Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Even Strangers Knew to Pity Her, but Vincent Grant Didn’t
"Was it the two glasses of water I poured for you?"
Cedric Grant never drank water before bed, so she remembered with perfect clarity when Joanna Sherman had asked her for water that night.
Cedric Grant nodded.
Sister Moss furrowed her brow, trying to remember.
’That night, while I was cleaning, Joanna Sherman seemed to stand behind me for a long time.’
’An E. coli contamination, to put it simply, just means they drank unclean water.’
’Could Joanna Sherman possibly...?’
’No, that’s impossible!’
Sister Moss couldn’t bring herself to believe Joanna Sherman would do something like that.
But she couldn’t help but recall another time when Cedric Grant had diarrhea—Joanna Sherman had been there then, too.
If she remembered correctly, it was after he drank some medicine Joanna Sherman had brought.
Sister Moss was torn between suspecting and trusting Joanna Sherman, unable to make up her mind.
—
While Joanna Sherman was busy running over to Vincent Grant’s new home, Sophia Shaw was visiting Eleanor Crawford every day.
Eleanor Crawford’s injuries were slowly healing.
She had been in the hospital for two days, refusing to see Miles Grant and keeping him at a distance.
Sophia Shaw felt no sympathy for Miles Grant; instead, her heart ached for Eleanor Crawford.
"What are your plans for after you get out of the hospital?"
Eleanor Crawford bit her lip. After a long moment, she said, "I want a divorce!"
Miles Grant had been standing right outside her door for the past two days.
Even now, his figure was visible through the window.
Sophia Shaw glanced in his direction. "Are you sure?"
"I couldn’t be more sure!" Even knowing Miles Grant was right outside, Eleanor Crawford refused to even glance his way.
"I just don’t know how to tell Grandma and Dad..."
Eleanor Crawford wrung her hands helplessly. "They raised me. For me to bring something like this up, at a time like this..."
’Sophia just got divorced. If I divorce Miles now... I’m afraid they won’t be able to take it.’
Sophia Shaw pursed her lips.
After a moment, she said, "Even if you’re not their daughter-in-law, you can still be their daughter, right?"
Eleanor Crawford’s face lit up at the reminder.
"Why didn’t I think of that!"
Eleanor Crawford looked at Sophia Shaw with admiration. "A rocket genius really is different. You see things so much more clearly than I do. I’ve been agonizing over this for days, but you say one sentence and suddenly, all my problems don’t seem like problems anymore."
Sophia Shaw gave a faint, bitter smile. "It’s not that I see things more clearly. I’ve just been through it before, so I have some experience."
"Faye."
Eleanor Crawford said her name softly, a pang of pain striking her own heart.
She had seen Sophia Shaw’s own share of suffering and hardship.
It wasn’t any less than her own.
Sophia Shaw shook off the unpleasant memories and squeezed Eleanor Crawford’s hand. "Chloe, from now on, stop always thinking about others. Think more about yourself."
"When Grandma and Dad set you and Miles Grant up, they did it hoping you two would be happy. If you aren’t happy, they wouldn’t want you to keep suffering."
"It’s true that military divorces can be difficult, but as long as both sides agree, it’s not impossible."
"You’ll need Grandma and Dad’s help to deal with Miles. If you don’t tell them, how can they help you?"
"Okay!"
Eleanor Crawford finally made her decision.
"I won’t hide it anymore. I’ll tell them everything I’ve been through!"
"That’s the spirit."
Sophia Shaw finally saw a spark in her eyes again.
She sighed softly.
’Women,’ she thought, ’are always so quick to sacrifice themselves.’
’They always think that sacrificing everything for others will earn them gratitude, care, love, and affection in return.’
’But they don’t realize that the more you sacrifice, the more people take it for granted.’
’In fact, as time goes on, they’ll start resenting you for not sacrificing more.’
’This spirit of self-sacrifice is toxic!’
Sophia Shaw had a meeting to get to, so she didn’t stay long.
On her way out, she walked right past Miles Grant without a word.
Miles Grant awkwardly scratched his head and walked toward Eleanor Crawford’s room.
Two bodyguards immediately blocked the doorway. "Please step back. Do not approach Miss Crawford!"
Sophia Shaw had gotten the bodyguards from Levin Sawyer.
Specifically to keep Miles Grant away.
Having been blocked for two days straight, Miles Grant was anxious and agitated, but he couldn’t lose his temper. "The person in there is my wife," he said.
"We don’t know if she’s your wife or not, but we know that if your name is Miles Grant, you can’t go in!"
Miles Grant was speechless.
He could only try to get Eleanor Crawford’s attention through the window, but a nurse in the room pulled the curtains shut.
Hiding everything from view.
As Sophia Shaw was heading downstairs, someone called out to her.
She turned and saw Vincent Grant.
Sophia Shaw remembered Joanna Sherman mentioning a few days ago that Cedric Grant was sick, and she glanced behind Vincent Grant.
She didn’t see Cedric Grant, so she looked away.
Vincent Grant was much thinner than before. The wind lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing how loose it had become.
His refined face was overly pale, tinged with a sickly air.
But even in his sickness, he had the look of an ailing nobleman—still strikingly handsome.
His gaze was fixed on Sophia Shaw. A thought seemed to cross his mind, and he began to cough softly.
After the coughing subsided, he asked quietly, "Why... why did I never hear you say you were pregnant?"
Sophia Shaw froze.
’So he finally knows Bun is my biological daughter?’
Ever since she had clarified the matter during the livestream, Sophia Shaw knew he would eventually find out.
She had thought she’d let it all go, but hearing his seemingly innocent question, a surge of uncontrollable anger shot straight to her head.
Her gaze tightened, and the vermilion mole beneath her eye seemed to deepen in color, turning a brilliant, translucent red.
"Why didn’t you hear about it?"
"You’re actually asking me ’why you didn’t hear about it’?"
’Talking to Vincent Grant requires digging my nails into my palms just to keep from exploding.’
’It’s a true test of my composure!’
Sophia Shaw repeated the question, her gaze trembling with uncontrollable emotion.
"Vincent Grant, are you blaming me for this?"
"I’m not..."
SLAP!
Sophia Shaw truly hadn’t wanted to resort to violence in a hospital, but she just couldn’t hold back.
The man who had once been her husband was asking her why she hadn’t told him she was pregnant.
It wasn’t a question; it was a blatant humiliation.
It was a reminder of just how unwelcome she had been.
The passersby were all stunned to see such a gentle, beautiful woman strike someone, and they stopped in their tracks.
Sophia Shaw ignored the stares from the people around her. Suppressing the tidal wave of anger in her chest, she spoke, her voice shaking with each word. "The day I found out I was pregnant, I called you, and you didn’t answer!"
"I sent you messages, and you didn’t reply!"
"I tried to find you... but I wasn’t allowed in your office! I wasn’t allowed on the base! I wasn’t even qualified to interview you!"
"Any place you were was off-limits to me!"
"I had no other way, so I emailed you my prenatal check-up reports every single month!"
"You’re the one who refused to read my emails, so what right do you have to come and ask me now?"
"Whoa!"
Hearing this, the crowd’s perception of Vincent Grant instantly changed.
’What a scumbag.’
’A first-class scumbag!’
’Should we film this? Warn all the future mothers-in-law online to steer clear of this guy!’
"E-emails?"
Vincent Grant’s fingers began to tremble, and a panicked look filled his eyes.
He remembered.
The emails that had ended up in his trash folder!
Jack Holloway had asked him if he wanted to read them. He had meant to, he really had, but then...
He forgot.
Vincent Grant clutched his chest and began to cough violently again.
This fit was even more severe than the last, and the pain in his chest forced him to double over.
’So, all those emails... they were prenatal reports?’
’If I hadn’t forgotten, I wouldn’t have been completely oblivious to Sophia’s pregnancy.’
’I wouldn’t have mistaken my own daughter for an adopted one!’
’What have I done?’
A single tear splashed onto the back of his hand.
