A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 331 Bob Is Sick

"Let's go home now and have hotpot again next time," James said, not even bothering to glance at the untouched food. "Wasting food is a big crime, and you'll be struck by lightning, you know?" Maria asked, shifting away from him.

"I'm not afraid of death."

"But I am. If I'm dead, I won't be able to see you again." She gave him a pitiful doe-eyed look.

Looking at her indifferently, he asked, "What are your plans after this?"

Maria shrugged. "After finishing the hotpot, I'll go with you wherever you take me."

Satisfied by her answer, James sunk back into his seat and continued eating. The two of them peacefully finished the remaining food.

When they got back to his villa, the first thing James did was to take a shower. He couldn't stand the smell of greasy food on him for even a second.

Maria didn't want to go to bed smelling like hotpot either, so she went to the guest room to take a shower.

Once she was done, she walked back into James' bedroom, wrapped only in a bath towel.

The moment James saw her, he pulled her onto the bed and kissed her hard on the lips.

He was about to unwrap the towel around her when his phone vibrated on the night table.

Maria opened her eyes and nudged her nose against his. "You're getting a call," she said softly.

He didn't want to bother with it at all, but she pulled away from his embrace and grabbed the phone. "Come on, answer it. It's your grandfather."

It was already late in the night. Augustine wouldn't call them at such a late hour unless there was something wrong.

With a frown, James took the phone and said in a hoarse voice, "Grandpa."

"James, Bob is having a fever. Dr. Yang said that he needs to be taken to the hospital. Are you free now? Come and take him to the hospital!" Even through the receiver, Augustine's voice was loud and clear in the quiet night.

As soon as Maria heard that Bob had a fever, her breath tightened, and the passion that James had stirred up in her just now vanished into thin air.

James closed his eyes for a while and took a deep breath, as if trying not to get annoyed. "I'm not free right now. I'll ask the driver to take the baby to the hospital."

Augustine seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying, "Okay."

But Maria immediately grabbed the phone and spoke hurriedly into it, pushing James away. "Grandpa, I'll come right now. Wait for me."

James was shocked at her agitated behavior. The baby was just having a fever. Wasn't she overreacting?

"Oh, Maria, are you with James?" Augustine asked.

"Yes, Grandpa. I'm on my way now."

"Sure."

Hanging up the call, Maria threw the phone onto the bed, glared at James, and snapped, "Bob is having a fever! Why are you acting like it doesn't concern you at all? How can you leave it up to your grandparents to take care of him? Even if he's not your child, he is still a helpless baby who deserves care and attention!"

She felt aggrieved on behalf of the poor baby. Why did he have such a cold-hearted father?

Without waiting for him to respond, she got up and stormed into the closet.

Feeling upset, James climbed out of bed as well and followed her into the closet.

Maria was putting on her clothes when he grabbed her wrist and said, "I didn't say that it didn't concern me. I told Grandpa that I'd ask the driver to take Bob to the hospital first. We can go there directly later." She paused in the middle of putting on her blouse and glared at him. "Who do you think will carry him to the hospital? Tami is not young. How can she go back and forth to register for treatment with the child in her arms?" She irritably shook off his hand and resumed putting on her clothes.

"Why are you angry with me?"

James blinked at her innocently, with a trace of grievance in his eyes. Maria felt like shouting at him that Bob was their son. How could she not be angry after seeing how little he cared about the baby? "Why aren't you getting dressed? Put on your clothes so that we can go get Bob!" she yelled instead, walking out of the closet to brush her hair.

James pressed his lips into a thin line, frustrated by her constant demands.

His perfect night had been interrupted by a random child. Didn't he have the right to complain? Now, he even had to get dressed and run errands for the baby. He didn't know whether to cry or to laugh. When the two of them arrived, Tami was holding Bob closely to her chest and rocking him in her arms to comfort him. She was joined by Augustine, Charlotte, and several maids, who were all waiting in the living room.

"Maria, we gave Bob an antipyretic, but Dr. Yang said that he has to be taken to the hospital for a thorough check-up, just to be on the safe side," Augustine explained as soon as he saw the couple walk in. He felt a little guilty. The poor child was having a fever, but there wasn't much he could do at his old age.

Maria nodded and took the baby from Tami's arms. His little face was warm and red, which made her heart ache.

Forcing herself to get a grip, she replied, "Grandpa, Grandma, don't worry. It's just a fever. He'll be fine. We'll take him to the hospital now."

"Okay, sure. Call us if you need anything," Augustine said.

"We will." Even as Maria spoke, her worried eyes were fixed on Bob.

Tami handed a bag of things she had prepared in advance to James and said, "Here are the supplies that Bob needs, like milk powder and feeding bottles. If this isn't enough, give me a call later, and I'll ask someone to deliver it to you."

"Thanks." After taking the bag, James put his hand reassuringly on Maria's back and led her out of the mansion.

When they reached the car, he went ahead and opened the door for her. Maria slipped into the back seat with the child in her arms.

She touched the little boy's face and said softly, "My dear Bob, we're going to the hospital now."

The baby didn't cry or make any noise, and just kept his eyes closed, but his eyebrows were furrowed together, as if he was feeling uncomfortable.

On the way to the hospital, James contacted the doctor on duty, so when they arrived at the hospital lobby, the doctor was already waiting there.

James considerately took the baby from Maria's arms, and the three of them walked towards the outpatient building together.

As they walked, Maria tried to take Bob back, but James didn't give the baby to her.

When they reached the doctor's office, the first thing he did was to check Bob's temperature. It turned out that the baby had a shockingly high fever of 39.2 degree Celsius.

He took off his stethoscope and told them, "There could be many possible reasons for the baby's fever, but right now, we can assume that it's a viral infection. Since he has taken an antipyretic, let's wait and observe his condition. If his fever doesn't go down by tomorrow morning, we will take a blood test."

After that, a ward was arranged for Bob on the pediatric floor of the in-patient department. James was about to lay him down on the bed when the scared baby suddenly burst into tears.

Maria gently took over the baby and patted him on his back. "Good boy, it's time to sleep," she said soothingly in a soft voice.

The doctor whispered to the nurse next to him, "Remember to periodically wipe the child's body with warm water to bring down his fever. Inform me immediately if he shows any abnormal signs." "Yes, Dr. Zhang," the nurse replied obediently.

The little guy must have grasped that he was in a strange environment and felt uncomfortable here, so he kept crying and screaming instead of going to sleep.

Holding him in her arms, Maria kept rocking him up and down and trying to coax him, but it didn't work. Finally, James leaned over and said in a low voice, "Let me do it."

She looked at him hesitantly. Then, afraid that he would become impatient and lose his temper with the child, she quickly said, "No, it's fine. I'll do it."

Ignoring her refusal, he reached out, took the baby from her arms, and started to pace around the ward in steady circles.

Soon, the baby that had been wailing gradually quieted down. His little face rested against James' firm chest as he fell into a sweet slumber.

Maria was stunned at the scene. She had spent such a long time trying to comfort Bob, but he hadn't stopped crying at all. But after three minutes in James' arms, he had not only stopped crying, but also faller asleep.

She walked up to James and whispered excitedly, "You keep saying he's not your son, but look! He's sleeping so peacefully in your arms. When I was holding him, he was so restless, but he stopped crying the moment you held him against your chest."

He shot her an indifferent glance and said, "He must have gotten tired of crying."

She poked her nose into the air playfully and waved her hand.

"Excuses, excuses..."

He gently set Bob down on the bed. After that, Maria lay down next to him. Sitting on the chair next to the bed, James said, "Get some sleep. I'll look after him." He knew that she was still worried about the baby, so he assured her that he would pay attention to him at night.

Maria shook her head with a trace of guilt in her eyes. "James, I'm sorry for losing my temper at you earlier."

He just sat quietly next to her and said nothing.