189 Keeping Up Appearances

"I am calling an ambulance," Angelina chimed in, dialing the number on her phone, her wound eyes firmly fixed on Amelie's blue, trembling lips. "The nearest hospital is an hour away from here but if we get her all dry and warm, I don't-"

"I will drive her there myself," Liam cut her off sternly, "Please draw her a hot bath and get some dry and thick clothes to warm her up. If you can make her some hot tea, that would be good too." "Got it!" Angelina nodded as well and dashed back inside the house, urging the rest of the guests to follow her example. "Come on, people, nothing to see here! It's too cold to stay outside, let's

head back."

As people started going back to the villa, Richard only stood there, silent, and watched Amelie being carried away in the arms of another man. His eyes were dark and full of a strange mixture of emotions encapsulating both fear, regret, and perhaps even longing. Secret longing that he had been trying to bury for so long after Amelie's second marriage. That very same longing that prevented him from enjoying his own.

"Richard..." He winced and turned around, noticing Samantha's concerned expression while she slowly approached him. She carefully grabbed him by the wet sleeve of his shirt and the man recoiled somewhat abruptly, shaking her hand away with a violent motion. Startled, the woman took a step back, widening her eyes in fear while Richard let out a long sigh, shutting his eyes tightly as a sudden wave of irritation washed over him.

"Richard," his wife's voice was now barely above a whisper, and for some reason, it only irked him

more.

'I saw her toss that dog into the water like it was nothing but mere garbage, but now she is trying to fake innocence again... I can't bear to be next to her right now but I also can't leave her alone like this. I still need to keep up appearances.'

With another heavy sigh, the man tried to soften his expression, motioning for his wife to stay away. "Don't touch me... I am all wet, you might catch a cold. We can't afford to do that while you are pregnant."

"What..?" Samantha couldn't believe her ears. He did not care about her at all. All he cared about was the baby.

"I see you can walk properly," he jerked his chin at her ankle before concluding, "Go back inside and get ready. I will get my things and drive you to the hospital too."

With that, he walked away, leaving her standing there completely alone and utterly perplexed. As Samantha watched her husband blend with the rest of the crowd, she noticed Daphne briefly placing something into Austin's palm which the man then quickly hid in his pocket. The girl then nodded at him and fixed a rather large gold pendant hanging from her neck.

'How strange... Now that I think about it, that thing was hanging outside her scarf when I approached her... Surely, she did not stick it out just to brag...

180 Once And For All

189 Once And For All

"I am fine, Liam, it's really not a big deal!" Amelie moved up in the hospital bed but her husband gently pressed her back down, shaking his head almost scoldingly.

"You are fine now, but people don't just get sick right away after standing in cold water! I want you to stay under the doctor's supervision until tomorrow evening at least and only then will I think what to do about you."

His nagging tone made Amelie chuckle for a brief second before the man shot her a stern, warning glance which made her immediately assume a serious expression.

He liked that her husband was worried about her, but sometimes it was just too much. "Why did you jump after that stupid dog anyway?" Liam continued, "He might look useless but

he can swim!"

Amelie sighed and shook her head, "The waves were just too strong, he was drowning!"

The man sighed as well. "Like I said, you are just too kind... I really hope you won't get sick, Lily. Not because there is a possibility that you are already pregnant, but because I genuinely worry for you."

With a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips, Amelie cupped Liam's cheek, and he instantly caught it, flinging slightly as he felt the coldness of his wife's skin.

"I will go get some hot tea," he told her, leaving his seat beside her, "You just rest and don't worry about anything"

"Alright."

Liam offered the woman a short wave and left the room, sliding the door shut behind him. He turned to the right to see if there was someone who could direct him to the cafeteria when his eyes met Richard's dark glare. Marching angrily past him, Liam grabbed the man by the wrist and pulled him around the closest

corner.

"What the hell are you doing next to her room?" Liam scowled, almost growling but Richard only looked back at him with empty eyes. "How is she?"

"None of your damn business! Go back to that witch you call your wife and don't you dare show yourself around Lily's room again!"

"Samantha got hurt too, you know!" Richard tried to retort by the weakness of his voice betrayed his real feelings. "You are lucky that I am not going to press charges against you for letting that inutt of yours attack my pregnant wife! My child could have been endangered!" "Ah, yes, your child, Liam couldn't help but scoff. "But you know, Mr. Clark, as a future father myself, I can tell you the same thing. Your wife provoked my wife and my baby could have been endangered"

"What?" Richard's face turned even paler from shock. "Amelle... is pregnant?"

"Whether she is pregnant or not is none of your business. But I do want to warn www.Mi

189 Once And For All

Siam took a step forward, closing the distance between them, his dark gray eyes flickering with menace. "If you or anyone related to you dares to do anything remotely harmful to Amelie again, I swear to God, I will destroy you." 2

With that, he offered the man one last dangerous grin, before walking away from him, leaving Richard alone, listening to the loud drumming in his ears.

***

"Richard, where have you been?!" Samantha whined when her husband finally returned to her hospital room. "Don't leave me alone for so long! I am scared of hospitals."

"What did the doctor say?" Richard ignored his wife's complaints, getting straight to the point.

Samantha frowned, pulling up the blanket and showing the man white bondage on her ankle. "Thankfully, not much damage. The wound got treated and it won't scar. Since the dog wasn't a stray, I don't need any shots." "What about the baby?"

This again! The wrinkle between Samantha's brows deepened as her chest trembled with annoyance. 'He doesn't care whether I am in pain or how I am feeling. It's only the baby!"

"It's fine," she almost gritted through her teeth, struggling to sound as calm as possible.

"Good. Let's go back home then."

The man grabbed Samantha's purse and started walking toward the door when he suddenly paused, turning back to look at his wife. "What's wrong?"

"I think I want to spend the night here," Samantha replied in a quiet voice.

"You said you were scared of hospitals," Richard answered almost carelessly.

"Yes, but... Well, I am worried about the baby too, you know... I think it's better to be safe."

"Fine," Richard sighed and slid the door open. "I will send someone to fetch you tomorrow then."

He left without even giving Sam an opportunity to say anything else. The woman watched the closed door silently for several long moments before narrowing her eyes, her fists clenching at the edge of the soft blanket.

'He doesn't care anymore, huh? Samantha's lips stretched into a bitter smile. 'Yes, I am only of value to him right now because I am pregnant. Soon, he will discard me like I am absolutely nothing and I won't let him do that, no matter what.' Her situation was truly desperate.

Richard's behavior continued its erratic tracks while more and more obstacles kept appearing on her way to securing her future.

Once again, she had no choice but to fight to save herself.

'Kyle is mine now. I will do whatever it takes to transfer him those shares to secure my financial standing with his help, but... I can't risk having my past torment me again. I need to take care of those who dared to mess with me once and for all. A devious plan began to form inside her feverish brain

189 Once And For All

Reaching out to her purse, Samantha retrieved her phone and started typing a message whose recipient was none other than Kyle Marshall himself.

'I need you to do one last thing for me before we proceed with our plan."

Kyle's response did not make itself wait. "Sure. What is it?"

Samantha's lips stretched into another wicked smirk, her fingers dancing over the screen of her phone. "Help me warn someone."

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