Chapter 4

As Henry hung up and left without hesitation, he snorted coolly at Tina. "Go on, do your best to stop Sophie from ever calling me again."

However, he had just stepped out of the doorway when he heard an audible thud behind him.

He turned in reflex and saw that Tina had collapsed to the floor.

"I warned you," he growled. "Don't you dare behave like a drama queen around me."

Tina lay on the cold hard floor, not fully unconscious.

Henry's words only sent chills down her gut, stinging her very bones.

He obviously thought she was faking it just to get him to stay, as he only saw her as a vile woman who did not care who she hurt to get what she wanted.

He still believed that Tina had deliberately drugged him on their anniversary to separate him from Linda. With that, she ousted Linda so that Linda went adrift abroad, giving birth prematurely to Rory and suffering all the pains of the world.

And now, five years later, when Linda returned to the country with Rory, she told Sophie to feign illness just to steal his attention from Rory, who was actually sick.

As a matter of fact, even Tina had trouble explaining the truth of what had happened five years ago.

Even so, she explained on more than one occasion that Sophie was not faking her illness and that it was serious, but Henry never believed her.

That was why now, even as she collapsed, Tina tried to push herself up just to snap at Henry and chase him away.

However, she was limp from head to toe.

Even as she forced herself to move, a daze caught her, and she passed out.

By the door, Henry frowned as Tina lay motionless, and he turned back just to pull her up.

"Don't think that I won't hurt you just because Grandma is protecting you—"

Before he could finish that cold outburst, Tina dropped limply again as soon as he eased his grip.

His rage subsided right then, and he reached out once more by instinct.

Pulling her into his arms, he saw that her eyes were tightly shut, and her cheeks devoid of color.

It was only then that Henry actually realized that Tina was not pretending.

-

Half an hour later, Carl Sandler, the Barnes family doctor, arrived at Maple Park post haste, going straight to the main bedroom to examine Tina.

As he stood up afterward and before he could say a word, Henry asked, "How is she?"

However, his tone was flat as if he was just asking for the sake of asking, and as if he did not care.

But Carl was afraid to make a half-hearted effort either, having served the family for twenty years and basically knowing Henry all his life.

The boy was ten when he got in a car accident—his mother was killed, and he went missing.

Everyone was insistent that Henry was dead, but Madam Barnes never gave up and kept searching.

And she persevered for six months, finally finding him in neighboring Twin-Bridge Town.

However, Henry was blind when they found him, and his temperament became volatile.

Once again, Madam Barnes searched everywhere for the best doctors, and it took another six months before Henry made a full recovery. And the first thing he did when he reimagined his vision was to tell the bodyguard who found him to take him back to Twin-Bridge Town.

It was the first time in six months that they saw light in the boy's eyes, but it was gone again when he returned.

After all, he could not find the mother and daughter pair who saved his life, as they moved to another place without leaving any contact.

That was the moment when Henry's humanity left him, as he grew cold and aloof, keeping everyone at arm's reach.

That was until Madam Barnes brought Tina home to live with them.

Barring Madam Barnes, she was the only person who could get close to Henry—once.

"Ms. Smith is suffering from emotional distress and fatigue. She just needs to rest a few days, and she'll be fine."

Still staring at Tina, Henry's eyes darkened at the mention of 'emotional distress'—in the end, all she had going for her was that sharp tongue of hers.

"Sir? Should I send someone over to attend to Ms. Smith?" Carl asked just then.

Henry used to spoil Tina rotten, even tending to her personally when she was sick.

Even so, everyone knew how much Henry despised her now.

"No," Henry said coolly and shot Carl a look, sending him away.

-

Meanwhile, Tina was caught in a nightmare of the day when she had lost Sophie.

Because Sophie stood waiting that entire day, she caught a terrible fever and needed surgery right away, only for the doctors to tell Tina that the kidney match was gone.

That there was nothing to be done.

Even as Tina's world seemed to fall apart around her, she remembered Henry.

She called him repeatedly, intent on asking him to get that kidney back, but no one answered.

Eventually, Sophie could not hold on… her little hand slid out of Tina's grasp, and her eyes closed forever.

At that very moment, Tina's heart broke. She cradled her daughter in her arms as she bawled violently.

Unable to accept the harsh reality, she cried Sophie's name repeatedly, begging her not to leave.

She rubbed her hands over Sophie's tiny body repeatedly, intent on keeping her warm.

But it did not matter how hard she tried, as warmth gradually drained out of Sophie's body, and she was eventually ice-cold.

Tina despaired.

Her dearest Sophie had really left her!

-

Henry was jolted out of his sleep by Tina's noisy sobs.

He had spent days taking care of Rory at the hospital, never getting any proper sleep.

And now, he had to be woken up soon after he dozed off.

Glowering as he opened his eyes, he grabbed the woman's arm and snapped impatient, "What the hell are you up to now—"

His rough treatment paused before he could throw her off, as he found himself staring at a tear-drenched face.

Tina was really crying in despair as if she had lost the most important person to her and kept murmuring something unintelligible.

Her voice was too soft to actually be heard clearly, but Henry more or less heard phrases like 'Please don't leave me' and 'I can't live without you'.

The coldness in his eyes fading so slightly, Henry withheld his rage, gently patting her cheek.

It had also been so long since he had spoken to her like an ordinary person, as he said stiffly, "Wake up. Stop crying already."

Tina could not hear him, however, as she remained trapped in the misery of her own world.

There was disdain in Henry's eyes as he watched her tears roll like a string of broken pearls, but pulled out some tissues and wiped her tear-drenched face.

"That's enough. Stop crying. I'm here," he repeated stiffly, but it was an effort to comfort her.

However, Tina only cried even harder, and there was no stopping her tears.

Henry's brow creased further, and he suddenly grabbed her jaw, leaned down, and kissed her.

That was his way to stop her from continuing her annoying sobs, but that kiss of comfort slowly changed.

After all, it had been a while since he had her, and he could not resist reaching deeper, losing control as he did…