Chapter 3

William frowned at Rebecca's obvious mocking tone and lowered his voice, "She's a patient, and besides, the food wasn't even touched. Rebecca, is this really the point right now?"

Rebecca closed her eyes and murmured, "You're right, that's not the point right now. The point is..."

Her gaze moved past Jasper and Esme and landed on Celeste. "Miss Brown looks perfectly fine. Since you all think I have bad intentions, then from now on, you shouldn't need to ask me to cook for Miss Brown anymore, right?"

Celeste was stunned, then quickly said, "Rebecca, my parents didn't mean it that way, and William is right. It was my fault for being stubborn and switching meals with William, which caused the allergic reaction to the shrimp paste. This isn't your fault."

"Maybe you don't blame me, but your parents do, William does, and even on the way to the hospital, my own son blamed me for not being careful with your diet. That made me feel pretty guilty too."

Rebecca gently pulled her hand away from William's and continued, "When I agreed to cook for you, it was partly because I felt sorry that you don't have much time left, and partly because Oliver spoke up for you. But honestly, I didn't want to do it."

William tugged at her sleeve. He was surprised that Rebecca, who was usually so gentle, was now showing such rare aggression.

"Rebecca, let's talk about this when we get home."

Rebecca laughed lightly, then looked at William and asked him, "Weren't you the one who insisted I come here?"

William was rarely at a loss for words.

"William, I'm your wife. What does it have to do with me that your first love has a terminal illness? Do I have to watch you two act all lovey-dovey in front of me every day and cook for her too? Miss Brown, I never wanted to cook for you in the first place. And after I did, my husband sits down to eat with you. If people heard about this, even if I did poison the food, wouldn't that be perfectly understandable?"

She said this turning toward William. She'd had enough of them!

"William, did you hear that? This woman has bad intentions, and now she's admitting it herself! A woman like this, even without Celeste, you should seriously think about whether you should get a divorce!"

Esme was only making things worse, but her words made William's heart skip a beat. He said almost without thinking, "Mrs. Brown, Rebecca is my wife, and that won't change. I hope you can be more respectful in your words. Last night was just an accident. If you really want to hold someone responsible, come at me."

"William?"

Esme was shocked. She hadn't expected that William would bring Rebecca here only to defend her.

Rebecca was equally stunned, but she didn't show it. However, she quickly convinced herself not to read too much into it. Just because William defended her didn't mean he truly cared about her. Five years ago, he had stood up for her too.

"William, Rebecca, I'm so sorry. Because of me, you're both so uncomfortable. I'm sorry."

Celeste pushed herself up from the bed to get down, but a small hand blocked the edge of the bed. "Celeste, why are you getting out of bed?"

Oliver's expression wasn't good. He didn't understand adult matters, but even at his young age, he could sense Rebecca's hostility toward Celeste. He didn't understand why his mother treated her so badly when she was so nice.

"Oliver," Celeste touched Oliver's face and forced a bitter smile. "I want to get down and apologize to your mother."

"Celeste, you didn't do anything wrong. Why should you apologize? Mom's cooking sent you to the hospital. Shouldn't Mom be the one apologizing?"

They say children speak without thinking, but to Rebecca, this was not knowing right from wrong.

He was already four years old. Other children at this age only had eyes for their mothers, but he favored an outsider.

This was the most frustating thing for her since Celeste had come between her and William.

"Oliver, don't say that. Your mother is wonderful. She's the best person I've ever met. Rebecca, I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"Can you stop being so fake?"

Rebecca felt nauseous. "In front of Oliver, in front of William, do you really have to be so disgusting?"

The words squeezed out through her teeth were immediately met with the sound of a loud slap.

"Mrs. Brown!"

By the time William reacted, Esme's slap had already landed on Rebecca.

"William, take your wife and get out!"

Esme pointed at them and shouted, "Who does she think she is, talking to Celeste like that? William, don't forget, when you were little, you ate at our house! And now you're letting this woman trash talk to Celeste, who's seriously ill! William, don't forget, you're the one who wronged Celeste! Rebecca, you really think too highly of yourself, but if you hadn't used dirty tricks back then, could you have married William?"

"Mom," Celeste's face turned red with anxiety. "Stop it, please stop."

"Why should I stop? If she had come here today to properly apologize to you, that would be one thing. But what did she come here for? To give us this attitude?"

William closed his eyes, no longer caring about the Brown family, and pulled Rebecca out.

Rebecca's face burned with pain as William dragged her into the stairwell of the fire escape. "Why?" he asked her.

"What?" Rebecca looked up.

"You're not usually someone who holds grudges like this. Why were you so callous today?"

"William, you're really asking me why?" She stared at him incredulously.

"If you can't even figure this out, then I think Esme is right. We should think about whether our marriage needs to continue."

"What are you talking about now?"

If William had known bringing Rebecca to the hospital would turn out like this, he never would have made her come.

"William, these five years, I've become someone I don't even recognize," she said, meeting his gaze with a coldness that wasn't there before.

"So in the end, you still can't get over Celeste, is that it?" William also seemed to be losing patience.