CHAPTER 164: CHAPTER 164: FINALE (PART 2)

The air in the church suddenly froze.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s hand tightened around the ring, his mind in turmoil.

At the same time, his right eyelid twitched more violently, as if numerous needles were stabbing it.

Eleanor Churchill saw this, and the happy smile on her face instantly turned cold.

She instinctively shrank back behind Nathaniel Gallagher, her fingers gripping the bouquet deeply into the petals.

She forced a smile, saying, "Thank you, Miss Thompson, for gracing our wedding with your presence."

Josephine Thompson lightly parted her red lips in a smile, her slender hand brushing the waves off her shoulder with a bold sensuality, "As I should. After all, Nathaniel Gallagher is my ex-husband. How could I not come to offer my blessings on his wedding day?"

"Josephine?" Nathaniel’s voice was dry, hesitating, "Why are you..."

Josephine ignored him and walked directly in front of the couple.

Then.

She smiled as she handed the gift box to Nathaniel, her smile bright yet void of warmth: "Mr. Gallagher, this is a token of my regard."

"...What is this?" Nathaniel frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

The gift box was made of crystal, delicate and beautiful.

A bow and ribbons were tied carefully on top.

Josephine’s gorgeous smile carried a hint of mischief, "Why don’t you open it and see for yourself?"

Nathaniel paused for a few seconds, his heart pounding like a battle drum.

Eleanor gave a cold smile, "Since it’s Miss Thompson’s kind gesture, we graciously accept! Thank you for your generosity."

"You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure."

Josephine continued to smile, gesturing for the master of ceremonies holding the toast wine to come forward.

"Bring the wine over."

The master of ceremonies hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually brought it over.

Josephine picked up the wine glass with a smile, looking at Nathaniel with a grin, "Cheers to you, congratulations on your wedding."

Nathaniel hurriedly grabbed her wrist, "Don’t, you’re pregnant now, it’s not good to drink."

Josephine: "It’s fine, just one glass won’t hurt."

After that.

She pushed his hand away, raising the wine glass and drinking it all in one go.

After finishing the wine.

She smiled charmingly at him, warmly opening her arms, "Ex-husband, one last hug. May you and Mrs. Gallagher have a long-lasting marriage."

Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed, looking at her with complex and pained eyes.

Though she acted gracefully and poised.

But as he knew her.

She must have been greatly provoked to act so recklessly.

She was always such a cautious and low-key person.

"Josephine, I’ve received your blessing, please head back soon!"

Josephine raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Are you really trying to send me away so quickly?"

"Not even willing to give me one last hug?"

Nathaniel fixed his gaze on her, then glanced tentatively at Eleanor.

The smile on Eleanor’s face had completely faded.

She said ironically, "Why are you looking at me? Miss Thompson has made such a request, so you should oblige her!"

Nathaniel hesitated a few seconds, but still leaned down slightly, politely and briefly hugging her.

Josephine’s smile was as bright as a flower, brilliant and generous.

She tightly embraced Nathaniel back.

Standing on tiptoe, her red lips approached his ear, softly whispering, "Nathaniel Gallagher, you’ve always lied to me; can’t I retaliate just this once?"

Boom!

Nathaniel’s brain exploded, his heart racing.

He stared at her, a mysterious chill creeping over him.

Josephine maintained her graceful and gentle smile, but her eyes held a piercing coldness.

"Open the gift after I leave. Goodbye."

With that.

She didn’t give him a chance to react.

Quickly withdrawing from his embrace, she strode toward the exit on high heels.

"My god, why is Miss Thompson here? Is this ex-wife here to cause trouble?" A lady in a champagne-colored dress in the front row suddenly covered her mouth.

Even though the voice was low, it still rippled through the silent church.

"Indeed, Miss Thompson and President Gallagher were the most compatible couple, a perfect match. How could he divorce her?"

"Tsk tsk tsk~, tomorrow’s headlines will definitely crash the internet servers."

"Shh~"

The wealthy lady next to her quickly tugged at her sleeve, glancing over at Eleanor, "Can’t you see the new wife’s face is white as a sheet? Isn’t Miss Thompson wearing that red dress deliberately?"

A few young socialites in the back row also whispered among themselves, "What did she just say to President Gallagher? Look at his expression, he’s practically soulless!"

"It can’t be anything good, look, there’s no smile left on his face."

"I told you, the divorce between President Gallagher and Miss Thompson was fishy,"

An old lady wearing a pearl necklace shook her head and sighed, her voice low yet clear, "The Thornton Family helped the Gallagher Family so much back then. And now he turns around and marries a..."

Her words were cut off by her daughter-in-law covering her mouth, but the disdain in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

Vivian Shaw stood among the bridesmaids, unable to help but feel indignant on her behalf, "Even if she’s the ex-wife, she shouldn’t behave like this at the wedding, should she? Drinking and hugging like that, it’s too improper!"

Rumors spread like the rising tide, slowly flooding the red carpet of the church.

Eleanor listened to everyone’s brazen gossip, feeling those gazes burning holes in her back, the ring box in her hand pressing painfully into her palm.

She instinctively looked at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel seemed to be in a trance, motionless.

No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.

"Everyone quiet down, let’s continue with our wedding..." The master of ceremonies smiled, quickly breaking the awkward atmosphere and saving the situation.

"Nathaniel, what are you thinking?"

Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed, growing more uneasy the more he thought about it.

He immediately opened the gift box Josephine had brought, eager to see what was inside.

Inside the box.

Layer upon layer of clingfilm...

A cold sensation crept over Nathaniel, and his hands started to tremble as he unwrapped the clingfilm.

"It can’t be, it definitely can’t be..."

Eleanor, the master of ceremonies, and others also curiously looked at the gift box.

"What is this? It doesn’t look like something valuable?"

"Yeah, it’s way too plain."

Nathaniel held his breath, finally peeling off layers of clingfilm.

With the last layer removed.

Inside was a small mass of flesh.

Small, like a newborn mouse.

Eleanor jumped in fright, "Ah--"

"What is that? It’s terrifying!"

"Yeah? What... what on earth is this?"

"It... it looks like an undeveloped embryo..."

Boom!

Nathaniel’s brain exploded, his skull buzzing, his heart momentarily stopped.

Master of ceremonies: "It seems so, it seems so. My god, how terrifying!"

"..." Eleanor also gasped, her scalp tingling with horror.

"Josephine Thompson--"

"How dare you?"

Nathaniel Gallagher suddenly kicked over the gigantic cake and flower basket beside him.

His eyes were bloodshot, the veins on his forehead throbbed fiercely, and it felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, so painful that he couldn’t breathe.

"She’s crazy! How dare she..." His voice was hoarse like a broken gong, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth, tinged with the taste of blood.

The sanctity of the wedding site was completely torn apart by the sudden violence, and the guests’ screams and exclamations surged like a tide.

"Oh my God, why is Miss Thompson so ruthless?"

Nathaniel Gallagher struggled to stand, everything spinning around him.

Josephine Thompson’s recent words kept exploding in his ears.

"Is it too much for me to fight back once?"

"Wait until I’m gone, and then look at the gift..."

It turned out she wasn’t drinking wine, but a farewell poison. That hug was a final goodbye.

Rage and pain surged like lava in his chest.

The next second.

Complex emotions and piercing cold shot up from his feet to his head.

That was their child.

Their child... actually left this world in such a cruel manner.

"No... impossible..." Nathaniel Gallagher clutched his chest and staggered back, his towering figure swaying unstably.

Eleanor and Vivian Shaw hurriedly stepped forward to support him, "Nathaniel, calm down!"

"The child... my child..." Nathaniel Gallagher mumbled, the fury in his voice gradually fading.

It was replaced by endless suffocating pain.

Heaven knows.

He was so happy when he learned about the child.

He was full of hope and had every confidence that she would give birth to this child.

But alas...

He raised his hand to support his forehead, only to find it trembling uncontrollably.

The noisy discussions around him gradually blurred.

Eleanor’s panicked face swayed before his eyes like a distorted shadow play.

His vision began to darken, his chest felt crushed by a boulder, even breathing became a luxury.

"Hah~, Josephine Thompson... you are so cruel..."

And then.

His tall body suddenly collapsed forward, heavily hitting the red carpet with a dull thud.

The commotion in the church came to an abrupt halt.

"Nathaniel, Nathaniel, quick, call a doctor, call an ambulance!"

The priest and the family doctor immediately rushed forward for emergency aid.

"President Gallagher fainted from a rush of anger overwhelming him."

"Don’t crowd around, let the air circulate."

The doctor spoke while applying pressure under Nathaniel Gallagher’s nose to revive him.

Unfortunately.

Despite nearly breaking his nails, he couldn’t wake him up.

"Quickly, get President Gallagher to the hospital!"

A few bold guests couldn’t help but gossip, "Gosh~, is it possible President Gallagher got so angry he died?"

"Well, it’s possible. Extreme anger can trigger a heart attack."

"Wow~, if President Gallagher really dies of anger, that’s such a wretched way to go..."

Soon after.

The siren of the ambulance pierced through the church dome, red and blue lights crazily dancing on the stained glass, lighting up the scattered crystal fragments like a field of broken teeth.

Two medical staff pushed through the screaming crowd with a stretcher, Nathaniel Gallagher lying on it with eyes tightly shut, his face pale as altar linen, lips tinged an abnormal bluish-purple.

"Make way! Make way!" The family doctor ran alongside the stretcher, clutching an unused emergency kit.

"President Gallagher’s intense emotions caused a vascular rupture, he must be taken to the emergency room immediately!"

Eleanor followed behind in her wedding dress, the long skirt torn by crystal fragments, her makeup smeared with tears, part fright and part chaos.

She tried to grab Nathaniel Gallagher’s hand but was stopped by medical staff, "Family, please keep your distance!"

"He is my husband!"

Eleanor’s voice was sharp, filled with sobbing, "Nathaniel, wake up! Don’t scare me!"

Vivian Shaw hurriedly supported her, heading to the hospital together, "Aunt, brother will be fine, don’t be too sad."

The guests lost the mood for watching the spectacle, crowding the doorway to watch.

Some took out phones to film the ambulance leaving, others made the sign of the cross and prayed, while others whispered, "What a sin, such a good wedding turned into this..."

"Josephine Thompson is so ruthless, it’s like she’s forcing Nathaniel Gallagher to death!"

...

The ambulance weaved madly through traffic.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s breathing was erratic, occasionally letting out muffled sounds, as if calling someone’s name.

The doctor accompanying the ride lifted his eyelids, checked his blood pressure, frowning more deeply, "Blood pressure is dropping sharply, inform the ER to prepare for a transfusion!"

Eleanor sat on the folding chair beside, feeling as if plunged into an ice cave.

The street scene outside the window rapidly receded, like the happiness she couldn’t grasp in recent days.

In his heart... it’s already filled with Miss Thompson.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so hard hit, he wouldn’t have fainted so unbearably from rage.

...

Twenty minutes later.

Nathaniel Gallagher was rushed to the hospital.

As the ER light turned on.

Eleanor finally couldn’t hold back squatting in the corridor crying.

The nurse came to advise her, "Family member, please go handle procedures, the patient is undergoing resuscitation, you’ll be informed of any news."

Vivian Shaw: "I’ll go handle it."

The ER light was on for a full three hours.

Eleanor’s wedding dress hem was covered in dust, several pearl strands broke and scattered on the cold tiles.

She slid down against the wall, fingertips repeatedly caressing the photo of Nathaniel Gallagher on her phone screen.

It was their wedding photo together, he was holding her waist smiling gently.

But now in retrospect, how much guilt for Josephine Thompson was hidden in that smile?

"Is there a family member?" The doctor finally walked out of the ER, removing his mask and rubbing his temples.

Eleanor jerked upright, knees weak she nearly fell, "Doctor, how is he?"

The doctor had a solemn face, "The patient has slight intracranial bleeding, triggered by emotional agitation."

"Although temporarily out of danger, he is still in a coma. Whether he will wake depends on his own will."

"What happens if he doesn’t wake?" Eleanor’s voice trembled.

"Becoming a vegetative state is possible too."

The corridor air instantly froze.

Eleanor’s vision darkened, Vivian Shaw supported her to prevent a fall.

Mrs. Gallagher rushed to the hospital upon receiving the news.

Seeing Eleanor in a wedding dress, she immediately scolded, "You jinx! A perfectly good wedding turned into this, if something happens to Nathaniel, I won’t forgive you!"

"Mom, please calm down,"

Vivian Shaw quickly advised, "Right now what’s important is Nathaniel..."

"Shut up!" Mrs. Gallagher shook off her hand, pointing at Eleanor’s nose, "If you hadn’t urged Nathaniel to marry you, would Josephine cause a scene? Would Nathaniel have fainted from anger?"

Eleanor opened her mouth to argue but found herself speechless.

"Doctor, how’s my son? Is he alright?" Mrs. Gallagher was burning with anxiety.

Today, she had adamantly refused to attend her son Eleanor’s wedding.

But upon hearing her son seemed to be angered to death and sent to the hospital urgently. She rushed there for fear her son was really angered to death.

The hospital corridor at night was especially quiet, only the beeping of the monitor echoed.