Chapter 33

“You’ve said that many times today.” Jerome sent her all the photos he took just now.

Angelia was surprised to find that after he turned off the camera function, the screensaver was actually the group photo they took at the restaurant that day.”Are you using that photo as your screensaver?” Angelia asked directly.

“If I like it, I’ll use it as my screensaver. What’s the problem?” Jerome asked confidently.

“But…” Angelia paused, “this…will give others the wrong idea.”

Usually, only couples use a photo of themselves as their screensaver.

“As long as you don’t misunderstand, it’s fine,” Jerome put his phone away and into his pocket.

Angelia felt that it wasn’t appropriate, but it was his phone, and she didn’t misunderstand, so it didn’t seem like a big deal…

She also wanted to use their photo as her screensaver, but she didn’t dare to. If Sammie saw it, it would be annoying in various ways.

Soon, the plane took off.

Angelia was afraid of jet lag, so she slept most of the time except for eating. But because of motion sickness, she didn’t sleep well and her ears were constantly ringing uncomfortably.

Finally, they arrived at the airport, and her head still hurt.

Jerome took her luggage and said, “I’ll take you back first.”

Angelia thought of her messy home that had been ransacked. Amanda Charles and others had keys, so she didn’t want to go back.

“I’ll just find a nearby hotel. You don’t have to worry about me,” Angelia refused.

“I’m the last person to see you. If something happens to you, I’ll be the prime suspect. How can I not take care of you? Stay at a nearby hotel. You’re tired, get in the car first,” Jerome said domineeringly, putting her luggage in the trunk.

Angelia could only get in the car.

Fortunately, the hotel wasn’t far away.

The driver helped carry her luggage inside.

“Do you have twin rooms?” Angelia asked.

“We do. How many do you need?” the front desk asked.

“One,” Angelia said.

“Two,” Jerome also said.

Angelia looked at Jerome…

She thought he was going home, but thinking about it, the airport was too far from the villa, it was late now, and it was more convenient to stay in a hotel.

She changed her mind and said, “Then two rooms.”At the same time, Jerome changed his mind and said, “Just one room.”

The front desk looked at Angelia and then at Jerome, “How many rooms do you need?”

Jerome’s expression darkened and he confirmed, “Two rooms.”

“Do you want them connected or separate?” the front desk asked again.

“Either is fine,” Jerome replied.

“Can you please show your identification?” Angelia handed over her ID.

“It’s a total of 1160, will you be paying with cash or something else?” Before Angelia could speak, Jerome answered, “Credit card.”

She had a headache and didn’t have the energy to argue with him over paying for the room. She owed him more than just the room fee, so she decided not to be difficult. After completing the procedure, they went upstairs.

“Those two are a couple, right? They’re wearing matching rings, why did they get two rooms?” Another front desk worker gossiped curiously.

“Didn’t you see that they both wore the rings on their pinky fingers? They’re probably in a cold war,” another front desk worker said.

“These two are really a perfect match, the man is handsome and the woman is beautiful. It’s rare to see such good-looking people,” said another.

“Didn’t you see that the man paid? They’ll probably make up soon and might even sleep together tonight,” said another.

“They probably haven’t had plastic surgery, so their future children will definitely be good-looking.”

Angelia didn’t know that the front desk workers had been gossiping about them for a long time. She went to bed and fell asleep, but she didn’t sleep well because she had something on her mind. She woke up at three in the morning and again at five in the morning. She decided to stop trying to sleep and packed her bags, checked out of the room, and left early to visit her grandmother.

On the way to Detroit, her phone rang and it was Jerome’s. Angelia hesitated and struggled, took a deep breath, and answered the phone.

“You’ve already left?” Jerome asked in a deep voice.

“I’m worried about my grandmother’s illness, so I left first. Jerome, I need to take a leave of absence for a while,” Angelia said.”Take good care of your grandmother and call me if you need any help,” Jerome said in a friendly tone.

“Okay, I’ll hang up now,” Angelia replied.

“Angelia,” Jerome called her, reminding her, “Remember, you’re not alone.”

Angelia smiled, even though she felt alone.

After hanging up the phone, she looked out the window at the scenery. She couldn’t let herself be controlled by Sammie by not getting a divorce or working.

Before 8 o’clock, she arrived at room 1806 and rang the doorbell.

She pressed the doorbell once, but Sammie didn’t come to open the door, so she pressed it twice.

Finally, Sammie came to open the door, looking like she hadn’t woken up yet. Her hair was messy like a bird’s nest. She turned around and went back to bed, holding a pillow and murmuring, “You came too early.”

“Where’s my grandmother now?” Angelia asked.

Sammie ignored her and continued sleeping.

Angelia was so anxious that she almost exploded. She forcefully pulled Sammie up.

Sammie, still half asleep, yawned and said, “I only slept at two or three in the morning yesterday. Let me sleep for another hour.”

“Tell me where my grandmother is, and then you can sleep,” Angelia said firmly.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Your grandmother is in a coma. It doesn’t matter when you see her,” Sammie said.

“Sammie!” Angelia raised her voice.

“Okay, okay, I know. Wait for me downstairs,” Sammie lazily got up from the bed, yawned again, and went to the bathroom.

Angelia waited anxiously outside. Sammie seemed to be deliberately taking her time, and it took her ten minutes to come out of the bathroom.

Angelia became impatient and opened the bathroom door. Sammie was leisurely styling her hair with hair wax.

“Are you ready yet?” Angelia urged.

Sammie smiled, “Yes. Did you have breakfast yet?”

“Do you think I’m in the mood to eat breakfast now? Where is my grandmother? I want to see her now,” Angelia said firmly.Sammie turned around and handed her the agreement on the coffee table. “If you sign it, I’ll take you to see your grandmother.”

Angelia took the document and glanced at it: “Not allowed to work! Never divorce! Live a normal married life! Have two children!”

Sammie didn’t respect her as a person, but treated her as a heartless zombie. Making her give birth to two children, was he treating her like a child-bearing tool?

She threw the agreement in his face and said, not calmly, “You’re kidnapping me now. If I call the police, do you think they will come and arrest you?”

“Do you have any evidence? Of course, you can find out where your grandmother is by reporting it to the police, but you will never know where Alyssa is. She looks a lot like you and will grow up to be a beauty. There are many perverts who like to play with such young children and record videos to post online and share with others…”

Angelia couldn’t take it anymore and slapped him in the face.

Sammie turned his head, with three finger marks on his fair face, and looked at Angelia without anger. “You’re my wife. I’ll take this slap.”

Angelia clenched her fists and roared, “Where is Alyssa now?”

“If you sign the document, I will take good care of her,” Sammie said, squatting down, picking up the agreement and pen on the ground, and handing it to her. “Sign it.”

Angelia pursed her lips and stared at him fiercely. If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand times by now.

At this point, she couldn’t be impulsive or lose her temper. She had to be rational and negotiate. But her body was trembling so much that she tried to calm herself down.”Sammie, if you want a woman easily, why do you have to choose me? You know that if I breach the contract, I will owe Jerome 10 million. I already lost his grandmother’s bracelet and still owe him 10 million,” Angelia reasoned.

“But for you, I spent more than 20 million and broke up with Read. Let’s just leave it at that. I’ll repay the money for you,” Sammie replied.

“The problem isn’t you repaying the money for me. It’s why you have to choose me. With your status, you can find a decent girl,” Angelia advised.

“I just like you. We’ve been together for so many years and have a good understanding. Besides, you were my wife before. If I go find someone else, I have to divorce you first. As a second marriage, I’ll lose value. Let’s sign the papers quickly. Don’t you want to see your grandmother?” Sammie said with a smile.

“I need to work and don’t want to be a decoration at home. That would kill me. I also don’t want to have children,” Angelia stated.

“You must have children,” Sammie interrupted.

“Okay,” Angelia agreed.

Sammie was stunned for a moment, and his eyes sparkled with various colors. “I’ll treat you well,” he said.

“I need to work and keep Alyssa by my side,” Angelia added a condition.

Sammie handed the pen to Angelia. “No divorce. When you’re pregnant, I’ll send Alyssa back to you.”

“Then let’s reprint the agreement,” Angelia frowned.

Sammie hesitated.

“Alyssa is still with you, and I can’t run away. You know that,” Angelia reminded him.

“Okay,” Sammie hugged her waist and looked at her lips. “Let’s have breakfast first, and then I’ll take you to see your grandmother.”

Angelia had no choice but to follow him to the hotel restaurant. She ate some food hastily, but Sammie was still taking his time. “Can you eat faster?” she asked, annoyed.

“What’s the rush? Are you so hungry that you want to be reincarnated as a starving ghost? You’re my wife, don’t eat like a poor person and learn some self-cultivation.”

Anglia rolled her eyes at the person who had no sense of propriety, ethics, or morality telling her to learn self-cultivation.

Sammie’s phone rang, and he saw it was from Hua Mei Private Hospital. He answered, listened, and smiled, “Got it, use the best medicine, make sure she’s okay. I’ll be there soon. Remember to let the people below know.” He hung up and looked at Anglia. “I have good news for you. Your grandmother woke up.”

Anglia breathed a sigh of relief. “Take me there quickly.”

Sammie nodded and said lazily, “Let’s go.” Anglia got into his car.

The car stopped in front of an iron gate. Anglia frowned in surprise. It was only after Sammie showed his ID that the car was allowed to pass.

The car stopped in front of a high-rise building. Before Sammie went in, he provided a verification code, and the glass door opened. “Hello.” The nurses at the front desk greeted them politely. One of them stepped forward and asked, “May I ask for your random access password?”

“3308,” Sammie said.

“Please follow me.” The nurse led them to the elevator.

Sammie proudly looked at Anglia and said, “This is a private hospital, and customer information is confidential. Even if I come in, I need a verification code, which is different every day and for each patient’s room.”

In other words, she couldn’t see her grandmother without his permission.

“If you put your scheming into business, your Sammie family wouldn’t be declining.” Anglia sneered.

“What did you say? Our Sammie family isn’t declining. A skinny camel is better than a horse.” Sammie said unhappily.

Angelia ignored him and turned her head. Sammie hugged her waist.Angelia’s body was covered in goosebumps, and she didn’t want him to touch her, even if he hugged her through their clothes, she didn’t want it.

She opened his hand.

Sammie became angry, hugged her again, and forcefully pulled her into his arms. “You don’t even want me to touch you? Don’t forget, you promised to give me two children. If I don’t touch you, where will the children come from?”

Angelia felt disgusted and thought it was absurd.

When did Sammie, who was only interested in men before, want to touch women?!!

The elevator beeped and opened.

“Hello.” The nurse at the door respectfully shouted.

Sammie sat down on the sofa.

Immediately, a nurse handed him tea.

“Where is my grandmother?” Angelia asked anxiously, looking inside.

Sammie leisurely drank a sip of tea and said to the doctor in a white coat, “Introduce her to the situation.”

The doctor stepped forward and smiled at Angelia, saying, “Please rest assured, we are a professional treatment center, with first-class care. Each patient will be assigned two attending physicians and four caregivers to ensure that the patient’s condition is monitored 24 hours a day.”

“I don’t want to hear this. I just want to know my grandmother’s physical condition.” Angelia asked.

“Ms. Diana already has heart disease, diabetes, and uremia. Various organs are beginning to fail, plus malnutrition, so she fainted. She has had surgery and is now awake. You can visit her, but she just woke up, and her consciousness is still a bit blurry, so it’s best not to visit for too long. The patient needs rest.” The doctor replied.

“I want to see her.”

The doctor looked at Sammie.

Sammie nodded, indicating that they should take Angelia over.

The doctor walked in front, and Angelia followed quickly.

She saw her grandmother lying on the hospital bed in the leftmost room.

Grandma lay on the hospital bed, still with an oxygen tube inserted and a drip hanging from her hand. She half-squinted her eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Angeline walked over, heartbroken, and sat down on the sofa beside the bed, holding Grandma’s hand and placing it on her cheek.

She looked at Grandma with a heart full of pain and guilt.

Abigail and Diana saw Angeline and smiled slightly.

They were still as kind as ever. Angeline was afraid of not seeing Grandma’s smile, and her eyes turned red in an instant. Her voice choked as she said, “I’m sorry.”

Grandma’s throat trembled, and she pursed her lips weakly. “Don’t be like your mother, don’t…” she said.

“Grandma, you misunderstood. Last time you were sick, Sammie was on a business trip and couldn’t come, so I asked my boss to pretend to be Sammie. He happened to be in Detroit on a business trip,” Angeline explained.

“Alyssa…call Daddy, Daddy…” Grandma said.

Angeline understood what Grandma meant and continued, “Alyssa calls him Daddy because he recognized Alyssa as his goddaughter.”

“Oh…” Grandma replied with a long trailing tone. It was unclear whether she didn’t believe it or was relieved.

There was a long pause. Grandma’s hands were as thin as bones and cold, but she held onto Angeline and said, “Don’t be like your mother, who left her mother and child behind and abandoned them. She shouldn’t have done that.”

Angeline’s eyes turned even redder, and she promised, “I won’t. I know what it feels like to be abandoned. I will never abandon you or Alyssa.”

“Live a good life with Sammie. There is no couple who does not argue, and no perfect person. Everyone has their own flaws, and you cannot change others. You can only change your own mindset, lower your own expectations, reduce your dissatisfaction, and satisfy those who are less demanding. This will make you feel more happy.”

Grandmother said with a serious tone, her voice getting lower and weaker.

Angelia held back her tears.

Grandmother didn’t know anything. She and Sammie got married not because of love, but because of an agreement, an agreement made to save her grandmother. She couldn’t let her grandmother know, didn’t want her to feel guilty for her misfortune. Even if she was living in hell, it was important to appear happy in front of her grandmother.

Because her misfortune would only cause pain to her loved ones and joy to her enemies.

“I understand, Grandmother. Please don’t say anymore. You need to rest and not get sick again.” Angelia said with a choked voice.

Abigail Diana nodded, closed her eyes, and whispered softly, “Angelia is the best, she won’t be like her mother… she won’t.”

Angelia tucked in Dagmar Diana and held her grandmother’s cold hand, trying to give her some warmth. She watched over her grandmother for over half an hour in the hospital room.

Grandmother was still sleeping, and the more Angelia looked at her, the more her heart ached. Tears slowly flowed from her eyes.

If her grandmother recovered, she would be willing to shorten her own life by ten years.

The door to the hospital room opened.

“I have something to tell you,” Sammie said.

Angelia glanced at Sammie, afraid that what he was about to say would upset her grandmother, and followed him out.

“My mother wants us to come back for lunch. You and her should get along well, after all, we will be seeing each other often in the future.” Sammie said.Angelia firmly stated, “I’m not going. I need to take care of my grandmother.”

Sammie frowned. “She has two doctors and four nurses taking care of her. They can do a better job than you.”

“But they’re not me! They can’t replace the place I hold in my grandmother’s heart!” Angelia retorted.

“Should we let your grandmother decide? You nearly gave my mom a heart attack a few days ago. Why don’t you go back and apologize?” Sammie raised his voice.

“You want me to apologize to your mom? Sorry, I don’t have the patience or the humility to do that.”

Sammie walked towards the hospital room.

Angelia clenched her fists, knowing she couldn’t let Sammie upset her grandmother. Her grandmother’s body couldn’t handle it.

“I’ll go,” she reluctantly said.