Seeing this, Calla got out of bed and returned the dishes to the nurse station herself. When she returned, she found that Mercer was still standing there on the phone. He had been on the call for almost half an hour. He wasn't the type to enjoy long phone calls, so what was going on today?Suddenly, a thought popped into Calla's head: he was working over the phone.The clock on the wall showed that it was already well past 8:00 am.Normally, Mercer would be on his way to work by this time. He must have been giving instructions to his subordinates over the phone. Realizing this, Calla felt guilty for disrupting his regular work schedule.Finally, Mercer finished his call and hung up a few minutes later. Seeing Calla, he raised an eyebrow slightly. Calla quickly picked up her phone and typed, "Shouldn't you go to work?""I can work from here.""I can manage on my own. I can function as I normally do; I just can't hear.""But…""No buts. If... I mean, if you want, you can co
In the morning, Calla sent a text message to Alicia, asking her to come by during her lunch break as the hospital wasn't far from Atlas.While Calla was eating lunch, the door to her hospital room opened, and Alicia rushed in."Calla, what happened? Where are you hurt?" Alicia looked Calla up and down, relieved to see that there didn't seem to be any other injuries apart from some swelling on her face.At that moment, Calla lowered her head and took out her phone to type."Hey, why aren't you talking?" Alicia asked, puzzled by Calla's silence.Soon, Calla handed her phone to Alicia, who glanced at it and immediately frowned."Alicia, my eardrums were damaged. I have temporary hearing loss, so we'll have to communicate through text.""How did this happen?" Alicia also took out her phone and began to type."I'll explain it all to you in a bit. For now, call my mom and tell her that I had to leave for an impromptu business trip abroad and that my phone isn't working. I'll contact
At this moment, Calla felt immensely lonely and lost as she stared blankly at the flickering lights outside the window. When the lights in the ward suddenly turned on, the intense brightness made her eyes ache. She quickly shielded them with her hand.After her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Calla saw a figure standing by her bedside.Holding two lunchboxes, he gazed at her with his deep, bright eyes. He didn't say a word as he stood in front of her.Of course, Calla still couldn't hear anything. She knew he didn't utter a word because she hadn't seen his mouth move.Calla wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and rest her head against his broad chest.But she knew she couldn't do that. He didn't belong to her. Just the thought of Sophie made Calla's heart ache once again.Despite her current loneliness and confusion, she couldn't resort to desperate measures. He was like poison to her; she absolutely could not cling to him.A warm, large hand sudd
Calla was ticked off by Mercer's sarcasm and mockery. Pressing her lips together, she angrily typed out a message."You must have forgotten something, Mr. Garland. We're divorced. Whoever I choose to be with is none of your concern. Even if I want to be played by a man, that man will not be you!"Calla was livid as she showed Mercer her screen.After reading those words, Mercer immediately flung the phone against the wall.The phone hit the wall with a loud crash and fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.Calla couldn't hear the sound of the phone breaking; she only saw her broken phone lying on the ground.Who would have thought that they could argue while she couldn't hear, and quite fiercely at that?She glared at him, then turned her face away, not wanting to deal with him anymore.Mercer ran a hand through his hair before he paced the ward several times. When he calmed down, the veins that had been bulging on his forehead gradually went back to looking smooth.Afterwa
"I'm sorry."Calla thought she was mistaken when she first saw those words. Upon closer inspection, she noticed they were indeed typed into his phone's notepad.Calla was secretly amazed by how there came a day when Mercer would apologize. After all, he seemed like someone who didn't even know what "sorry" meant. As she looked up, she couldn't help thinking how lonely the silhouette by the window was. Although she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was dejected.At that moment, Calla felt a twinge of regret. Why did she argue with him? No matter what, he had come to take care of her out of kindness. Wasn't she being a little ungrateful?But it was too late. The argument had already happened. She couldn't possibly apologize to him now, could she?She decided to let it go, figuring that he would leave soon if she continued to ignore him.Then, Calla looked down and let her mind drift.After a long while, Calla raised her gaze and was surprised to find Mercer no longer by t
Calla sneaked a glance at Mercer's face and quickly lowered her head again. Why did he come back? What did he want? Was he here to see her make a fool of herself?At this moment, Mercer couldn't help but smile. Touching his chin, he had a faint smile on his lips.Fortunately, the nurse was in the room. She unfolded the folding bed and placed it in an empty spot by the window. She then thoughtfully made the bed with blankets, all while wearing a big smile and saying something to Mercer.Calla couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw the young and beautiful nurse looking at Mercer with shining eyes. Like a rabbit seeing a carrot, a mouse seeing some cheese, or a courtesan seeing a client.Calla inwardly chastised herself just in time. How could she think such crude thoughts? The nurse seemed so innocent!When Calla saw Mercer speaking with the nurse, her anger boiled over. She didn't understand why she felt this way. Even so, the feeling was undeniably real.They talked for
The next moment, a shadow moved forward, grabbed her shoulder, and sealed her lips with a kiss."Mmm... Mmm..." The sudden kiss left Calla stunned. Once she realized what was happening, she started to resist him.She pounded on his shoulders with her fists, but her punches felt like soft taps to Mercer. Instead of doing him any harm, hitting him only left her exhausted.Unable to fend off his strong advances, Calla couldn't help feeling nervous. After all, they were at a hospital, and it wasn't even 9:00 pm yet. As the hallway outside was still brightly lit, she could occasionally see people walking by through the glass window on the door. How could he do this under such circumstances?Although Calla was both embarrassed and angry, Mercer's kiss was fierce and overwhelming—like a flood breaking through a dam. She couldn't resist him at all.Just when she felt she was about to suffocate from being pressed down by him, he finally let go of her lips, allowing her to breathe fresh a
Sure enough, it was him. The person holding her was Mercer!Calla felt conflicted when she met his gaze.What was wrong with her? Didn't she hate him? Didn't she want him to leave and never cross paths with her again? Why did her heart ache so much when he left just now? But now, why was she so happy to see him come back?Oh, goodness! She must have sunk into his abyss!What should she do? What could she do?But Mercer didn't give her much time to think. He lowered his head and kissed her again.This time, his kiss wasn't domineering or forceful. It was gentle and filled with deep affection, a tenderness that tugged at her emotions. Of course, he still tried to provoke her.However, Calla didn't resist this time. Instead, she passively accepted his advances by placing her hands on his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath her palms.His hands were warm and firm. With just a few caresses, Mercer had her breathless.She knew this was wrong, but she couldn't control herself.
Seeing Pierre's expression, Calla realized that a few words wouldn't dispel his suspicions. She reached into her bag, unzipped it, and pulled out the knife.Pierre's eyes widened as he noticed the gleaming knife Calla was pulling out of her bag. He furrowed his brows in concern. "What are you—"Calla explained, "Mercer told me that Casper is my son, that he wasn't stillborn as I was told. I didn't believe him at first, but I was afraid he might be telling the truth, so I went to his house to see him."But I was afraid he might have ulterior motives toward me. As a woman, I'm naturally no match for him. In a moment of desperation, I had to grab this knife from the kitchen for protection. If he dared to do anything to me, I wouldn't have hesitated to use it on him."Her expression was intense, reflecting her genuine fear and resolve.Pierre looked deeply at Calla, then gently touched her cheek. He took the knife from her hand and placed it on a nearby table.Calla then rushed into
Suddenly feeling Mercer's hand on her shoulder, Calla instinctively recoiled. She swatted away his hand and shouted, "Don't touch me, Mercer!"The harm he had caused her was too profound. Even though she now understood his desperate reasons, she still felt immense aversion toward him."Fine, I won't touch you." Mercer retracted his hands and left them suspended in the air."Don't think you can use Casper to threaten me, Mercer. I will never be manipulated by you!" Calla shouted at him.Mercer's expression turned pained at her words. He took a step back, and his eyes filled with profound anguish. "Do you really see me as someone who would use my own son as a bargaining chip?""Yes," Calla replied sternly.Mercer's body swayed slightly, then he turned away in dejection. "If that's the case, then you should leave."Seeing his forlorn figure, Calla felt a pang of sadness, but she couldn't bring herself to trust him again. She turned and walked out of the house.She stumbled out of
At this moment, Mercer clenched his fists. Even with his resolute nature, his eyes seemed misty."This is where I feel most sorry toward you and Clover. Clover is my daughter too. Of course, I wanted her to come into this world healthy. But I couldn't let Casper disappear from this world either."His condition worsened so severely at that time. I was afraid he wouldn't make it to your due date, so I had to take drastic measures..." Mercer struck his fist hard against the wall.Seeing the despondent and remorseful Mercer before her, Calla felt a twinge of compassion, but she still couldn't accept all his explanations.Glancing at the reports in front of her, Calla placed her hand on her cheek. She could feel her fingers trembling.Suddenly, she looked up and asked, "You kept searching for me in Greendale to get me pregnant so you could use the baby's umbilical cord blood to save Casper?"From the timeline Mercer had explained, Casper's condition must have been severe by then.Cal
Mercer smiled bitterly. "I knew that you wouldn't believe me, so I prepared a copy of Casper's medical reports. You can take a look." He pulled out several thick envelopes and set them on the coffee table. Calla frowned upon seeing those envelopes which were all an inch thick. She opened one of them and flipped through the documents inside, frowning as she read. The envelope held reports of Casper's hospitalization in both the city and state hospitals, spanning two years, starting from when Casper was a year old. They were records of Casper's illness and his recovery process.Calla couldn't help thinking about his adorable, chubby face, and she felt her heart clench. She wondered how Casper had managed to triumph over his illness after two years. She couldn't even fathom how painful and difficult the process must have been.Suddenly, Calla noticed something in Casper's surgery reports—a note about how a newborn baby's umbilical cord blood was miraculously compatible with Casper.
"My heart is already in pieces because of you. So what if I hit, cursed, or even stabbed you now? What's the point of doing all that? I beg this of you, Mercer, please let me live my life quietly and stop bothering me!"Stop making up all these ridiculous justifications too. I'm tired—exhausted! I don't want to deal with you anymore," Calla sobbed, tears running down her face.She knew that she shouldn't have cried in front of him. It wasn't just a sign of her weakness, it might also fuel his assumption that she still cared for him. However, she couldn't control it. Whenever she thought of the suffering she'd gone through in the past couple of years, tears ran uncontrollably down her face."I want nothing more than for you to let me tell you the truth in its entirety. I want you and Casper to not miss out on the chance to reconnect as mother and son. "I promise that I'll respect your choice once I'm done telling you everything, and I won't bother you again in the future!" Mercer l
Calla's eyes widened as she remembered everything that had happened in the past. She stumbled over her words as she said, "B-But we were going to get married after we were back on good terms with each other, and I'd already met Casper at that point. Why didn't you tell me about him back then?"Mercer looked at Calla meaningfully. "Do you remember when I told you, on the day we were about to get our marriage certificate, that I had a big surprise for you?"Calla thought about it, then nodded. He had indeed said that he'd prepared a big gift for her. Could the gift have been Casper?Facing Calla's doubtful look, Mercer nodded. "Yes. I wanted to tell you after we received our marriage certificates, but I didn't expect something else to happen on that day."Calla sneered. "'Something else' is a nice way of putting it. You didn't go to get the marriage certificates done with me, because you chose to hold a press conference with Sophie instead, announcing your marriage with her."When
Mercer's face fell. He sat on an armchair before asking Calla, "Do you dislike me that much? Are you not even willing to stay by my side for one minute?""I don't dislike you—I hate you. Also, one minute is too long—I can't even bear to stay by your side for one second!" Calla replied without hesitation.As memories—filled with love and resentment alike—flashed in Calla's mind, she felt an intense hatred for Mercer. If not for Casper, she would never have stepped inside this place again, much less take a seat across Mercer to have a conversation.Calla's words hurt Mercer. He sat there for a while with his head lowered before lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.Calla couldn't help coughing when the acrid smell of smoke entered her nose. Realizing that he'd made her cough, Mercer quickly stubbed the cigarette in his ashtray. Calla didn't want to waste any more time with him. She asked impatiently, "Why did you have me come here? Who is the woman you had Casper with?"
Calla finished getting ready, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked over to Clover. She gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then turned to Fiona. "Fiona, I'm going out to meet a friend.""Okay," Fiona replied with a smile, then continued feeding Clover some water.Calla left the apartment and was about to press the elevator button when Pierre emerged from the opposite door."Hey, aren't you supposed to be off work today? Where are you going this early?" Pierre asked, noticing Calla was heading out."Oh, I'm meeting Alicia. She's going back to work tomorrow, so we're hanging out later," Calla replied hastily, avoiding eye contact with Pierre. She had never been good at lying."She's going to be your bridesmaid. It's only right to express our gratitude," Pierre said with a smile, walking into the elevator with Calla."Where are you meeting her? I can give you a ride," Pierre offered."We're meeting at the department store. It's not on your way, so you should get going. I'
Calla was initially certain that Mercer's goal was to use Casper to ruin her marriage with Pierre.But as the night wore on, Calla's doubts grew. She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe—just maybe—Mercer was telling the truth. Perhaps Casper was indeed her child, the one she had given birth to all those years ago.She couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. What if her child had not died? What if he was still alive and well?As the first light of dawn crept into the room, Calla made a decision. She would go see Mercer, no matter what his motives were. She had to get to the bottom of it.Calla gazed at Clover, who was still fast asleep. She gently stroked her daughter's cheek. "Clover, don't you think it would be wonderful to have an older brother to share your toys and adventures with?Clover's chubby face didn't move. Calla's eyes lingered on her for a moment before she spoke again. "I have to get to the bottom of this no matter what the outcome is. I have to find out if Casp