Credence moved his wheelchair and was the first to reach the operating room doors. He stared at the attending doctor who stepped out and asked him with a worried look on his face, “Doctor, how is my wife?”
“Not good.”
The white-haired doctor sighed, shook his head, and said. “The lives of both the patient and the baby are safe for now, but we will need to carefully observe them for the next 24 hours to be sure. The patient is too weak to bear any further stimulation, otherwise, not only will the child but the patient herself might not survive the additional trauma.”
Upon hearing this, Credence’s face immediately turned dour. He thanked the doctor and immediately looked towards Dorothy. She was being pushed out by the nurse.
Her petite face was as pale as snow and her eyes were closed. Her whole body looked devoid of blood, and she lay motionless on the cart. She was still unconscious.
Even asleep, her hands were wrapped around her swollen belly. She was holding on to her precious child.
Her children were more important than anything else.
But if something happened to her, how would her children survive?
Credence pushed his wheelchair with both hands until he reached Dorothy’s bed. He stretched out his pale hand and gently held Dorothy’s slender wrist. He was reluctant to let her go.
Her wrist showed how thin she had become. The only thing he could feel was her bones, there were no muscles at all. Rubbing her hand caused Credence to fall into a moment of despair.
Soon, a trace of pain flashed across his face. As he followed the hospital bed forward, he murmured to himself. “Honey, I am sorry! I won’t let you suffer anymore.”
As he called her honey, his voice was filled with tenderness along with a hint of guilt and regret.
“Credence, you better f*cking let Dory go right now. You always end up hurting her. What right do you have to touch her again?”
Juelz’s eyes were burning with anger. He rushed forward and was about to tear Credence apart. But before he could take a step forward, Marvin firmly blocked his way.
Marvin looked resolute, but in Juelz’s point of view, he was just another one of Credence’s accomplices.
Jonathan the troublemaker also stepped in and stood in front of Juelz. He bellowed at him. “Juelz, you shameless jerk. Dorothy is still Credence’s wife. How is he not allowed to touch her? If he isn’t? Then who is? You? Stop preying on his woman!”
“You’ve wasted so many years on her, why can’t you understand this? You can’t have her! You’re nothing compared to Credence. He’s tall, handsome, gentle, considerate, and graceful. That’s why Dorothy doesn’t like you. If I were you, I would have killed myself instead of continuing this embarrassing act.”
Jonathan’s words cut like sharp hooks. They pierced through Juelz’s heart, revealing a bloody truth he was never able to face.
Dorothy only ever saw him as a brother and had never loved him. He had always known this, yet he continued to lie to himself. He convinced himself that it was because he didn’t do enough for her, that was why she didn’t love him back.
He thought that as long as he continued to work hard for her, sooner or later, she would change. She would see just how much he truly loved her.
After that, she would come back to him and love him.
But now, with his beautiful dream completely shattered by Jonathan. Juelz suddenly realized that all of this was just wishful thinking.
From the very beginning, Dorothy never felt any affection for him. No matter how much he did for her, she only felt gratitude, not love.
But, what about Credence?
No matter how badly Credence had hurt her, as long as he gave her one simple look, she would immediately forget all about the pain that he inflicted on her and return to his embrace.
This was the difference between them. The person she had always loved was Credence, not Juelz!
Juelz turned red. He gritted his teeth really hard. Only then did he raise his hand and forcefully pushed Jonathan away. Leaping forwards, he reached Credence from behind. Emphasizing every word, he spoke in a fierce and decisive tone. “Credence, for Dory’s happiness, I will respect her wishes. From now on, I won’t cling to her anymore!”
“However, if you dare to hurt her ever again, even if it costs me my life, I will do whatever it takes to take Dory away from Talco City, away from you. It will be f*cking impossible for you to find her. I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life. I mean it!”
He was finally going to give up on Dorothy. To Juelz, this was a ticking time bomb that had finally exploded inside him. He felt his entire body burn, from his heart to his fingertips. He could taste blood in his mouth.
But he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Credence. He clenched his teeth and swallowed his blood-stained spit, preventing it from flowing out.
Credence did not expect Juelz to rush over to him only to say those words. His face was still the entire time. Then he raised his head and smiled. “Juelz, from this moment on, I will never hurt her. I won’t even give you the chance to pursue her, so just give it up!”
Juelz’s face instantly turned black. His throat was filled with blood and he could not hold it back any longer. He parted his lips and blood splattered onto the white walls. It was a shocking sight to behold.
Jonathan was taken aback. “F*ck, Credence only said a few words, yet that was enough to rile Juelz up so much that he vomited blood? This rivalry of theirs has gone too far, don’t you think?”
Marvin glanced over at Germaine. She was standing aside but was also shocked. He frowned at this. “Juelz is your cousin, isn’t he? What are you waiting for? Take him to a doctor.”
Having observed them, he knew how important Juelz was to Dorothy better than anyone else.
If anything happened to Juelz because of Credence, Dorothy might forgive him. But she will remember them, and as more of these incidents occur, they will slowly fill her heart. Sooner or later, they would all burst out, and that will cause a big problem in their relationship.
So, for now, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Juelz.
“Alright, I will take him to a doctor at once. Please take good care of Dorothy.”
Being solemnly looked at by Marvin, Germaine quickly came to her senses and rushed to Juelz’s side. She held one of his arms and turned to walk away. Seeing his blood-stained face, she was overcome with distress. “Juelz, since you can’t bear to lose Dory, why did you tell them that you’ve decided to give her up? Sh*t, aren’t you just shooting yourself in the foot?”
“How could I ever do that to myself?”
Juelz endured the pain and sighed. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. “I gave her up because I knew she’d never love me. From the very beginning, she only ever loved Credence. She doesn’t love anyone else and is unable to love anyone else. I have been by her side for a total of 18 years, five months, and four days. I have been with her longer than Credence has…”
“But, what does it matter? If she doesn’t love me, that means she doesn’t love me! Even if I met her an entire decade before Credence did, she still wouldn’t fall in love with me! Since I can’t make her fall in love with me no matter what I do, then what’s the point of me continuing to pursue her?”
He raised a hand in the air and covered his eyes to prevent his tears from gushing out.
He was reluctant to give her up. But for Dorothy’s happiness, he had to stop this impossible love story.
…
Inside the VIP ward.
Dorothy was silently lying on the bed. She was in a daze and had been this way for two whole days in a row.
The attending doctor had come to visit her and did a lot of detailed examinations on her. Finally, all the doctors turned towards each other with heavy sighs. “The pressure that the patient has been through was too much for her. If she can’t overcome her own psychological pressure, she will be unable to return to normal for the time being.”
“As her husband, you can try to help her by calling out to her. By showing her love and affection, those familiar feelings might be able to draw her back to consciousness.”
Credence clenched his fists. “Alright, I understand.”
After the doctors left, Credence signaled for Jonathan and Marvin to leave. He took hold of Dorothy’s hand. He bent down and put his lips close to her ear, and softly called her name.