CHAPTER 226: CHAPTER 226: SO THAT WAS HIS LAST CHANCE

"What?"

Julian Lawson didn’t understand all of a sudden.

What did it mean by Serena Sterling’s records?

"President Lawson, I just went to the records department to print Miss Vera Hansen’s medical records, and the person there was quite careless, they mistakenly pulled out Miss Sheridan’s records as well," Secretary Chaucer said.

Julian’s brow furrowed tightly as he looked at the document in front of him.

He confirmed once again, "Are you saying, this is the medical record of Serena Sterling being treated here?"

Jude Chaucer let out a long sigh, nodded, and said, "President Lawson, at first I didn’t dare to be sure, but after looking at some information for confirmation, Miss Sheridan had already come to see a doctor a year ago."

Jude paused slightly, looked at Julian with concern, and then said, "Miss Sheridan is very seriously ill."

Julian felt as if he were in a dream.

Everything was unreal.

He reached out to take the document from Jude’s hand and opened it.

Jude had already quietly retreated to handle other matters, leaving the entire corridor silent, with only Julian standing there.

He flipped through the medical records page by page.

The doctor didn’t write specific events, only the changes in the illness and the treatment plan, the medication usage.

But these timelines...

Julian collapsed onto a chair at the side, staring blankly upwards at the ceiling lit cold white by the lights.

From this medical record, her illness had gotten progressively worse each time.

Even later, the doctor was considering whether to notify the family.

Especially two months ago, her condition suddenly worsened drastically.

Counting the time... that was during their cooling-off period.

To be more certain, according to the timeline, it was during her hospitalization.

He had never visited her while she was in the hospital.

And then there was...

The auction.

Julian painfully closed his eyes.

How could he have fought with her over that Tanzanite when it was intended as a birthstone for their child?

Whenever he thought of it, he felt it was unbearable.

Julian repeatedly looked at the medical records, his hand holding the paper trembling slightly.

This medical record stated that she was initially unwilling to use medication, but later told the doctor she was willing to.

The timeline was also after their first visit to the marriage registry.

He understood what she was thinking.

After losing that child in Frelia, the child had been a knot in their hearts; whether it was her or him, they had always wanted another child.

So, the reason she didn’t want to take the medication was that she wanted to have a child with him...

His clenched fists trembled.

So, it was that night she completely gave up on him.

He couldn’t even remember what he said to her that night.

He remembered he mentioned divorce.

She kept watching him.

"Do we really have to do this?"

"What about me?"

"Are you sure you want a divorce?"

"Okay."

That night, she seemed to have said just those four sentences.

Three confirmations, and the last "okay," was it letting go or compromising?

Why didn’t he realize it at that time?

Looking back now, all he remembered from that night was the entanglement on the big bed and the irritation he felt when he asked for a divorce.

At that time, he didn’t know that it was her... last chance for him.

The last chance...

The corridor was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and his tears dripped onto the documents, making a tapping sound.

His hand holding the document trembled incessantly.

For the first time in his life, he tasted such profound, regretful remorse.

If... if he could have understood back then.

If he had seized the last chance she gave him, would everything not be like this?

The words she said to him in the sunflower field were still vivid in his mind.

"Julian Lawson, we both already have our own partners."

"The road must move forward, and one’s life should look ahead."

"Stop making the people you love sad like before."

And at the previous charity gala, in the small garden on the rooftop, she said—

"President Lawson, don’t care too much about people outside your circle, because that’s being unfaithful to her. It would make her sad."

"President Lawson, some people are dispensable."

"But there are others, once they decide to leave, they won’t look back."

So... it was he who had been making her sad, making her heartache.

She was so saddened and distressed that she became ill, yet she didn’t tell anyone, secretly treated herself, and even because of their mutual obsession with that child, she wouldn’t take medication.

Vera pretended to be depressed to get his attention and avoid blame.

The one truly ill was Serena.

If it weren’t for the careless mistake in the records department, perhaps she would never have let him know about this in her lifetime.

While she was sick and in pain, what was he doing...

"Heh..." Julian laughed in anguish.

He was worsening her illness, adding to her suffering.

In fact, it was because of him that she initially became ill.

Julian kept searching, finding the time when Serena first came to see a doctor.

He kept recalling, recalling what had happened shortly before that time.

Something must have happened, breaking her, causing her to show obvious symptoms, and prompting her to see a doctor.

Julian kept contemplating, thinking back on things one by one.

Time seemed to be gradually turning back.

With each step back, he realized she seemed to love him a bit more.

In the end, he finally found the turning point of change.

From her eyes being full of him to becoming a bit sad and disappointed, to the point of completely giving up on him.

It was one day a year ago when she held her phone and said she needed to talk to him.

"Julian, she messaged me." At that time, Serena was wearing a white long dress, her long smooth hair reaching her waist, looking gentle and elegant.

She showed her phone to him and said, "Julian, you need to explain to me what’s going on? Recently I’ve been hearing a lot of talk outside saying that you and that florist, Vera Hansen, are very close."

"She even messaged me about it. This is a provocation!"

At that time, he just glanced at the phone, feeling irritated.

"She didn’t need to message you," he said. "Serena, what’s wrong with you lately? You’re always like this, don’t you know it’s really annoying for me."

"This is the message she sent. You say I’ve been like this lately because I’ve been constantly receiving her messages... and things people caught on camera outside, you having meals with her, going in and out together, and other things."

She said, her eyes red, pressing forward step by step, "Julian, how could I ignore it when my own husband is surrounded by rumors, and the third party is openly provoking me."

"Serena, I said, I’m really busy lately," he said, suppressing his anger back then.

But she just wouldn’t let him leave, demanding an explanation.

At that time, Ian Yates was in a spat with the canary he was keeping, making a scene, whining and threatening to end it all, Ian had complained about it to him a few times over drinks.

At that time, he had another suspicion.

"Serena, are you intentionally having someone send you these things, then saying it’s from Vera Hansen? To pressure me with this?"

"What?" At this moment, deep in his memory, Julian only now noticed her pale, shocked face and those wounded eyes.