Back then, Carter had disappeared when she was most vulnerable. Although she didn’t despise him, she felt aggrieved. In the past few years, she never stopped wondering why he didn’t hack through all the obstacles to come back to her. But the reality wasn’t a novel, after all. Nor was it a TV drama; happy endings didn’t come by so easily. There were no do-overs. It would be close to impossible for things to return to how they used to be in the past. At the thought of this, a hint of resentment laced Amelia’s voice. “Carter, when you left back then, I hated you for a while. I hated you for giving up so easily, and for leaving me helpless and alone. When we reconnected, you told me you’d make it up to me, but look at you now.
What if my child and I are bullied in the future? Who’s going to seek justice for us?” Perhaps these words were too provoking, but Carter’s hands twitched violently. Even so, he didn’t show signs of waking up. “I’m saying this one more time, Carter. I’m only giving you two days. If you still don’t wake up, I’ll forget ever having you as my friend. I’ll assume all the promises you made to me were nothing but lies. I will take it as if you were never sincere to me.” Carter’s fingers moved again, and his vitals began going haywire. Seeing this, Faye ran out frantically and yelled, “Doctor! Doctor…” Soon, a large group of doctors and nurses rushed in.
They invited Faye and everyone else out of the ward before performing various examinations of Carter. Without delay, they wheeled him out of the ward and into the operating room. Faye walked toward the operating room with Jennifer’s support. The latter reassured, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Scott. Since Carter showed a reaction, I’m sure he’ll wake up very soon.” Faye’s eyes shimmered with hopeful tears. Abel and Jack, too, had expectant looks on their faces. Amelia stood farther away from them, worry lining her features. As she stared at the operating room, her hands subconsciously balled into fists. “Amelia, what are you doing here?” came a deep, male voice all of a sudden, giving her a great scare.
She followed the source of the voice and saw Oscar walking toward her in large strides while holding some medicine in his hand. Her heart missed a beat, and she stuttered, “M-Mr. Clinton.” Oscar stopped in front of her and glanced sideways at the Scotts, who were standing a short distance away. With a stern expression, he dipped his head and said in a low voice, “We’ll talk about this later.” Then, his features smoothed out as he put an arm around Amelia’s waist and approached the Scotts. “Greetings, Mr. Scott. What are you doing at the hospital?” Oscar spoke with reverence. Abel smiled in return. “Ah, Oscar. Aren’t you a workaholic, boy? Shouldn’t you be at the company?
I’m surprised to see you here.” Oscar chuckled. “A friend of mine is sick, so I came to visit her.” “It seems like you care about this friend of yours very much. I’ll definitely pay her a visit when I have the time.” Abel smiled. Oscar only smiled in return, without commenting about it. “This is my wife. You couldn’t make it to my wedding previously, so I don’t think you’ve met,” he thoughtfully introduced Amelia. In fact, he was aware that the Scotts already knew that she was his wife. His purpose was solely to stake his claim over her. Abel made eye contact with Amelia with the same smile on his face. “I couldn’t attend your wedding because I was physically unwell at that time. I’ve always been curious as to which rich family’s daughter managed to capture your heart.
It turns out that it was Amelia, but I have to say, the two of you make a perfect match.” Oscar maintained his smile and asked, “Ah, so you know Amelia?” Abel answered, “Perhaps this is fate. After Amelia graduated, she worked at Scott Group for a period of time. She’s a very capable and innovative worker. Because of her excellent work performance, I watched her for some time and even planned to promote her to Director of the Creative Department, but she resigned out of the blue. I found it to be quite a pity. I never expected she had settled down with you.”
At that, Oscar let out a chuckle. “Indeed, this is fate. You’re the man I respect the most, Mr. Scott. Since you’re familiar with Amelia, please look out for her from here on out. She may look smart, but is naive more often than none.” Abel patted him on the shoulder like a loving elder. “And here I thought you were only committed to your work. I never expected you to be so protective of your wife. Amelia looks to be about six or seven months in. You need to take good care of her.” “Of course.” Oscar looked at the operating room and queried, “I assume it’s a relative of the Scotts in there?
Seeing as you’ve come in person.” “Yes. It’s my grandson in there. His name is Carter. I don’t think the two of you have had many interactions. Do you both know each other?” Abel did not evade his question. Oscar’s eyes darkened slightly before he replied, “Carter Scott? What a coincidence. When Amelia was working in Majesty Group, I remember her saying her boss went by the name Carter Scott. So, he’s your grandson?” Abel broke into a broad smile. “Ah, so you do know him. My grandson is a brilliant man, but he’s still inferior to you. He has much to learn from you, Oscar.” Oscar’s eyes darkened some more, but he maintained his composure.
“We had the opportunity to meet several times because of Amelia, but he likes to keep a low profile, so I didn’t recognize him as your grandson. The apple never falls far from the tree. Based on your capabilities, I’m sure your grandson would be able to steer Scott Group to greater heights after he inherits the company.” Abel’s eyes gleamed with pride. After all, Carter was his favorite grandson, so he liked listening to other people praise him. “Wasn’t your grandson fine just a few days ago? How did he get hospitalized?” Oscar asked casually. “That boy is always busy with work, so he doesn’t have his meals regularly. He ended up getting a gastric perforation and was hospitalized.
You would’ve thought he’d be more responsible for his own health,” Abel scoffed. “Men should focus on their careers, but not at the expense of their health. If I’m not mistaken, your grandson is approaching thirty. It’s high time he finds a woman to take care of him.” Oscar’s eyes darted to Jennifer just then. “Ms. Larson, you’re here as well.” Abel raised his brows. “Do you know Jennifer?” “We’ve met once. Ms. Larson thoughtfully sent me photos of my wife and your grandson together, so I called her out to talk. At first, I thought she was blackmailing my wife with those photos.
Later on, I discovered that Ms. Larson was also from a wealthy background, so I couldn’t figure out the reason she’d send me those photos. But seeing as my wife had a good relationship with your grandson, I’d considered destroying the company he’d established just a few years ago. After all, even if there was nothing going on between them, no man would stand by and watch as his woman was coveted by another. Fortunately, in the end, I realized that it was all just a misunderstanding.” Abel shot an indecipherable glance at Jennifer. Meanwhile, Faye looked at her disapprovingly and chided, “What photos, Jennifer? What’s going on?” Jennifer bashfully answered, “It was just a joke.
I didn’t expect Mr. Clinton to remember it until now. I thought someone as busy as him would’ve long since forgotten about me.” “You’re too modest, Ms. Larson. You have the charm of the girl next door; the type that Chanaea men like. I wouldn’t be a man if I forgot such a beauty, but of course, the photos you prepared for me left a bigger impression.” Jennifer pursed her lips into a tight smile in response. Amelia shot a surprised look at Oscar. She never thought he would know that those photos had been sent by Jennifer. She couldn’t believe he had even approached the woman because of them.
From their current conversation, she surmised that their first meeting hadn’t been a pleasant one. Amelia subconsciously took Oscar’s hand and pulled him aside to whisper, “Mr. Clinton, you and Jennifer know each other?” Oscar looked down at her and answered, “We’ve met once.” Amelia inferred, “You like her?” Oscar stared deeply at her. How in the world did she come to that conclusion? “Who told you that I like her?” “Didn’t you say she has the charm of the girl next door?” He shrugged slightly. “Well, I’m not the nerd who lives next door.” In other words, Jennifer may be idolized by nerds, but to a real man like him, she was merely an above-average-looking woman. She did not appeal to him.
Amelia had to smother her laughter. Oscar, on the contrary, had a ton of questions for her. “Didn’t you cut off all contact with Carter? Why are you here? If I didn’t bump into you today, you would’ve continued staying in touch with him behind my back, wouldn’t you?” His tone was laced with a hint of jealousy that he himself failed to notice. Naturally, Amelia detected the note of jealousy in his voice and felt secretly delighted about it. However, she knew it was inappropriate to think this way when Carter was still fighting for his life in the operating room. Still, she found herself unable to control it. She fought the smile forming on her lips and countered, “You’re the king of a double standard, you know that, Mr. Clinton?
If you can openly take care of your little lover at the hospital, why can’t I visit my close friend?” Oscar shot her a glare and rebuked, “Have you forgotten what you promised me?” Amelia blinked innocently at him. “What promise?” “To keep a distance from him.” “I am keeping a distance from him. Ever since I left the company, I basically haven’t contacted him at all. You can check my phone if you don’t believe me.” “If that’s the case, how did you know he was hospitalized?” Like a husband who had just caught his wife cheating on him, Oscar spoke in an accusatory tone that was laced with a trace of jealousy.
Amelia giggled as though she had just made a new discovery. “Why, Mr. Clinton, is this jealousy I sense?” In the operating room, Carter’s condition was still unknown. The Scotts were waiting anxiously for some good news, but here they were, flirting like two high school kids. Oscar’s face instantly turned grave. “I’m being serious, Amelia.” Sensing the truth in his words, Amelia, too, put on a solemn expression. “Well, it depends on who’s asking, Mr. Clinton. My husband?
My contractual partner? Or my keeper?” Oscar studied her with an unreadable glint in his eyes and asked in a gruff voice, “You care about him that much?” Amelia found his question funny. “Mr. Clinton, Carter and I are just friends, purely good friends. If you insist on misunderstanding our relationship, I really don’t know what else to say. Since the very beginning, you already made up your mind that he and I aren’t just friends, so there’s really nothing I can say to make you think otherwise, is there?” An array of emotions flashed across Oscar’s face. “Amelia, be a good girl. I don’t want to argue with you in the hospital.
I’m not restricting who you befriend. It’s just this man. I don’t like you to have too much contact with him,” Oscar confessed. Amelia no longer found his behavior sweet. She only felt a pang of sorrow for Oscar and herself. They were trapped in an infinite loop of a four-way relationship — one where she loved him while he loved another. It was as though they were walking along a dark tunnel that seemed to have no end.
Amelia raised her head and stared at Oscar with a determined gaze. “Mr. Clinton, you told me to keep a distance from Carter, but what about you and Cassie? You’re having the time of your life with another woman. Yet, you expect me to remain faithful to you. Don’t you think you’re asking for too much?” At that remark, Oscar’s face clouded over. “I’ll explain about Cassie once she’s discharged.”
