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Chapter 7

Author: Maureen Green
The entire hospital was in chaos because of Sophie's emergency, but Aspen felt completely disconnected from it all.

Her mind went blank, and her senses dulled. She could only hear the muffled echoes of footsteps and distant shouts, as though she were underwater.

Mike waved his hand in front of her face, asking, "Ms. Nicholls? Are you alright?"

Aspen blinked, snapping back to reality. She looked at Mike and asked, "How's my daughter?"

Mike replied, "She's stable for now. But her condition has deteriorated rapidly. We've admitted her to the ICU. We'll monitor her and see if surgery is an option once her vitals improve.

"Ms. Nicholls, with Sophie's condition, surgery is..."

Aspen nodded stiffly, but she knew what Mike wasn't saying. The chances of the surgery being successful were slim. It would cause more trauma than relief for Sophie.

Still, Aspen couldn't accept that. She couldn't let her precious daughter go without a fight. Even the smallest sliver of hope was something she
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    "Sophie!" Aspen's scream tore through the sterile hospital room. Tears streamed down her face as an unbearable pressure squeezed her chest, making it hard to breathe.Deep down, she knew her Sophie was gone. Her beloved Sophie had come into this world, seen it, and decided it wasn't a place she wanted to stay. She was disappointed and hurt by all of it, so she returned to the heavens—never to come back."Sophie... I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Aspen's voice trembled as she cradled Sophie's lifeless body. Her hands shook as she gently cupped Sophie's pale, still face and kissed her over and over again.This was all her fault. It was her selfishness, her stubborn desire to be with Colin, that had led to this tragedy. She had failed as a mother, and her beautiful, precious Sophie was gone forever.Aspen eventually forced herself to calm down. She personally bathed Sophie and dressed her in her favorite pink princess dress. If Sophie had to leave this world, Aspen wanted her to loo

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    Colin immediately panicked when he heard Gwyneth's scream. "Gwen, what's wrong? Where are you?"Joseph's menacing voice came through the phone, loud and clear. He snarled, "Colin, you messed with my precious niece, and I'm not going to let it slide! You're so protective of this woman, right? Well, get ready to collect her body!""Don't you dare do anything reckless!" Colin's voice trembled in fear. Normally, he was always high and mighty, but anything involving Gwyneth sent him into a panic."If you don't want her dead, you'd better get over here right now!" Joseph spat out the threat and hung up abruptly.A text with an address followed immediately after. Joseph's glare turned icy as he stared at Gwyneth. He growled, "This is all because of you, you filthy homewrecker! You shameless slut! You ruined someone else's family!""I'm not a homewrecker! I was with Colin first!" Gwyneth shook her head desperately, refusing to accept the label. However, Joseph wasn't Colin. He didn't

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    Aspen's cold smile sent a wave of unease through Colin. He couldn't shake the feeling that something important was slipping through his fingers."Colin, she's serious this time. She signed the divorce papers," Gwyneth exclaimed excitedly, holding up the agreement as if it were a trophy, snapping Colin out of his thoughts.He blinked in surprise. He had thought it was another one of Aspen's tricks, but she really had signed it. He snatched the papers from Gwyneth's hand, only to feel an inexplicable sting at the sight of Aspen's bold signature glaring back at him.He was in disbelief at how easily Aspen had decided to let go."Colin, you really are the cruelest person in the world," Aspen muttered before turning to Joseph. "Transfer the ten million as soon as possible." Joseph sneered at the sight of Colin and Gwyneth embracing. The scene sickened him. With a cold snort, he stomped away, leaving them behind.This was exactly what Colin had wanted, but instead of relief, an odd em

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    The funeral home?Colin hung up the phone without a second thought the moment he heard those words. Scam calls had become so audacious—now they were even pretending to be from a funeral home? How unbelievable!Sophie was perfectly fine. Why would he need a funeral home? The phone rang again moments later."Mr. Fuller, we're from the funeral home. We need you to come down immediately to handle the child's death certificate and post-cremation paperwork."The caller wasted no words and hung up just as Colin was about to explode in anger. Every word in that call tested the last shred of Colin's patience. He had truly had enough!He thought Aspen was completely insane. In her desperate attempt to lure him in, there was nothing she wouldn't do.Was she truly even going so far as to claim their daughter was dead? What kind of mother would say something like that?"Colin."At that moment, a familiar voice reached his ears. He turned around to see Gwyneth there. Even though his eyes w

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    "Colin, you should still go check on Ms. Nicholls. Don't let things get out of hand." Gwyneth sighed while tugging at Colin's sleeve. Her expression was full of restrained sorrow.Colin couldn't stand seeing her upset. Her words only fueled his anger."If I go looking for her, I'll be falling right into her trap. I want to see how she plans to keep up this act without me!"He let out a cold scoff before pulling Gwyneth into his arms. "If only she were as understanding as you," he murmured.Despite his words, Gwyneth didn't feel particularly pleased. Still, she leaned against his chest, keeping up appearances."Don't be angry. At the end of the day, Ms. Nicholls just cares too much about being Mrs. Fuller. You should try to understand her a little."Her eyes misted over slightly, and she hesitated before adding, "But… you two are already divorced. How much longer is she going to keep making a scene?"The word "divorce" hit Colin like a dagger, and his expression darkened instantl

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    Sophie had been gone for days now, yet Aspen still couldn't accept the truth. She kept feeling as if Sophie was still there right beside her, almost as if she had never left.Aspen woke up in the morning to find her pillow soaked with tears once again. Her eyes were swollen as she climbed out of bed and reached for her phone.She had kept it turned off for the past few days; she was too heartbroken to deal with anything outside of her grief. The moment she powered it on, a message notification chimed—it was the funeral home, urging her to complete the remaining paperwork.Only then did she remember—although Sophie's ashes had already been laid to rest, there were still many formalities left to complete."Maybe this is for the best. Once everything is settled, I can finally leave this place." Aspen thought. "Sophie, Mommy misses you so much."Aspen clutched the pendant hanging from her neck, tears streaming down her face once again.She had tried—really tried—to keep herself fro

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    At this moment, Aspen felt utterly repulsed by the man standing outside. Even taking one more glance at Colin felt like an insult to Sophie.Seizing the moment while he remained silent, she swung open the door and stepped inside. To express the frustration burning inside her, she even slammed the door shut with force.As soon as she turned around, her eyes landed on a black-and-white photograph resting on the coffee table.In the photograph, Sophie was smiling brightly, her eyes curved in joy.It had been taken on Children's Day, back when Sophie had performed at her preschool and won an award. She had been very happy that day, so her smile had been more radiant than ever.Aspen had deliberately chosen this photo—she wanted to remember Sophie just like this, forever joyful and full of life."Sophie…" Aspen slid down against the door, covering her mouth with both hands as tears streamed down her face.Colin's voice came through the door. "Aspen, I don't care what kind of tricks y

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    Faced with that gaze, Aren couldn't bring himself to refuse. All he could do was nod. "Alright, I promise you!"Aspen finally relaxed upon hearing his words of assurance—only to pass out immediately from the overwhelming pain.Aren's gentle expression vanished as he watched her lose consciousness, replaced by fury and barely contained rage. His fists clenched. He swore to himself he would never let Colin get away with this!He pulled out his phone and called Niall. "We need to accelerate our plan!""You're being too hasty." Niall remained perfectly calm. "Aren, we're both tech people. You know our greatest asset is staying level-headed."Aren leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on Aspen's unconscious form through the glass. He wasn't usually impulsive—except when it came to her.Fortunately, Niall was the type to remain composed no matter the situation. His calmness gradually grounded Aren.Aren gritted his teeth after taking a deep breath. "I'm going to devour Fuller Grou

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    Guilt, anxiety, and self-blame now flooded Aren's heart. He was terrified that something irreversible might happen to Aspen.Aspen gently wrapped her arms around Aren's waist, feeling him trembling. Her heart ached violently, overwhelmed by a surge of long-suppressed grievances.Aspen could choose to be strong when facing pain and danger alone because she had to be strong. But now, with someone here to care for her and hold her, all that carefully restrained vulnerability came rushing back. The contrast was unbearable.This emotional whiplash left her both confused and resigned. Clinging to Aren, she finally understood her own heart.The truth was, she had stopped loving and expecting anything from Colin the day Sophie passed away. Now, she realized something fundamental hadn't changed with the man she had loved in her youth, who was standing before her again. She still loved him helplessly and couldn't control her heart."Don't cry." Aren's heart shattered further. He tenderly wi

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    "What are you doing?"Aspen's expression darkened instantly. She gritted her teeth, glaring at him with barely contained fury."Aspen, you're still Mrs. Fuller, yet you parade around flirting shamelessly. Have you no dignity?" Colin's accusation rang out harshly.Seeing his angry outburst, Zephyr immediately stepped in to explain, "Mr. Fuller, it's not like that! This was a surprise we planned for Ms. Nicholls. She had no idea at all.""Shut up!" Colin snarled, his gaze so venomous that it silenced Zephyr on the spot. The latter could only watch Aspen helplessly."Are you insane?" Aspen wrenched her wrist free, her eyes icy with disdain."This is normal workplace camaraderie. There's no 'flirting,' and definitely no 'shamelessness.'"Aspen truly didn't want to make a scene in a professional setting. She had no intention of humiliating herself.But today, Colin seemed determined to scorch every shred of decorum. He gritted his teeth and looked at her fiercely. "Aspen, you really

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