Lawrence stood at the corner, his gaze sorrowful as he watched the woman sobbing her heart out.
His heart felt as though it were being crushed by a heavy stone.
There was no joy in his revenge.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
Lawrence tore his gaze away, answered the call, and put the phone to his ear, a flicker of complexity in his eyes as he gave a low command.
"Stop. Don't touch Morris Inc."
The person on the other end seemed surprised, then spoke with anxious confusion, "Lawrence, you've been planning this for so long. Stopping now would waste all your efforts. We just need to..."
"I said stop!" Lawrence snapped impatiently and hung up the phone.
The light in the emergency room went out, and a doctor emerged, calling out, "Is David's family here?"
"Here, I... I'm his daughter..."
Susie scrambled to her feet, tripping and falling, but she ignored the pain in her knee and rushed to the doctor.
Lawrence's eyes tightened, his instinct to reach out to help her thwarted by the distance.
"Doctor, is my dad okay?" Susie asked nervously.
"He's stable for now. Fortunately, he was brought in on time. Make sure he doesn't get any more shocks," the doctor advised.
"I understand. Thank you, doctor!" Susie expressed her gratitude with tears of relief. As long as her dad was okay, everything was fine.
The doctor nodded and arranged for David to be transferred to a room.
Susie wiped her tears away and followed the hospital bed to the room.
She stayed by the bedside, watching her father breathe through an oxygen mask, tears uncontrollably falling.
Dad, I'm sorry!
If I hadn't been with him, would you not be lying here, would our company be safe...
Seeing her father’s pale face, looking much older as he lay in the hospital bed, Susie felt waves of guilt.
She had no idea that the company's recent troubles were Lawrence's doing. She had been worrying about her small family, hoping Lawrence would come back to her, unaware that he had been plotting his revenge all along.
It turned out, he refused to have a child with her because of his revenge. How could he let his enemy bear his child?
It turned out he approached her with a purpose.
It turned out all his sweet words of love were lies.
They had been together for six years—one year of dating, five years of marriage. It wasn't a short time, yet he had been with her all that time harboring hatred. He must have felt so stifled.
Scenes of their sweet moments together flashed through her mind, now feeling...so ironic.
It was all just pretense and deceit!
A bitter taste rose in Susie’s throat, tears streaming down her face as she covered her mouth, stifling her sobs.
Lawrence looked away, silently turning and leaving.
...
David woke up in the evening. Seeing his daughter slumped by the bed, her face still wet with tears, his heart ached.
"Susie!"
Susie woke up, hurriedly wiping her tears, "Dad, you're awake!"
She forced a smile.
David, however, felt heartbroken, holding her hand and sighing, "Don't worry about Dad. I'll be fine!"
Susie nodded quickly, sniffling.
"Susie, don't tell your mom about this. We don't want her to worry," David cautioned.
"I know, I haven't told her," Susie agreed. She hadn't dared to tell her family yet, afraid they would worry.
David sighed, "Child, don't blame Lawrence."
Leo had indeed died because of him, indirectly.
But Lawrence still had a conscience, bringing him to the hospital.
"Dad, you should rest," Susie didn't want to talk about Lawrence.
David sighed again, patting her hand, saying no more.
But deep inside, he worried she wouldn't be able to get past this hurdle.
