Three days later, Joshua hurried back home. 

Crossing his legs in his luxury private sedan, he fixed his eyes on the document in his hands.

Soon, he closed the file with a mix of relief and satisfaction. He texted Marissa, feeling quite overjoyed. "I have something to tell you. Are you still up?"

He stared at the screen for ten minutes, but no response came.

Since Marissa was blind, she had set up her phone to dictate her text messages. It didn't make sense for her to take more than ten minutes to reply. Whatever messages he sent, she would surely receive and hear them.

Feeling confused, Joshua patiently waited for a reply. He had decided to be patient with Marissa, knowing that she was in the dumps because of what had happened to Roxanne. Ten more minutes went by, but Marissa's reply never came.

Joshua tapped his fingers on the armrest. His patience started wearing thin. Reining i

The car soon pulled up outside Mirage Heights. As soon as Joshua walked through the doors, a pair of eager arms wrapped around him. Roxanne beamed at him, eyes sparkling with seduction.

Joshua furrowed his brows and pulled the clingy woman off. "What are you doing here?"

Roxanne blinked, startled by the chill in his eyes that she couldn't quite read. Nevertheless, she brushed it off, assuming the long separation had gotten to him. She hastily snaked a hand up to unbutton his shirt.

"What's wrong? I moved here after I got discharged from the hospital. It's peaceful here. Don't you miss me after being away on business for so long, honey?"

A flicker of irritation crossed Joshua's face. As he was about to shove her away, a sharp pain shot through him, making his scalp tingle. A hiss escaped him.

He looked down to find that his lower back had bumped hard into a corner of the table.

"Are

Clutching her head wound, Marissa staggered to Roxanne's ward. She heard Roxanne whimper from within.

"Did I do wrong by her? When she was injured, I took care of her 24/7. All I wanted was to share the news of my pregnancy with her. How could she do this to me? Did she take revenge on me because she thinks I'm with you? As a pregnant woman herself, how did she have the heart to pull something like this on an unborn child?"

Joshua's expression froze as he mumbled, "Is Marissa pregnant?"

Roxanne nodded pitifully.

"Yeah. On the day I told her about my pregnancy, I saw her pregnancy report. I thought that she'd forgive me and stop suspecting me if I broke the news around the same time she found out about her pregnancy. Little did I know that she'd grow more resentful of me, to the point of running me over with a car."

A long silence filled the ward. Finally, Joshua pummeled his fist on the bed. His eyes frosted over. "No wonder she denied the wrongdoing. It turns out she did this to you because she's pregnant too."

Feeling extremely sorry for Roxanne, he pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm here."

"Joshua, what is Marie gonna do?"

The look in his eyes darkened. After some hesitation, he said with cruel determination, "Her child arrived at the wrong time. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

Roxanne flashed a satisfied smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Honey, you're so good to me."

Aw. What an adorable couple!

Only Marissa, who stood outside the door, felt like her heart was torn apart. Their conversation hit her like a bucket of ice water. The final sliver of hope went away, and her love for Joshua disappeared into thin air.

…

"What is this?"

"According to the hospital, they found some other injuries on you. You need another surgery, and for that, you'll need to sign a consent form. Since you're blind, a fingerprint works too."

Joshua came to Marissa after visiting Roxanne. He tossed a paper in front of her. 

She fumbled around as though she were blind. When she picked up the paper, she held her breath in shock and went cold all over. It was a consent form for a surgical abortion.

Looking up, she flashed him a wry smile. "Joshua, if I regain my vision one day, will I still find you the same man as before?"

A hint of panic crept across his face. "What do you mean? Can you see now?"

She pressed her fingertip on the ink pad and pressed it to the consent form without hesitation. Her gaze softened.

She replied in a calm voice, "It was just a hypothetical question."

Joshua furrowed his brows. Before he could say anything, he was distracted by his ringing phone. "Alright. I'll be there right away."

When he noticed Marissa had pressed her fingerprint on the consent form, his expression relaxed. He softly reminded her, "I need to go abroad to tend to some matters. You'll head home after the surgery. Since you dislike staying in the hospital, I've hired a family doctor to look after you."

Marissa immediately understood this was just an excuse he had made up. He'd simply be too busy looking after Roxanne.

All her hopes were lost when he walked away coldly.

…

An hour later, Marissa woke up on the cold operating table. Still under the effects of anesthesia, she leaned over the trash can and vomited so hard until the world spun. Her ribs and abdomen felt like they were being pricked by needles. She trembled from the pain.

After throwing up everything, she stood up with her arms wrapped around her shaking body. Step by step, she walked toward the hospital exit.

An entourage of luxury cars was parked at the exit. A bodyguard held the car door open for Marissa. "Ms. Eagan, Mr. Gabriel instructed us to pick you up."

"Okay. Let's go!"

Clutching her marriage certificate, she hopped into Gabriel's car without looking back.

Three days later, Joshua hurried back home. 

Crossing his legs in his luxury private sedan, he fixed his eyes on the document in his hands.

Soon, he closed the file with a mix of relief and satisfaction. He texted Marissa, feeling quite overjoyed. "I have something to tell you. Are you still up?"

He stared at the screen for ten minutes, but no response came.

Since Marissa was blind, she had set up her phone to dictate her text messages. It didn't make sense for her to take more than ten minutes to reply. Whatever messages he sent, she would surely receive and hear them.

Feeling confused, Joshua patiently waited for a reply. He had decided to be patient with Marissa, knowing that she was in the dumps because of what had happened to Roxanne. Ten more minutes went by, but Marissa's reply never came.

Joshua tapped his fingers on the armrest. His patience started wearing thin. Reining in his temper, he sent another text.

"Marissa, are you still mad? I'm back with your favorite gifts 

Chapter 10