Chapter 539: Don’t Do This, Wendy
Mrs. Lucas could see Michael’s determination to keep Wendy’s baby, and besides, getting an abortion would endanger Wendy’s life. Mrs. Lucas wouldn’t want that at all. After all, Michael loved her dearly, and she had given her two smart and beautiful grandchildren.
At Mrs. Lucas’s silence, Michael continued, "And besides, there’s a good chance that Wendy is carrying my child, Grandma. I don’t want to lose this child. Wendy did what she did to help me. If I had defeated Christian sooner, Wendy would never have to do that in the first place. It was my incompetence that put Wendy in danger. I won’t allow her to bear the consequences for my failure."
Michael did feel extremely guilty that he hadn’t been a good husband to Wendy.
Mrs. Lucas sighed and forced a smile. She said, "Whatever. Your grandma is too old to intervene in your personal lives." She then stood up and started walking back to her room.
As soon as Michael and Wendy stood up, Winnie ran out of her room and started walking down the stairs.
"Yonina?" Winnie screamed as she was happily surprised. "Oh, Michael’s here as well. Are you here to visit me?"
Mrs. Lucas, Michael and Wendy all frowned upon seeing Winnie.
Mrs. Lucas started yelling, "Ms. Xavier! Ms. Xavier!"
However, there was no one else around as every helper had been asked to leave.
Mrs. Lucas then said to Michael, "Your mother is still sick. Please take care of Wendy."
"Of course," Michael said and nodded his head.
"I heard that you’re pregnant again, Yonina!" Winnie strode towards Wendy, and her eyes shone with joy and surprise.
She glanced at Wendy’s belly and asked, "How far along are you, Yonina?"
Mrs. Lucas told almost everyone she knew that Wendy was pregnant yesterday, so Winnie had heard about it too. As her condition worsened, she no longer remembered many of the people she used to know. Now, she had mistaken Wendy for Yonina. Deep down in her heart, Yonina was still her favorite. Winnie reached out her left hand, trying to touch Wendy’s belly.
Wendy subconsciously took a step back. Michael walked in front of Wendy and said, "Mom, this isn’t Yonina."
"What on earth are you talking about? Yonina is your wife. Who else can she be?"
Winnie said in disbelief.
She then looked back at Wendy again and started asking, "How far along are you, Yonina? Would you mind if I touch your belly? I’ve been pregnant before, and I had vomited almost every day when I was carrying Michael and Isabel. Do you have these symptoms yet?"
Winnie’s voice was filled with affection and happiness, as opposed to how hostile she was to Wendy in the past.
Mrs. Lucas stood close by, and she frowned.
"Can I touch my grandson?" Winnie smiled so broadly that her eyes were reduced to slits. "Finally, I’m going to have a grandson."
Wendy stole a glance at Michael and whispered, "It seems that Ms. Quinn really thinks that I’m Yonina. Maybe she just wants to feel my baby?"
"My mom is hallucinating at the moment. Be careful," Michael said as he moved his body and completely blocked Winnie. He said, "Mom, I promise you that we’ll come back soon. Could you take a nap first?"
...
"Why should I?" Winnie was irritated. "I just want to feel my grandson, and I bet my grandson will love his grandma as well. Could you let me feel him, Yonina?"
Wendy didn’t want to reject her after seeing how much Winnie was looking forward to feeling her belly. Although Winnie was suffering from memory loss, she was indeed concerned about the baby.
"Mom, the doctor has said that people shouldn’t try to feel Wendy’s baby yet, so could you please not do it for the sake of the baby’s safety?" Michael said.
"The doctor said no? Okay then..." Winnie stopped pressuring Michael after what he told her.
However, she immediately tried to correct Michael after realizing that he mentioned Wendy, "This isn’t Wendy, Michael! This is Yonina. Could you seriously not remember the name of your wife?"
"Yes, sorry. It’s Yonina," Michael said.
"Then can I at least talk to Yonina for a moment?" Winnie asked. "I want to tell her what she should be careful about during her pregnancy, and I want to cook her something healthy as well."
"You don’t look very good, Yonina. Is the baby giving you a hard time? Haha, he’ll be a healthy young boy," Winnie said. "Don’t give your mom too hard a time, Grandson.
Your grandma will cook whatever you want to eat after you’re born, and I’ll give you whatever you want."
Winnie suddenly felt that her head hurt at this point. She pointed at the kitchen and said, "That’s right, I want to make my daughter-in-law and my grandson some delicious meals."
Winnie then looked at Wendy and asked her, "What do you want to eat, Yonina? I’ll cook for you now."
Wendy wasn’t hungry at all, so she said, "No need, Ms. Quinn. I’m not hungry."
"You might not be hungry, but my grandson is," Winnie said as she pouted.
"Mom, how about you make Yonina some soup? She said she wants hot and sour soup," Michael said so that Winnie could leave them both alone.
"Hot and sour soup?" Winnie murmured after hearing that as if she were deep in thought. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, "Hot and sour soup! If a pregnant woman wants hot and sour soup, that means she’s carrying a pigeon pair! Pigeon pair! I’m going to have a grandson and a granddaughter!’ Winnie stood up and walked towards the kitchen while mumbling "pigeon pair" happily.
The living room became quiet again after Winnie left, and Michael finally felt relieved.
"Winnie has almost lost her mind completely. The last time, she acted up and scolded the both of you, but this time, she’s going to make soup," Mrs. Lucas shook her head and said. "It seems that she really loves that baby that you’re carrying."
Wendy looked down at the floor after hearing what Mrs. Lucas said.
"Will Winnie still love this baby if she finds out that they might not belong to Michael, or that I’m not Yonina?" Wendy thought. But on second thought, she didn’t care much about Winnie anyway as they had always had a strained relationship.
Mrs. Lucas was the only person in the family that she cared about besides Michael, and she didn’t want Mrs. Lucas to be beaten down by that possibility.
"I’m a bit tired today and need to have a rest. I think you might want to head back as well," Mrs. Lucas said with a sigh. She needed some time to stomach the drama today.
...
Michael and Wendy wanted to help Mrs. Lucas back to her room, but she waved her hand, signaling that she wanted to be alone.
Wendy’s eyes turned red as she watched Mrs. Lucas walk away. She pursed her lips as she was feeling guiltier by the moment.
Michael wrapped his arms around Wendy’s shoulders, watching Mrs. Lucas struggle to walk up the stairs by herself. After Mrs. Lucas got into her room, Michael sighed and said, "Let’s head back. It’s been a long day."
Wendy sniffed and tears started to pour down her cheeks. She wiped away the tears and nodded.
After she got into the car, she recalled how upset Mrs. Lucas was, and how she had held back her emotions nonetheless to comfort her. She raised her hand and slapped herself hard.
Michael was shocked and stopped her before she could slap herself again.
"What are you doing, Wendy?" Michael was pained by her actions. "Please don’t do this, Wendy."
Wendy lowered her head and started weeping again.
"Michael, I’m just feeling so guilty, especially towards Grandma. How could I hurt Grandma like that?" Wendy said, her voice trembling. "She was so happy when she found out that I was pregnant yesterday, but now..."
"It wasn’t your fault, Wendy. If anyone is to be blamed, it should be me. I failed to protect you," Michael said while patting Wendy on her back. "I’m hurting just as much as you are."
"Michael..." Wendy lounged into Michael’s embrace and cried loudly.
Michael unbuckled his seatbelt and held Wendy tight in his arms, consoling her.
Wendy needed to vent, but she couldn’t cry like that at home because Jake and Leah would be around. Now that Michael was the only one with her, it was good for her to finally let it all out.
After a while, Wendy was exhausted from releasing her pent-up emotions. She was now crying a lot less harder. Michael was gently wiping away her tears the whole time.
She felt a bit better after the bawling. She sat back up and freshened herself up. She didn’t want to burden Michael unnecessarily with her negativity. She said while trying to hold herself together, "Let’s head back."
Michael gasped lightly after seeing how swollen Wendy’s eyes were. He said, "Would you like to go hang out a bit before we head back home?"
Wendy understood what Michael meant. She looked into the mirror and saw how messed up her makeup was, so she agreed.
Michael drove them around Lake City. After around half an hour, they saw a park.
The weather was great, and sunlight was shining through the clouds, warming up those who were in the park.
Michael pointed at the park and said, "Do you want to take a walk?"
Wendy didn’t have the energy to walk, but she changed her mind after seeing the great weather outside.
Michael parked his car somewhere on the sidewalk and got out of the car with Wendy. They then started strolling in the park while holding hands.
It was a Sunday. There were many parents who were having fun with their kids.
Suddenly, a boy accidentally kicked the soccer ball to Wendy’s foot. He smiled and ran towards Wendy, who kicked the ball back to him The boy smiled and said, "Thank you, madam." He then ran towards his parents with the soccer ball.
Wendy smiled and whispered, "You’re welcome."
