“When did this start?” Frederick Addington asked worriedly.
Her illness was obvious to him, it was almost the same as her mother’s. She did not want to hide it. “After my attempted suicide failed.”
Frederick was puzzled. “You’re a psychologist. Haven’t you seen many patients?”
Stella Grace had mentioned she was mentally ill before, but he didn’t take her seriously then. He did now.
“A doctor can’t treat herself. I tried to hypnotize myself many times, but I failed.
I put two types of medicine in my bag. One is sleeping pills, and the other is Chlorpromazine.
Chlorpromazine acts as a tranquilizer, it works wonders on mania. However, it has serious side effects. It’s toxic and remain in the body for up to six hours.
Therefore, I can only take it once every six hours or it would cause amenorrhea, high pressure and depression.
That’s why I have long-term insomnia. And that is why I have sleeping pills with me, I am dependent on them.
I don’t think I can live that long. Even if I live to a ripe old age, I will still develop dementia. I would not remember anyone, and I’ll be eventually be immersed in my own thoughts. I would not even know when I need to pee. Even if you talk to me, I won’t hear you. It’s worse than being in a coma,” Stella said thinly.
Frederick’s heart ached terribly.
Stella had been studying since she was a child. Even when she was in college and needed to work to support herself, she was still No. 1 in class and secured scholarships every year.
She was such a smart girl, would she really get dementia?
He knew about Celine Grace.
Frederick frowned. “It can be cured, right?”
“I don’t know. Maybe in the future when medical technology becomes even more advanced, there could be a chance. But the future is too far away for me, so I’d never really thought about it.” Stella took a deep breath and looked at him. “Frederick, are you willing to give me the child now?”
Frederick angrily grabbed Stella’s shoulder. “Why are you still so stubborn? Who was the one who made you commit suicide? Who had caused you to develop this illness? It’s not me, it’s Jasper. If you stay with Jasper, your illness will only get worse. Let me tell you, Bettany also has a child. That child belongs to Jasper.”
Stella’s calm eyes widened. “What did you say? How is that possible? Bettany told me that the child was conceived through rape when she was imprisoned.”
“Why do you think those people injected drugs into Jasper six years ago? Jasper ran away before he had the chance to be intimate with Bettany. However, he eventually slept with you. After that, they collected Jasper’s sperm to impregnate Bettany. They wanted her to have Jasper’s child to threaten him in the future,” Frederick said confidently.
Stella’s head was spinning as she stumbled back. Frederick didn’t grab her, and she almost fell. Luckily she held on to something.
She suspected that Bettany lied about being raped. Bettany should know that the child was Jasper’s.
But Jasper didn’t know.
Bettany wanted her to raise the child so that she could make Jasper feel guilty in the future.
She felt her head throb when she thought about it.
Jasper was a very responsible person. If he knew Bettany had his child, and even got raped because of him, that would change everything.
If she could not accept that change, she might really go insane and not regain her senses forever.
Suddenly, she didn’t want to struggle anymore.
She wanted to live in peace and quiet. She wanted a home, a place where she felt warmth.
A place she could always go to after a busy day.
“I choose my child,” Stella said softly. She lowered her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
Frederick hugged her excitedly. “I will take good care of you. I won’t let you get hurt again. It doesn’t matter if you can’t have children anymore. Titus is enough for both of us.”
“Is Bettany a spy?” Stella pressed.
“I don’t think so. I checked her out, she had many successful missions under her belt. You wouldn’t expect that from a spy. Why do you ask?” Frederick was puzzled.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe it’s just prejudice, but I don’t think she is a good person. On the contrary, I think Hale is a good person. Moreover, Bettany lied to me, she said she was raped. She should know best if she and Jasper were intimate before.”
“She might not have consented to it. After she fainted, his sperm could have been injected into her,” Frederick explained.
Stella raised her eyebrows. “How do you know that, did you see it with your own eyes?”
“I caught a spy. He spilled the beans, including the truth about Jasper’s child.”
Stella was still suspicious. “But if Bettany said that she was raped countless times, we can’t be sure who the father was.”
“That’s because all of them had used condoms, hence they are sure that the child is Jasper’s. Bettany was unconscious the whole time.”
Stella still didn’t buy it. “Then why didn’t they tell Bettany that the child belonged to Jasper? Bettany would have wanted to give birth to Jasper’s child. Weren’t they afraid that Bettany would kill the child?”
“It’s not like that. Bettany was raped, and she was afraid of being raped again. Pregnancy was protection to her. She would not kill the baby but protect it so she would not be hurt again.
However, if Bettany knew that the child belonged to Jasper, she would figure out what their plan was. She loved Jasper very much. For Jasper’s sake, she wouldn’t even hesitate to burn the child to death just so it could not be used against him.”
Stella stared at Frederick. “Now that they have Jasper’s sperm, why don’t they use another mother? Why Bettany?”
Frederick thought about it. “Perhaps they thought if the child was Jasper’s and hers, then Jasper would be concerned about it. Perhaps if the child had a different mother, Jasper would not be as affected.”
Stella’s eyes flashed, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
There was no logical flaw in Frederick’s words. Maybe she was just prejudiced against Bettany and was just looking for reasons to justify her attitude.
Since Bettany was a good person and not a spy, she had no reason to worry about Jasper.
Stella tried to negotiate. “Frederick, can you give me some time? Jasper and I are married, I want to divorce him properly before going with you. I will only give you three years. After that, you cannot restrict my freedom anymore, whether I choose to leave or stay. Agreed?”
Frederick had already thought of a solution. “After three years, I won’t stop you even if you decide to leave. I won’t force you either. I can agree to that. However, it won’t be easy for you and Jasper to divorce. The most convenient way is for me to fake your death.”