Chapter 4

"You're just in time," Fallon said. "I wanted to discuss your wife's—"

"Dr. Butler." Sophia Moore rushed over, cutting Fallon off. "The patient in Room 215 is experiencing discomfort. Could you check on her?"

Fallon hurried away.

Sophia ignored Gideon and turned to leave, but he blocked her path. "Where's Jojo?"

"Oh, so you remember Jojo exists? I thought you'd forgotten about your wife completely." Sophia was Josephine's best friend and had never particularly liked Gideon, but she'd never been this openly hostile before.

Gideon had no time to analyze this now. His grip tightened slightly on her wrist—a warning. "I'll ask one more time. Where is Jojo?"

Despite the pain, Sophia didn't yield. She laughed coldly. "You let Jojo come to the hospital alone. What were you doing instead? Really working?"

Gideon's expression darkened. Josephine might not want to confront him yet, and Sophia wouldn't expose him outright, but she clearly needed to vent her frustration.

"You men are all the same. No matter how good your home-cooked meal is, you still crave that greasy junk food outside."

"Move," he commanded, walking toward Sophia's office. The door was locked.

Gideon turned to her. "Give me the key."

"Why should I? This is my office. Please leave."

Her nervousness only convinced Gideon that Josephine was inside. He pressed the door handle twice, as if he could see through the wood to the person on the other side.

"Jojo," he said softly, "come home with me."

Throughout their marriage, Josephine might have been cold to others, but she'd always been gentle and attentive with him. Whenever he turned around, she was there. This was the first time he couldn't even see her face.

He persistently knocked, disturbing nearby patients. Sophia tried to stop him. "Jojo isn't here. If you keep causing a scene, I'll call security."

Gideon simply dialed the hospital director. The director arrived quickly, bowing obsequiously to Gideon before scolding Sophia. "Open the door immediately!"

Sophia finally realized that Gideon's power and status had grown far beyond what she'd imagined. He was no longer that poor boy everyone could bully. No wonder Josephine preferred to secretly get an abortion rather than tell him the truth.

He was an obsessive madman!

Reluctantly, she opened the office door. Gideon rushed in to find it empty.

Behind him, Sophia's mocking voice: "Don't waste your energy. Jojo's not here. She left already. If you hurry, you might still catch her."

Gideon spun around, his eyes dark. "You deliberately delayed me?"

Sophia showed no fear, even laughing boldly. "Yes, I just wanted to see you panic."

Gideon gave her a cold glance before striding away, calling Josephine repeatedly as he went.

Sophia slipped into an adjacent department—the abortion clinic.

Josephine sat on a hospital bed. "Thank you, Sophie."

She hadn't wanted to see Gideon, so Sophia had volunteered to drive him away.

"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for." Sophia looked at her with concern. "Are you sure about this? Your health is fragile, and abortion isn't minor surgery. If it damages your body further... that cheating bastard isn't worth it."

Josephine had already considered all this. It was better to do it early rather than delay. The longer she waited, the harder it would be to let go.

Just moments ago, hearing Gideon's voice outside—the same voice from when they were deeply in love—had nearly made her waver. He was stubborn and obsessive, gentle only with her. She'd always believed they were meant for each other. Seven years of love, countless days and nights together.

But his betrayal stuck in her throat like a fishbone. Every time she thought of it, she felt nothing but disgust.

"Sophie, I've made up my mind."

"Alright. I won't try to change it anymore."

Unwilling to entrust Josephine to anyone else, Sophia decided to perform the procedure herself. As the surgery was about to begin, Sophia held Josephine's ice-cold hand—clear evidence that she wasn't as composed as she appeared.

Josephine closed her eyes, her mind involuntarily recalling Gideon's sweet words from the past.

"It doesn't matter if we can't have children. The two of us are enough."

"Jojo, you're the person I love most."

"No, you're my only love."

But all of that ended with those words: "Lori, have my baby."

Noticing Sophia's hesitation, Josephine opened her eyes. In the surgical light, there was a glimmer of tears, but beneath them, absolute determination. "Sophie, let's proceed."

Sophia sighed and slowly picked up the scalpel.

What followed was chaos. Shouts, crying, the heavy smell of blood, and the urgent voices of doctors and nurses all blended together. Even now, sitting in the recovery room, Josephine couldn't shake the image from her mind.

Sophia brought her a cup of hot water. "Are you okay?"

Josephine didn't respond. The pregnant woman who'd been rushed into surgery, her white bedsheets soaked through with blood, was a horrifying sight. More than an hour had passed since she'd been taken in, with no update yet. The doctors had already issued a critical condition notice to her family.

The relatives sat on the floor, weeping and begging the doctors to save both mother and child... What if that were her? Her elderly parents, who'd worked hard their whole lives, would be devastated. And Gideon? He'd probably be glad if something happened to her—it would give him the perfect excuse to be with his mistress. That would truly mean losing everything.

She suddenly shivered.

Sophia, thinking Josephine was frightened, reassured her: "Pregnancy is always risky, whether carrying to term or terminating. Severe bleeding is a common complication... Even I can't guarantee your complete safety."

All surgeries carried risks; no doctor could make absolute promises.

Looking at Josephine's pale face, Sophia felt deeply sympathetic. "Jojo, if you're scared, go home and reconsider. Your health is already fragile—you could wait and build up your strength. You only just found out about the pregnancy, so there's still time. No rush..."

Josephine clutched her water cup tightly. "I'll... think about it some more."

By the time she returned home, night had fallen. The living room was dark. After changing her shoes, Josephine looked up to see a figure sitting on the sofa, startling her.

The lights came on. It was Gideon.

Exhausted in body and spirit, she had no energy to deal with him. Pretending not to see him, she headed straight for the stairs.

"Jojo, where did you go?"

"The hospital."

As she passed the sofa, Gideon caught her wrist. She instinctively tried to pull away, then forced herself to stop, putting on a faint smile. "Did you need something?"

"Where's the stomach medicine?"

Only then did she notice how unusually pale Gideon looked.

"Third drawer under the TV cabinet."

Josephine answered without thinking—she'd always managed the household medications. Gideon rose to get the medicine, his movements slowed by the stomach pain. Yet Josephine made no move to help him, which only irritated him further as he took the pills.

Feeling hurt, he turned and embraced her slender body. "When you're not home, there's no one to take care of me..."