Footsteps echoed from the hall.
My heart lurched as I staggered back into the ward. Before I could even lie down, Javon had already stepped inside.
“Addison, when did you wake up?”
Cold sweat clung to me, my body trembling, though I forced myself to appear calm.
“Just now. I didn’t see you around, so I thought of coming out to look for you.”
His gaze fixed on me, sharp and probing, as if searching for the truth hidden behind my words.
My heart seized in terror. Just when I thought he had seen through me, he swept me into his arms and placed me on the bed.
“How could you be so careless? We’ve already lost our baby; you can’t let anything else happen to you.”
And he dared to speak of it.
The thought of the child he had intentionally destroyed made me clutch my chest, my tears rushing out uncontrollably.
So every car crash, every robbery, every fall, they had never been accidents.
They had been Javon’s doing, again and again, just to clear the way for his mistress.
“The doctor just said your uterus wasn’t cleaned properly. You’ll need another surgery.”
“Addison, don’t be afraid. We’ll have a beautiful child. He’ll carry your eyes, my nose, and mouth. When the time comes, we’ll love him twice as much, to make up for every regret.”
Javon passed me a glass of milk. As he shifted, I saw him slip something into it.
Then he held me close, murmuring softly, his gaze brimming with false tenderness.
I knew in my heart that this was nothing but the mask he wore to deceive me.
“Must I drink it… can I refuse?”
Javon, you had already murdered seven of my children. Now, you wanted to take from me even the last right of being a mother.
He did not waver. With a gentle pat on my head, he smiled as though in doting care.
“You’re such a grown woman, yet still acting like a child. If you refuse the surgery, how can your body recover? Do you want your husband to be worried sick?”
“Come, let me feed you.”
He held the milk to my lips, forcing it upon me without room for resistance.
I shut my eyes tightly, feeling as though I swallowed not milk, but knives laced with thorns.
My consciousness slipped away. In the fog of my fading sight, I saw the doctor who had conspired with Javon step in.
“Let’s proceed with the surgery now. Also…”
Javon’s voice paused for several seconds before he spoke.
“Use anesthesia to paralyze her lower body.”
“Mr. Davis, isn’t that unnecessary? Isn’t it far too cruel?”
“Do as I said!”