the baby.

This was why Claire had come with him.

She needed more cards in her hand.

If there really was something wrong with the child, and she managed to help, she would have one more bargaining chip when negotiating with Gideon.

However, just as she was about to reach the crib, Serena picked up the baby before she could.

“Caleb, you’ve been taking care of him since he was born. Maybe he only wants you to hold him. Could you try soothing him?”

Then she looked at Claire apologetically.

“Claire, you don’t need to trouble yourself here. Why don’t you go home and rest?”

Serena said happily to Caleb, “See? I told you the baby missed you. The moment you held him, he stopped crying.”

Claire looked up.

The baby’s cries had stopped abruptly, but his complexion had already taken on a faint bluish-purple shade.

Out of a doctor’s instinct, Claire’s voice grew more urgent.

“Let me take a look. Something seems wrong with the baby.”

Caleb instinctively moved to hand the child to her.

Serena’s eyes suddenly filled with wariness, and her eyes reddened in an instant.

“Claire, I know you’re upset that I called Caleb here, but no matter how angry you are, you can’t curse my baby.”

At those words, Claire looked at Caleb.

Seeing the strange look on his face, she understood.

So Serena did not know there was something wrong with the child.

Caleb must have been afraid she would worry, so he had kept it from her.

Claire said patiently, “I’m not cursing your child. Caleb, bring the baby to me and let me check him.”

After thinking it over, Caleb decided to get up and let Claire take a look.

But before he could stand, Serena grabbed his wrist.

“Caleb, please ask Claire to go home, all right?”

She pressed her lips together, her tone stubborn.

On one side was Serena’s plea.

On the other was his wife, watching him.

In the end, Caleb looked at Claire.

“Claire, go home first.”

His tone grew firmer.

“Serena has been emotionally unstable since giving birth. She’s also very protective of the baby right now. Please be more understanding and go home first.”

Claire ignored him and only looked at the child in his arms.

Although she was a neurosurgeon, she had treated plenty of infants and young children.

The baby was already showing signs of suffocation. It was very likely an acute complication caused by a congenital condition.

If they wasted even a little more time, the consequences might become irreversible.

There was no time to explain. Claire stepped forward to intervene.

However, the moment she reached the bedside, Serena stretched out a hand and shoved her hard.

Claire’s focus had been entirely on the baby, so she was not prepared.

She slammed heavily into the corner of the table, and a sharp pain shot through her right hand, which she had used to brace herself.

She sucked in a breath and turned to look.

There was a fruit knife on the table.

A deep, gruesome gash had been cut across her palm.

“Are you all right?”

Caleb’s anxious voice cut in.

It sounded just like the way he had sounded when he rushed over after learning about her car accident.

Claire’s heart twisted with complicated emotion.

“I’m fine. You…”

She turned back calmly, only to see Caleb with his back to her, carefully guarding Serena by the bed.

This scene had happened again and again over the past year.

Only after accidentally seeing through the lie today did Claire finally realize that the person this devoted husband had been protecting from beginning to end had never been her.

She said nothing.

She lowered her head and looked at her right hand, which was still bleeding. Then she turned and walked out.

“Caleb, I’m fine. Hurry and check on Claire. It’s my fault that she…”

Serena’s falsely concerned voice sounded behind her.

Then Claire heard Caleb say softly, “Serena, don’t blame yourself. If she hadn’t insisted on coming here, how would she have gotten hurt? You’re too kind. Stop taking everything onto yourself.”

“You’re still recovering after giving birth. Taking care of your health is what matters most.”

Claire did not listen to the rest.

Without stopping, she headed straight for the emergency department.

So in Caleb’s heart, Serena was that innocent.

Was that why he always stood by her without question and helped her escape punishment?

Serena had only used a little force, yet somehow it had become some enormous ordeal.

How ridiculous.

Claire had no time to grieve over Caleb.

All she could think about was whether this injury would leave any lasting damage.

Her hands were meant to hold a scalpel.

In the past few days, she had already submitted the paperwork to return to work at the hospital. There were still so many patients waiting for her to operate on.

She could not gamble with so many people’s hopes because of a piece of trash.

At the emergency department, the doctor cleaned and dressed the wound.

“It’s nothing serious. Keep it dry and let it heal properly.”

Only then did Claire fully relax.

She picked up her medication and walked out, only to hear someone call her name.

“Claire.”

At some point, Caleb had come looking for her.

When he saw her come out, he stepped forward, worry clear in his eyes.

“How is it? Is the injury serious?”

Claire instinctively took several steps back.

When she met his gaze, she felt momentarily dazed.

Back then, what had moved her had not only been his vows.

It had also been those affectionate eyes of his.

The outer corners of his eyes naturally slanted downward, giving him a warm, lingering look.

Wait.

Claire studied him carefully for a while, and a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Serena and Gideon both had upturned eyes.

But if she remembered correctly…

That little nephew, who had only been born half a month ago, had the same downturned eyes as Caleb.