At the hospital, Chloe struggled to find the right words. "It wasn't me… I didn't do anything…"
"Enough! Just shut up!" Nathan stood up abruptly, his eyes reddened. "When Mr. Harold fell into a coma, you gave the same explanation. And now, when Amelia is facing this situation, you're using the same excuse again. Do you think we're fools?!"
A lump formed in Chloe's throat, and before she could speak, Gabriel interrupted her. "Since you appeared, everyone around you has gotten hurt—Joe, Mr. Harold, and now Amelia. You keep saying others are trying to harm you, but who are the real victims here?"
"But I'm not lying. It's the truth—"
"Why is it that whenever someone gets hurt, it's always someone else, but you remain unscathed?"
Chloe glanced at Joseph whose brows were deeply furrowed. Her lips turned pale, and a wave of sadness washed over her. As long as there were no visible physical injuries, everyone assumed she was unharmed. If that were the case, she would much rather endure the pain of external wounds than bear the torment of false accusations and malicious words that wounded her soul.
"It wasn’t me. I didn't push her. Go ahead and choose whether you want to believe me or not. She’s Ava, and she's here to deceive us. She had a purpose for getting close to you."
"The patient has regained consciousness,” a nurse informed them. Nathan paid no attention to Chloe's words and quickly entered the ward to check on Amelia, followed by the others.
Chloe stood rooted to the spot, looking down at her toes as if she had become a true culprit.
Joseph looked at her and asked, "Why did you follow Amelia to the restroom?"
Chloe froze. She asked in a daze, "Do you also suspect me?"
"You shouldn't have followed her."
In a broader context, even if there were suspicions about Amelia's behavior, confronting her directly would not be appropriate considering Nathan's presence and the lack of concrete evidence.
Chloe felt her words lodge in her throat.
"You should go home first."
Nathan's emotions were running high, so it was impossible to discuss this calmly with him right now.
Chloe returned to Joseph's house with the bodyguards in tow. Even as the sunlight outside the house shone on her, she still felt shivers running through her entire being. She turned on the heater and crawled under the covers, yet there was no improvement. Her hands were ice-cold, and her fingernails had a slight bluish tint.
Her physical condition had worsened since becoming pregnant. Maybe because there was nothing worth celebrating, she thought she had grown accustomed to it, but it seemed she had not.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was a call from Xavia. Chloe did not want to answer, so she pressed the hang-up button. However, Xavia persisted and called again.
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