Chapter 8 Splashing Boiling Water on Her

The tea had splashed all over Thea and was dripping onto the floor. Wearing a look of sheer panic, she lost her balance and fell hard to the ground. The cup slipped from her hand and rolled away. Clutching her belly, she cried out in pain, "It hurts. It hurts so much! My baby!" Skylar rushed over. Even with her eyes closed, Elaine could already imagine what would happen next. Clinging to the last shred of hope, Elaine thought Skylar would have noticed that the cup was still in Thea's hand just a moment ago. He should be able to figure out that Elaine wasn't the one who splashed the tea on Thea. She couldn't help but say, "I didn't splash the tea on her. You saw it too. The cup was in her hand, not mine." Leaning into Skylar's chest, Thea looked as if she was in too much pain to stand. She cried in a choked, aggrieved voice. "Ms. Shelton, I know you don't like me. You can call me anything you want. But you know I'm pregnant. Why would you splash hot tea on me? I only grabbed the cup because I panicked and wanted to stop you." Then, she turned to Skylar with a guilty look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sky. I shouldn't care about this baby. I know they're filthy. They're not yours and mine. But this baby is in my belly, and I just... I just..." She trailed off and kept sobbing. Skylar's expression turned grim. He scooped Thea up in his arms and headed upstairs. "Go upstairs and rest first. I'll call a doctor to check on you." Thea leaned into Skylar's arms, casting a triumphant glance at Elaine. However, her voice remained weak. "Sky, don't blame Ms. Shelton. After all, you two are still husband and wife..." Skylar's face was tense, and he didn't say a word. Elaine stood downstairs, an ominous feeling growing in her chest. She knew Skylar would never let her off. She had just undergone an abortion and was suffering from heart failure to boot. She couldn't endure any more of his torment. Fear gripped her as she didn't know what awaited her. She turned to leave, wanting to escape the house. However, Lucy stepped forward to block her way. "Ms. Shelton, please wait. Mr. Frey seems to have something he wants to say to you." Elaine's face turned slightly pale. She glanced at Lucy, catching a flicker of hostility in her eyes. Before she could puzzle over why Lucy seemed to hate her, Skylar came back down the stairs. He approached with a grim expression. Without saying a word, he picked up the teapot from the coffee table, opened the lid, and flung its contents straight at Elaine. Elaine immediately dodged to the side, but the tea still splashed onto her left shoulder and neck. She screamed in terror as the boiling water seared her skin. Half her neck and shoulder instantly turned red and raw, a wave of burning pain tearing through every nerve in her body. If she hadn't dodged in time, her entire face might have been ruined. Her face went deathly pale as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. She stared at Skylar like she'd seen a ghost, stumbling backward in a panic. Skylar still held the teapot, momentarily frozen. He knew the water would be hot, but he hadn't realized it was actually boiling. Usually, the housekeeper or Elaine only kept warm water in the teapot. But when he remembered Thea's fall and all the hurt Elaine had caused her, he quickly forced down the brief pang of guilt. He moved closer and said stiffly, "I've warned you over and over again—don't hurt Thea…" Before he could finish, Elaine's eyes were red with tears. She stumbled backward, widening the distance between them. Then, she staggered and hurried upstairs to get away from him. The spilled boiling water had left a large wet stain on the floor. Skylar frowned and turned to Lucy. "Call the doctor, then pack your things." He paused briefly before he added, "Get out." Lucy panicked and tried to explain, but Thea's weak voice came from the stairs. "Sky, it wasn't Lucy's fault. I remember you used to like drinking hot tea. She only prepared boiling hot water because I was worried you wouldn't like the tea if it cooled down too much. This is all my fault. Blame me instead." In the end, Skylar said nothing more and allowed Lucy to stay. Soon, Ezra White arrived with his medical kit. Skylar led him into Thea's bedroom and had him thoroughly examine Thea. Thea had no scalds as the tea in the cup had already cooled off. Ezra examined her and said there were no issues. Skylar finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he escorted Ezra downstairs, he noticed Elaine's bedroom door was tightly shut. Since Ezra was already here, he figured he might as well have him check on Elaine. But no matter how long he knocked, Elaine wouldn't open the door. Instead, he heard the distinct sound of a lock sliding into place. Skylar's expression turned even colder. He felt like he'd been foolish to even care. Why should he bother worrying about someone like her? After he sent Ezra away, he stayed downstairs to eat dinner with Thea and spent another couple of hours working in the study. When he came back out, Elaine's door was still locked. Annoyance flared up inside him. Even if he had splashed boiling water on her, it was because she had hurt Thea first. Besides, he had called Ezra to check on her, but she was the one who wouldn't open the door. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself he wasn't at fault. With a grim expression, he knocked impatiently on the door. "Elaine, I'm saying this one last time—open the door." Inside the bedroom, Elaine was curled up on the carpet in the corner, looking at the door in terror. The knocking from outside was relentless. She squeezed herself into a tighter ball, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. Her skin still burned with searing pain from being splashed with scalding water. She bit her lip, trying to endure the agony while fighting off a wave of dizziness. However, she knew Skylar would eventually break in. She forced herself to stay alert. She couldn't even imagine what might happen if she fell asleep. Would he pour another pot of boiling water over her head? The pounding outside stopped, followed by Skylar's violent kick to the door. "Elaine, you'd better open this damn door. Because if I have to kick it in, you know exactly what I'm capable of." Elaine couldn't hold back a quiet sob. She shrank away, retreating behind the floor-to-ceiling curtains. Clutching the fabric in a desperate grip, she tried to fool herself into thinking that if she just hid here, he wouldn't be able to find her. The door burst open with a crash. Elaine flinched violently as Skylar's footsteps stomped closer. A terrified gasp escaped her throat. Her hands, clutching the curtains, trembled desperately. Skylar strode closer and yanked the curtains aside. He grabbed her and flung her onto the bed. Ignoring the raw, blistering burns on her skin, he flung his phone at her. The screen was lit with a photo. "Elaine, you really are something else!" The photo showed Marcus sitting beside Elaine outside the emergency room, his hand resting on her arm. Elaine's eyes were red in the photo. To Skylar, it looked like she was putting on an act, trying to appear fragile and pitiful. As he spoke, he loosened the tie around his neck. "Since when does a normal doctor-patient relationship involve holding hands like that? If he were just Eric's doctor, would he be paying a hundred thousand dollars upfront for Eric's hospital bills? Elaine, it seems I need to remind you who you belong to and whose wife you are!" Elaine's face was ashen as she tried to sit up. Skylar ignored the burn wounds on her shoulder, pressing her down into the bed as his face twisted with contempt. "You're just a slut who'd sleep with any man. Is that how you go around pretending to resist while actually seducing other men?" Outside the bedroom, Thea stood by the door, listening to the unusual gasps from inside. Her nails dug deeply into her palms. She pulled out her phone and typed a message. "Elliott, we can't wait any longer. It's time to make use of this baby…"