CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: TIMOTHY, IT HURTS SO MUCH...

I avoided his gaze, perfunctorily saying, "I had her throw it away for me. Anyway, this necklace means nothing to me anymore. Out of sight, out of mind."

The smile on Timothy Xavier’s handsome face instantly vanished. He stood upright and said word by word, "Utter nonsense!"

Then he ordered outside, "Nanny Lowell, call the police! Say a huge amount of jewels have been stolen from the villa, and the suspect is the Sutton Family’s daughter."

"No!"

I instinctively grabbed his hand, almost pleading, "Timothy Xavier, don’t call the police. It has nothing to do with Jenna Sutton, it’s really not her!"

Timothy just looked at me, his face covered as if with a layer of frost, gloomily saying, "Then tell me clearly where the necklace is today? Or explain to me clearly what Jenna Sutton was doing in the master bedroom? If you can clarify either, I’ll believe you. Speak!"

I bit my lip, my mind already a complete jumble.

I could only desperately shout at him, "I already said, I had Jenna Sutton take the necklace out and throw it away! I already said it, it’s you who doesn’t believe me!"

"Where did she throw it? I’ll send someone to find it!"

Timothy Xavier interrogated me as if I were a criminal, pressing relentlessly, leaving me no room to retreat.

But I knew if I told the truth, the consequences would only be worse than they are now.

Timothy Xavier was already certain that Jenna Sutton and I were hiding something from him. His need for control was strong; even if he no longer loved me, he still had to know everything.

Seeing that I was still not speaking, his patience was running out.

"I’ll give you one night. Kneel in the temple and think it over carefully. When daybreak comes, if you still haven’t given me an answer, I’ll call the police."

After saying that, he directly wheeled me to the temple, making me kneel in front of the golden statue of God.

However, this time he had someone prepare a cushion, unlike last time when the bodyguards pressed me to kneel on the cold floor.

Nanny Lowell saw that my foot hadn’t healed yet and wanted to plead for me, but was scared back by a glance from Timothy Xavier.

I thought that on this long night, I would be kneeling alone in this eerie temple.

But unexpectedly, Timothy Xavier stood right next to me.

He faced God, rubbing the Buddha Beads one by one in his hand, lost in thought.

Kneeling here, not only did my mind not calm down, but listening to the sound of the beads clinking against each other made my thoughts even more chaotic.

...

All night long, I knelt for as long as he stood.

During this time, Serena Sawyer brought Doris by twice, trying to get him to rest, but he did not leave.

I didn’t know what he meant by this?

Was this personal surveillance, afraid I would contact Jenna Sutton, afraid we would fabricate a story?

Although I did have such thoughts initially.

But now, Timothy Xavier had already blocked any path for me.

Unconsciously, the sky outside showed a hint of gray, brightening the dim temple a little.

Kneeling for several hours, my legs didn’t feel like my own anymore, almost numb from the pain.

Misfortunes never come alone; my stomach also began to ache faintly, eventually turning into a sharp pain.

Covering my upper abdomen, I said to Timothy Xavier, "My stomach hurts."

Timothy glanced at me, coldly saying, "Is this the answer you came up with after a whole night, hmm?"

"Timothy Xavier, I... my stomach really hurts."

Cold sweat began to appear densely on my forehead.

But Timothy Xavier didn’t believe my words.

He simply squatted in front of me, his cold black eyes fixed on my face, and said, "Then let me ask you. That lawyer friend you met yesterday, does it have anything to do with Jenna Sutton going to the master bedroom?"

My heart skipped a beat, calming down to say, "No, just friends meeting up. Last time when I fainted from anemia, didn’t she also come to see me? You met her in the hospital room."

"Then explain to me now, how come it was such a coincidence? You met the lawyer in the morning, and Jenna Sutton ran to the master bedroom in the afternoon. What was she doing there?"

He began a new round of questioning.

At this moment, I suddenly thought of a reason that might invoke Timothy Xavier’s compassion.

I met his scrutinizing gaze, dejectedly saying, "I asked Jenna to find the B ultrasound photo from when I was pregnant back then. I miss my child, and that B ultrasound photo is her only picture. I remember leaving the photo in the master bedroom’s nightstand and didn’t bring it over."

Timothy Xavier indeed didn’t pursue the questioning further, and the suspicion in his eyes lessened a bit.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he said, "That’s a good answer."

But the next second, he told Nanny Lowell, "Go and call Jenna Sutton over."

"Timothy Xavier, I’ve already told you, why are you still going to trouble Jenna!"

I became nervous again, and my stomach pain worsened.

Timothy Xavier curled his lips and said, "Call her over for a confrontation. If both your statements match, then this matter will be over."

I hadn’t expected this man to be so deep-minded.

Fortunately, I didn’t tell the truth.

Otherwise, with his methods, I wouldn’t hope for a smooth divorce!

Nanny Lowell gave me a worried look but could only follow Timothy Xavier’s orders to make the call.

I didn’t know whether it was nerves or the fact that I hadn’t had a drop of water all night, but the pain in my stomach spread through my entire being.

Suddenly, I felt a salty taste in my throat, and I vomited a mouthful of blood.

Staring at the dark red liquid on the floor, I was shocked myself.

Could it be, as the doctor said, that my gastritis has become cancerous?

"Zoe."

Timothy immediately picked me up and walked straight outside.

He didn’t wait for the driver; he drove me to the hospital himself.

In the car, I didn’t vomit blood again, but my stomach continued to twist in pain.

I glanced at the man beside me, with tightly pursed thin lips, driving silently, and bitterly curved the corners of my lips: "Now, do you believe me? Timothy, I didn’t lie to you."

Timothy still didn’t speak, only the speed of the car increased.

At the hospital, he carried me straight to the emergency room.

From this angle, I could only see his tense jawline, and it seemed like a long time since I’d seen Timothy worried for me.

The emergency room doctor learned of my symptoms and suggested an urgent endoscopy, saying there might be digestive tract bleeding, and hurriedly took me into the endoscopy room.

...

An hour later, the endoscopy results came out.

Timothy was nowhere to be seen.

I thought he had left me again.

But shortly after, he returned.

I could smell a faint scent of tobacco on him.

Timothy rarely smoked, only when he was very upset.

So, did he just go to smoke?

"How are the results?"

He frowned and asked the doctor.

The doctor handed the endoscopy report to him and said with gravity: "I looked up Ms. Ellison’s previous records; she has severe chronic gastritis combined with a gastric ulcer. This time it was likely bleeding from the ulcer that caused the vomiting of blood."

"Gastric ulcer?"

Timothy became more puzzled and continued to ask: "She’s so young, how could she have such an illness?"

The doctor said: "Ms. Ellison has a history of iron deficiency anemia, and I see the previous records mentioned her being vegetarian for a long time. A poor diet is likely the reason her gastritis worsened."

After listening, Timothy’s tone deepened, and he asked: "What’s the treatment now?"

"For now, stop the bleeding. If it recurs frequently, we might need to consider surgery to remove part of the stomach. Otherwise, it could become cancerous. These consequences should have been discussed with Ms. Ellison previously."

Timothy was silent for a long time, and said word by word: "Use the best medicine, the best experts, I won’t allow ’cancerous changes’ to happen to her."

The doctor advised: "Actually, stomach disease not only relies on medication but also on daily maintenance. The stomach is an emotional organ, and during times of depression or low mood, it’s more prone to illness. So, the mood must be kept pleasant daily. Of course, we’ll do our best to treat."

"Alright, thank you."

Timothy rarely said polite words.

After the doctor left, he looked at me deeply and asked: "Did you know of this issue when you were hospitalized last time?"

"Yes."

I leaned on the hospital bed, replying softly.

Timothy’s voice grew heavier as he asked: "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Only then did I look at him, slightly pulling the corners of my lips, and said: "Because you’re too busy, you don’t have time for my matters."

He heard the implication behind my words, and his brows furrowed deeper.

His slender fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, appearing quite agitated.

Usually, when he’s in a bad mood, he fiddles with Buddha Beads to calm down, but leaving in such a hurry today, he didn’t have anything to soothe himself.

Just then, Nanny Lowell’s call came in.

I vaguely heard Nanny Lowell report that Jenna Sutton had come to the house.

My heart jumped.

Afraid he would confront Jenna Sutton about her going into the master bedroom today.

But Timothy merely glanced at me with an indescribable look, then said to the phone: "Let her go back, it’s alright now."

I didn’t expect that Timothy wouldn’t dig deeper and just let the matter pass.

After hanging up, as if seeing through my thoughts, he curved his lips in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and asked: "Are you relieved now?"

I understood his implication, restrained my inner tension, and said: "Anyway, Jenna Sutton and I have done nothing wrong, what is there to be afraid of?"

Timothy sighed slightly, his handsome face showing a hint of weariness, as he sat on the chair beside me, saying: "You worked yourself and exhausted all night last night, rest for a while!"

After speaking, he leaned back in the chair himself and closed his eyes to rest.

Timothy’s way of transparently understanding but not revealing made me feel inexplicably anxious.