CHAPTER 6: CHAPTER 6: STILL CAN’T GIVE ME A SMILE?

"Where did you get the hot water?" Evan asked unhappily.

"Mrs. Young went to the hot water room to get it for me to mix with lotus root powder," Juliana replied.

Evan checked her hand, seeing it wasn’t burned, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat by the bed, handing over a beautifully packaged box.

"Peach cookies from Sweetgrain Bakery, fresh out of the oven an hour ago."

Lily was surprised.

Wasn’t Evan standing up for her?

She hurriedly said, "Evan, about Stella..."

"Her allowance was cut off by Grandma."

Juliana didn’t respond, and Evan put down the box, his voice void of any warmth.

"In the future, your daughter’s allowance will come from my private account. But for falsely accusing my wife, should I have someone throw you out or drag you out?"

Lily: "..."

Mrs. Young, "Let’s go, if you don’t leave, I’ll use a broom to send you off."

And just like that, Lily was "escorted" out by Mrs. Young.

Only the two of them were left in the hospital room.

"Alright, don’t be mad, let me feed you."

Evan took out a piece of the peach cookie, just about to feed Juliana when his phone rang.

It was Stella again.

Juliana couldn’t stand it, "Does she have eyes on you, calling every time you’re near me, to remind you to stay faithful?"

Evan didn’t answer immediately.

"Don’t overthink, your husband’s body is clean."

Juliana gave a faint, sarcastic smile, "Then give me your phone."

Evan didn’t know what she was going to do, but he handed her the phone anyway.

Juliana hung up and put all contact details of "Stella" into the blacklist before handing the phone back to him.

Evan didn’t get angry, he even asked with a smile, "Did that make you feel better, Mrs. Grant?"

Her husband spends hundreds of thousands of US Dollars every month on a mistress, can she possibly feel better?

Juliana looked out the window, not answering.

Evan turned her face back to him, making her look at him.

"From now on, I’ll let Ethan handle matters concerning Stella, is that okay?"

It obviously wasn’t okay.

"Even if her mother isn’t around, there’s still your father. Why does it have to be you personally taking care of her?"

Evan’s eyes darkened for a moment, then he smiled warmly.

"Let’s not talk about that anymore. We haven’t taken the welcome photo for our fourth anniversary party, I’ve had a high-end dress made for you, let’s take it once you’re discharged."

Juliana closed her eyes briefly.

He still wouldn’t talk, this marriage was beyond saving.

She paused for a moment, "We..."

Just as she started to talk about separation, Lily stumbled back in through the door.

"Evan, please help Stella, she... she..."

Lily was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.

"Is she about to die again?" Juliana asked coldly.

At this moment, Evan’s phone rang again.

It was an international call.

Evan swiped to answer.

"President Grant, about ten minutes ago Miss Grant injected air into the IV line when the nurse wasn’t looking, Dr. Shaw is trying to save her now."

Ten minutes ago was exactly when Juliana blacklisted all of Stella’s contacts.

Evan immediately stood up.

"Are you leaving now?"

Juliana looked at him as if reminding him of what she had said ten minutes ago.

Evan’s eyes darkened, as if he made a difficult decision.

"Caleb is over there; she’ll be alright."

Juliana strangely felt relieved.

Why was she relieved?

Probably because she had invested four years of her true feelings, she was unwilling to let go.

But Lily wouldn’t have it, she gripped Evan’s arm, crying even harder.

"As I was leaving, Stella called me, saying not even you liked her anymore, she felt so tired and lonely. Evan, Stella’s psychological issues make her dependent on you, even the best doctor in the world can’t compare to you, please go see her."

Evan’s expression was solemn, weighing the pros and cons seriously, he said deeply, "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she survives."

Lily wanted to say more, but Evan asked Mrs. Young to escort her out again.

Although Evan stayed behind, his figure on the accompanied chair was repeatedly illuminated by the phone’s screen glow in the middle of the night.

Juliana’s heart felt cold.

Wasn’t there nothing going on?

Setting a special ringtone, even if he couldn’t go he was still worried about that side.

She kind of regretted it.

Even if she won over Stella, what was the point of keeping him?

His heart was no longer here, there was no need to hold on to this relationship anymore.

Juliana’s eyes reddened, not daring to sniffle, afraid to make a sound and let him notice.

In the latter half of the night, Evan’s phone finally quieted down, and she fell asleep.

When she woke up early the next morning, the chair was already empty.

Juliana sat up in a hurry, tugging at her nearly healed wound, it hurt a little, and she let out a light sigh.

Mrs. Young came out of the bathroom upon hearing the sound.

"Ma’am’s awake, breakfast just arrived, perfect timing to eat while it’s hot."

"Where’s Evan?"

"President Grant has gone to the office; he said he wanted to accompany you for the check-up later, so he went early to handle work."

He didn’t leave after all.

Juliana didn’t know whether to be happy or continue to be conflicted.

At the time for the check-up, Evan still hadn’t arrived.

Juliana didn’t wait for him, letting Mrs. Young accompany her to the ultrasound room.

She was a bit puzzled why she had to undergo a gynecological ultrasound when her abdomen was injured.

But she did have some questions she wanted to ask the gynecologist.

"Doctor, my menstrual cycle was not only delayed, but it also lasted eight or nine days, is that normal?"

The gynecologist looked at her ultrasound report, without giving her a glance.

"After the injury, your body is weak, it’s normal for periods to occasionally be a bit longer. If you’re really worried, I can prescribe some medicine."

The doctor’s attitude was somewhat perfunctory, Juliana wanted to ask more, but the diagnostic room door was pushed open.

Ethan stood by the door, as Evan stepped in.

Despite only sleeping a few hours, his noble aura was undiminished, and the light blue tint under his eyes only added a touch of weary sharpness to him.

The gynecologist changed her demeanor upon seeing Evan.

"President Grant is here, your wife is recovering well, nothing to worry about."

Evan placed a hand on Juliana’s shoulder, expressionless, he asked, "Is everything alright?"

The gynecologist paused, pointing to the image on the screen, "Once this menstrual cycle ends, everything should be fine."

Evan finally nodded.

But Juliana asked in confusion, "You’re a gynecologist, why did I have to undergo a completely unrelated check-up for this injury?"

The gynecologist was stumped by her question, unsure of how to respond.

Evan seamlessly took over the conversation, "Honey, it’s normal to have a full body examination."

"Really?" She was skeptical.

Evan lifted her chin seriously, "As a married couple, do we not have even basic trust in each other?"

Juliana turned her head, not responding to him.

The man wrapped an arm around her, "Alright, let’s get you back to the hospital room."

Juliana didn’t refuse.

Mrs. Young smiled beside them, "Finally, Mrs. Grant is in a good mood. President Grant, please don’t upset her again, we all worry for you."

"All of you?" Evan raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, I just rambled out of happiness." Mrs. Young patted her unruly mouth.

Although after marriage, he and Juliana moved to Platinum Bay, Grandma’s watchful eyes have always been around them.

Evan chuckled lightly, not commenting further.

Back in the hospital room, Juliana tried to move away from his embrace, but he held her tighter.

"Can’t you smile at me?"

"I can’t manage a smile for you."

Evan was in a good mood today, not bothered by her prickly words.

"I’ll be working overtime tonight and probably won’t make it back by dinner. I’ll leave a car here; ask Mrs. Young to get whatever you want to eat."

Juliana didn’t look at him, "I don’t need you to care."

Still not appeased, Evan sighed, leaving the keys to the GL8 and left.

But shortly after he left, Juliana changed into her outdoor clothes.

Mrs. Young was surprised, "Ma’am, are you going for a walk outside?"