Chapter 209: Chapter 209: He Wants to Be Worthy of Sophia Shaw

Sophia Shaw was no stranger to housework. The period when Cedric went to Meridian was as hectic as a war, and over time, she’d honed the skill of cooking delicious meals quickly.

Julian Grant helped Old Mrs. Grant to the table, and Eleanor Crawford volunteered to help bring out the dishes.

Old Mrs. Grant sat down without so much as a glance at Vincent Grant. "If you’re going to leave, then leave. Don’t just stand there being an eyesore! Sophia cooked for us today, not for you!"

Vincent Grant’s gaze fell on Sophia Shaw.

The woman’s eyes were downcast, her expression gentle. The crimson beauty mark just beneath her eye gave her an indescribably soft and moving allure.

He stopped in his tracks and turned back, walking to the table.

"I hate to say it, Vincent, but you’re not worthy of Sophia’s cooking anymore. You’d better not eat."

Shane Grant appeared from out of nowhere, still in his military uniform and holding his service cap.

He walked straight to the empty seat across from Vincent Grant and sat down.

Now, there weren’t enough seats for everyone.

Shane Grant’s words were incredibly harsh, yet no one reprimanded him.

In fact, they thought he was absolutely right.

No one at the table spoke to him. Everyone else chatted amongst themselves as they picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.

Sophia Shaw’s gaze fell slightly. She sat next to Eleanor Crawford, showing no intention of getting another chair.

Only Cedric Grant, chopsticks in hand, couldn’t bear to see Vincent Grant just standing there awkwardly. He looked over his shoulder. "Dad, why don’t you share a seat with me?"

"No need," Vincent Grant said, gritting his teeth. "Just eat your dinner."

With that, he turned and left.

After dinner, Miles Grant had already arranged for two military doctors to come.

The group returned to the hospital and waited patiently for the military doctors to give Old Master Sloan a full examination.

Yancy Shaw and June Evans had been at the hospital the entire time.

Cedric Grant had come along as well.

Everyone was discussing Old Master Sloan’s condition. People came and went, but no one paid any attention to him.

Even Yancy Shaw and June Evans, who used to dote on him, didn’t so much as greet him.

Cedric Grant felt miserable, but he still took the initiative to walk over and greet them. "Grand-uncle, Grand-aunt."

Yancy Shaw merely gave a faint acknowledgment. Unlike before, he didn’t fuss over him with concern, much less invite him over to their house.

June Evans didn’t respond at all.

Tears began to stream down Cedric Grant’s face again.

Annoyed at the sight, June Evans got up and walked away.

Yancy Shaw patted his shoulder. "Cedric, this is a hospital. It’s no place for a child. You have school tomorrow, you should call your driver to take you home."

Cedric Grant turned to look at Sophia Shaw in the distance. He wanted his mother to take him home.

Yancy Shaw read his mind. "Your mother is so busy she doesn’t even have time for Bun. She certainly won’t have time for you."

Dejected, Cedric Grant could only hang his head and walk away.

Two hours later, the two military doctors finally emerged.

"Although Old Master Sloan’s condition is quite serious, the medicine he’s been given these past two days has been highly effective. It has greatly aided the healing of his wounds."

"There’s no need to change his medication or try any other treatments. Just continue the current course."

As for when he might wake up, not even military doctors were miracle workers; they couldn’t say for sure.

Still, everyone was relieved to hear this news.

Before leaving, Old Mrs. Grant made a point of offering a few words of comfort to Seraphina Vaughn and Ms. Warren.

When she turned and saw Sophia Shaw, her heart ached for her.

She pulled her aside to a quiet corner. "Before I came over, your grandfather called me. He specifically asked me to apologize to you on his behalf."

"Vincent wasted so much of your life. We are the ones who have wronged you."

"Please don’t say that." Sophia Shaw took Old Mrs. Grant’s hand. She couldn’t possibly accept such an apology.

"It was the path I chose. It has nothing to do with Grandfather, and nothing to do with you."

Despite her words, Old Mrs. Grant’s heart remained heavy.

Sophia said earnestly, "I was willing to marry Vincent back then because I loved him. The condition your grandfather set was just a weight on the scales of that love, a way to test how deep my feelings for him ran."

And I was the one who tipped the scales in Vincent’s favor.

Hearing this made Old Mrs. Grant feel even more disheartened.

This time, it was on Vincent’s behalf.

’Oh, Vincent... Treating Sophia like this... he’ll face divine retribution for it one day.’

Sophia Shaw personally helped Old Mrs. Grant into the car.

Eleanor Crawford and Miles Grant had other matters to attend to, so they stayed behind and didn’t get in the car.

Julian Grant, Old Mrs. Grant, and Shane Grant shared a car.

Shane Grant was in the driver’s seat. Through the rearview mirror, he watched the gentle, beautiful woman wave goodbye, and his heart began to pound. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. Each beat was harder and faster than the last.

Once the car was moving, he asked, feigning nonchalance, "Dad, with Sophia’s standing now, what kind of man would be good enough for her?"

Julian Grant never indulged in such gossip and had no reply.

Old Mrs. Grant sighed softly. "It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her a national treasure these days. It would have to be a man who’s done something earth-shattering, someone with monumental achievements to his name."

"But that marriage with Vincent wounded her deeply. I suspect she won’t be considering getting remarried anytime soon."

"Not considering it... is for the best."

Shane’s fingers tightened on the wheel, and he sped up.

Back in the hospital parking lot, Eleanor Crawford and Miles Grant said their goodbyes to Sophia Shaw and began to walk out in silence.

"Careful, honey," a young husband said as he and his wife walked past them.

The husband was carefully shielding his wife’s belly. "You’re two months along. You can’t be so careless anymore, and you can’t just eat whatever you want."

"See? You listened to your mother and drank that ’highly nourishing’ soup, and you nearly lost the baby!"

"That was too dangerous!"

The woman patted her chest. "I didn’t know any better, okay? I know now, I promise I won’t drink it again. Thank goodness I have a good husband like you. You realized in time that something was wrong with that medicine, or we would have been in real trouble."

"I’m your husband. Of course I have to protect you."

THUD!

Suddenly, Eleanor Crawford’s legs gave out, and she crumpled to the ground.

Startled, the couple glanced over at her several times. The husband wrapped his arm even more tightly around his wife’s waist, as if afraid she might fall too.

"Are you alright?" Miles Grant rushed to help her up.

"Get lost!" The pain Eleanor Crawford had been bottling up all day suddenly erupted. She shoved Miles Grant away with all her strength.

She let herself fall to the coarse pavement again, scraping her palms. Desperate tears filled her bloodshot eyes and fell, drop by drop, onto the backs of her hands.

Ragged breaths echoed in her chest.

HUFF... HUFF... HUFF...

She clutched her stomach, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Eleanor." Miles was baffled by her sudden outburst. He stood there, unsure whether to approach her or back away.

"Safflower... peach kernel... achyranthes... sparganium... angelica... motherwort..." Eleanor Crawford recited the names slowly, and with each one, her tears fell faster.

Faced with this long list of medicinal herbs, Miles Grant had no idea what to say.

Only Eleanor Crawford knew what they meant.

’All of those herbs... she had ingested every single one.’

’Every single one was a potent, dangerous abortifacient.’

’She had thought she’d miscarried due to emotional distress, but the truth was... her husband had put them in her hands himself.’

’And the worst part was, he had no idea!’

Her stomach clenched tighter, as if she were reliving the day she lost her child.

Eleanor Crawford glared at Miles Grant, her expression utterly broken. "The biggest regret of my life is marrying you!"

She gritted her teeth, scrambled to her feet, and ran off, stumbling as she went.