The red-haired men howled in pain, struggling and attempting to fight back. Icarus unleashed a brutal assault on one of them, relentlessly pounding him."You monsters! How could you prey on a pregnant woman!""What the hell is wrong with you?! It's not like it's your child!" one of the men retorted."Who said it isn’t?! It's my child!" Icarus roared, increasing the intensity of his blows. He delivered a powerful punch to the head of one of the assailants, rendering him unconscious.Icarus rose to his feet and noticed Chloe was covering up her chest with her tattered clothes and shivering from the cold. Without hesitation, he took off his own coat and draped it over her. "Are you okay?" he askedChloe's lips grew pale as she sniffled, still recovering from the shock. Her mind had not fully grasped Icarus' words, but she had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. Just as she was about to speak, she lifted her gaze and saw Joseph standing at the entrance of the restroom, stari
"We managed to save the baby. There was minimal bleeding, but the patient's body is particularly weak, which increases the risk of premature birth or miscarriage in the later stages. Mr. Joseph, you have to take good care of the patient from now on," the doctor reported."The child is safe?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with piercing coldness. "Arrange for an abortion immediately."He would not allow her to birth the product of a union between her and another man.The doctor was taken aback. "Well... The patient is too weak at the moment, so we can’t perform the surgery immediately.""When’s the earliest possible time?" Joseph inquired."It's hard to say. Perhaps in about a week."Joseph closed his eyes and remained silent.The doctor left the room. The truth was, the abortion could be arranged as early as tomorrow, but Chloe had pleaded with the doctor in the emergency room, telling him that this was the first child she conceived with the person she loved dearly. S
"How could you, Joseph?! How can you be so cruel and heartless?! If you force me to sign this paper, I'll hate you for the rest of my life!" Chloe shouted at the top of her lungs, expressing her grievance.Joseph remained unperturbed. He pulled her hand and tightened it around the pen as her name was written crookedly and reluctantly in the designated space. At the final moment, Chloe exerted all her strength to break free from his control and stabbed him in the palm with the pen. However, he seemed completely unaware and continued to complete the final stroke of her signature.In a state of despair, Chloe lowered her weary arm and let out a desolate smile. "I'll ask you one last time, Joseph. Do you truly refuse to believe me?"They had already reconciled and gotten rid of Xavia—the only obstacle in their relationship—so how did things suddenly turn out this way? With a sudden pang of inexplicable emotion, Joseph's heart softened for a moment when he heard her choked-up voice. Ho
Her face turned pale, and she uttered desolately, "Even if I haven't, do you think I can say no in my current state?""In theory, we should respect the patient's decision," the doctor responded.A glimmer of hope flickered in Chloe's eyes as she glanced at Abigail, who stood outside the door. She lowered her voice and pleaded, "I'm being forced into this. Can you please let me go?"Feeling her helplessness, the doctor reminded her, "The hospital doesn't restrict its patients’ freedom. If you have no other option, you can seek help from a friend."Chloe shook her head, knowing it would be futile. Emily was no match for Joseph. Moreover, Joseph had forbidden her from meeting Noah. However, a thought suddenly crossed her mind. Even if Emily could not meet Joseph, she could ask Emily to pass a message to Noah. The only question was whether Noah would be willing to help her. If he did so, it would mark the beginning of a real confrontation between him and Joseph.As soon as the doctor
A wave of dizziness overcame Chloe. She asked as her voice trembled, "When...Emily could not bear to see her best friend in such a state. "Last night. To be more specific, it was this early morning."She had applied for an off day yesterday, which had been Monday. However, her bastard manager called her endlessly, forcing her to work overtime even though she was outside. After she was done with her work, it was already past one o’clock midnight.Emily decided to watch some videos before going to bed. That was when she saw the news that Harold had died due to organ failure after the emergency treatment failed.Coldness prickled Chloe's limbs as she turned to Abigail. "Is this true?"The latter nodded silently."I want to go to the family home to see Harold one last time,” Chloe said firmly as she put on her shoes and walked toward the door, her body trembling slightly."Ms. Chloe, Mr. Joseph says you can’t leave." Abigail went to stop Chloe as she tried to persuade the latter.
Joseph looked at Chloe condescendingly. He ultimately decided to agree with Ginny’s request, so he kept quiet and left.Chloe kneeled before the coffin until almost everyone in the hall had left. She then got up and massaged her aching knees a little before continuing to kneel.Harold observed Chloe through a window on the second floor. He felt incredibly sorry for her. "Ask her to go home and rest. She’s been on her knees for a long time. She must be suffering.”Patrick immediately carried out the order. "Ms. Chloe, it's getting late and cold. Please go home." He walked over and tried to get her to stand. With her head hung low in a downcast manner, she stated stubbornly, "I want to stay with Grandpa a little longer.""No, you don't have to as you’ll still have a lot of... No, what I’m trying to say is that he’s already gone. You can visit him at the cemetery once a year. I’m sure he'll be quite satisfied.""Patrick, please leave. I want to be here alone."A tinge of gratifica
Patrick looked at Xavia suspiciously before glancing at Chloe. "What happened?" Xavia beat Chloe to it. "I wanted to see Grandpa one last time but Ms. Chloe prohibited me from doing so. She pushed me to the ground... Patrick, I don't blame her. She’s probably upset because of her fight with Joe. I can understand her feelings." Chloe was too exhausted and weak to argue with Xavia so she stayed quiet. She was not expecting Patrick to speak up for her. After all, many people thought that her child was not Joseph's."You're right," Patrick said slowly, "But there's one thing you didn't do well." Xavia became baffled. "What’s that?""You know that Ms. Chloe’s fighting with Mr. Joseph, so why did you come here and disturb them? Are you trying to take advantage of the situation?""I just—” Xavia blushed and hurriedly tried to explain, but Patrick was not interested in hearing what she had to say."Stop talking and stop dreaming. What you want is impossible. Mr. Harold drew up a wil
Annoyed with Xavia, Chloe did not wish to see her any longer. "It's fine, Patrick. I'm not hungry.""Let's eat together. You need to stay with Grandpa for the second half of the night," Joseph said in an aloof tone."Joe, I want to stay too and show my respect for Grandpa." Xavia sounded gentle as she looked at him eagerly, wishing that he would agree to it."I told you to take care of the baby. You don't have to tire yourself over anything else. We can just let Chloe deal with these sorts of things."Joy flashed across Xavia's face as she said shyly. "Okay, I'll listen to whatever you say."Joseph glanced indifferently at Chloe and ordered, "Patrick, take her upstairs.""I don't want to eat. I’ve lost my appetite after seeing you and her disgusting faces." Chloe sharply looked up and clenched her fists tightly. Disgust and hatred filled her eyes as she looked at Joseph.Disgusting faces?Joseph scoffed before he bent down and pinched her chin strenuously. "What right do you ha