It was found out through the doctor’s examination that Hesper’s fragile uterus was indeed injured during the process. She would need to rest and recuperate, or it would possibly result in infertility in the future. She did not feel anything when she heard that. She waited until she could walk before she went looking for Rickard with the divorce papers. Rickard was sitting in the study room with a nonchalant expression as if he was expecting her. “Rickard.” Hesper made his way to the man slowly and placed the divorce papers in her hand gently. She said calmly, “These are the divorce papers. I don’t want anything from it. If you have no objection, please sign these.”Rickard looked down to Hesper’s fine penmanship and strangely found her handwriting to be an eyesore. “Who says that I have no objection?”Hesper pursed her lips. “You may voice your request.”Rickard did not even rifle through the divorce papers before he said in a cold, merciless tone, “Hesper, not only will you l
However, Rickard did not understand why he felt that way. He shifted his gaze and said nonchalantly, “Since you’ve agreed, do what you’re supposed to do and don’t be an eyesore here.”Hesper glanced at the child, reluctant to part with him. She wanted to stay there for a while more, but the child was tired. His soft face was swaying from left and right drowsily. Hesper could not bear to disturb the baby’s sleep, so she returned to her room indifferently. She did not manage to rest well during the first month post delivery and she was tormented by Madam Duval over and over again. Apart from the mental and emotional trauma, she was experiencing malnutrition as well. She managed to wait until it was dinner time yet Madam Duval sent someone to tell her, “Madam said that you need more rest due to your recent delivery, so you don’t need to join dinner downstairs!”Hesper did not speak and instead covered her empty belly with a blanket in silence. She hardly had a normal meal since
Her remark would cause a misunderstanding easily. Rickard frowned and said, “I’m married.”“You were supposed to be mine! Mine!”Juniper’s tears streamed down more profusely as if she was triggered by him. He used to care for her sincerely in the past after all. The vigilance in Rickard’s eyes diminished a little, and he pulled out a tissue that he passed to her. “Don’t cry. Don't you like to look pretty? Your eyes will swell from crying.”“I’ve already lost you, so I don’t care about beauty anymore.” Juniper suddenly hugged him and leaned her face into his chest. Rickard’s entire body shook. He was about to push her away when she said, “I didn’t leave willingly all those years ago. I was diagnosed with a tumor, and the doctor told me that I could possibly be infertile. I don’t know how Hesper found out about my condition, but she told Mr. Duval Sr., who came to see me with her and forced me to leave you.”“What?” Rickard’s expression was filled with shock. He had always take
“If you want me to bow down, dream on.”Hesper stood straight but her body trembled ever so slightly, not only out of anger but also fear. Rickard sneered and said, “You’re still stubborn and refuse to admit your mistake?”He snatched the child and passed him to Juniper before he pushed down Hesper’s back to force her to bow down. The emaciated Hesper bowed down instantly. The sight of her bowing over was painful to the eyes. In fact, Rickard could even see the wisp of agony on her expression. Knowing that he did not exert much strength, he wondered why she could not even withstand that. She’s only faking it again!Hesper did not care about herself; when her baby was taken from her, she shouted hysterically and stretched out her arms. “My baby! Give me back my baby!”Juniper wanted to see Hesper suffer so how could she possibly hand back the child to Hesper. She pretended to be startled by Hesper and hid behind Rickard in a haste. The child bawled even louder, and his l
The door of the nursery shut with a loud bang, and the deafening noise startled the baby. Hesper pursed her lips tightly and held the baby in her arms tighter. It did not take long before Madam Duval’s caring voice was heard coming from downstairs. “Rickard, it’s getting late. I’m concerned about Juniper going home by herself; it's not safe. You should send her home.”Rickard glanced outside and figured that it really was unsafe now that it was dark. “Let’s go then.”After both of them got into the car, Juniper asked casually, “Rickard, is Hesper…still bowing down?”Rickard remembered that Hesper was not bowing down when he went upstairs earlier, so he figured that she would not follow his order to bow down for the rest of the night. He said with a tinge of anger in his voice, “I can’t be bothered to know. If she wants to bring trouble upon herself, no one can save her.”“Don’t be angry anymore…” Juniper heaved a sigh of pity, but in her heart, she was overjoyed. Meanwhil
“Mrs. Duval!” Wanda screamed out in surprise. In the next moment, Hesper was caught by a pair of huge, male hands. Everyone was stunned; not even Rickard realized what had happened. How could he possibly initiate such an intimate interaction with her?He was convinced that he did it instinctively. He caught her out of instinct, and that was all. Sophia could not bear to watch anymore. “Dick, don’t mind her. The more you mind, the more she'll feign her agony. She did it so she could get your attention.”“Shut up!” Rickard shouted coldly. Having gotten close to Hesper, he had only just discovered the abnormality of her body temperature. “She's having a fever. Call the family doctor.”Sophia did not have the courage to continue to speak out of turn. However, this time, Hesper was the one to reject Rickard. “No, I don’t want the family doctor. Send me to the hospital.”Rickard’s eyebrows furrowed tighter, and he said impatiently, “You need treatment to lower your fever immedi
Rickard stepped forward abruptly and grabbed Julian by his collar. “Hesper is a member of the Duvals, and she will be with the Duvals even if she dies. Trying to get her to start her life again? Dream on!”As he was speaking, he swung a punch at Julian’s face ferociously. Hesper watched the scene incredulously. “Rickard! Have you lost your mind? Why are you beating him?”Rickard grew even more furious after noticing how she defended Julian. “Why? Does it hurt you to watch?”As he was speaking, he threw a few more punches. Julian was a practicing doctor, so he was no match for Rickard. His face bruised and swelled up from the beating quickly. “Stop it! Stop it, quick!”Hesper’s eyes reddened with anger. Julian was the family that she did not have much of in the world, but he was beaten up ferociously by Rickard now. “Rickard, if you hit him one more time, you can forget about working on grandfather’s matter together!” Hesper stretched her arms and defended Julian in anger.
Hesper’s fever broke the next day. She was not severely ill to begin with; she just caught a cold after bowing down for a night in her malnourished state. It was fortunate that she was sent to the hospital in time and received an intravenous infusion, which allowed her body to gradually recover its functions. It was quite amusing, really. She risked her life to give birth to the Duvals' eldest grandchild, yet she could only replenish her nutrition in the hospital. No one would believe her if she were to tell them what happened. Hesper consumed her chicken soup in small sips when someone kicked open the door of her room all of a sudden. The elegantly-dressed Madam Duval walked into the room with two other women. “Yikes, look at you having the appetite to eat chicken soup. It seems that you’re not all that seriously ill.”Hesper coldly glanced at her. She did not have a favorable impression toward the Duvals after experiencing the recent ordeals. She replied in a mocking tone, “