Her daughter's hospitalization due to the risk of disfigurement did not hinder Jasmine's plans.She had long kept watch over the nurses in the department. She was certain at least one or two of them kept unspeakable secrets, and swapping babies would be a piece of cake for them. It was this young nurse's first time doing something such as this. She was so nervous she felt like she could empty her guts on the floor.The family members of the mother were all present at the hospital, and each one appeared more influential than the last. She couldn’t afford to provoke any one of them. She instantly regretted her foolishness and greed for some quick bucks.Her timidity looked like it was there to stay. When Jasmine approached her, it immediately spoke for her and expressed her change of mind.Jasmine didn't expect the nurse to be so spineless as to chicken out like this. Her face fell, and she dropped the pretense and niceties. "Who gave you permission to back out of something you agree
When the hospital director heard this, beads of cold sweat began forming on his forehead. Concealing the matter was possible, but it wouldn't change the fact that it was disgraceful."Well, I do understand, but ..." he trailed off. He was in a tight spot. If anyone were to discover anything, it wouldn't end well.Laurence cast a condescending gaze at the director. "Dr. Shipherd, what is stopping you? Feel free to speak up." His tone was gentle, but the words falling from his lips were like ice-cold spears piercing his heart.Dr. Smith wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead. "Once the child is out of the special care unit, we will arrange the paternity test as soon as possible."Yet, Laurence wasn't pleased about waiting. He had already depleted his patience and no longer wanted to brew with his resentment. The more he looked at the child, the more displeased he felt; it was enough to ruin his whole day."Looks to me like something is still stopping you, Dr. Smith."The hospital
Zoey paled at his sentence. Her fingernails cut so deep into her palms in her clenched hands that she was starting to get numb from the pain. She inhaled slowly and glared at him, yelling, "Are you crazy?!" The child was young and still in danger, yet Laurence wanted to draw his blood. He looked down at Zoey sitting in the wheelchair and pursed his lips. He tried to erase the tiny bit of sympathy he felt toward her. The corner of his lips turned upward into a smile, but his next words were cruel. "It's not my child. Why should I sympathize with you?" he said, staring at her so he wouldn’t miss even the slightest change of expression on her face. However, Zoey wasn’t a fool. She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Why do you want to do that?" Laurence bent down and stared into her eyes, the look in his deep and unfathomable. "You really don’t know my reason?” Before she could answer, he smirked and said, "It's for a paternity test, of course." Zoey's guess was right, but she
"I never asked you to come and see him.”"I can lie to you if you're not willing to hear the truth," Laurence said gently as if Zoey hadn’t just been mean to him. "Your son's really cute," he told her curtly. It sounded insincere and hasty. The false compliment did not make her happy. She was speechless and annoyed at the same time. Why couldn't she stop trying to make conversation with him? She knew she should not have paid him any attention.Laurence turned his gaze to her and said with mock politeness, "You aren't happy with my compliment, are you? What kind of praise do you want to hear then?" As he watched Zoey push her wheelchair toward the entrance, Laurence calmly strode forth and followed her. His tall and slender figure starkly contrasted with Zoey in the wheelchair, catching the eye of many. Human nature was hard to change. Laurence had never been an easy person to deal with. Even when he liked someone, he always had his limits and reservations. He wasn’t one to giv
Zoey watched her child very closely, so closely that she was haunted by nightmare after nightmare her first two days upon returning home.Laurence tossed the results of the paternity test in front of her, a faint sneer playing on his lips. Step by step, he closed the distance between them, just as he had when he slammed the pregnancy test report in front of her months ago, demanding to know what it meant.Zoey retreated in fear, feeling suffocated under the pressure the flimsy piece of paper inflicted. Before she could speak, the man grabbed her jaw, sending a sharp pain through her body. She heard him coldly state, "Where do you think you're bringing my son?"The scenes in her dreams always switched up abruptly. In the blink of an eye, she saw Laurence carrying her child away without looking back.She was so frightened that she woke up in a puddle of cold sweat. Even though she knew it was just a dream, the fear lingered. Because of that, she sometimes found herself reluctant to t
Laurence had had enough of the stupid thing in his arms feeding from his bottle. He raised his gaze to look at Zoey, who was a bundle of nerves, and asked again casually, "His name's Teddy?"Zoey was beyond worried that he would "accidentally" drop her child. She itched to lash out at him, but with the child held hostage in his arms, she had no choice but to swallow her anger. She replied slowly, "No, that's just his nickname."She took a deep breath and slowly stretched out her arms. "Come on. He's crying. Let me carry him."Laurence glanced at the plump baby with fair skin. "He won't die from crying another second or two."Laurence had little to no patience with children, to begin with. He felt that as long as the child was alive, how he was raised didn't matter."But he does make a lot of noise when he's crying."Zoey didn't dare snatch Teddy back from Laurence with force. She tried to regain control over herself; the least she could do was not look so flustered. She asked, "W
Teddy was only a month old. It didn't seem appropriate for him to travel around. Zoey had already chosen a small city she deemed suitable for her and Teddy to live in.Back in university, she had wanted to visit this city in the southwest, but life was difficult back then. The money she earned from her part-time jobs could barely cover her mother’s medical expenses. She’d had no choice but to watch others' online travel guides with envy. Once she started working, she became busy beyond measure. She couldn’t find time to travel. It now seemed like the perfect time. Moving away symbolized an escape from the turmoil in Northwell.That night, Zoey outlined her plan to her mother and uncle. Janet had been in the same position once, so she could see where her daughter was coming from. If they were to keep this up, they would never see the end of their tense relationship. There was no predicting if she would end up yielding at some point. Love grew slowly over days and months, much like how
As soon as the driver saw that Zoey had passed out through his rearview mirror, he diverted from her desired destination and drove onto the viaduct toward a remote suburban area. He wound down the window and the glass partition around the driver's seat to dispel the smell in the car. Only then did he remove his mask.After getting off the highway, he found a spot on the side of the road and pulled over.He wasn't in a hurry. He lit a cigarette and dialed a number. He spoke into the phone, "She's out cold, and the baby's in the car. Where should I take them?"The voice on the other end responded immediately.The man took a drag of his cigarette and answered, "Have the money ready. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." When he was done with his cigarette, the man calmly hit the road again.It hadn't been long since he was released from prison. He rented a nearly abandoned taxi from a car rental company, then attached a fake license plate before heading off. It was the moment he had bee