Chapter 251 In A State Of Emotional Collapse
When Oscar returned home and saw Amelia in that condition, his face darkened. He quickly walked toward her, wishing to hold her hand but not daring to do so for fear of hurting her.
Suppressing his anger, he questioned in a deep voice, “What happened to your hand?”
Amelia lifted her uninjured right hand and touched his cheek, saying, “Oscar, calm down. I fell on my left hand accidentally. My bone is fractured, but the doctor said I’d recover in three months. Don’t worry about it.”
Despite her words of consolation, Oscar still looked grim. He stared at her bandaged left hand without saying a word.
His expression deterred her from explaining the situation, even though she had already thought of an excuse earlier.
“How did you get hurt? Tell me the truth,” he demanded with a stern face.
Amelia lowered her head in response.
Oscar stretched out his arm and forcefully lifted her chin. “How did you get hurt? Huh?”
As Amelia looked into his eyes, her lips twitched, but she still could not muster a coherent response.
“Amelia, don’t lie to me.”
At his plea, she yielded and confessed in the end as though she had made a mistake. “I was distracted when I was walking down the stairs, and I accidentally missed a step. Then, I ended up like this. Oscar, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to hurt myself.”
Oscar sighed as a hint of distress flashed across his eyes.
Carefully wrapping his arms around her, he asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Amelia stretched out her right arm and wrapped it around his waist before she said softly, “It won’t hurt if you’re here, but your expression frightened me.”
At that, Oscar let out a sigh. Amelia was his weak spot. If she gave in, his attitude would soften as well.
He clearly knew that she was not telling the truth about the incident. However, looking at the pitiful look on her face, he could not bring himself to berate her.
“Did the doctor say anything about your hand?” he asked.
Leaning against his chest, Amelia shook her head. “The doctor said that my bone is fractured, and it’s not very serious. Tiff was just too anxious that she asked someone to bandage my hand like this, which made my injury look much more grievous. It actually doesn’t hurt that much.”
Oscar secretly let out a sigh. He knew that Amelia was lying, but he could not bear to expose her. She’s racking her brain to make up an excuse in order to make me feel better. How could I pressure her?
In spite of the thoughts running in his mind, he stroked her hair and said, “You’re so clumsy, constantly hurting yourself. I’ll send two other bodyguards to protect you. Otherwise, I’ll be worried.”
Amelia quickly shook her head. “No, Oscar. I spend most of my time at home, so it’s a waste of manpower to have them follow me. Moreover, I would feel uneasy with them around me, so forget it.”
“Don’t make me worry, hmm?”
“The bodyguards around you are all outstanding men. Aren’t you afraid that they might attract my attention if you assign them to be around me?” she asked teasingly.
Oscar fell silent.
Almost all the bodyguards around him were men. At the thought of Anthony clinging to Kurt, he became hesitant.
“All right. Let’s just forget about the bodyguards. I really don’t need them,” Amelia said coquettishly as she blinked her eyes.
After her persuasion, Oscar finally gave in.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The maid outside the door said, “Mr. Oscar, Ms. Amelia, the meal is ready. Mrs. Clinton wants both of you to go down for dinner.”
“All right,” Oscar answered.
Amelia got up and was about to go, but Oscar stopped her. Puzzled, she turned around and looked at him.
“Your hand is injured. I’ll go down and get some food up here. You can also eat more comfortably with me feeding you,” he said.
Deep down, Amelia was moved, but she appeared to be nonplussed on the surface. “Oscar, my left hand is injured, but my right hand is fine. I can eat on my own.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oscar, my hand is injured, but I’m not useless. Stop being so cautious. I’m not a fragile porcelain doll,” Amelia said while smiling, yet her heart was aching.
When I’m completely blind, I think I’ll be less than a fragile porcelain doll.
Oscar covered her eyes with his hand and consoled in a deep voice, “Don’t overthink. I’m here for you.”
Putting her right hand on the back of his hand, she smiled. “I’m not afraid because you’re here with me.”
She was only afraid that she might lose Oscar one day.
Still smiling, Amelia stood up and said, “Oscar, let’s go. Dad and Mom are waiting for us.”
Both of them went downstairs and found Owen, Olivia, and Stephanie sitting at the dining table. After the young couple took their seats, Stephanie served a bowl of chicken soup in front of Amelia. “Amelia, I heard from Maggie that your hand is fractured. She cooked this soup for you. You should drink more of it. It’s very effective for your recovery.”
Amelia looked at the bowl of chicken soup awkwardly before forcing out her thanks.
Olivia then said in concern, “Amelia, you’ve fractured your hand, so drink more chicken soup. I told the cook to prepare it for you. It’s good for your health.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Amelia said sincerely.
No one asked her how she fractured her hand, merely voicing their concern for her.
Perhaps, due to everyone’s concern, Amelia’s appetite greatly improved. Not only did she drink two bowls of chicken soup, but she also ate two portions of meat. Therefore, she was absolutely stuffed after the meal.
Seeing that she was too full, Oscar planned to take her out for a stroll. To his surprise, Stephanie forestalled him.
“Amelia, you’ve eaten so much. Let’s have a walk outside together. It’s good for digestion. Besides, we have never taken a stroll together in the past five years. I really want to take a stroll and have some girls talk with you,” Stephanie said, almost blushing.
Amelia shot her a bewildered look.
At that moment, Olivia chimed in, “Amelia, it’s rare for Stephanie to say these things. You should take a stroll with her in the yard.”
Since she had spoken up, it would be rude of Amelia to reject Stephanie.
Frowning, Oscar warned, “Stephanie, Amelia’s not feeling well. Don’t upset her.”
Stephanie was still quite afraid of him, so she instinctively took a step back before saying ingratiatingly, “Oscar, don’t worry. I want nothing more than to please Amelia. Why would I piss her off?”
Oscar looked at her for a split second, as if warning Stephanie to keep her word, or he would make her suffer.
Stephanie then grabbed Amelia’s arm and said with a sweet smile, “Let’s go, Amelia.”
With that, Amelia was pulled out of the dining hall by her. However, after taking several steps, Stephanie said, “Wait a minute, Amelia. I need to go upstairs to get something.”
A second later, she went back to the dining hall and talked to Olivia before running upstairs. When she came down, she had a manila envelope in her hands.
Oscar scrutinized the manila envelope. In a split second, a menacing look appeared in his gaze.
Olivia asked, “Stephanie, what’s that?”
“These are some photos that I asked my friend to take for me. My friend went to Ustrana some time ago. I don’t know when she’ll be back, so I asked her to print these photos and send them to me. Thinking of how indifferent I’ve treated Amelia for the past five years, I thought of showing her these photos so that she would like me more.” Stephanie raised the manila envelope in her hand calmly.
“Mom, do you want to see my photos?” She then deliberately dropped a bait just to dispel Olivia’s and Oscar’s suspicions.
Olivia replied, “Just go now. Don’t keep Amelia waiting for too long. You’re all grown up now, so stop provoking Amelia like before. She’s not feeling well. If anything untoward happens, you’d be held accountable for it.”
Hearing her warning, Stephanie instinctively glanced at Oscar. When she saw the impassive look on his face, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. “Mom, I’ll head out now. Amelia is still waiting for me.”
Olivia nodded in response.
Holding the manila envelope in her hands, Stephanie walked out of the dining hall and deliberately linked arms with Amelia as if she was putting up a show. When she noticed Amelia’s stiffness, she threatened evilly, “Amelia, if you don’t want Mom to know that we’re actually pretending to be chummy before her, you’d better behave yourself. Otherwise, I might lose my temper and reveal the truth. Mom has a weak heart. If anything bad happens, it would be all your fault.”
Amelia was stunned for a moment before shooting her an inscrutable look.
Yet, Stephanie ignored her and said, “Let’s go.”
In actuality, Amelia did not take her words to heart. However, she did admire Stephanie for her unwillingness to admit defeat even after failing to frame her time after time. Unexpectedly, the latter had even learned to put up a show to fool others.
Judging from the situation, Amelia started seeing Stephanie in a different light—she suddenly seemed much more sinister to her.
Dragging Amelia, Stephanie brought her to the lakeside. As the Clintons had lighting installed nearby, that area was not dark.
Amelia glanced at the surface of the lake before she calmly questioned, “Stephanie, why did you spend so much effort just to bring me here? Isn’t it time for you to tell me your motives?”
Without hesitation, Stephanie handed her the manila envelope.
The latter took it in confusion. Still wary of Stephanie, she asked, “What’s inside?”
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Stephanie looked at the lake as she replied, “Open it and take a look. I believe you’ll be interested in it.”
Amelia did not hesitate, immediately opening the manila envelope.
As soon as she saw the medical records in her hands, her mind turned blank. Never had she expected to see those things in the manila envelope.
“Stephanie, how did you get these?” Anger raged within Amelia as she demanded.
Stephanie looked at her disdainfully and scoffed. “Does that matter? I found out that you have a blood clot in your brain from your attending doctor, Dr. Leonard. You’re going to be completely blind soon. Do you think that a useless blind woman is worthy enough to be with my brother and the daughter-in-law of our family?”
Amelia’s face turned as white as a sheet.
Her lips trembled vigorously, and it took her a long time to reply, “Stephanie, what are you trying to tell me?”
Looking at her contemptuously, Stephanie went straight to the point. “Amelia, do you truly not understand where I’m getting at? You’re not good enough for Oscar. You should know where you stand and leave our family. If a blind woman becomes my sister-in-law, not only would Oscar be mocked in the business sphere, but our family would be a laughing stock among the upper-class society. Are you still going to stay in our family shamelessly, knowing full well of what would ensue?”
Like daggers, her words stabbed into Amelia’s heart.
She had always felt inferior about herself being blind soon. Stephanie had guessed part of the reason. Yet, the most important reason was that Amelia did not want to become Oscar’s burden.
When she became blind, Oscar would have to spend most of his time and energy taking care of her. That would certainly affect his career, and she did not want such a successful man like him to sacrifice anything for her.
Stephanie’s words had hit a raw nerve.
Even so, Amelia did not want to show her weakness in front of Stephanie.
Lifting her chin, she said, “Stephanie, regardless of whether I will be blind in the future, I don’t think you have the right to interfere in my marriage with Oscar. If you pulled me out just to talk about this nonsense, I don’t think I should waste my time here. I’ll head back now.”
“Amelia, is that really what you think?” Stephanie questioned.
Amelia halted in her tracks.
“Just admit it. You’re bothered by the fact that you’re becoming blind, right? Look at your fractured hand. Isn’t that the best proof?” Stephanie asked and pointed at Amelia’s left hand.
At that, Amelia’s face turned even paler. She could vaguely feel pain in her bandaged hand too.
“Amelia, Dr. Leonard said that the blood clot might even be fatal. It means that you’ll not only be blind, but you will also be short-lived. If you want the best for Oscar, you should leave him instead of letting him watch you become a corpse. I guess that would be devastating for him. Do you want that to happen?” Stephanie asked calmly.
Amelia’s hand shifted slightly as her fingers turned extremely cold. Her heart throbbed in pain while her breathing became labored.
Stephanie had just pointed out the reality she once feared to face the most.
Since no one had brought it up before, Amelia could still avoid it. However, she could no longer do so. Can I really bring myself to watch Oscar lose control in front of my corpse? Although it hasn’t happened yet, there’s no guarantee that the blood clot in my brain would never rupture.
At that moment, she was in a state of emotional collapse.
