Chapter 4

There was a sharp, piercing sound of a blade cutting through flesh. Sophie's body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Cherie!" Mitchell exclaimed as he held the unconscious Sophie tightly in his arms, a hint of panic crossing his usually impassive face.

"Shane!" he growled as he glared at the assailant menacingly.

The assailant trembled, too frightened to even flee.

Shane Hopkins, Mitchell's assistant, reacted quickly and led a team to apprehend the assailant.

While the scene descended into chaos, nobody dared to approach Mitchell. He was so intimidating that the crowd instinctively parted to make way for him.

He strode out of the building with Sophie cradled in his arms. "Get her to the hospital now!"

In her dazed state, Sophie thought she heard a tremor in Mitchell's voice and the long-forgotten term of endearment he used for her—Cherie.

She tried to see his face, but she could only make out his jawline before she blacked out.

…

When Sophie regained consciousness, she found herself in the hospital, surrounded by the sterile white walls of the ward.

The memory of Mitchell's voice lingered in her mind, but she found only an empty seat beside her, mirroring the emptiness in her heart.

She tried to suppress a bitter smile. Why had she hoped Mitchell would be waiting by her bedside when she woke up?

"Sophie, you're awake?" Kendall's surprised voice came as she entered the ward with a thermos in hand.

Kendall was visibly relieved to see Sophie awake. "You gave me a fright. Why did you rush over like that? If the dagger had veered slightly off course, you might not have made it."

She spoke rapidly while helping Sophie sit up and pouring out a bowl of soup from the thermos. "I brought you chicken soup. I heard it's excellent for recovery. Drink up while it's hot."

Sophie hadn't fully grasped the situation yet when Kendall spoon-fed her a mouthful of soup. The fragrant aroma of the chicken soup brought a hint of warmth to her desolate heart.

She smiled and said, "Thank you. I can manage on my own."

As her injury was on the left shoulder blade, she could use her right hand to feed herself. Kendall set down the bowl and handed her the spoon.

Sophie had another spoonful of soup. It was delicious, but the taste was oddly familiar.

While she thought about it, a commotion outside the door caught her attention. When a familiar name reached her ears amidst the clamor, her grip on the bowl tightened.

Kendall didn't notice Sophie's distress as she excitedly shared gossip with her.

"Sophie, guess who I ran into earlier? It was none other than the nation's sweetheart, Wyola Thompson, who's been the talk of the town recently!"

Then, Kendall pulled up a news page on her phone and showed it to Sophie. "Look! The news is live right now. Wait a minute, isn't that Mr. Warner?"

Sophie immediately recognized the two people in the video.

It was Mitchell and his new romantic interest, Wyola.

Seeing Wyola's familiar face in the video, Sophie felt her heart throb in pain.

During the course of their three years of marriage, Mitchell had had various female companions around him. Each one bore some resemblance to that one person.

It was as though they were silently reminding her of something.

When she had heard the rumors of him with other women for the first time, she had felt devastating pain. As time passed, she gradually became numb to it. She had become accustomed to it.

She watched as Mitchell, who should have been by her side, stood next to another woman and affectionately linked arms with her, smiling and laughing.

"Ms. Wyola, can you tell us why you're at the hospital with Mr. Warner? Rumors are circulating that you two are in a relationship. Is it true?"

"Some witnesses saw you coming out of the obstetrics and gynecology department. Does that mean both of you are expecting a child?"

The questions from the reporters buzzed in Sophie's mind, but she couldn't hear them. All she could think about were the words "obstetrics and gynecology".

Wyola was pregnant?

Sophie unconsciously tightened the blanket around her abdomen.

Mitchell had known all along that Gertrude was pressuring her to have a child, yet he had refused to touch her.

He had said she was filthy, and he would rather be with other women.

That was exactly what he had been doing for the past three years, which explained why he kept changing lovers.

But now he had let Wyola get pregnant with his child.

Sophie thought of earlier that morning when Mitchell had forced her to take the morning-after pill.

Then, she looked at Wyola, who was standing next to him in the video and holding his hand with a shy smile on her face.

Sophie felt like an icy dagger had been thrust into her chest, stabbing her heart deeply.

The next moment, she spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the bed.