Chapter 977

No.1

Madeline's tears redoubled at their arrival. "Here to scold your foolish old grandmother, are you?"

"Mother, your blood pressure," Mr. Kingsley reminded gently.

"What does blood pressure matter?" Madeline snapped. "I'll be dead soon anyway!"

"Silence!" Patriarch Kingsley roared. "You nearly harmed Evelyn and our great-grandchild, yet you dare play the victim?"

Madeline froze mid-tantrum. "Great-grandchild?"

Her face darkened. "You're lying to shame me?"

"Mother, we wouldn't—" Mr. Kingsley began.

No.2

"Faking a pregnancy just to criticize me?" Madeline's voice rose hysterically.

Evelyn clenched her jaw as Alexander's arm tightened around her waist.

Even looking at Madeline made her nauseous.

"Enough!" The patriarch's voice shook the room. "Would Evelyn refuse tests unless she was truly pregnant? Unlike you, she doesn't create drama for attention!"

Madeline shrank under his fury.

"We kept it secret because of your reckless actions! You almost killed Evelyn and our heir with that MRI! Alexander was right—who gave you the right?"

Silence filled the ward.

No.3

Finally, Madeline peeked at Evelyn. "She's really...?"

Evelyn turned away, expression icy.

"Would we joke about this?" Eleanor said scornfully. "Evelyn isn't a fraud like Isabella Winslow."

"The baby... is it alright?" Madeline's focus shifted entirely.

"The car accident caused complications, but it's stable now." Eleanor spoke vaguely. "Mother, you nearly caused a disaster today."

Realization dawned on Madeline. She looked pleadingly at Evelyn. "Evelyn..."

As Evelyn moved to leave, Alexander spoke first. "We're going. I need rest."

No.4

Madeline remembered her grandson's injuries. "Yes, rest! But Evelyn should stay with—"

"She stays with me." Alexander's voice cut like ice. "You have plenty of company."

His cold stare stung Madeline.

But soon, excitement took over. "The baby wasn't hurt in the crash?"

Eleanor sighed inwardly.

Did this woman have nothing better to do?

"Keep causing scenes, and you'll never meet your great-grandchild," Patriarch Kingsley warned.

No.5

"I just asked..." Madeline forced a smile.

No one bothered to respond.

......

"Where are you going?" Alexander gripped Evelyn's wrist at the elevator. "Stay. With me."

"I want to leave."

Evelyn Sinclair's voice was soft but resolute.

Every member of the Kingsley family felt like a mountain pressing on her heart. The Sinclairs' kindness shouldn't be repaid this way.

No.6

If given a choice, she'd rather the Sinclairs had never saved the Kingsleys.

Losing her parents and her past had cost her over a decade of self-denial. Now, breaking free seemed impossible.

The cruelest irony? Fate had given her a child, binding her to the Kingsleys forever.

"Rest at my place," Alexander Kingsley insisted.

"You think I can stay here?" Evelyn's voice trembled. "Not everyone has a heart of stone like you."

She quickened her steps toward the exit.

This time, Alexander didn't stop her—he simply followed.

No.7

Outside the hospital, as Evelyn raised her hand to hail a cab, Alexander gripped her wrist.

"We'll go together."

"No." She shook him off. "I can't risk your illness."

"It's just a cold." His tone was patient. "You can accompany me for the IV tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" She scoffed.

Did he expect her to orbit around him like before?