bChapter /bb7 /b

The crimson blood at his fingertips bwas /bjarringly bright. The sticky sensation made Brian’s breathing turn heavy for a moment.

His reaction didn’t bgo /bunnoticed. Jacob, standing nearby, caught it too. At bsix/b, he already understood what death meant. His face turned pale as he looked up at Brian. b“/bbIs /bMommy gonna die?”

“Shut your mouth,” Brian snapped without thinking, his bface /bdarkening at the word “die“, the look in his eyes cold and sharp.

Jacob flinched, stepping back in fear, then clung tightly to Madeline. “Maddie.” It was the first time his father had ever yelled at him.

Madeline opened her mouth, wanting to say something, to tell Brian not to be so harsh with Jacob, but when she saw the grim look on Brian’s face, she didn’t dare speak.

She gently stroked Jacob’s head while ncing toward the emergency room light, her eyes filled with something venomous. She thought, ‘Why was Jessica suddenly bleeding? What happened? Could she be pregnant again?‘

Madeline had always believed that by quietly taking Jessica’s ce at Brian’s side over the years, she could erase her presence without a trace.

These past few days, Madeline had done everything she could to make Jessica think she and Brian were already together. Even when she deliberately stirred things up and framed Jessica, Brian always took Madeline’s side.

J

Madeline had assumed Brian was long sick of Jessica, the so–called washed–up housewife in her eyes. But now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Madeline looked at Brian’s cold, brooding profile. His gaze was locked on the ER doors, his expression filled with worry and anxiety, like he didn’t even bdare /bto blink.

Her beyes /bnarrowed bas /bshe focused on the bloodstain on his suit. She thought, ‘Jessica’s pregnant? At a time like this? No. Even if she really is, I won’t let her have that baby. Brian is mine and only I get to be his wife.

Every few seconds, Brian’s eyes flicked to the lit–up sign above the emergency room. As time passed, a heaviness bslowly /bcrept into his chest.

Thest time he felt this anxious waiting in a hospital was bsix /byears ago, when Jessica was giving birth to Jacob.

He thought, ‘Wait a minute!‘

He rubbed the dried blood on his fingers and suddenly remembered how Jessica had been nauseous and throwing up these past few days. His heart tightened. The symptoms felt eerily simr to when she was pregnant with Jacob.

Time dragged on. Just as Brian was about to lose his patience, the emergency room light finally went out.

Soon, the door opened, and the nurses wheeled Jessica out.

b“/bbJessi/bb./b” Brian immediately rushed toward her.

bJessica’s /bbface /bwas pale. She nced at him weakly but quickly turned her head away bas /bif she had no interest in dealing with him.

“Doctor, how is my wife?” Brian asked.

“The patient…” The doctor seemed hesitant. bJessica /bquickly looked over with a pleading gaze.

The doctor frowned and had no choice but to say, “Her condition isn’t great, but she’s not in any life–threatening bdanger/b. Still, you’d better pay more attention to her allergens if you’re her family.”

After that, the doctor left, his expression cold, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

A nurse bstayed /bbehind and pushed Jessica toward the ward.

Brian followed them all the bway /bto the room. When he saw Jessica lying there with her eyes closed, clearly unwilling to speak to anyone, he stayed silent for ba /bwhile before finally asking, “Jessib, /bare you pregnant again?b” /b

He held out his hand, stained with dried blood.

bJessica /bopened her beyes /bat his question and met Brian’s furrowed stare. b“/bbNo/b,” she said.

Brian had waited all this time only to get a t “no“. His brows furrowed further. “Then what’s with the blood?”

“Period.” Jessica was impatient. The aftereffects of the allergy bwere /bstill bothering her. She felt miserable, and now Brian wouldn’t stop pressing her with questions. bIt /bbwas /bgetting on her bnerves/b.

She thought, “Where bwas /ball this concern before?‘

She let out ba /bcoldugh, rolled bover/b, and turned her bback /bto Brian, thinking that would be enough for him to bstop /bquestioning her.