Chapter 311
Hardy’s proposal might be the best option for Clayton. He could get rid of Valerie, focus on work and life, and perhaps one day meet Audrey looking bright and successful. Even if he couldn’t remarry her, at least he could be her friend.
Clayton had no reason to refuse, but after spending time with Luna, he did feel reluctant to part with her.
*Then I’ll trouble you,” Clayton said, crouching down to explain carefully to Luna.
He wasn’t abandoning her; he was going to make money so he could give her a better and more stable life. Clayton promised to call Luna regularly and visit her when things improved.
Luna hugged his neck to say goodbye, then took Hardy’s hand.
The next day, Clayton completed the foster care procedures and found a lawyer to notarize them.
The day he returned to Ironhaven, Valerie woke up. She found half her body paralyzed and her speech slurred. “C–Clayton? Clay–ton!”
A middle–aged woman named Jeana Crews pushed open the hospital room door, walked to her bed, and said, “Ms. Patterson, your husband has returned to Ironhaven. He hired me to care for you. Let me know if you need anything.”
Valerie’s eyes widened in shock, still stammering, “W–where is C–Clayton?”
Jeana said, “What did you say? I can’t understand.”
Valerie pounded the bed with her uninjured left hand, sweating from anger and anxiety.
The middle–aged woman ignored her fury and said calmly, “Don’t rush. Speak slowly–getting worked up can raise your blood pressure, which can lead to complications.”
Valerie thought, ‘Dammit, she’s pretending not to understand me on purpose! How dare that bastard Clayton run off with Luna and leave me here to suffer in the hospital?‘
When her father was ill, he’d also been cared for by a nurse. In his final days, he couldn’t speak. After he died, other patients in the ward quietly told her the nurse had abused him. Now she was enduring the same pain her father had suffered.
Meanwhile, Audrey was three months pregnant and went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Quentin reviewed her test results and smiled, saying, “The fetus is developing well. Don’t worry.”
Audrey said, “I saw online that severe morning sickness means a woman’s genes are ‘fighting‘ with the man’s genes; if morning sickness is mild, it means both sets of genes like each other. Is that true?”
Quentin laughed, “Professionally speaking, there’s no conclusive evidence for that claim, and the causes of morning sickness are complex. But mild morning sickness is indeed a good thing–just don’t overindulge in nutrition to avoid a large fetus.”
“Okay, I understand,” Audrey said.
Yann exchanged a glance with Quentin, who said to her, “Excuse me for a moment.”
Audrey watched them whispering outside the door and narrowed her eyes. Whatever they were saying behind her back couldn’t be good.
Soon, Yann returned and wheeled Audrey out. Originally, he’d wanted to carry her, but Quentin had said improper posture or force could harm the baby, so he’d opted for a wheelchair.
“What did you say to Quentin just now?” Audrey asked.
Yann bent down to whisper in her ear, “I asked if we could have sex.”
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Chapter 311
Audrey’s face flushed instantly. She tried to hit him, but Yann didn’t dodge—he even held out his hands for her to hit.
He’d been taking cold showers for days to suppress his libido, finally waiting until Audrey’s condition stabilized. He felt like his penis would explode il they didn’t have sex soon.
As they joked, the elevator door opened. Jeana was pushing a mobile hospital bed out, and the woman on it shouted, “Call Crayton here, of otherwice 1 won’t take my medicine!”
“Ms. Patterson, stop making a scene. Your husband works hard to earn money, and plane tickets from Ironhaven to Ashbourne aren’t cheap. You’d better let him save that money to buy you nutritious food,” Jeana said.
Audrey thought the voice sounded like Valerie’s, but she was shouting “Crayton” instead of “Clayton.”
The mobile bed approached them. Valerie was agitated, so she grabbed the IV bag and threw it at Jeana, who caught it neatly, hung it back up, and continued pushing the bed.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you don’t want to take medicine or recover, but as long as I’m caring for you, your husband has to pay me. If you keep causing trouble, Mr. Patel might stop paying your medical bills,” she said.
Audrey stood up and just caught sight of the patient’s wincing face.
Valerie saw Audrey too, and her eyes widened. “Bitch, are you laugh–taughing at me?”
Audrey nodded with a smile. “You are pretty funny.”
Valerie angrily searched for something to hit Audrey with. She grabbed the IV tube, ripped it out, and swung it at Audrey. But she forgot the tube was still attached to her IV catheter. Blood immediately spurted from her hand.
“Oh, what are you doing?” Jeana turned toward the nurse station for help.
Valerie pounded the bed in pain and struggled to shake free. The wheels of the mobile bed weren’t locked, so it began rolling slowly down a slope.
Audrey sat back in her wheelchair, and Yann gripped the armrests as they watched Valerie’s bed pick up speed.
“Help!” Audrey called out symbolically, to avoid being accused of ignoring someone in need.
As a pregnant woman, she definitely couldn’t stop the sliding bed, and her husband’s duty was to protect her safety, so they both had legitimate reasons not to intervene.
Some people emerged from their hospital rooms at the commotion, but no one dared step forward to stop the bed.
By the time Jeana returned with nurses, the bed had careened down the slope and slammed into a wall. Valerie slid off, hitting her head and developing a large bump.
People began murmuring that the nurse had been negligent and the family would surely file a complaint. They said, “That nurse is in trouble. The money she’s earned might not even cover the damages.”
Jeana wasn’t afraid of the gossip. She raised her voice to explain to the onlookers, “This patient’s family works in Ironhaven. She’s a criminal with a sexually transmitted disease, so she hasn’t been imprisoned yet.”
She continued, “Her family is very grateful for my care. Can someone help me lift her back onto the bed?”
Several passing men had intended to help, but upon hearing Valerie was a criminal with an STD, they quickly changed their minds.
Lying on the ground, Valerie cursed Clayton in her heart. She thought, ‘You abandoned me and let the nurse spread my shame. When I recover, I’ll get revenge.‘
As the crowd grew, the nurses had to fetch doctors for help. Yann had already wheeled Audrey away from the chaos.
Chapter 311
In the car, Audrey said. “Hardy seems quiet, but he’s quite scheming.”
The nurse he’d hired must be treating Valerie poorly on his orders, yet Clayton would take the blame.
Yann scoffed, “When I was a child, my father told me good hunting dogs don’t bark.”
Audrey leaned into his arms and asked, “Does your brother know you talk about him like this?”
Yann kissed her forehead and asked, “Are you going to tattle on me?”
Just then, Hardy, who was training, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose, feeling someone was speaking ill of him behind his back.
AD
