“Mrs. Duval!” Wanda screamed out in surprise. In the next moment, Hesper was caught by a pair of huge, male hands. Everyone was stunned; not even Rickard realized what had happened. How could he possibly initiate such an intimate interaction with her?He was convinced that he did it instinctively. He caught her out of instinct, and that was all. Sophia could not bear to watch anymore. “Dick, don’t mind her. The more you mind, the more she'll feign her agony. She did it so she could get your attention.”“Shut up!” Rickard shouted coldly. Having gotten close to Hesper, he had only just discovered the abnormality of her body temperature. “She's having a fever. Call the family doctor.”Sophia did not have the courage to continue to speak out of turn. However, this time, Hesper was the one to reject Rickard. “No, I don’t want the family doctor. Send me to the hospital.”Rickard’s eyebrows furrowed tighter, and he said impatiently, “You need treatment to lower your fever immedi
Rickard stepped forward abruptly and grabbed Julian by his collar. “Hesper is a member of the Duvals, and she will be with the Duvals even if she dies. Trying to get her to start her life again? Dream on!”As he was speaking, he swung a punch at Julian’s face ferociously. Hesper watched the scene incredulously. “Rickard! Have you lost your mind? Why are you beating him?”Rickard grew even more furious after noticing how she defended Julian. “Why? Does it hurt you to watch?”As he was speaking, he threw a few more punches. Julian was a practicing doctor, so he was no match for Rickard. His face bruised and swelled up from the beating quickly. “Stop it! Stop it, quick!”Hesper’s eyes reddened with anger. Julian was the family that she did not have much of in the world, but he was beaten up ferociously by Rickard now. “Rickard, if you hit him one more time, you can forget about working on grandfather’s matter together!” Hesper stretched her arms and defended Julian in anger.
Hesper’s fever broke the next day. She was not severely ill to begin with; she just caught a cold after bowing down for a night in her malnourished state. It was fortunate that she was sent to the hospital in time and received an intravenous infusion, which allowed her body to gradually recover its functions. It was quite amusing, really. She risked her life to give birth to the Duvals' eldest grandchild, yet she could only replenish her nutrition in the hospital. No one would believe her if she were to tell them what happened. Hesper consumed her chicken soup in small sips when someone kicked open the door of her room all of a sudden. The elegantly-dressed Madam Duval walked into the room with two other women. “Yikes, look at you having the appetite to eat chicken soup. It seems that you’re not all that seriously ill.”Hesper coldly glanced at her. She did not have a favorable impression toward the Duvals after experiencing the recent ordeals. She replied in a mocking tone, “
Hesper was mentally prepared for this. If Rickard were such an amiable person, she would not have to endure contempt, humiliation, and disgrace for so many years. However, she should not be the only one to endure pain. Hesper said in nonchalant tone, “If you don’t agree to my conditions, it’s meaningless for me to live anyway. I wonder if grandfather will ever forgive you and the others if I die.”Rickard’s body shook. It was not because she used grandfather’s name but because he saw the surging despair in her eyes. She was so desperate that she did not mind negotiating a deal with her death. Is she really suffering that much living with the Duvals?But she has already gotten everything that she wanted. She got the position of Mrs. Duval and she has already gotten a child as well. How is she not satisfied yet?Rickard could not figure it out. Enshrouded in overbearingness, a few seconds later, he sniggered. “Sure, let's do as you said. I hope you won’t continue to stay when th
“Don’t question anymore, Mrs. Duval. I just happened to fall.”How hard must one fall in order to be injured to this extent?She should have expected this to happen. Madam Duval and Sophia loathed her, so it was only natural that they would discriminate against Wanda for saving her. Perhaps Wanda was tormented so frequently by these people in the past two years when she was hospitalized that Wanda did not have the courage to talk about them. Hesper was furious. “You're in your current state because of me, so I’m going to uphold justice for you.”“Don’t, Mrs. Duval!” Wanda pulled at Hesper strenuously with tears streaming down her face. “Madam Duval and Ms. Duval have always been domineering. If you uphold justice for me, it will only give them a reason to punish you even more. The baby is still young; think about him, and take care of yourself.”Hesper, however, could not make peace with the fact that she involved the aging Wanda in her matter after she had endured so many hard
Madam Duval and Sophie refused to drop the matter. “So now you know how to behave yourself? Weren’t you so formidable yesterday that you beat up someone? Maybe karma struck and the baby is sick because of his trouble-making mother!”“Criticize me all you want but not my baby.”Hesper bit her lower lip tightly, anxious and panic-stricken from thinking about her child’s condition. Madam Duval squalled from the side. “Yikes, yikes, yikes. Look at you scowling at me after being criticized. Yesterday, you hit Sophia. Are you going to hit me today?”Hesper knew that now was not the time for quarreling. She clenched her fists tightly and told herself to put up with it. Then she turned around to say to Rickard, “I’m the child’s mother, so no matter what, I have the right to check on him.”“No. What if the baby’s illness deteriorates further when she enters the room?”Sophia’s remark reminded Rickard. Even though he did not buy into superstition, it was better to be safe than sorry sin
“Hesper!”Rickard’s eyes widened in shock at that very moment. He shakily stretched out his hand, but Hesper’s gaze remained locked on the bundle before her. She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and said, “My baby…”She wanted to check on the baby, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not reach the edge of the bundle with her fingertips. It was only a few millimeters away, but the distance separated life and death. The vision before Hesper’s eyes went black, and she shut her eyes completely. “Hesper!” The usually calm man was already thrown into a panic by now. He roared frantically, “Call the ambulance! Call the ambulance, quick!”The bodyguard standing behind him immediately took action while Benji picked up the bundle cautiously. His expression changed drastically after taking one glance. “Sir…”Rickard looked over shakily, as he recognized the bundle as the baby’s blanket. Hesper jumped off the tall building because of the baby. However, when he opened up t
Sophia and Juniper were so terrified of his icy cold tone that their bodies shivered. However, they had always been skilled at putting on an act. Hence, Sophie pouted her lips in grief right away. “Why are you being so fierce to us? I feel very bad that she fell off the building too. I’m your sister and the baby’s aunt. Do you think I would put the mother and baby in harm’s way?”“Yet, someone witnessed both of you making things difficult for her! Do you dare say you didn’t do it?”Rickard flew into a great rage. If the accident was really caused by them, he could finally understand why Hesper would risk her life just to leave the Duvals. If he was in her place, he would not be able to stay with a family as vile, cruel, and malicious as that!Sophia continued to cry and complained, “Dick, will you please stop believing in a one-sided story. I did have a brief dispute with her, but that was because she disregarded your order and insisted on leaving with the baby, and I stopped he