Chapter 2

Selena didn't understand a single thing Elijah was saying. "How dare you say such a thing to me, Elijah?" She couldn't hold back her anger anymore and grabbed his tie. "What do you mean, I want a divorce? You're my phone wallpaper! You blocked me on Twitter, and you don't even take care of me normally. How dare you turn this around and accuse me of wanting a divorce? "Also, I gave birth to Louisa. What can I possibly do to her? It's your fault for not raising her properly. Just look at how you're behaving now. God knows how you usually teach them!" Cynthia was stunned by Selena's words. Did she really just accuse Elijah of framing her? Also, as far as Cynthia knew, Selena had switched her phone wallpaper to her wedding photo to beg Elijah to invest in Shaw Corporation. Elijah frowned deeply as he stared at Selena in disbelief. Confusion was written all over his face as he studied her fierce gaze. Despite how they had been married for many years, it was the first time he had ever seen Selena look so alive. Every time she saw him, she would either smile at him mockingly or show him a gloomy expression. Sometimes, she would even outright ignore him. The only time she ever lost her temper at him was when she had fed sleeping pills to the children because she wanted to look for Jordan Shaw. In a fit of anger, he had ordered his men to break Jordan's legs. Selena reacted terribly, destroying everything in the house as if she had lost her mind. She had even pointed a knife at his chest and screamed, "I'll never fall for you, even if you die, Elijah! I feel disgusted with myself just thinking about how I had children with someone like you! "I'm going to kill those three brats if you dare touch Jordan again. I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life!" Selena was behaving completely differently at that moment. The tension in the air broke when they heard the nurse let out a surprised gasp from within the ward. "Ms. Cole, you're not supposed to get up yet!" Elijah snapped back to his senses. He pushed Selena's hand aside and strode into the ward. Selena also forgot about arguing with him as she maneuvered her wheelchair into the ward. Louisa was lying on the hospital bed. She looked to be around 14 years old. Her complexion was pallid, and her arms were as thin as sticks. She looked like she was suffering from malnutrition. Her wrists were already bandaged, but the blood seeping through the gauze still made for a shocking sight. Selena's eye twitched when she noticed the knife wounds littering her arms. It seemed that it wasn't the first time Louisa had tried to take her own life. The nurse was pressing down on Louisa's shoulders. Tears streamed down Louisa's face as she cried out hoarsely, "Let me go! I don't want to stay here!" "Louisa Cole!" Elijah roared with an icy expression. "What do you think you're doing? Fear flickered across Louisa's face when she spotted Elijah. "Dad…" "Why did you try to take your own life?" Elijah asked as he strode over to her. His eyes were devoid of warmth, but there was a barely discernible glint of concern and heartache in them. "Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you? Why did you try to take your own life just because of some insignificant matter?" Louisa hung her head. She bit her lip harshly but wasn't brave enough to respond. Selena gritted her teeth at the sight. What was Elijah thinking by talking to Louisa that way when she had already resorted to slitting her wrists? Not only did he not show any concern or comfort her, but he even started scolding her. "Get out of the way! If you don't know what to say, then keep your mouth shut!" Selena snapped. She wheeled herself over to the bed and shoved Elijah aside with her uninjured hand. But when she looked at Louisa lying on the bed, her words suddenly got stuck in her throat. The only memories she had were up to her 20th birthday, so she had no idea what to say to the unfamiliar young woman in front of her, who was supposed to be her daughter. The awkwardness in the air was palpable. Selena rubbed her palms together before asking, "Are you alright? Does it hurt? Can you tell me what happened?" She didn't expect Louisa to reflexively scoot backward after seeing her, unbridled fear and loathing flickering in her eyes. "I'm fine. I don't need your concern," Louisa said icily, turning her head away. She then burrowed herself in the blankets before showing her back to Selena, making it blatantly obvious that she didn't want to talk to her. Selena was dumbfounded by her reaction. Did Louisa hate her that much? Was there some sort of misunderstanding between them? The atmosphere in the ward turned tense. Cynthia looked between Selena and Elijah, looking as if she had something to say. "Mr. and Mrs. Cole, why don't I stay to take care of Louisa? Mr. Cole is usually busy with work, and Mrs. Cole is unable to care for Louisa in her current condition. She should go back and focus on recovering." Elijah clenched his fists. He was silent for a long time before he turned around and left the ward. Selena opened her mouth a few times, but in the end, she lowered her head and also left. She wondered if she had made a terrible mistake for Louisa to be so repulsed by her. She bit her lip as she exited the ward and saw Elijah lighting a cigarette with his back to her. She could see a few strands of grey hair sticking out from the back of his head, making him look a little haggard. Although she didn't really want to talk to him, she knew she had no other choice but to do so. She hesitated for a moment before approaching him and poking his waist. Elijah was frowning when he turned his head. His eyes darkened when he noticed it was her. "What do you want?" Although Selena was disgruntled with his frosty attitude, she suppressed her irritation and said, "Let's have a civilized chat, Elijah. I know you might not like me, and that you might have been forced to marry me, but we already have kids together. It won't do us any good to fight like this, right? "I don't care if you want a divorce or something else. Let's solve Louisa's issue first, okay?" Elijah looked as if he had just seen a ghost. He clenched his fists before asking, "Did you hit your head, Selena?" "Oh? You really are smart. The doctor didn't tell you?" Elijah looked at Selena, confused. "I'm suffering from memory loss. I have no idea what happened in the last few years," Selena explained. "To show my sincerity, we can sign a divorce agreement first. "Once Louisa's issue is resolved, I promise that I'll cooperate with the divorce proceedings. We'll split the assets fairly. I definitely won't try to cheat you. "I'm also willing to take the kids if you don't want them. Besides, it doesn't seem like you care about them all that much. But I hope that you'll work with me until the issue is resolved. Sounds good?" Elijah's eyes darkened as he stared at Selena. She was suffering from memory loss? "What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.