Chapter 5

When Emily regained consciousness, she found herself in the hospital.

Thank goodness, she was still alive!

Her whole body ached and felt weak. Her face was pale, and both arms were clearly bandaged, with dried bloodstains on the white gauze.

James sat by the bed. When he saw her wake up, a flash of delight crossed his eyes.

"Emily, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Emily ignored him.

James frowned. Emily shouldn't be acting this way.

In the past, whenever he did something that upset Emily, as long as he stayed by her side and said a few caring words, Emily would greet him with a smile and gently comfort him.

But now Emily was deliberately ignoring him. This must be Emily playing hard to get.

James had originally felt guilty toward Emily, but seeing her act this way now, his face darkened and his tone became impatient.

"Emily, even if Sophia's incident had nothing to do with you and I misunderstood you, you still shouldn't treat me this way."

Emily stared blankly at James and asked coldly, "Then how should I treat you?"

"Of course you should show your generosity and tolerance like before. I did misunderstand you about Sophia, but that doesn't mean you're innocent."

Doesn't mean she's innocent? Then what does it mean?

Soon James gave her the answer.

"If you weren't so scheming and always bullying Sophia, I wouldn't have misunderstood and thought you were trying to hurt her." James warned her in a cold voice, "I hope you'll learn from this and behave yourself."

She clearly wasn't the one in the wrong. James knew she wasn't in the wrong either, yet he still warned her like this!

It was truly ridiculous!

A sense of helplessness surrounded Emily. She was too tired to look at James anymore.

She closed her eyes, using silence to protect herself.

James was stung by her attitude. His face darkened, and he angrily grabbed Emily's shoulders to question her.

"Emily, what's with that attitude? I said all that to help you be a better wife to me, and this is how you treat me?"

After saying this, James continued to shout angrily, "You're so stubborn. I should never have married you in the first place."

He shook Emily forcefully, hoping she would open her eyes and look at him.

But Emily kept her eyes tightly shut. Her wounds reopened and started bleeding. The pain made her face even paler, but she still didn't open her eyes to look at him.

She was afraid she'd be so disgusted by James that she'd throw up.

James looked at her stubborn refusal to open her eyes, and irritation rose in his heart. He wanted to continue yelling at her, but his gaze was drawn to the gauze that was gradually turning red.

He suppressed his emotions, his eyes full of regret.

"Emily, I'm sorry! I know I've wronged you in this matter. When you're better, I'll agree to one thing you ask."

"Don't move. Just bear with it for now. I'll go get the doctor."

"No need, I'll call them myself."

Emily's voice was very soft. She didn't want any more contact with James. She just wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

James just thought Emily was throwing a tantrum and coaxed her gently.

"Emily, no matter what, you shouldn't gamble with your own health out of spite. When you're better, I'll find a way to make it up to you."

"I don't want your compensation." Emily refused without hesitation, trying hard to distance herself from James.

James stared at the stubborn Emily with deep eyes and continued to coax her patiently.

"You're my wife. For the past five years, you've done your duty taking care of me and the family. This time I misunderstood you, so compensating you is only right. Whether you want it or not, I'm going to give it."

Who cares?

Emily stared coldly at James, wanting to make things clear with him, but a crisp sound came from the hospital room door.

Sophia stood at the door in a white dress, looking panicked. Emily and James both looked toward her.

Sophia's eyes were red, and she bit her lip tightly, as if trying hard to hold something back.

"I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you two. You're husband and wife—you should be this intimate."

"James, you're the man I love most. I only want you to be happy."

Sophia slowly forced a smile, looking very strained.

"Sophia, you..." James felt sorry for Sophia and instinctively wanted to explain.

However, Sophia didn't give him the chance. She turned and ran, wiping her eyes with her right hand.

James frowned anxiously. He looked at Emily, whose wound was bleeding, his eyes conflicted.

Emily acted as if she didn't see James. She was gathering her strength, preparing to get up.

"I'll go check on Sophia. Call the nurse yourself."

In the end, James couldn't let Sophia go. He left this sentence behind and quickly walked away, but then saw Eli crouching at the hospital room door.

He immediately felt relieved. "Eli, go help Emily press the nurse call button and watch the nurse help Emily with her bandages. Stay here with Emily for me, okay?"

Eli nodded obediently and promised James, "I'll definitely complete the task Dad gave me."

James knew Eli was sensible, well-behaved, and smart. This small task would be no problem for him.

"I'm going to catch up with Mom. I'll be back soon. Sorry to trouble you."

"I'm not troubled. Dad, go catch up with Mom quickly."

James affectionately patted Eli's head and hurried after Sophia, who had disappeared around the corner.

"Emily, Dad asked me to take care of you." As Eli spoke, he walked to the bedside in small steps.

"Thank you, but I don't need it." The child was innocent—Emily couldn't bring herself to speak harshly to him.

Eli shook his head insistently. "You need help. Dad told me everything. Let me call the nurse for you."

Looking very serious, he didn't give Emily a chance to refuse and went straight to press the nurse call button.

Emily thought to herself that no matter what grudges the adults had, it shouldn't affect a child's pure kindness.

But then Eli violently ripped off the nurse call button.

"You bad woman who bullies my mom, I won't help you."

"It's all because of you, this bad woman, that I'm going to become a child without a father. I hate you! Hate you!"

"A bad woman like you deserves to bleed. It's all because you made my mom sad and made her cry. I won't help you."

Eli stared hard at Emily, his voice shrill, his attitude terrifyingly hostile.

Emily's whole body hurt, and her vision started to go dark again. She knew this was a sign of excessive blood loss.

She gritted her teeth and used all her strength to sit up. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat. She endured the pain, lifted the blanket, and got out of bed. Eli's eyes widened and he suddenly took a step back.

Emily gave Eli a brief glance and dragged her heavy body slowly toward the door.

Even though she was angry and upset, she wouldn't take it out on a child.

With each step, her body convulsed with pain, but she didn't dare stop, afraid she'd collapse on the floor the next second.

The area of blood on the white gauze kept growing.

Emily wanted to call for help, but she was too weak. As soon as she opened her mouth, she almost passed out.

She could only move in small steps. The nurses' station was less than ten feet from her room.

But this ten-foot distance nearly cost her her life.

If she wanted to live well, she had to stay far away from these terrible people and situations. She had to leave as soon as possible.