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Novel Catalog
Chapter 31
In that moment, Matthew’s heart wrenched. It was a feeling so foreign to him, one he had never experienced before. The intensity of it shocked him, but he pushed it aside as he approached Veronica, still lying on the couch in agony. He moved the coffee table out of the way, crouching beside her.
The moment his hands touched her, she weakly pushed him away. “Don’t… touch… me…”
Her voice trembled, barely a whisper, and though she pushed with all the strength she could muster, she was barely a shadow of herself. Her hatred for him was clear in her eyes, and it burned deep into his chest. His anger flared. She’s pushing me away, even now?
“Fine,” Matthew muttered, stepping back. “I won’t touch you. Get up by yourself, then, if you can.” He stood aside, watching her struggle with a detached gaze.
Veronica, gritting her teeth, clung to the coffee table, rolling over with great difficulty. She knelt on the floor, pressing her forehead to the ground as she summoned every ounce of strength to stand. Her legs trembled as she forced herself upright, sweat beading on her forehead, her lips pale.
Despite the pain clouding her vision, she forced a smile—one that was more bitter than anything else. “I’ve said it before… Even if I die, I won’t give birth to your child. I… did it.”
She stood unsteadily, her steps slow and labored, as though each movement was fighting against her. Blood stained the floor as she walked, marking her painful journey.
Matthew stood silently, his anger draining away as he watched her. The fury in his chest shifted into something unexpected—admiration. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her unyielding spirit. She’s willing to die rather than give in. He was taken aback by her stubbornness. It was something he had never seen before. It was almost as if she wore a halo of resilience.
But just as quickly as it had come, the blackness in front of Veronica’s eyes overtook her. She collapsed, her body giving way to the pain.
Matthew was there in an instant, catching her before she hit the ground.
“Young Master Matthew, she’s covered in blood. Let me do it,” Thomas offered, his voice urgent.
Matthew ignored him, lifting Veronica into his arms and moving toward the door. The sound of their footsteps echoed through the apartment as they made their way to the elevator. The neighbors, disturbed by the commotion, peeked out from their doors.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh my god! Why is this woman covered in blood?”
“Is she alright? It’s terrifying!”
The whispers followed them down the hall, but Matthew didn’t slow. He marched forward, determined to get Veronica the help she needed.
As the elevator doors opened, the paramedics were already inside. “Did you call the emergency number?” one of them asked, seeing the blood on Veronica.
“Yes,” Matthew replied, his voice curt. “She’s over two months pregnant and consumed a large amount of motherwort.”
The paramedics immediately sprang into action. “We need to hurry. She’s bleeding profusely.”
They rushed Veronica into the ambulance, with Matthew following closely behind. Thomas drove behind them, his car a silent witness to the urgency of the situation.
At the hospital, Veronica was quickly taken to the emergency room. Matthew, covered in blood from carrying her, stood silently in the hallway, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as he smoked in the silence.
Thomas, trying to ease the tension, spoke up. “Young Master Matthew, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. But it’s all her own fault for taking so many pills. She must’ve been trying to die.”
Matthew shot him a glare, his expression hardening. He said nothing, his eyes fixed on the door to the emergency room, where Veronica’s fate was being decided.
Three hours later, the doctor finally emerged. “We’ve stopped the bleeding and pumped her stomach. However, the baby is gone.”
Matthew’s heart clenched. He didn’t show it, but the news affected him more than he cared to admit.
“What about her?” he asked coldly, his voice unwavering.
“The timing was critical. If she had been any later, the blood loss would’ve killed her, even without the medication,” the doctor explained, sounding shaken.
“Thank you,” Matthew muttered, before walking past the doctor and toward Veronica’s ward.
Inside the ward, Veronica lay unconscious on the bed, hooked up to an IV. Her face was pale, drawn with the aftereffects of the ordeal. Even in her sleep, her brows were furrowed in pain. Despite everything, her ordinary face, slightly disheveled, struck Matthew in a way he didn’t expect. There was something strangely appealing about her now.
The next morning, Veronica’s eyes fluttered open. She glanced around the room, taking in the sterile white walls and the drip attached to her arm. For a moment, she let out a silent sigh of relief. I’m still alive.
Her gaze shifted to the window, where the sun had just risen. Her heart ached as she thought of the child she had lost. It was my own flesh and blood, and before it could even see the world, it’s already gone…
“You’re awake?” came a voice from the side.
Veronica slowly turned her head. Matthew was sitting in a chair by the window, watching her.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips, pale as they were. “The baby’s gone. So, why are you still here, Young Master Matthew? Are you pretending to care? That’s not like you.”
Despite the pain she still felt, Veronica felt a strange sense of calm. She had faced death and come out the other side, and she had no regrets about her impulsive actions. Not a single one.
Matthew didn’t answer immediately. He stood up and walked over to her bed, placing a file on the mattress.
Veronica eyed it curiously, propping herself up with difficulty. “What’s this?”
She opened the brown paper bag and pulled out the documents inside. It was the information she had asked Matthew to gather about the car accident involving her parents.
“On the way back to Bloomstead, the private investigator you hired was transporting the driver when the driver was taken by enemies and killed. His name was Donnie Freimann, a notorious criminal with a long list of enemies. Your parents are innocent in this matter, but since Donnie was an orphan, there’s no compensation to be had,” Matthew explained flatly.
Veronica, flipping through the pages, froze. Her eyes lifted from the documents and met Matthew’s cold gaze. “Is that all?”
Matthew’s expression darkened. “What else do you want?”
She took a deep breath, then snorted. She returned the documents to the bag without finishing the details. “No. Nothing. I just realized, the child is gone, so I have no reason to ask you to investigate anything. Take it away.”
The truth was, Matthew could have uncovered everything if he wanted to. He had the power, the connections, and the skill. But he was engaged to Tiffany, and he was protecting the Larson family. Family ties, no matter how much Veronica hated to admit it, ran deep.
Matthew’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Veronica Murphy, don’t take a yard when I offered you an inch.”
She met his gaze coolly, her voice calm despite the storm in her heart. “You must be kidding, Young Master Matthew.” She lifted her gaze from him and turned toward the window, her thoughts heavy. “Before all of this, we met by chance. It was all because…” Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish the thought. Because you were in that accident, and I saved you out of greed, she thought to herself, but didn’t say it aloud.
She sighed, feeling the weight of it all. “I don’t hate you, I just hate myself for not being strong enough. Now that the child is gone, we have no ties left. From now on, you walk your path, and I’ll walk mine. I won’t appear in your world again. And please, don’t show up in mine.”
