Chapter 314: There’s No Discussion About This
Christopher frowned because of her persistence.
"Well, I’m at the door. Call me if you need anything." Christopher compromised.
"Got it." It was not until Christopher left that Janice let out a sigh of relief.
She took off her outer clothes and glanced down at the ugly lines on her belly. She instantly felt worried. She did not know if the stretch marks would disappear in the future. "What should I do if these lines stay with me for the rest of my life?" She thought gloomily.
The more Janice thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
"No, I have to go to the hospital tomorrow and ask the doctor." With this thought, Janice didn’t think about it anymore.
Outside the bathroom door, Christopher had been waiting for her.
Ever since Janice got pregnant, he had paid great attention to everything related to her, especially in her bath.
For fear of her having an accident in the bathroom, he had begun to help her take a shower since she was five and a half months pregnant.
She was six months pregnant now. Furthermore, he had seen every part of her body before. He did not know what she was shy about.
Thinking of this, Christopher smiled resignedly.
He stood at the door and listened for a while. Seeing that there was nothing happened inside, he took out his mobile phone and called back. He didn’t answer it when he was filling the bathtub before.
"Mr. Bateman, Mrs. Gladwell asked about the Gladwell Group just now. I’ve already concealed some things according to your instructions." A voice sounded on the other end of the line.
As soon as the phone was put through, the financial staff couldn’t wait to report.
Christopher nodded and said. "Got it. Remember, you can’t let her know anything about the bankruptcy of the Gladwell Group."
It was not until he heard a "yes" from the other end that Christopher hung up the phone. However, when he glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door in front of him, he frowned seriously.
When Janice came out of the bathroom after taking a bath, she told Christopher that she would go to the hospital for a prenatal examination tomorrow.
Christopher agreed without hesitation. "Okay, I’ll go with you."
"There is no need to do that, I’ll get the nanny to accompany me." Janice immediately replied.
She didn’t want Christopher to know that her belly was full of stretch marks.
Christopher objected, "No, I must go with you. There’s no room for discussion."
Christopher’s attitude was firm in the pregnancy examination.
Janice had no choice but to give up. It seemed that she would play it by ear tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Janice followed Christopher to the hospital.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the hospital, Janice received a call from Malcolm.
As Janice looked at the remarks jumping on the screen, she understood why Malcolm was making this call.
After all, she had just asked the financial staff to be businesslike last night. This morning, Malcolm called her. Needless to say, it must be for this matter.
After a brief pondering, Janice decided to answer the call. After all, this matter would be settled sooner or later, so it was better to say it by herself.
However, before she could answer, her phone suddenly stopped ringing.
Janice was stunned.
"Whose call is it?" Christopher asked.
Only then did Janice come back to her senses. "Nobody. It’s a wrong call."
Hearing her words, Christopher did not continue asking.
When they arrived at the hospital, they went straight into the consulting room of the obstetrics and gynecology specialist without any hindrance.
Thinking about what she would ask later, Janice used the excuse that she was thirsty to send Christopher away.
As soon as she entered the consulting room, she couldn’t wait to ask the doctor, "Doctor, there are a lot of stretch marks on my belly. What should I do?"
...
The doctor was no stranger to things like this, so she didn’t mind. She only smiled and said, "Mrs. Bateman, this is something you need to experience during pregnancy. Don’t worry."
"Will there be scars in the future?" Janice asked with concern.
"That’s hard to say. Everyone’s skin condition is different. Some people’s stretch marks fade after giving birth, but some people’s stretch marks are still very clear." The doctor said.
Upon hearing this, Janice felt even more uncertain.
"Is there any ointment that can relieve the marks?" She asked.
"How about this? I’ll prescribe you an ointment. You should apply it twice a day." The doctor said.
"Thank you, doctor." Janice nodded.
Janice had been restless ever since she left the consultation room.
"What if there is a scar on my belly? It’s too ugly." She thought.
She wondered if Christopher would dislike her if he saw the stretch marks.
The more Janice thought about it, the more worried she became.
"What’s wrong? You’re frowning." Christopher came back with water from the car.
Seeing her unhappy expression, he asked.
Taking the water, Janice shook her head. "It’s nothing."
"Don’t lie to me. Look at your face. I’ll ask the doctor." He said.
After saying that, he was about to walk into the consultation room, but he was stopped by Janice.
"Don’t... It’s just..." She stammered.
"Just what?" She hemmed and hawed, which made Christopher very anxious.
Janice was a little embarrassed. She wanted to tell Christopher that she had stretch marks, but she didn’t know how to say.
"Let’s go to the pharmacy first to get the medicine. The doctor prescribed some calcium tablets and said that the baby was very good. She told us to pay more attention to the baby’s calcium supplementation." Janice said.
Hearing this, Christopher did not continue asking. He took the card and helped Janice to the lobby downstairs.
When they arrived at the lobby, he arranged a seat for Janice before joining the queue for medicine.
After he left, Janice couldn’t help but feel melancholic again.
"What if Christopher also thinks me ugly after seeing my stretch marks?" She thought.
"Should I tell him or not?" She felt a bit of hesitation in a while.
Just as she was feeling conflicted in her heart, suddenly there was a loud noise from the door not far away.
"Mr. Gladwell, we are in a hospital, not a charity. You haven’t paid for many days, and we have reminded you many times." A medical staff said.
"I’ll pay for it. I said I have family, but I haven’t got in touch with them yet." Another voice replied.
Although Janice wasn’t fond of joining in the fun, her professional habit as a reporter made her pay attention to them.
However, she was startled when she heard the familiar voice.
"Why did it sound so familiar?" She was confused.
As she thought of this, she slowly stood up and walked toward the crowd.
Sure enough, she saw Malcolm standing in the crowd.
He was wearing a hospital gown and was arguing with the medical staff about something at this time.
"Dad?" Janice subconsciously called out.
Malcolm was explaining to several medical staff. When he heard this, he slowly turned around and raised his head.
When he saw Janice in front of him, he was stunned for an instant. And then he hurriedly reached out a hand to cover his face.
"You got the wrong person." He turned around in a panic and covered his face with his sleeves.
Janice was very confused. How could she mistake him for someone else? He was her biological father, so she couldn’t possibly mistake him for someone else.
She hurriedly stepped forward and asked one of the nurses, "Excuse me, what happened here?"
...
Christopher had received two types of medicine from the pharmacy. One was the calcium tablet that Janice mentioned before, but what was the other bottle of medicine?
He took out the medicine and looked through the instructions, only to find that it was a kind of medicine for external use, which was used to treat external injuries. So, was she injured?
Christopher was confused.
But why didn’t he know? He thought.
"Was it because she was injured last night and didn’t want me to find out, so she didn’t let me help her take a shower?" He wondered.
Thinking of this, Christopher couldn’t help getting nervous. He put the ointment back, and then speeded up his pace to go out.
However, when he rushed to the previous seat, he didn’t see Janice.
He stunned for a while, and quickly looked around. When he saw Janice standing in a corner not far away, he was relieved and walked over quickly.
"Janice, why are you here alone?" He asked.
Just when he finished speaking, he saw Malcolm squatting in the corner. Previously, Janice stood in front of Malcolm, so he didn’t notice Malcolm’s existence. But now that he saw Malcolm, he couldn’t help being stunned.
"Why is he here?" Thinking about he had kept the bankruptcy of the Gladwell Group a secret from Janice, he quickly walked over.
"Janice..." Christopher called out.
When Janice saw Christopher coming over, she instantly felt as if she had found her savior. To be honest, she really couldn’t do anything to Malcolm.
She hurriedly asked for help. "Chris, you came at the right time. Help me persuade him, he was sick but refused to go back to the ward."
Seeing her so nervous, Christopher reached out to comfort her and said, "Let me do it."
After that, he walked towards Malcolm, who was squatting in the corner.
Janice stood there and stared at Christopher’s figure. She didn’t know what he had said to her father, but she saw her father slowly stand up from the ground and follow him.
"Well, he agreed to go back to the ward. Wait here. I’ll send him back." Christopher said.
Janice was relieved, but she was still a bit worried.
"I’d better go with you." She said.
Christopher did not refuse. He helped her to walk carefully towards the inpatient building.
They sent Malcolm back to the ward. Once he was settled in, a nurse immediately came in to inject him.
Janice and Christopher stood together, waiting for the nurse to hang up the infusion bottle.
"Take good care of yourself. Don’t worry about the medical expenses. I’ll find a nurse to come over. Call me if you need anything." She said.
"Just call me." As soon as she finished speaking, Christopher said, "It is not convenient for you to do that. Let me do it."
Janice was well aware of her own situation and didn’t argue with him.
After leaving the ward, they went to find the attending doctor.
"Doctor, what illness does my father have?" Janice asked.
Hearing her question, the doctor said with a serious expression, "Late-stage gastric cancer."
Hearing the doctor’s reply, Janice staggered. Luckily, Christopher was supporting her, allowing her to regain her balance.
After a long while, she asked in a deep voice. "Then... how long can he live?"
"That’s hard to say. It depends on the patient’s physical condition and mentality. He may live more than a year, or only a few months." The doctor replied.
After coming out of the doctor’s office, Janice felt exhausted.
Although she hated Malcolm very much, she had never thought that he would have cancer.
She didn’t say anything until she walked out of the hospital.
Christopher was beside her. He was worried, but he could only keep silent with her.
After all, it was too sudden, and Janice needed time to accept it.