Chapter 233 Time Is Running Out
While Rowane's head was in a mess, the door was pushed open. Sophia walked in with a bowl in her hand, "Miss Jodie, you haven't slept yet?" Rowane nodded and Sophia passed a bowl of soup to her, "Since you haven't eaten anything tonight, I've cooked some soup for you. Have some." "Thank you, Sophia!" Rowane was very touched.
"You don't have to thank me. You are pregnant now, so you need to consume more nutritious food. It's our responsibility to take care of you."
Hearing Sophia's words, Rowane's face darkened. What did she mean by that? It was still unknown whether she could give birth to that child or not.
As Sophia had been working for the White family for so many years, her ability to observe other people's expressions was naturally extraordinary. Seeing Rowane's expression, she knew that Rowane had to be feeling uneasy. She asked tentatively, "Miss Jodie, what are you going to do now?"
Rowane gave Sophia a pained look, "I don't know either."
"Don't you know that Madam Britney has been hoping for a great-grandchild for many years? When she heard that you were pregnant, she was extremely happy. As soon as she came home, she praised the heavens for the luck. She's still happy now too. I have never seen Madam Britney so happy before."
Rowane naturally noticed how happy Britney was. She fell silent for a moment before saying, "Since Madam Britney likes children so much, why didn't Nathan get married as soon as possible and give birth to a grandchild for Madam Britney?"
"It's a long story," Sophia sighed, "You haven't been here for a long time, so you don't know about what had happened to Mr. White, right?"
Rowane nodded. Sophia told her about the past between Nathan and Irene. Only then did Rowane understand what Nathan had been through. Previously, she had only heard briefly about Nathan's fiancée. Rowane only knew that his fiancée was a woman with a child. At that time, she had thought that it was strange. How could a person like Nathan fall in love with a woman that already had children? She only jus learned that the woman was Nathan's first love. The fact that Nathan had waited for her for so long and did not even mind the fact that she was a divorced woman and had children, touched Rowane's heart.
With Nathan's fiancée's existence, she should not dream about any fantasies. Nathan definitely would not change how he treated his fiancée because of another woman. Rowane was heartbroken, and grew jealous of his fiancée for some reason. Why did she have such a good fate?
"You've witnessed Mr. White's personality firsthand. He values loyalty and is worthy of being loved by a better woman. However, he has always loved Miss Nelson. He didn't give up even though he found out that Miss Nelson was already a mother of two children. He has been pursuing his love with all his heart and has worried Madam Britney for all these years. Madam Britney cares about Mr. White very much, so she had no choice but to accept Mr. White and Miss Nelson's relationship. In fact, from the bottom of her heart, Madam Britney wants a great-grandson of her own," Sophia sighed.
Rowane didn't say anything. She was not a fool. Sophia's meaning behind her words were very obvious. Britney wanted her to give birth to the child, but was that really okay?
"Miss Jodie, I haven't told you about one more thing. Miss Nelson and her ex-husband used to have a very good relationship. If her mother-in-law hadn't been so bad towards her, Miss Nelson and her ex- husband probably wouldn't have broken up. Now that Miss Nelson has returned home, I heard that her ex-husband often visits her and her children. With their children and love, there is a great chance that they might get back together again."
"What would happen to Nathan if they get back together?" Rowane became anxious upon hearing that.
"It's hard to say about things like that. Madam Britney is precisely worried about this. If Miss Nelson gets together with her ex-husband, what about theMr. White? The child in your belly belongs to Mr. White. Madam Britney doesn't want to lose the child for nothing. I feel sad whenever I see her sighing. So, I'd like to ask you one thing. Can you give birth to this child for Mr. White?" Sophia explained.
"I-Is this Nathan's wish too?" Rowane asked.
"Mr. White still doesn't know that you're pregnant, but he likes children very much. He even treats Miss Nelson's children very well. Since you are pregnant with his own child, of course he will like the child too." While Sophia was persuading her, she saw that Rowane was not overly determined to refuse her, so she knew that there was a possibility for something to happen between them, "Miss Jodie, I've come to ask you for a favor. Since Madam Britney likes the child so much, you should give birth to the child. You can consider it as repaying Mr. White's kindness for saving your life."
Nathan's life-saving grace was something she could not repay, and the child was something that she herself wanted to give birth to. Rowane then hesitated for a moment before nodding. Seeing her nod, Sophia happily went back to report it to Britney.
After dealing with Tommy, Deborah and Logan decided to leave San Fetillo to hide for a period of time. How could Edric let them go so easily? However, before Deborah and Logan left, the only source of income for them was the beauty salon, which in turn had been sealed off because it was involved in dealing drugs.
Moreover, since Logan's younger sister, Heather Wheeler, was the legal owner of the beauty salon, she was detained by the police. Logan and Deborah were dumbfounded upon learning that. They could not go anywhere without money. Logan could not leave his sister either, so he stayed and made some preparations to save Heather.
However, it was not easy to save her as the case included drug dealing. In the past, while Deborah had been Madam Cook, she could have bribed the officials, but right then, Logan was just an ordinary businessman. Who would even bat an eye on him?
After asking around, Logan found out that it was not that easy to solve the problem. San Fetillo was currently taking severe measures against it. The municipal committee even stated that all those who were found to be involved in prostitution and drugs would be punished even more severely. Heather might be sentenced to several years worth of imprisonment because she had been involved in drugs and prostitution.
Hearing the statement from the municipal committee, Logan suspected Steven was the one behind it. He told Deborah about his suspicions, and she also felt that the matter had something to do with Steven too.
Her life had been destroyed by Steven, and he even had her sources of income cut off. Hence, hatred grew in Deborah's heart. If Steven did not want to let her have a smooth life, then she would not let him live comfortably either. As she had lived with Steven for many years, she had many things to blackmail him with, and right then was the time to use them against him. Deborah then wrote an anonymous letter and sent it out.
A few days later, Steven received a call from a superior of his that treated him very well. His superior told him on the phone that something had happened. The patrol team from the central government had received a report about him. He had no way to help him and asked Steven to take care of himself.
Steven was stunned. There was no sound on the other end of the phone, but he still held the phone and stood motionlessly. The superior's reminder made him tremble to his very core. He was afraid that he would be in real danger that time!
Slight nausea slowly appeared in the back of the throat, and his blood pressure surged. He tried to suppress the urge to vomit. At the same time, Maisy spoke, "Mr. Cook, you've been standing there for a long time. Why don't you sit down and have a rest?"
Steven did not say anything, and stood still, motionless. Maisy then stretched her hand out to support him, only to hear the sound of spitting. She saw a flash of red in front of her eyes. Steven had spat a mouthful of blood.
After spitting the blood out, Steven's tall figure fell to the ground.
"Mr. Cook! Someone, save him!" Maisy's screams of panic echoed in the villa.
When Irene heard the news, she rushed to the hospital. Maisy was standing at the door of the emergency room and rubbing her hands anxiously. When she saw Irene, she immediately cried, "He was fine before that, but after receiving a call, he started vomiting blood."
Hearing that Steven had vomited blood, Irene was also horrified. She held Maisy's hand and comforted her, "It's okay, everything will be fine!"
That being said, how could she feel at ease? The person who was being rescued inside was her father.
After a while, the door of the emergency room finally opened, and the doctor came out. Irene came up and asked, "How is he?"
"He has late stage gastric cancer!" the doctor replied.
"How is this possible?" Irene thought that she had misheard him. She stared at the doctor with widened eyes, "Did you guys make a mistake?"
"It can't be. We've already consulted an expert," the doctor sighed.
Irene's heart was extremely heavy. She had never expected things to turn out this way. She had hated Steven before, but she never wished for him to have a terminal illness.
"Is there any way to cure it?" Irene asked.
The doctor shook his head, "We can only try our best to extend his lifespan..."
Irene entered the emergency room with heavy steps. Steven had just woken up, when he saw Irene, he teared up, "Irene...my daughter!"
Seeing Steven's expression, Irene's nose twitched and tears rolled down her cheeks, "Dad!"
It was the first time she had called Steven 'Dad' since the last time she had left him. Steven was so happy that he reached out to hold Irene's hand. As he saw Irene who looked like Myra, he cried with tears rolling down his cheeks, "This is my punishment. Irene, I've let you and your mother down!"
"Dad, it's not the right time to talk about this. You should take good care of yourself. There's so much advanced medical technology nowadays, so you can definitely be cured," Irene replied.
"I can't be cured! So what even if I get cured?" Steven heaved a long sigh.
He was going to be detained and interrogated soon, and he was very clear how he was going to end up. Since he had to spend the rest of his life in prison, it was better to die due to that illness. Death was undoubtedly a relief for him.
"Dad, don't be so negative. You must think positively," Irene tried her best to persuade him.
"Irene, I know that you're doing this for my own good, but I know my own health very well. After being an official for so many years, I've always thought that I was intelligent, but I now know that I'm just a fool. Alright, don't say anything anymore. This is the best ending for me," Steven said.
Actually, Steven's health was not in a very bad state, but ever since he knew that Myra had been killed by Deborah, he always harbored a bad feeling in his heart. He could not sleep every night and would always feel guilty towards Myra and Irene, so his body gradually broke down.
Irene felt more and more uncomfortable upon hearing Steven's words. It was clear that Steven was talking out of regret. Although he had done something unforgivable to her mother in the past, he was still her father after all. How could she just watch him die?
"Dad, you can be rest assured about your treatment. You must be optimistic! You still have to take care of Eden and the child in my belly. They're waiting for their grandpa to take care of them," Irene persuaded.
Steven smiled a little, "Irene, I'm really happy to hear you say that. I know my own body, so don't worry. I won't die in such a short time, and I'll definitely live until I see my grandson's face."
As he spoke, the door was pushed open and Edric walked in. When she saw Edric, Irene was stunned, "Why are you here?"
"I'm the one who asked Maisy to bring him here," Steven explained while gesturing to Edric to sit down. He looked at Irene and said, "Irene, and Maisy, go out first. I have something to say to Edric."