Addicted After Marriage: Marrying My Abstinent Boss-Chapter 209: Hospitalization
The next morning.
When Sophia got up, she found the entire manor surprisingly quiet.
But it was still early, a little past six in the morning, so it was normal for not many people to be up yet.
"Young Madam, you’re up so early?" The maid looked at Sophia coming down and was a bit surprised.
It was just past six, and she was already up. A young pregnant woman should be sleeping more; she usually didn’t come down until eight or nine. This was probably the earliest she’d ever been up.
Sophia smiled but said nothing, letting the maid serve some breakfast, and began to eat.
It’s not that she got up early; she simply hadn’t slept at all.
Last night, she had spent the whole night with her eyes closed, meditating. Her mind was in chaos, all cried out.
She woke up from hunger.
She had originally come down with the mentality of just checking things out; if there was breakfast, she’d eat; if not, she’d leave.
Unexpectedly, the maids started work quite early.
After a simple breakfast, it was already seven o’clock.
By then, the manor was still quiet.
The person she wanted to see but also didn’t want to see seemed not to be there. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
She mocked herself slightly.
Why did she even want to think about him?
Sophia got up, went back to her room, packed some essentials she had brought, and then walked out of the room.
"Sophia." Zoe Walsh, standing at the door of another room, called out to her.
Her gaze fell on the shoulder bag Sophia was carrying, clearly showing she was about to leave.
"Mom, why are you up so early?" Seeing her, Sophia felt somewhat uneasy.
Zoe was a smart person; how could she not know what Sophia was thinking?
But Zoe didn’t expose her; she respected her choice.
"Are you heading back to the studio?" she asked.
"Yes, Hugh is too busy to handle it alone. We’ve taken a lot of orders recently, I must go over to help." She paused and added, "I might be busy for a while."
So, there might not be time to come to see them.
She couldn’t bring herself to say this.
In the past, she and Zoe were close sisters who shared everything.
Zoe knew about Sophia’s family situation, so they never talked about family matters when together, afraid it would make her sad.
Now that they had become family, with this incident happening suddenly, she dared not mention going home.
"I’ll take you there. It’s hard to find a cab around here." Zoe walked forward a couple of steps, attempting to close the distance between them.
Sophia looked at her trembling hand and couldn’t bear to refuse. If she refused or left secretly, more people would likely visit later, inviting her back.
She didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to see the Sterling family.
"Okay." She agreed.
Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward, linked her arm with Sophia’s, and they walked side by side as they often did while shopping.
Along the way, Zoe wanted to say something but seeing Sophia appeared uninterested; she swallowed her words.
Sophia didn’t ask where Zane slept last night.
In such a big manor, there was always a corner suitable for him.
The car soon stopped in front of the studio.
"Mom, I’m going in now." Sophia unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Sophia." Zoe hurriedly grabbed her hand.
Someone in their fifties was exceptionally well-maintained, yet perhaps due to poor sleep these days, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes seemed to deepen.
"Zane, he..." The always optimistic woman suddenly became teary-eyed, with large tears falling from the corners of her eyes.
In the end, she didn’t speak.
Sophia patted her hand, "Take care of yourself, don’t worry too much."
She wanted to comfort her a bit more but realized she seemed to be the one who needed comfort. She didn’t want both to wallow in this torment, so she resolutely left.
She got out of the car and closed the door.
Zoe wiped her tears and gripped the steering wheel with trembling hands, staying at the studio’s entrance for several minutes before driving to the hospital.
Zane had been sent to the hospital immediately after fainting last night.
He had a fever, nearly forty degrees, and it still hadn’t subsided, lying in a daze on the hospital bed.
His upper body was bare, revealing welts that made one’s hair stand on end, along with a strong smell of disinfectant iodine.
Eugene Sterling stayed beside him, listening to him mutter all night, "No divorce."
He too felt uneasy; this scene mirrored the one five years ago when he lay in bed, unable to move his legs, and his heart almost died.
Eugene dared not call Sophia, afraid she’d refuse, and if Zane heard it, he’d likely be devastated.
"Still not awake?" Zoe stood beside Eugene, her eyes red from crying.
Eugene reached out to wrap her shoulder, comforting her, "Don’t worry; he’s not dying. It’s just a little injury; it’ll get better after burning for a couple of days."
"But he’s your own son; how could you be so harsh?" Zoe secretly wiped her tears in his arms.
"If I had known first, would I have only broken his leg, leaving him time to breathe?" Eugene showed no mercy at all.
He was his son, but Sophia was his daughter-in-law, with a little Sterling baby in her belly.
If Zane’s at fault, who else is there to blame?
"Has the matter not concluded yet?" Zoe looked with full of heartache.
The punishment surely must be given, but this was too severe.
With the current weather, if it had been any later, it might have turned septic.
"That’s what he deserves for being handsome yet causing trouble!"
"..." Zoe said nothing, adjusted her emotions, and sat by the bed, watching the man lying there.
"How’s Sophia doing?" Eugene asked.
"She can’t let it go in her heart, already gone to the studio and probably won’t be back for a while." Zoe said, her face sinking afterwards.
She had already arranged for people to secretly protect her.
As long as she can feel better, that’s considered good enough.
Eugene frowned.
How come Ethan’s progress is so slow?
He’s almost frantic with worry!
*
When Sophia returned to the studio, Hugh was angrily talking on the phone.
"If you don’t contact me for over a day, just pretend you’re dead. What sort of relationship is that? Is your free time shorter than your time in bed? How can you ignore me for three consecutive days?!" Hugh exclaimed, with one hand on her waist.
No need to guess; it must be Ethan on the other end.
"Professor Irving, I did send you messages, but you blocked me..."
Hugh was beside herself with anger, "Good morning, good night, thinking of you. Is that what you call dating? The weather forecast is more diligent than you!"
She knew what Ethan was busy with but she couldn’t help feeling mad.
Sophia was their good friend. Even if they decided not to tell Sophia, they should have at least informed Hugh.
Ethan realized he was in the wrong.
He hadn’t planned on informing her about this, fearing a long argument if he did. He wanted to come and get a better understanding of the situation to explain later; he didn’t expect them to find out so soon.
"Sweetie, I’ve been really busy lately, as you know, but I truly like you. Please don’t be mad."
"You’re not in love with me; you’re scamming me, Ethan. Now that you’ve got me, you think you can just ignore me." Hugh was furious, "At least playboys are good looking. You are at best a sea creature, and you dare toy with my feelings? Pfft!"
She hung up and tossed the phone aside.
Only then did she realize Sophia was standing nearby, smiling and watching her.
