Chapter 4

“What?”

For a moment, Hunter thought he had misheard.

Stella repeated what she had just said, but Hunter still could not quite believe it. “Stella, what kind of trick are you trying to pull now?”

“I’m serious.”

“Hunter, I’m letting you go and making things right for you and Gwen. I’ve already contacted a lawyer. I’m in a hospital room upstairs right now. If you have time, come by and we can talk about the divorce.”

Before Stella could finish, it was as if something suddenly clicked for Hunter.

He let out a cold laugh and cut her off. “I don’t have time.”

With that, he hung up the phone.

He laughed in anger. So her recent behavior really was just playing hard to get.

All that talk just now was probably leading up to one thing. She wanted him to come see her by using divorce as bait.

He almost believed it.

Over the years, it was not as if he had never forced the issue of divorce.

He had promised her half of his assets. He had promised her everything he could possibly give. She had refused all of it.

Later, he tried to provoke her into asking for a divorce herself. He deliberately held other women in front of her, humiliated her in front of the Ford family, and ignored her in front of friends.

Any sensible woman would have divorced him long ago.

But she refused.

At first, Hunter thought she was greedy and wanted more. It was only later that he realized what she had wanted all along was him.

Hunter could not help but sneer.

He could give her anything she wanted, except himself.

“I don’t want to see you, and neither does Gwen. You should know your place.”

After sending that message, Hunter did not give it another thought and went straight upstairs.

He hoped Stella would have some self-awareness this time.

Otherwise, he did not mind having her thrown out of the hospital in public.

When Stella received his message, she looked at the cold words, edged with warning, and let out a self-mocking smile.

Even though she had already prepared herself, she still felt a chill in her heart.

So this was how deeply he distrusted her.

Five years of marriage, and it had failed completely.

Yet to her surprise, she did not feel the same heartbreak and despair as before. Instead, she felt strangely calm.

Perhaps this incident had finally woken her up.

Within minutes, she accepted the fact that Hunter did not want to see her and decided to rest properly and take care of her own body.

But by early afternoon, a nurse came to see her and gently asked her to transfer to another hospital.

“Dr. Lewis says your condition requires proper recuperation. He has already arranged another hospital for you. He also said that if you have any objections, you’re welcome to go speak with him directly.”

Hearing Eugene’s name, Stella immediately understood what was going on.

The hospital director was Eugene’s father. Even though Eugene was only an intern, no one dared to disobey him.

This was a blatant order for her to leave.

Stella did not want to make things difficult for the two nurses, so she nodded and agreed.

Cradling the remains of her unborn child that she had requested from the doctor, she slowly climbed out of bed.

Seeing how difficult it was for her to move, one of the nurses could not help feeling sorry for her.

“If the patient doesn’t agree, the doctor isn’t allowed to force a transfer privately. You can file a complaint about this. The hospital’s complaint number is—”

“No need.”

Stella forced a small smile and interrupted her.

She knew the nurse meant well, but she also knew that although Eugene was the one pushing her out, he would never dare to do this without Hunter’s approval.

Even if she complained, it would be useless.

If Hunter did not want to see her, he had a hundred ways to make her leave.

After thanking the nurses, Stella did not linger.

Dragging her still-aching body, she limped out of the hospital, step by step.

*

In the SVIP hospital room, Gwen looked at Hunter standing by the window.

“Hunter, what’s on your mind?”

Ever since they returned to the room earlier, he had been silent for a long time, clearly lost in thought.

“Nothing,” Hunter replied, snapping back to himself.

He walked back toward the hospital bed. As his gaze shifted, he happened to miss the frail, unsteady figure limping along downstairs.

Hunter stopped beside Gwen’s bed and reached out to tuck the blanket around her.

Feeling the smooth, cozy texture against her skin, Gwen smiled. Hunter had personally sent someone out to buy the silk comforter at the last minute. Worried she might feel bored during her hospital stay, he had even arranged for a television to be installed in her room.

The thought filled her chest with warmth.

Then an image flashed through her mind. Stella, standing at the doorway earlier, pale and looking utterly miserable.

Gwen suppressed the smile at the corner of her lips and instinctively lifted her hand, wanting to cup Hunter’s face.

But Hunter seemed to anticipate her movement and stepped back slightly.

Her hand froze in midair.

It was awkward.

Hunter acted as if nothing had happened and asked casually, “How long are you planning to stay in the country this time?”

Hearing this, Gwen felt a flicker of frustration.

She did not understand why Hunter, who fussed over her and remembered every detail down to her cycle, always shied away her attempts to get close.

She forced down her displeasure and smiled as she teased him. “When do you want me to leave?”

Hunter did not answer.

But Gwen understood what his silence meant. She let out a soft laugh.

“This time, I’m not planning to leave. After all, the person I like is still here.”

She stared at Hunter without blinking.

His expression grew stiff. He stood up and avoided her gaze. “Don’t mess around. I’m already married.”

“But you don’t love her, do you?”

When he did not respond, Gwen took a slow breath and said seriously, “Hunter, since you don’t like Stella, have you ever thought about divorcing her?”

Hunter’s gaze darkened. An inexplicable sense of irritation rose within him. He found himself thinking about Stella’s earlier demand for a divorce.

The thought made him sneer.

“The divorce will happen,” he said coldly. “But now isn’t the right time.”

Letting her walk away after turning his life upside down would be far too easy for her.

Besides, would she really be willing to leave him? What a joke.

Unless the car accident had damaged her brain, there was no way she would ever make such a decision.

A car accident.

As the thought crossed his mind, Hunter’s smile stiffened.

Thinking back, her attitude toward him earlier really had been different than usual. Could she actually be seriously hurt? Did she have a brain injury?

The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. Finding a random excuse, he left Gwen’s room.

He went straight upstairs to the room number Stella had mentioned on the phone. But when he looked inside, she was nowhere to be seen.

The room was empty. Only two nurses were inside, tidying up.

“Where’s the patient who was staying here?” Hunter asked.

Seeing him, the nurse answered without much thought, “It looks like she’s already been discharged.”

Discharged?

So she really had not been badly hurt after all.

Hunter thought to himself.

He mocked himself for actually coming up here to check on her on a whim. He turned to leave.

Just then, one of the nurses spoke again. “That patient really had it rough.”

“She was in a car accident and miscarried. She had just escaped death, and then she was forced out of the hospital.”

Hunter stopped in his tracks. His dark eyes locked onto the nurse.

“What did you say?” he asked. “What miscarriage?”