Chapter 315: They Run Away
The nurse looked her up and down and said, "He’s a patient of our hospital. He has not paid medical bills for a week. We wanted to call his daughter earlier, but he didn’t agree. He owes the medical expenses."
Hearing the nurse’s words, Janice remembered the phone call that hung up after ringing a few times.
"So that’s it." She thought.
She said to the nurse, "How much he owes? I’ll pay for it."
"8000 dollars." Said the nurse.
After a brief pause, Janice opened her handbag and took out a bank card.
"This is my bank card. Take it for the payment first. The password is six zeros." She handed the card over.
The nurse took the card, then glanced at Malcolm, "The patient needs to come back to the ward with us, but he doesn’t cooperate."
Janice paused for a moment before speaking. "Well, you can take the card and pay the bill first. I’ll persuade him here."
"Okay, don’t stay outside for too long." The nurse said.
"Got it." Janice nodded.
After the nurse left, Janice walked to Malcolm. She stood there and stared at her father who was shaggy and haggard. She couldn’t help frowning and asked, "What happened? You’re sick. Why didn’t Vanessa and auntie Gladys accompany you?"
Hearing this, Malcolm did not even dare to raise his head.
"Janice, you don’t have to spend this money for me. It’s unworthy." He said ashamedly.
After that, he squatted down in a corner of the wall decadently.
However, Janice was a little speechless. She impatiently repeated, "I’m asking you what’s going on. Why didn’t I see Vanessa and auntie Gladys?"
Malcolm’s expression was miserable. After a while, he said in a deep voice, "They ran away."
"They ran away?" Janice was so shocked that she was speechless. She never expected that they would do such a thing.
Just as she was angry, Malcolm said slowly, "The day when the company went bankrupt, I couldn’t stand the shock and fainted. When I woke up, they were gone. The house at home was frozen by the bank and the deposit was transferred away by them a long time ago. I have nothing now. Janice, this is what I deserve. Let me live on my own."
Malcolm covered his head with regret.
Janice closed her eyes, thinking to herself, "Yes, it’s your own fault."
However, case by case. At this time, she felt angrier about this.
"Have you called the police?" She asked him.
Malcolm sighed. "Won’t we be laughed at if I call the police?"
Hearing what he said, Janice was speechless.
"Is your reputation more important or survival more important?" Janice countered.
Malcolm got silent.
"I don’t know what to say about you. You’ve been a businessman for a lifetime, so why didn’t you learn the treacherousness of a businessman? Why did you fall into their trap instead?" Janice was furious.
Malcolm still squatted there and said nothing.
Janice knew that it was too late to say anything now.
She said to him, "Get up. I’ll send you back to the ward."
However, Malcolm rejected her, "No. Just let me die outside alone."
"It’s easy for you to die, but what about me? I will bear the crime of filiality and be pointed by others. I’m not you. I won’t do such a thing." Janice reprimanded him angrily.
Malcolm kept silent and stayed still.
Janice was both angry and helpless.
While they were in a stalemate, Christopher had also received the medicine. He walked out with the bag and looked at the medicine inside.
...
But Christopher was also afraid that she would think too much and get trapped in her own worries.
So, he helped her into the car and pull her into his arms. He comforted her softly. "Don’t be sad. It’s already happened. The only thing we can do now is help him cooperate with the doctor’s treatment plan."
Janice leaned against Christopher’s chest.
"Hubby, I’m not sad. I’m just thinking that if I hadn’t forced him so hard, such a thing wouldn’t have happened. I..."
Her tone was full of guilt.
Christopher knew that she was thinking too much, so he comforted her.
"I know how you’re feeling right now, but this isn’t your fault. Cancer can’t be cured in an instant. Since he’s already in the late stages, it proves that he’s been sick for a long time. It’s just that you didn’t notice it. As for the Gladwell Group, it was poorly managed and there weren’t any patented technologies. It’s only a matter of time before it went bankrupt."
"Is that so?"
Janice glanced up at him.
Christopher nodded and kissed her gently on the forehead. Then he pulled her back into his arms and continued, "Actually, I already knew about the bankruptcy of the Gladwell Group. I was afraid that you would be worried, so I hid it from you."
As he spoke, he held her hand tightly in his palm.
Janice said. "I understand. I just felt that it was a bit too sudden. I thought that he was healthy and would definitely live a long life, but I didn’t expect..."
She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help shedding tears.
"I understand. No matter what, he is still your dad." Christopher got a tissue and helped her wipe her tears while comforting her.
He knew that Janice valued relationships. Although she had been trying to cut ties with Malcolm, there was still a trace of familial love in her heart.
Janice struggled to hold back her tears and sniffled. "Honey, do you think I’m too unprincipled? I used to..."
"No, you’re not a heartless person. He was wrong, but even if he was wrong, there was still one thing he did right. He gave you life, or else I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you, right?"
With just a few words from Christopher, Janice felt much more relaxed and finally
stopped crying.
"Thank you, hubby."
Christopher continued, "You, on the other hand, should learn to control your emotions in the future. Don’t cry for no reason. You’re going to be a mother. If the baby knew that Mommy was a little crybaby, he would laugh at you."
Upon the mention of the word "baby", Janice couldn’t help but laugh.
"Then I won’t cry in the future. I’ll set an example for the baby."
She promised.
Christopher chuckled and reached out to pinch her cheeks gently.
"That’s more like it. Let’s go back."
With that, he fastened her seat belt and drove the car away.
When they got home, Janice remembered something and said, "By the way, my father said that Gladys and Vanessa transferred all his savings to under their names when they left. I can’t take this no matter what. I want to call the police."
Christopher nodded with understanding.
"Okay, leave it to me."
Upon hearing his words, Janice felt much more at ease.
"By the way, what were you talking about in the hospital before?"
Seeing that she was in a better mood, Christopher asked.
...
Janice was taken aback. She had almost forgotten about this because of her father.
Now that Christopher brought it up, she could not help feeling a little guilty.
"Do I have to say it?"
She was at a loss.
Seeing her hesitation, Christopher understood a little and said, "Why don’t you answer another question? What is this for?"
As he spoke, he took out a box of medicine from the bag and handed it to her.
When Janice saw the medicine, she knew that she would not be able to cover it up, so she hemmed and hawed. "Hubby, I... If I say it, you... you’re not allowed to dislike me."
Christopher frowned. "Go ahead."
Janice bit her lip before reaching out to take the box of medicine from Christopher’s hand and putting it aside. She then lifted her maternity dress apprehensively, revealing her big belly.
"That’s it."
She pursed her lips and pointed at the stretch marks on her belly.
Christopher was worried that she was injured, but when he saw the stretch marks on her belly, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh? You’re referring to the stretch marks."
Janice was slightly puzzled when she heard this. Why wasn’t he surprised at all? It was like he’d known since the beginning.
She asked doubtfully.
"You know about stretch marks."
Christopher nodded. Ever since he had found out that she was pregnant, he had known about it.
"How did you know? Did you find out online?"
Janice asked.
Christopher didn’t answer. In fact, he had secretly attended prenatal training classes for fathers.
Back then, the lecturers had said that during the pregnancy, the body would bring about many changes, including stretch marks.
At that time, he had even searched for pictures of stretch marks on the Internet, for fear that he would not be able to recognize them.
Thus, he had noticed it the moment Janice lifted her blouse. However, it was impossible for him to tell Janice that. Thinking of this, he deliberately kept her guessing. "Well, I’m keeping it a secret."
Hearing those words, Janice couldn’t help but frown. In her heart, she thought: Does he dislike me?
Thinking of this, she tentatively asked, "Hubby, do you think it’s ugly?" Janice was particularly nervous as she asked this.
Seeing her so careful, Christopher knew that she was letting her imagination run wild again.
He could not help frowning.
Was he the kind of person that would dislike her just for the stretch marks?
Thinking that his wife had distrusted him, Christopher couldn’t help but want to punish her.
Thinking of this, he deliberately looked at the stretch marks on her belly and said, "Ugly? Maybe a little."
Hearing this, Janice’s heart sank.
"Huh? Hubby, do you really dislike it?"
She pursed her lips and looked upset.
Christopher originally wanted to tease her, but now he couldn’t bear to. He sighed helplessly and said with a smile, "Silly, I’m just teasing you. How could I find it ugly? Look, these stretch mark are just because your belly is too big now and has been stretched. In fact, after the baby is born, it will not be so obvious."
"Then what if it’s still so obvious in the future?" Janice asked.
Christopher replied, "That’s fine as well. Just take it as a reminder that you paid a huge price to give birth to our baby. In this way, if we make you unhappy in the future, then you can use it as a warning. Wouldn’t that be very good?"