Sophia was furious. "Vincent, whether or not there’s anything going on between Levin Sawyer and me is none of your business."

"The person you should be worrying about is your dear Joanna Sherman, not me!"

"Sophia." Vincent’s gaze was dark and domineering. "There are some things I don’t want to repeat!"

Sophia didn’t want to fight with him.

"If your older brother is pressuring you, I’ll go talk to him and make things clear."

"As for anything else..."

Sophia suddenly seemed to think of something and let out a laugh.

"Vincent, did you know? This is the most you’ve spoken to me in our six years of marriage."

Vincent froze.

He tried hard to recall their past interactions.

He couldn’t remember a thing.

Before him, Sophia’s eyes shimmered with tears.

She didn’t want to cry.

But the past was just too painful.

All told, Vincent had spoken a total of twenty-three sentences to her.

Twenty-three sentences. For other couples, that was just a few minutes of conversation.

But she had waited six years for it.

Humiliating.

So utterly humiliating.

Vincent felt a sharp blow to his chest.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to make this work..."

Before Sophia could finish, Vincent’s phone rang.

The phone was sitting on the table.

Joanna Sherman’s number flashed on the screen.

Vincent looked annoyed, but he quickly picked it up and answered.

But the voice on the other end was Yvonne Sherman’s. "Vincent, can you come over? Stella is sick. She’s been sick for days, but Joanna wouldn’t let us tell you. She’s been at the hospital all by herself."

"She just fainted!"

Sophia was right beside him and heard every word clearly.

"Sorry, I have to go out," Vincent said as he hung up.

He didn’t even give Sophia a chance to respond before turning to leave.

Sophia didn’t know where she found the strength, but she grabbed the corner of his shirt. "Vincent, this is the Grant family home! Grandma, Dad, and all your siblings are here. Are you really going to abandon me like this?"

Aside from their grandparents, parents, and his eldest brother and sister-in-law, no one else knew how bad her relationship with Vincent was.

If Vincent left like this, it would be like stripping her bare, exposing her lowly status for all to see.

From then on, she would never be able to hold her head high in front of the Grants again.

Vincent hesitated for a moment.

Yvonne called again. "Vincent, Stella is really sick, and Joanna hasn’t woken up. What should we do?"

Sophia, utterly disgusted by Yvonne’s manipulative act, spoke up. "If she’s sick, find a doctor. Vincent isn’t a doctor, what’s the use in calling him?"

"Don’t call... don’t call Vincent."

On the other end, Joanna Sherman’s weak voice could be heard.

"I can take care of Stella myself, I’ll go myself..."

THUD!

"Joanna fell!"

Vincent instantly swatted Sophia’s hand away and bolted out the door.

Her hand was struck so hard that it hit the wall and recoiled.

A raw, sharp pain shot through it.

Watching Vincent’s retreating back as he sprinted away, Sophia closed her eyes in sorrow.

’Even though I wasn’t expecting anything, when Vincent said he wanted to make things work, I thought maybe he was being at least a little sincere.’

’But all it took was one phone call from Yvonne Sherman, and he completely lost his composure.’

’He didn’t even care that I’d be humiliated in front of the entire Grant family!’

’In his heart, my dignity is worthless compared to Joanna’s soft words!’

Sophia walked back to her room with heavy steps.

She leaned weakly against the door.

"Mom, did something happen to Auntie Joanna?"

On the bed, Cedric Grant sat up.

He had been about to fall asleep but had vaguely heard his parents arguing about Joanna Sherman.

Before Sophia could say anything, he shot up from the bed and scrambled to get down.

In his rush, he completely forgot Bun was there and trampled right over her with both feet!

Cedric Grant weighed over fifty-five pounds, and when his feet came down, Bun’s little body was crushed and bent under the force!

Awakened by the excruciating pain, she didn’t understand what had happened. She let out a shrill scream, and then her mouth gaped open, unable to make another sound.

"Bun!"

Sophia’s heart shattered at the sight. She lunged forward to hold Bun.

Cedric jumped to the doorway and glanced back in Bun’s direction.

He had been in such a hurry, it felt like he had stepped on something.

With no time to think, Cedric rushed out.

Downstairs.

Vincent was stopped by Miles Grant and Eleanor Crawford.

"It’s so late. What’s so urgent that you have to rush back?"

"Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow!"

Miles Grant held him back, not letting him leave.

Cedric ran up from behind, saw Vincent, and shouted, "Dad, did Grandma Sherman call? Did she say my sister Stella is really sick? Auntie Joanna fainted but still has to take care of her, she’s so pitiful!"

Vincent executed a shoulder throw, slamming Miles to the ground.

"Let’s go!"

He glanced at Cedric.

Afraid Miles would try to stop him again, he pulled Cedric into the car.

Eleanor Crawford blocked the car. "Don’t go! I think I heard Faye crying out. Go see what happened."

Cedric was frantic.

His mind was filled with thoughts of his sister Stella being terribly sick.

Auntie Joanna had fainted from worry.

He blurted out, "I just came from upstairs! Mom and my little sister are perfectly fine. Dad, let’s go!"

Vincent glanced up toward the second floor, and the hand he had extended to close the car door retracted.

He jerked the steering wheel, swerved around Eleanor Crawford, and drove off.

Miles scrambled up from the ground and staggered after them.

Eleanor grabbed him. "Is this what you call ’mending, not ending’? The one who wants to split up was never Faye! It’s Vincent and Cedric!"

She was so disappointed.

Even though she didn’t agree with trying to force a reconciliation, she had still gone against her own judgment and talked to Sophia for Cedric’s sake, hoping he could have a complete family, and so Vincent wouldn’t miss out on the right person.

And for what?

After shouting, Eleanor ran upstairs.

Sophia didn’t know how she got through the night.

It was as if she had relived the night Bun was first harmed.

The ridiculous thing was...

this time, the one who hurt her was not a stranger, but her own brother.

Sophia waited outside the treatment room, her heart breaking over and over again.

The emergency treatment didn’t end until dawn.

Although Bun’s bones weren’t broken, the force of Cedric’s jump had been at least seventy-five to ninety pounds.

Bun’s heart and lungs had been severely compressed, and at one point she had cried until she couldn’t breathe.

The doctors had to perform an emergency resuscitation before she could breathe normally again.

Eleanor Crawford and Miles Grant had stayed with her the whole time.

Seeing the weak little Bun on the bed, and then looking at Sophia, whose eyes were bloodshot, having long since cried all her tears, the couple hung their heads, feeling like sinners.

Miles Grant called Vincent’s phone over and over again.

He never picked up.

As dawn approached, Bun was finally moved to a regular ward.

Eleanor’s voice was hoarse. "Faye, I’ll go buy some food. After you eat, you should rest for a bit."

Sophia shook her head.

The torment and grief from last night had wrecked her throat; she couldn’t speak.

Eleanor, heartbroken and guilty, could only apologize. "I’m so sorry, Faye."

Sophia truly wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone else, so she didn’t respond.

Wiping her tears, Eleanor went downstairs.

Not long after Eleanor left, Sophia told Miles to leave as well.

"I don’t want to see anyone from the Grant family."

It wasn’t that she was being cruel.

It was that the Grants reminded her of Vincent and Cedric.

The hatred in her heart was impossible to quell.

The pain in her chest had turned to numbness.

She needed to focus her energy on caring for Bun and had none to spare.

Miles nodded silently and walked out.

Still feeling a little worried, he decided to call Yancy Shaw.

June Evans answered the phone.

Hearing that something had happened to Bun, she was frantic with worry.

But she was the only one at home, and both Chloe and her grandmother needed someone with them.

Yancy Shaw was out of the province and wouldn’t be back for a while.

June had no other choice but to call Leah Evans. "Request time off, now! And get to Jarnwood General Hospital!"

Sophia leaned against the bed and dozed off for a bit. When she woke up, she was met by a pair of worried eyes.