Love Contract
Chapter 133 I Can't Find Her (Part Two)

Victor's jaw dropped as he stared at the man in evident disbelief, completely at a loss of what to say.

Had he heard him wrong? 'He loves Mary?' he thought. 'Has he really fallen in love with her?'

Without giving him time to react, the disheveled man stomped out of the house. He continued to rack his mind as to Mary's location.

If she wasn't in her house and with Victor, then where would she be...

Suddenly, a thought came over him. 'She must be at the hospital!' he realized, clapping his hands together.

He quickly hailed another taxi and rushed to the hospital.

Unknown to him, Victor had also rushed out of his house and got in the car. Heart racing, he followed the other man to the hospital.

At the hospital.

William paced across the corridor before entering the ward of Mary's mother.

"Mary!" he called out, pushing the doors wide open.

However, he was only greeted by the sight of an elderly man on the bed. He blinked wearily as he struggled to sit up. "Sir, who are you looking for?" the old man asked in confusion.

"Um...you..." William staggered back and glanced at the number of the room, only to see that he was right. "Do you know where the original patient was relocated? The one who stayed here before you?" The old man shook his head. He still looked a little confused by the surprise guest. "No," he uttered. "I was just moved here..."

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir." With an apologetic bow of his head, he walked out of the room and closed the doors.

As he did so, an uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach.

"Are you his relative?"

All of a sudden, a voice came around behind, causing him to turn around. The man was wearing a white coat. Upon closer look, he noticed the name tag on the doctor's chest-Dr. Cao. He was the attending physician of Mary's mother.

"Why didn't you go in?" he asked. "I'm not his relative." William shook his head before pointing at the door. "Where's the person who used to stay in that room? Mary's mother?"

"And you are...?" Dr. Cao raised his eyebrows, analyzing him questioningly.

"I'm Mary's husband," he replied.

"It's you then..." Dr. Cao's eyes shone with recognition. Adjusting his coat, he addressed him indifferently, "You're already too late. Mary's mother passed away three days ago, so Mary's no longer at the hospital."

Splash!

All of a sudden, the bouquet of roses scattered all over the marble floor. The once white flooring was decorated with yellow and pink petals and green leaves.

Victor, who had just arrived, was standing not that far away from the pair. Upon hearing the doctor's words, he immediately froze.

"Wh-what did you say?"

William's eyes widened. "Her mother-she passed away?"

"Yes." Dr. Cao nodded.

"Well, where did Mary go? Did she say anything to you?" Eyes blazing with disbelief, he grabbed a hold of the doctor's collar, attracting attention from the nurses. "I don't know," Dr. Cao responded calmly. "It's not like we ask any questions about a patient's family. I also suggest you let go of me, sir."

"You don't know? You don't know..." William loosened his grip in frustration. His body shook uncontrollably, and he staggered backwards. A hand clutched his chest, feeling his heart turned cold from the news. Three days ago...That was also the time he had locked her in her bedroom.

"Mary..." Victor whispered mournfully. Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind. "Her hometown! She must be in her hometown."

Not even bothering to glance back at the man behind him, he sprinted away.

'I'll replace you this time around,' he promised. 'Wait for me, Mary.'

"Did Mary come to the hospital?" There was visible pain in William's eyes as he stared at the doctor. His heart clenched and throbbed as if he had been stabbed over and over again. "Yes," the doctor responded.

"She... When did she arrive?" His bottom lip trembled.

"It was the night three days ago."

Dr. Cao sighed, shaking his head. There was a certain coldness in his gaze as the next few words left his lips.

"When she arrived, her mother had already passed away."

Boom!

A surge of adrenaline rushed through his head, and it felt as if his whole body had turned numb. His hands shook as he struggled to keep himself together.

It was his fault! He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to imagine the look on Mary's face when she found out the news of her mother's passing. At the thought, his heart clenched.

If he hadn't locked her in the room, then maybe she would've seen her one last time.

Mary must've hated-no-despised him after all the things that he had put her through.

He swallowed, but the dryness at the back of his throat still wouldn't go away. William staggered away like a soulless puppet that had just lost its strings. The soles of his feet crushed the roses on the floor, but he didn't seem to care.

The once beautiful petals were left lifeless under his feet.

The shop assistant's words echoed at the back of his mind, "Without her, you're simply a lost ship without your light tower."

Standing by the door of the ward, Dr. Cao stared at the man's retreating figure and sighed to himself. He stared blankly ahead before shaking his head.

'Dr. Murong, you must've taken her far away from here by now,' he thought.

Two days ago.

As soon as Mary woke up, she could see Lucas hovering over her with furrowed eyebrows and squinted eyes. When he saw her move, he quickly leaned in closer. "Are you already awake?" he whispered, looking her over.

"Yes," she rasped. Her throat was sore from the lack of water. As she looked around the room, a thought came over her as another wave of anxiety washed her over. Events from last night flashed in her mind as she grabbed his sleeve. "Where's my mother?" she snapped. "Where is she?"

"Calm down, Mary. You just woke up," he managed. His gaze was filled with so much pity, which only made her even more panicked. "You can't be so emotional else-"

"No! I want to see her." Wrenching from his grip, she lifted the quilt and pushed him away. However, just as her feet landed on the cold tiles, her knees buckled. Before she could even stop herself, she had already fallen face first onto the floor. "Mary!" Lucas was quick to help her up to the bed. "You shouldn't move like this. You've just woken up."

"I..." Her face turned deathly pale as her hand wandered to her stomach. She leaned over, looking as if she was about to vomit. "M-my stomach. It hurts."

"Your stomach?" Lucas glanced at the location where she had fallen only to see droplets of blood scattered all over the clean tiles. His eyes widened in alarm.

"It hurts..." Mary lurched over, covering her belly. Her face broke out in cold sweat.

"Just stay calm. I'm here." Carrying her in his arms, Lucas sprinted to the gynecology department as he shouted, "Dr. Xu!"

Mary squeezed her eyes shut, hearing nurses and doctors speaking all around her. However, their words felt as if they were spoken a thousand miles apart. Gradually, her head became heavier and heavier, and the next thing she knew, darkness had already enveloped her in its arms.

After what seemed to be centuries, her consciousness slowly recovered. She could hear a faint voice, but she couldn't tell where it was from.

"Yes, she was being emotional, and she has fallen down. Please tell me. Is she all right?" It was Lucas.

"She'll be all right. The baby is saved. All she needs to do is to take the pills I've prescribed, and she'll be as healthy as a horse."

"Thank you, Dr. Xu," he responded sincerely.

"I'll be leaving now. Take care of her."

"I will."

"Lucas..." Finally having the strength to open her eyes, Mary called out his name.

"Mary, you're awake!" Lucas didn't waste any time as he rushed to her bedside. A hand fell to her head as he smoothened the stray strands from her hair. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." He quickly supported her up, and she leaned against the headboard. However, her eyebrows knitted together as she asked, "What did you say just now? What baby?"

"Mary..." Lucas trailed off, avoiding her gaze.

Her hand quickly fell to her stomach. A baby.

"You..." she stammered out as her hand clenched around the hospital gown. "Am I- Am I pregnant?"

Swallowing, he nodded.

It was as if her whole world fell apart and a large sword had been plunged into her chest.

Tears continuously streamed down her cheeks, and her vision blurred even more. After everything the man had done to her, how could fate play her by giving her his child? Was this some sort of cosmic joke? "How long?" she uttered, lowering her head. She quickly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, not wanting Lucas to see her like this.

"It's been a month."

A month. That night...

"I-I don't..." She gritted her teeth. "Can I abort it?"

Lucas blinked in surprise at the steeliness of her voice. "You want to have an abortion?"

"Yes," she stated seriously, glaring at the white sheets.

Besides, William had already told her that he didn't want to have a child with her.

Even if he did want one, there was no way in hell was she going to give birth to that asshole's baby.

If he hadn't locked her up, if he hadn't punished her like that, then maybe she would've still seen her mother. She blinked back the tears. If he hadn't done what he did, then maybe she was able to bond with her before she left the world. She hated him!

"I..." Lucas shook his head. "Maybe I should call William."

"No!" She snapped her head up and grabbed his hand tightly, pulling him towards her. Her bottom lip trembled. "No, please don't call him. Don't call him..."

"Tell me, what do you plan to do?"

"Abort the baby and divorce him," she said seriously, flinching at the harshness of her voice. She wanted to stay away from that man as much as possible.

"Do you even know what condition you're in?" He rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. "If you abort the baby now, you could die! You almost had a miscarriage, and an abortion is dangerous to you. And your ear..."

"My ear? What about it?" Raising her head, Mary furrowed her eyebrows.

After a pause, Lucas continued, "I don't know what caused it, but I saw how swollen your face was yesterday. When I checked it, I found that... " He hesitated, as if something was holding him back. "What?" she urged.

"Your eardrum was damaged. Your hearing-it won't be what it used to be..." Her hearing...

A bitter smile slipped into her face and she licked her lips, tasting the saltiness of her tears. Reaching out, her hand trailed down the side of her ear.

'So William slapped me that hard,' she thought. "Mary," Lucas started.

"Maybe you should keep the child." "Keep the child?" Mary laughed as if she had just heard the best joke of her life. Her gaze hardened. "Have you seen William? I'm not that crazy!"

"Then I'll take you away!"

he yelled out adamantly, holding her hand close to his chest. "I'll take you to America. No one knows you there, and in a place so large, even William couldn't replace you. We could live there, and you can give birth to the baby peacefully. You won't ever have to see him again."

'America?' She stared up at him with confusion.

"Maybe, maybe God was the one who gifted that little angel to you," he said. The lump in his throat didn't seem to go away as he stared deep into her mournful eyes. "With your mother gone, it's the only family you have left. Do you really want it to go without seeing the world?"

Family... The word struck her like lightning.

She stared at her seemingly flat stomach as her hand rubbed around it. 'Family...'

"Mary..."

After a long time, Mary finally raised her head and stared at Lucas. "Take me away."

Candy GSmgB