Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Is She Going to Walk Sophia Shaw’s Old Path?
Chad Jennings’s mind raced.
"Think of a way to make it impossible for him to get rid of you!"
"Besides, Sophia Shaw is an idiot. She’s divorced Vincent Grant, so she most likely won’t be coming back. As long as you still have him in your grasp, there’s a chance for you!"
Joanna Sherman looked at Chad Jennings.
’She had once proudly believed that no matter where she stood, Vincent Grant would come running to her side.’
’Even though Vincent Grant’s family background was a hundred times more powerful than hers, she could still make him bow his head and willingly do anything for her.’
’She could never be as pathetic as Sophia Shaw.’
’But now, was she going to be forced down the same path as Sophia Shaw?’
"Ho-how do I get him... physically?" Joanna Sherman asked, her throat painfully dry.
"Isn’t that easy?" Chad Jennings eagerly offered his advice. "Men are simple creatures. Find a way to sleep with Vincent Grant, and I guarantee he won’t be able to leave you!"
"He won’t be able to leave..."
"That’s right. Even if his heart belongs to Sophia Shaw, he still has a man’s needs, doesn’t he? He’ll have to come to you to get them taken care of!"
"Sophia Shaw is too proud. She’d never let Vincent Grant touch her. This is an opportunity only you can take!"
Joanna Sherman stared at her father in disbelief. "And you actually think this is some kind of ’opportunity’?"
’Pathetically using her body to hold on to a man was the most, most, most despicable thing Joanna Sherman could imagine!’
"No, absolutely not!"
’If she really did that, wouldn’t she be even lower than Sophia Shaw?’
’She was Joanna Sherman! Others revolved around her, not the other way around. She could never, ever become that kind of woman!’
Furious and mortified, Joanna Sherman stormed out without looking back.
She left Chad Jennings behind, stomping his feet in frustration.
"Joanna, why don’t you—why don’t you get it?"
—
"Sir?"
In the hospital, a nurse jumped back in fright when a man suddenly burst in.
Her eyes filled with wariness and confusion. The man before her wore exquisitely tailored clothes and exuded an aristocratic air, the natural posture of someone born to be in charge.
Yet he was swaying unsteadily, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and his gaze was trembling.
He gripped the doorframe with both hands, his breathing ragged, as if he were in immense pain.
"Are you... feeling unwell, sir?" the nurse asked tentatively, pointing behind him. "This is the maternity ward. If you’re not feeling well, you can..."
The man managed to lean his back against the wall to steady himself. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Please, can you check for me... was a woman named Sophia Shaw admitted here in November to give birth?"
"Sophia Shaw?" The nurse sized him up. "May I ask your relationship to her?"
"Her husband."
"Her hus... band?" The nurse covered her mouth. "Her husband..."
The story about Sophia Shaw had been secretly circulating among the midwives in the obstetrics department, and all the nurses had heard the gossip.
They had all assumed that the man who could do such a thing must be ugly and short, some kind of crass nouveau riche.
’But he turned out to be... this handsome?’
"Are you certain you’re Sophia Shaw’s husband?"
Vincent Grant took out his ID.
The nurse took it and ran a check.
Sure enough, Vincent Grant was listed as Sophia Shaw’s emergency contact, with the relationship status as "married."
Only then did the nurse speak. "Sophia Shaw was indeed admitted in November, and yes, it was to give birth."
"Her condition was critical. She was in danger during labor, and the doctor recommended a C-section. She couldn’t get in touch with any family, so she had to sign the consent form herself in the end."
The words struck Vincent Grant like a physical blow. His body convulsed, and he doubled over, clutching his chest.
’It was true!’
’Sophia Shaw had really given birth!’
He broke into another fit of violent coughing.
Every cough wracked his chest, sending a gut-wrenching pain through him.
In cases like Sophia Shaw’s, the hospital keeps detailed records. The nurse printed a copy and placed it in front of Vincent Grant.
Vincent Grant took the paper with trembling fingers. When he saw the date on it, the veins in his temples throbbed so hard he felt they would burst.
’The day she gave birth was the exact same day I was with Joanna Sherman, adopting a child!’
’The moment she was being prepped for her C-section was the exact moment Joanna Sherman got scared looking at the baby and begged me to stay by her side!’
The words of Levin Sawyer and Jenson Forrest suddenly flashed through his mind:
"In the end, President Grant is so hands-on, even with her adopting a child. He’d rather accompany her to watch someone else’s child being born than care about his own family member giving birth in a life-or-death situation..."
"I was at the hospital today. I heard the nurses talking about a mother who was giving birth to her second child. She called her husband over a hundred times, but he never picked up. Turns out, he was in the same hospital, accompanying the woman he loves to adopt a child."
’So they had been taking turns, trying to warn me all along!’
Jenson Forrest had even asked him, "If you were the husband in that story, what would you do once you found out what you’d done?"
’And how had he answered?’
’He had said he wouldn’t entertain hypotheticals about things that hadn’t happened!’
’How laughable.’
’It all happened!’
’He just didn’t know it.’
’He, Sophia Shaw’s husband, had known absolutely nothing!’
He clenched the thin sheet of paper in a death grip, crumpling it in his hand.
The words on the page were cold and real, a knife twisting in his guts.
Twisting until his chest felt like a mangled mess.
’He had thought that even if he no longer cared for Sophia Shaw, he had at least provided for her basic needs as her husband.’
’That he had at least shouldered his responsibility as a father and raised their child well.’
’But he hadn’t!’
’He had only raised Cedric Grant; he knew nothing about their second child!’
He choked.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
—
"Where did President Grant go?"
Joanna Sherman had come to the Grant Group first thing in the morning looking for Vincent Grant.
Unable to reach him directly, she had no choice but to find Joel Hale.
Joel Hale said apologetically, "President Grant hasn’t come in yet, and I can’t reach him either."
"How is that possible? You’re his personal assistant. There’s no way you can’t get in touch with him!"
Joanna Sherman’s eyes were bloodshot, with deep, dark circles underneath them.
It was obvious she hadn’t slept well last night.
The way she was glaring at Joel Hale now inexplicably reminded him of the hysterical housewives from TV dramas, chasing after their unfaithful husbands.
’The elegant and aloof Joanna Sherman he remembered was becoming a more and more distant memory.’
Still, Joel Hale tried to explain patiently, "President Grant really hasn’t contacted me, and I haven’t been able to reach him. As soon as I find him, I’ll be sure to..."
"Lies! You’re lying!"
Joanna Sherman was like a bundle of dynamite, exploding at the slightest touch.
She snarled through gritted teeth, "Did Vincent Grant tell you not to tell me where he is? Did he go looking for Sophia Shaw again?"
"What are they doing? Are they holed up somewhere so no one can find them?"
"Miss Sherman, I’d ask you not to spread rumors about my Faye."
Levin Sawyer’s displeased voice cut in as he approached from behind with Sophia Shaw.
Joanna Sherman’s eyes instantly shot to Sophia Shaw.
Sophia Shaw’s eyes were perfectly calm.
They were as clear and placid as a lake after a spring rain.
’Just like she used to be,’ Joanna thought, ’always stirring up a massive storm while she stands safely on the shore, just watching!’
Joanna Sherman’s eyes filled with a vicious glare, as if she could see right through her. "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You did this on purpose!"
"Sophia Shaw, you only revealed you had his child because you want to get back together with Vincent Grant, don’t you? If you’d just admit it, I might actually respect you a little!"
Levin Sawyer was not pleased. "Not everyone is like you, spending all day scheming about how to get a man and depend on him."
Joanna Sherman sneered. "And she doesn’t? If not, why can’t she face me herself? Why does she need you to speak for her?"
"That’s a funny thing to say," Sophia Shaw finally said softly. "You’re here first thing in the morning, making a scene. I was just trying to avoid a bigger disturbance, for your own sake. And that’s me ’relying on a man’?"
Joanna Sherman froze. She turned toward the window and saw her own reflection in the glass: hair disheveled, eyes red, a vicious light flashing within them. She really did look like a madwoman.
’How... how had she become this person!’
As Sophia Shaw turned to leave, Levin Sawyer glanced back at Joanna, his gaze cold. "You say Faye relies on men? For years, she’s been building rockets with her own skills. She never had a man burn through his money to fund her."
"She raised her child all by herself, too, without asking a man to be by her side day and night."
"Her network, her reputation—she built all of it herself, piece by piece. She never relied on a man to broaden her horizons or build up her name."
"Miss Sherman, don’t assume every woman is just like you."
"In fact, most women aren’t like you."
"And Faye? She’s just one of the more outstanding ones among them."
Hearing this, Joel Hale couldn’t help but gasp.
’This President Sawyer really has a sharp tongue,’ he thought. ’He just turned Ms. Sherman into someone less than ordinary!’
