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Chapter 119. Did He… Did He Really Hear It?
Speaking of this, she “tsked” a bit, “Oh, how pathetic. However, Mr. Smith loves you so much, I’m sure he can’t afford to let your child bear the name of an illegitimate child. Go for it!” She said with a sardonic smile on her face.
Jennifer’s expression twisted into one of frustration and anger. She clenched the sheets underneath her, unable to bear the mockery in Mae’s smile.
How dare Mae be so self–assured? It had been her who had been taunting Mae just moments ago. Now the tables had turned; Mae was no longer the victim. It was infuriating for Jennifer to see Mae’s calm demeanor in the face of her own bitterness.
Mae’s words had cut deep, and Jennifer was left stewing in her own fury. The way Mae had turned her own insults against her left Jennifer feeling humiliated and helpless. The words stung even more because they touched on Jennifer’s own insecurities and manipulations.
Mae paid no attention to Jennifer’s enraged expression. Her purpose had been served, and she had no interest in engaging any further. Walking to the door of the hospital room, Mae opened it to leave.
As she stepped out, she was met with an unexpected sight–Mark standing outside the room. Mae’s expression momentarily shifted, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
“Mark… when had he arrived?” Mae’s mind raced, trying to piece together the timeline of his
appearance.
However, in just a moment, she composed herself and greeted him with a polite smile, attempting to hide any traces of her earlier surprise. “Mr. Smith, you’re here,” Mae greeted with her usual composure, even though her heart was racing from the unexpected encounter.
Mark’s presence was an enigma. Mae didn’t know how much he had heard of her conversation with Jennifer, but it didn’t matter to her. She walked past Mark without waiting for a response.
Inside the room, Jennifer’s emotions were a turbulent mix of satisfaction and anxiety. The sight of Mark’s arrival stirred up hope, yet her words to Mae weighed heavily on her conscience. The possibility of Mark overhearing their conversation unsettled her.
Jennifer’s confidence wavered in the presence of Mark. While she had dared to taunt Mae with veiled remarks earlier, she was well aware of the boundaries she needed to maintain around Mark. She had only dared to drop a few provocative words in front of Mae, testing the waters to see if she could rile her up. But in Mark’s presence, she couldn’t even muster half a sentence of such audacity.
As Mae left the room, Mark remained at the doorway, his gaze lingering on her retreating figure. A mixture of emotions churned within him, his usually controlled demeanor showing signs of turmoil.
After a moment of contemplation, he pushed open the door to Jennifer’s ward and entered. The room seemed to grow smaller with the weight of their history and the tension that hung in the air. Mark’s face was a stoic mask, his emotions hidden behind his cool exterior. His eyes, however, were sharp and piercing, fixed intently on Jennifer.
“Ma… Mark, you came to see me,” Jennifer managed a strained smile, her nervousness palpable as she clenched her fists under the sheets from nervousness.
“What did you say to Mae?” Mark’s voice was low but charged with tension, his piercing eyes fixated on Jennifer’s every move.
Jennifer’s heart raced. She fought to keep her composure, avoiding Mark’s gaze. Her mind raced to form a plausible response. “I… I didn’t say anything,” she stammered, her heart sinking. Mark wouldn’t ask if he hadn’t heard something. With this, her heart settled a little.
But Mark wasn’t appeased. His tone grew more impatient. “I told you to not play games in front of me, Jennifer.” Mark’s cold voice resounded again and compared to the low tone of a moment ago.
Jennifer’s fear escalated. She had to maintain the façade that Mark hadn’t heard their conversation. Clinging to her denial, she responded, “I really didn’t say anything to her. I just genuinely asked her why she left you without a word.”
Mae’s lips formed a careful line as she watched Mark, a tremor of apprehension rippling beneath the surface. Her heart raced, caught between the uncertainty of whether Mark would believe her and the fear of the storm her words might unleash. She held her ground, her gaze steady, despite the tumultuous emotions that churned beneath.
But in an instant, Mark’s expression shifted, his countenance darkening like an impending thundercloud. The chill in his eyes turned glacial, and the room seemed to grow colder as his mood plummeted. Jennifer’s heart skipped a beat, a visceral response to the intensity that emanated from him. Her very core shivered involuntarily, twice, as the gravity of the situation gripped her.
“Jennifer, don’t assume I’ll put up with everything you do just for the sake of this child. You need to grasp that.” Mark’s stern words reverberated through the room, each syllable a weight that settled heavily on Jennifer’s conscience.
Her attempt to defend herself only seemed to draw his anger further, and her hopes of gaining his understanding were slipping away.
With a desperate resolve, Jennifer attempted to salvage the situation, her voice strained as she pushed out her explanation, “Mark, I… I was just worried about your well–being. When I heard that you were hospitalized because of something involving Mae, I… I couldn’t help but inquire about her…”
Mark’s eyes grew darker, the chill in his gaze intensifying. “Don’t meddle in my affairs.” With those words, he turned and left the room, leaving Jennifer with a sense of unease.
She stared at the closed door, her mind racing. The confrontation left her shaken, but she wasn’t ready to relinquish her manipulative tactics. Recalling the information Jones had shared with her, Jennifer’s eyes grew even colder. She was determined not to lose to Mae.
Mae hadn’t moved far; she was seated in the resting area outside Jennifer’s ward on the same floor. A cup of freshly brewed black coffee sat before her, its steam mingling with the air. She raised it to her lips and took a sip, her gaze momentarily fixed on the cup.
Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed before her. The familiar scent enveloped her, and Mae didn’t need to look up to know who had arrived. Setting down her coffee, she raised her eyes to meet the figure. Afternoon sunlight cast a halo around the man’s handsome face, yet it failed to soften the cold aura that seemed to radiate from him.
Especially when his deep, black eyes met Mae’s without a word, an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.
“Is Mr. Smith concerned that I might not be capable of looking after Ms. Bleak, so he came here to keep an eye on me?” She couldn’t help but offer a smile as she spoke, a hint of amusement dancing at the corner of her eyes, leaving those around her unsure whether she was jesting or speaking in
earnest.
However, Mark showed no sign of humor. He casually pulled over a chair, took a seat, and regarded Mae without a hint of expression. His gaze was intense, his usually deep eyes transforming into burning orbs, his brows knitting as he looked at her.
Mae averted her gaze and took a sip of her coffee again when Mark’s voice broke the silence. “Am I merely an unwanted bone you don’t bother to discard?” His words hung heavy in the air.
Mae’s grip on her coffee faltered, and she hesitated before bringing the cup back to her lips. Did he… did he really hear it?
How much of the conversation had reached his ears? How much of Jennifer’s cruel taunts and provocations had he overheard?
It was undeniable that Mae cared about those words from Jennifer. If Mark likes children, he wouldn’t just disregard the child Mae had given birth to. A man would only concern himself with another woman’s child if he loved that woman.
Though she had tried to brush off Jennifer’s remarks, they still lingered in her thoughts. Despite maintaining a composed exterior, Mae’s emotions had been stirred. She had retaliated with Jennifer’s own tactics, attempting to mask the jealousy she refused to admit. Concealing these emotions, she looked at Mark and offered a soft laugh.
“Come on, that was just a joke, Mr. Smith. You’re far from being a ‘cheap bone“,” she responded playfully, as if her words used to counter Jennifer were nothing more than harmless banter.
Mae didn’t even bother on defending herself in front of Mark. She had even expected Mark to be angry with her, preparing herself when that thought of hers become a reality. However, his next words took her by surprise.
“Jennifer and I don’t share the kind of relationship you might think.” His voice, tinged with complex emotions, broke the silence.
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