Chapter 294: I Don’t Believe This is Sean Sterling’s Intention
Isla Griffith’s heart suddenly tightened, and her breathing subconsciously slowed.
She hadn’t expected Yvonne Donovan to be the one to answer the phone.
’Looks like Sean Sterling went to the hospital to see his mother and must have accidentally left his phone in her room.’
This was Sean Sterling’s mother—an elder, and more than that, a woman who had constantly found fault with her.
Isla Griffith took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the inexplicable panic rising in her heart and maintaining a basic level of courtesy.
"Mrs. Donovan, hello."
"Ms. Griffith, receiving your call and hearing your voice... I am not doing well at all."
Yvonne Donovan’s voice came through the line, devoid of any warmth. It was cold and distant, laced with a condescending disdain.
Isla Griffith searched her conscience. She had never wronged the Donovan Family, let alone Yvonne Donovan. There was no need to be meek or submissive in front of her.
Politeness was a matter of upbringing, not a sign of weakness.
’Be courteous when you should be, but be firm when you must be.’
"Mrs. Donovan, please give the phone to Sean Sterling. I need to speak with him about something urgent."
"What an audacious tone, Ms. Griffith," Yvonne Donovan said sarcastically. "Not even married into the Sterling Family yet, and you’re already ordering me around? Is this your upbringing?"
Isla Griffith’s eyes darkened, but her expression remained calm.
"You don’t need to drag my upbringing into everything. I was calling Sean Sterling. It’s his phone. Is it wrong for me to ask you to hand it to him?"
"Or perhaps, Mrs. Donovan, you’d like to chat for a bit? I can certainly oblige."
"What a sharp-tongued woman," Yvonne Donovan’s voice turned frigid. "What, you think because you’re pregnant, you’ve secured your ticket into the Sterling Family? You’ve certainly gotten bold with your words."
Faced with Yvonne Donovan’s provocations, Isla Griffith didn’t back down in the slightest.
"Pregnant or not, I would say the same thing. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t owe anyone anything. There’s no reason for me to bow my head."
A fire of rage ignited in Yvonne Donovan’s heart, and she had no intention of letting Isla Griffith feel good.
A plan suddenly formed in her mind; she would crush that self-righteous arrogance of Isla Griffith’s.
"Since I’m the one who answered the phone, there are some things I might as well make clear to you, just to stop you from harboring unrealistic fantasies all day."
Isla Griffith’s heart skipped a beat, and she tightened her grip on the phone.
"My son has already chosen a marriage partner. The woman’s family background is a perfect match for our Sterling Family."
Yvonne Donovan’s voice was casual, but every word was laced with ice.
"The wedding is set for next month. The ceremony, guests, and venue are all being arranged step by step."
Isla Griffith felt the blood in her veins freeze instantly, a chill spreading from her head to her toes.
She froze on the spot, unable to move. Even the voice on the phone seemed to grow distant.
’Next month... a wedding?’
She opened her mouth, but her throat felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand. No sound came out. All she could hear was a ringing in her ears, and every breath brought a piercing pain.
Yvonne Donovan twisted the knife, her tone dripping with a charity-like contempt.
"And it’s not just the wedding. Just now, our family was discussing how much compensation to give you to make you leave my son for good and stop pestering him."
"The Sterling Family handles things with dignity; we won’t treat you poorly. You weren’t satisfied with the amount I offered last time, but this new amount will definitely satisfy you. It’ll be enough for you to live comfortably for several lifetimes, no longer having to struggle so desperately or scheme to marry into a wealthy family."
She paused, the undisguised scorn and disdain in her voice pricking Isla Griffith’s pride like needles.
"Isla Griffith, you know better than anyone that you and my son have never been from the same world."
"He is the sole heir to the Sterling Family. He is destined for an arranged marriage, destined to take over the family business, destined to marry a woman who can help him, who is worthy of him."
"And you? What makes you worthy of my son?"
"Your have-nothing, couldn’t-be-more-ordinary family background? Or that vulgar little scheme of yours to tie him down with a child?"
"My son has now made the correct choice—one that is good for the Sterling Family and for himself. Be smart. Take the money and disappear quietly. We are both women; I won’t make things difficult for you. Let’s leave each other with a final shred of dignity."
Isla Griffith’s fingers clutched the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned a deathly white.
A suffocating pain spread through her chest. Those words were like thousand-pound hammers, crashing down on her.
All the defiance, confidence, and unwillingness to yield she had shown just moments ago were torn to shreds by Yvonne Donovan’s words, leaving nothing behind.
’A long-arranged marriage partner... a wedding next month...’
’The Sterling Family is discussing how much money it will take to get rid of her.’
Scalding tears she could no longer control burst forth, streaming down her cheeks. They burned her skin, but her heart was frozen solid.
"I don’t believe it. I don’t believe this is what Sean Sterling wants."
Isla Griffith’s voice trembled with a choked sob.
"I won’t listen to anyone else. I need to hear it from his own mouth."
"How could I possibly tell you something this important if he hadn’t agreed to it?" Yvonne Donovan pressed her advantage, her tone growing more confident and cruel, leaving no room for doubt.
This was a rare opportunity to drive Isla Griffith away, and she couldn’t miss it.
’She’s the one who called me. This must be fate.’
"My son didn’t tell you before because the woman was abroad, so it wasn’t convenient to make it public."
"Now that she’s back, his heart will naturally start to pull away from you."
"The only reason he hasn’t told you himself is out of consideration for your past relationship and the fact that you’re carrying his child. He’s soft-hearted and can’t bear to see you break down in front of him."
"That’s all there is to it."
Isla Griffith couldn’t hold on any longer. Tears blurred her vision.
All her nerve, her pride, her defiance—it all came crashing down in that instant.
"Isla Griffith, give up. You really aren’t a suitable match for my son. Wouldn’t it be better to find an ordinary man to marry and live a stable, simple life?"
"My son, Yvonne Donovan’s son, has stood at the top of the pyramid since the moment he was born. He deserves better."
"If you truly cared for him, you wouldn’t let him become the laughingstock of high society. And you certainly wouldn’t let someone like you cause a rift between him and the Sterling Family."
"Ms. Griffith, you’d best consider your own situation."
Yvonne Donovan hung up the phone and casually deleted the call history.
CLATTER. The phone slipped from Isla Griffith’s hand and fell to the floor.
The piercing static on the line was gone, replaced by the hollow sound of a piece of her heart being brutally carved out.
Yvonne Donovan’s words were like the sharpest of ice picks, not only piercing her eardrums but drilling straight into her marrow, draining her of all strength to even struggle.
’"Not from the same world..."’
’"What makes you worthy of my son..."’
’"Disappear quietly..."’
Every word replayed endlessly in her mind, amplifying and distorting until they became countless cold hands, gripping her throat so tightly she couldn’t breathe.
Her tears became a torrent, bursting forth like a broken dam as a painful whimper escaped her throat.
Her teeth bit into the flesh of her lip, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but it couldn’t suppress the excruciating pain in her heart.
’If Sean Sterling really is getting married, why didn’t he tell me? Why did he let me live like a fool!’
’Was all his kindness to me just an act?’
Isla Griffith covered her ears with a pained expression, shaking her head forcefully.
She refused to believe that Sean Sterling had no feelings for her.
A faint sliver of reason remained in her mind, telling her not to believe Yvonne Donovan’s one-sided story. ’Wait for Sean Sterling to come back. Let him tell you the truth himself.’
"Sean Sterling, come back... please, come back..."
Just then, a sudden, sharp pain shot through Isla Griffith’s lower abdomen.
It wasn’t a simple ache; it felt as though a hand inside her was squeezing tightly, then tearing.
"Ah..." A cry of pain escaped her lips.
Isla Griffith instinctively wrapped her hands around her lower abdomen, but the pain only intensified, and a cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
A moment later, a warm liquid began to trickle down her thigh.
Isla Griffith looked down. The startling splash of red instantly stained the hem of her light-colored dress and extinguished the last glimmer of light in her eyes.
Of all times, the housekeeper had gone out to buy groceries and wasn’t home.
Fear, despair, heartbreak, regret—all these emotions intertwined at that moment, forming a suffocating net that completely engulfed Isla Griffith.
Her vision grew increasingly blurry, and the only sounds were a sharp ringing in her ears and her own rapid, shallow breaths.
Just as Isla Griffith’s consciousness was about to sink into darkness, the instinct for survival and her desperate love for her child gave her one last burst of strength. She bent down, picked up the phone from the floor, and dialed 911.