Chapter 191: Favouritism?
Theresa.
I had truly thought it was the absolute end for me—that I was slipping into the dark unknown and never coming back. But the very moment I managed to open my heavy eyelids, I could only think about one thing above all else: the safety of my precious pup. And in that terrifying fog of waking up, only one name crossed my desperate mind—Lawrence.
"Lawrence...!" I called out softly, my voice barely more than a raspy whisper the second my eyes could adjust to the light and form a clear image of my surroundings.
A quick glance around the sterile room told me everything I needed to know: I was lying in a hospital bed yet again.
Honestly, waking up surrounded by white walls and beeping monitors was fast becoming a routine occurrence in my life. I closed my eyes briefly to combat a sudden wave of dizziness, and the second I opened them back up, Lawrence was already standing right by my side. He reached down and held my hands with profound gentleness, as if I were made of fragile glass.
"Theresa, are you okay?" he asked immediately, deep, frantic concern spreading across every line of his face.
I tried pushing myself up to sit, desperate to look him in the eye, but the second I shifted, a violent, agonizing pain shot straight across my lower abdomen.
I gasped, wincing from the sudden burn, and almost instantly, Leonard’s firm, strong hands reached out to steady my shoulders. He carefully supported my upper body, making me rest my head back down against the soft hospital pillows.
"Relax, Theresa," Leonard said calmly, his voice laced with protective warmth as he adjusted my blankets. "There is absolutely no need to stress yourself right now."
But I really couldn’t bring myself to be calm—not like this.
How on earth could I possibly rest or lie here peacefully when I had no idea how my pup was faring after everything that had just happened?
Driven by an overwhelming maternal instinct, I deliberately averted my gaze from Leonard, ignoring his gentle touch, and turned my eyes back toward Lawrence.
"I want only Lawrence to be in the room!" I announced loudly, uttering the command without the slightest bit of hesitation or second-guessing.
The shift in the room was instantaneous. Leonard’s hands, which had still been holding my other hand with quiet devotion, stiffened completely.
The sudden freeze caused me to turn my head back around, where I was met with the sight of his stunned, utterly heartbroken face staring back at me in total shock.
"Why on earth do you want only Lawrence to be in the room with you?" Lurgard suddenly asked, desperately trying to mask his hurt expression behind a forced, awkward laughter that sounded hollow in the quiet space.
I closed my eyes tightly, taking a deep, slow breath to calm the rising irritation in my chest.
Don’t tell me they are actually thinking I am trying to play favorites right now?
"Do I really need a specific reason just to ask only Lawrence to stay behind with me?" I asked, opening my eyes to lock my gaze onto his, my tone dripping with quiet exasperation.
Lurgard swallowed hard, the movement of his throat slow and visibly strained, as though forcing down every emotion threatening to spill out of him. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, then again, while he fought desperately to regain the composure that had abandoned him moments ago.
For a brief second, his lips parted, only for the words to die in his throat before they could escape. He drew in a deep, uneven breath, steadying himself with obvious effort, before finally lifting his gaze to meet mine.
"I—I don’t want to leave your side, Theresa," he declared, his voice still carrying the faint tremor of vulnerability despite the firmness behind every syllable.
His feet remained firmly planted where they were, refusing to budge even an inch. It was as though nothing in the world could have forced him to walk away from me at that moment.
He stared down at me with unwavering resolve, his jaw locked tightly, his shoulders squared, and an unshakable determination blazing fiercely within his eyes.
Every inch of his rigid posture silently declared that he had already made up his mind, and no amount of persuasion was going to change it.
Geez!
Seriously...could I not catch a single break?
I had literally just woken up after surviving whatever it was that had happened to me. My body still felt unbearably heavy, every muscle aching from exhaustion, while a dull, persistent pain continued to pulse beneath my lower abdomen.
Yet, instead of being granted even a few moments of peace to recover, I was immediately being dragged straight back into the endless, emotionally draining drama surrounding these impossible triplets.
The urge to roll my eyes in sheer frustration rose almost instinctively.
"I am also not leaving this room!" Leonard’s deep voice echoed through the space, firm and unyielding.
I was genuinely surprised that even he wanted to participate in this ridiculous childish drama.
Wasn’t he always trying so hard to project that cold, aloof, detached CEO vibe?
I had honestly assumed he would act like the mature man he always claimed to be and quietly excuse himself from the room without making a scene.
Fine!
If they all stubbornly wanted to remain in this hospital room, then I would simply be the one to leave it for them.
I would take Lawrence right along with me, because I desperately needed to know how my baby was faring, and I needed to hear it from him immediately.
Trying to discuss the delicate state of my pregnancy in front of the other two was clearly just inviting massive trouble for myself—a brand of chaos I was nowhere near ready to handle right now.
"Since neither of you is willing to leave..." I paused, letting my eyes sweep cold and hard across both of their stubborn faces. "...then I will be the one to leave." I added firmly, my voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
And almost instantaneously, all three of the triplets’ faces paled in total, synchronized shock.