CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: IT’S BEEN SO LONG, DON’T YOU MISS YOUR HUSBAND?

Josephine Thompson quietly looked into his eyes.

"...Nathaniel Gallagher, I despise being lied to. Tell me the truth, you were never really sick, were you?"

She had suspected for a long time that there was nothing wrong with his health.

Ever since they got married.

He claimed that excessive drinking had harmed his health, leading to asthenozoospermia. But their married life was extremely normal, even frequent and vigorous. If he were truly sick, could he manage two or three times a day?

And with her pregnancy last month, it only confirmed her suspicions.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s eyes flickered as he innocently yet firmly said, "Didn’t I tell you before? There was a problem, but I’ve been on herbal medicine for recovery. Now I’m all better, everything’s normal."

Josephine had a suspicious look, "Have you ever taken herbal medicine? Why have I never seen it even once?"

Nathaniel moved closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, "...Honey, men are sensitive about such things. Even if I had taken medicine, I wouldn’t have told you."

Josephine’s heart constricted, clearly not believing a word he said.

He could lie seamlessly.

"And then there’s Henny..."

Nathaniel held her face, attempting a kiss, "Baby, stop being so suspicious. The child came from your womb, of course he’s yours!"

"Besides, I’m the father. Would I harm my own child?"

Josephine listened without arguing.

He wouldn’t harm his own child.

But he might deceive her!

After all, their child was conceived through in vitro fertilization.

She suspected that he used another woman’s egg and his sperm, then had her carry the child.

Thinking about it now, it’s not impossible!

But she couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing?

"Nathaniel, I want to take Henny... hmm..."

Before she could finish, Nathaniel lowered his head and kissed her lips.

He moved two steps forward.

Pushed her onto the bed.

His kisses were like wildfire, spreading quickly.

He was always skillful, experienced, and no woman could resist his charm.

"Stop, I’m not fully healed..."

Nathaniel nipped at her earlobe greedily, his voice seductive, "It’s been 20 days. Still not healed? Baby, I’ll be gentle."

"It’s been so long, don’t you miss hubby?"

Josephine went rigid, though her heart resisted strongly. Her body, however, seemed enchanted, gradually losing itself.

A woman meeting such an experienced man like him really has little choice but to surrender.

"Stop, I haven’t forgiven you, you can’t touch me..."

Nathaniel’s handsome features showed a determined smile, "Soon, you’ll ’forgive’ hubby. If not once, then again, until you do, okay?"

He was an expert at repeating his tactics, never failing.

A ravenous wolf hunting a small rabbit, it was simply too easy.

...

Five minutes later.

Josephine was breathing heavily, her defenses crumbling bit by bit.

Just moments before total surrender,

"Ring, ring, ring..."

Nathaniel’s phone rang.

Hearing the ringtone, he frowned, reluctant to answer.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

The phone kept vibrating.

He had several phones, each for different purposes. This was his private phone, known only to a very select few.

Interrupted, Nathaniel had to pause, "...Baby, let me take this call!"

He reached out to retrieve the phone from his pocket, answering indifferently, "Hello."

On the other end, the butler’s anxious voice spoke, "President Gallagher, it’s bad news, Miss Shaw just had a car accident."

"What? Is it serious?"

"Miss Shaw has been rushed to the hospital, she’s in critical condition right now."

Nathaniel’s heart sank; he immediately got off her, "I’ll be right there."

"Understood."

After ending the call.

Nathaniel hurriedly got off the bed to dress.

"Josephine, something’s come up at work, I need to handle it quickly. Stay home, I’ll be back as soon as I can."

Upon hearing this, Josephine felt her heart plunge into an icy abyss from their heated moments.

She heard it clearly.

It was Vivian Shaw who had the accident.

Which is why he’s so anxious.

"Nathaniel, is Vivian Shaw your father or mother? Why are you so anxious about her?" Josephine was completely enraged, her decorum slipping.

Nathaniel frowned slightly, his tone somewhat helpless, "Vivian had a car accident, I must go to the hospital to see her."

"I won’t talk to you now, I’ll explain once I’m back."

With that, he rushed to the bathroom.

Josephine sat at the bedside, seething with anger.

What infuriated her more was her own weakness.

Being unable to resist his charm for just a few minutes, almost losing control again.

She vowed this would be the last time.

She would never allow her body to act against her will again.

"Ping!" His phone buzzed again, indicating a WeChat message. He had gone to the bathroom, leaving the phone automatically placed on the nightstand.

Josephine glanced down at his phone.

Suddenly, she felt an urge to look through its contents.

Previously, she had never checked his phone.

But today, she couldn’t resist the urge.

She glanced at the bathroom; Nathaniel hadn’t come out yet.

Quickly, she swapped her phone with his.

They both used the same phone model.

The only difference being, she used a phone case, while he did not.

Just after switching the phones,

Nathaniel came out of the bathroom. Apologizing to her, he casually picked up the phone from the nightstand and pocketed it, "Baby, stay home. Don’t overthink, I’ll be back soon."

He bent down for a hurried kiss on her forehead and left swiftly.

Once he was gone.

Josephine immediately took out his phone.

He never set a password on his phone, as no one dared to peek.

It was easy for her to unlock the screen.

She browsed through his WeChat.

Vivian Shaw was pinned at the top of the chat list.

She noticed they exchanged messages daily.

Vivian unabashedly expressed her affection, sending him pretty selfies every day.

[Brother, which of these bras looks nicer?]

[Brother, thank you for today’s birthday surprise, I’m genuinely happy]

[Brother, I wish to stay by your side forever, just seeing you every day is enough]

[Brother, I miss you, I can’t sleep, can you chat with me?]

[You’re the closest person to me, I can’t live without you. Thank you for caring so much...]

Vivian sent him at least twenty to thirty WeChat messages daily.

Though he didn’t reply to every message, he would respond briefly every day.

His last reply to her was yesterday:

[Be good, go abroad for a while. I’ll miss you too, but there’s no choice, I’ll make it up to you later. You’ll always be my little rose, I’ll always cherish you.]

Oof!

Their chat history was overwhelming; she couldn’t possibly read it all!

Josephine stared at the screen, feeling her blood rush to her head.

If she continued reading, she feared she might have a cerebral hemorrhage.

"Ping!" A notification sounded.

Another message came in.

[President Gallagher, it’s time for your contraceptive shot tomorrow. Do you want to keep delaying it?]

Bang!

Josephine Thompson finished reading the message from the family doctor on WeChat, and her heart stopped for a second.

As expected, she was right!

There was nothing wrong with his body; he had been lying to her all along.

The reason they never got pregnant was that he had been taking contraceptive shots.

"...Nathaniel Gallagher, why did you lie to me? Why?"

Josephine gripped the phone so tightly that her fingertips turned white, the cold light from the screen heating her eyes.

The message from the family doctor was like a blunt knife, shattering the last sliver of hope.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Nathaniel Gallagher had returned.

He hurried into the bedroom, looking for his phone everywhere, "Josephine, where’s my phone?"

Josephine sat on the bed like a soulless puppet.

Indeed.

No one walks away from a man’s phone with a smile.

She had never checked his phone before.

So he got careless.

Seeing Josephine’s stunned expression, Nathaniel’s heart sank, and he immediately snatched the phone from her hand, "Did you intentionally switch our phones?"

"..." Josephine’s heart ached as if torn apart, the pain nearly suffocating her, yet her expression remained as calm as still water.

No need to argue.

She didn’t want to hear any more explanations or excuses.

After all, men were good at lying.

Nathaniel took a deep breath and tested the waters, "What made you decide to check my phone?"

Josephine swallowed with a dry throat and forced a stiff smile at him, "I didn’t check."

"Vivian Shaw is still in the hospital being resuscitated; you should hurry to the hospital to see her."

"..." Nathaniel’s expression froze, a chill spreading through him.

Sometimes, when a woman cries, makes a fuss, and threatens, it’s okay.

She just wants you to coax her, hoping to make you compromise this way.

But the scariest thing is when she’s this quiet.

The quieter she is, the more it’s a sign of an approaching storm.

"Honey, are you angry?" Nathaniel instinctively moved to hug her.

"There’s nothing on my phone, you can look at it freely."

Josephine smiled, reached out to fix his collar, "Nothing to look at, you should go to the hospital."

"..." Nathaniel’s expression tightened, his anxiety growing.

"Why don’t you come to the hospital with me?"

"I won’t go."

"Josephine, I hope you don’t misunderstand, I’ve always seen Vivian as a sister. In my eyes, she’s just a child, there’s no other thought."

Josephine nodded and obediently said, "Mm, I know. You should go to the hospital, I hope she’s okay."

"You’re really not angry?"

"Not angry at all! You said you see her as a sister, of course, I believe you."

Seeing the smile on her face, Nathaniel felt even more uneasy.

But he couldn’t stop worrying about Vivian Shaw; he’d coax Josephine slowly once he returned from the hospital.

After all, if he wanted to, he could definitely coax her well.

"Then I won’t say more, I’ll go to the hospital to check on Vivian. If she’s fine, I’ll come back quickly."

"Mm, go ahead!" Josephine smiled and nodded.

"Then I’m leaving, you should sleep early, no need to wait for me."

After speaking, Nathaniel glanced at his watch, leaving with a heavy heart.

After Nathaniel left.

Josephine staggered, heavily sitting down on the bed.

An overwhelming sadness enveloped her, suffocating her.

She was actually very strong and resilient.

But this time, she really broke down.

"...It turns out... the heart can really hurt this much!"

"But it’s okay! Time can heal everything, and take everything away."

She looked around the room.

This was a place she lived in for four years.

If there were no accidents, she probably wouldn’t be coming back here.

Their wedding photo still hung on the wall.

A perfect couple, looking like a prince and princess in a fairy tale.

She quietly walked to the wedding photo, picked up scissors, and cut herself out of every picture.

After doing all this.

She walked straight to the door.

"Click!"

She pulled the door handle.

The door was locked.

Nathaniel probably feared she would sneak away, so he locked her in the room.

Unable to open the door.

Josephine thought for a few seconds, then turned towards the window.

The master bedroom was on the second floor, not very high.

She opened the window, checked the height, then climbed out, slowly sliding down using the safety net.

The maids downstairs saw this and were terrified, "Madam, be careful."

"Quick, someone, the madam is going to fall."

The other maids heard and hurriedly ran over.

"Be careful, madam, be careful, go get a ladder."

The maids were in a frenzy, some quickly running for a ladder, others ready to catch her if needed.

Luckily.

Josephine was good at climbing; the height didn’t daunt her. Before the ladder arrived, she had already safely descended.

"Madam, are you okay?" the butler was flustered, rushing over to check.

Josephine looked calm and indifferent, heading straight for the garage, "I’m fine, I’m going out now!"

The butler hurried after her, cautiously saying, "Madam, President Gallagher just instructed not to let you go out."

"It’s okay, just say I insisted on leaving, you can’t stop me." Josephine pushed past the butler, getting into a Ferrari.

This Ferrari 488 Pista was a birthday gift from Nathaniel Gallagher.

But she disliked its flashy red and had never driven it.

"Vroom--"

Josephine started the car, its engine roaring like a beast.

The butler attempted to stop her, "Madam, you really can’t leave."

"Vroom-- Vroom vroom--"

With a step on the accelerator, the car pulled out of the parking space.

The butler dared not approach, helplessly watching her drive towards the villa’s entrance.

Out of Mooncove Bay.

The car sped along the road.

A streak of red raced in the night, weaving aimlessly through the darkness.

"Nathaniel Gallagher, goodbye."

"Four years of marriage, finally reaching an end. Love or not, the outcome is the same, nothing to regret..."

The butler was both anxious and flustered.

While ordering the bodyguards to follow Josephine, he hurriedly called Nathaniel Gallagher.

"Hello~, President Gallagher, the madam just drove away by force, we couldn’t stop her!"

"You’re all useless."

Nathaniel arrived at the hospital and found that Vivian Shaw had merely sprained her foot.

Receiving the butler’s call, he was panicked and urgently wanted to leave the hospital to find Josephine.

Seeing him about to leave.

Vivian Shaw pitifully tugged at his sleeve, tears in her eyes as she looked at him, "Brother, can you stay with me a little longer? I’m scared alone in the hospital, please don’t leave me..."