Chapter 3

Suppressing the turbulent emotions threatening to spill forth from my eyes, I walked over to the bed and began the routine examination.

"How are you feeling today?"

Holding Willow's hand, Simon answered gently. "Willow's feeling much better now. She was in such a dangerous condition yesterday. It's all thanks to you that she's safe, Dr. Stuart. I haven't even had the chance to thank you properly.

"As soon as I woke up, I had the factory rush the production of a thank-you banner. I hope you'll accept it when it's ready."

I smiled, but my gaze fell on their hands, which remained tightly clasped together. Her finger that had once been bare now sported a uniquely designed ring that matched the one on Simon's finger.

Upon noticing where I was looking, Simon turned the ring on his finger.

His voice brimming with happiness, he explained, "My wife designed these herself. They're the only pair in the world. They're a little ugly, but I love them."

I lowered my eyes at once, hiding the emotions surging within them.

The day after our wedding, Willow had taken off the custom-made wedding ring I had specially commissioned from a master jeweler. I watched as she sealed it in a box and tucked it away in the deepest corner of a drawer, never to see daylight again.

"Why aren't you wearing it?" I asked.

Frowning and shaking her head, she replied, "It's too valuable. If it got lost, wouldn't that be upsetting?"

I didn't say another word. I simply took off my own ring and casually tossed it onto the nightstand.

Whenever she was at home, Willow's ring finger was always bare. Now, however, it was firmly encircled by a ring.

So when she was with me, she couldn't even be bothered to put on an act.

The baby slept peacefully in the bassinet beside the bed. It wasn't hard to see traces of Willow's features on the child's face.

As the baby shifted, an emerald pendant slipped out from around the child's neck. The stone was smooth and lustrous. It was obviously worth a fortune at first glance.

The emerald that had been cut from a rough stone as the highlight of our wedding was now carved into an ordinary pendant and hung around the neck of Willow's illegitimate child.

My heart felt hollow. Something inside me had been completely carved out at that moment.

Behind me, Simon spoke in a loving tone. "Honey, I'll go buy you some breakfast. Just rest here."

Willow looked at him with concern in her eyes. "You're not familiar with this place. Let someone else go."

Simon waved his hand and looked at me. "Don't worry. Dr. Stuart's here. He can take me."

Only after I nodded in agreement did Willow finally relax and nod back.

The door opened and closed behind us as Simon and I walked side by side down the hallway.

I couldn't help but feel that this whole situation was lamentable.

In a somewhat derisive tone, I commented, "You have such a wonderful relationship with your wife, Mr. Shaw."

Simon smiled, his eyes overflowing with happiness. "Willow and I both came from small towns. Since we're out here on our own, of course we have to understand and support each other. Thankfully, Willow worked hard and now has a successful business of her own."

"If that investor hadn't been so unreasonable, she'd probably already be one of the rising leaders in the industry."

I raised an eyebrow as anger began to stir inside me.

From the day Willow's company was registered to every round of financing, my dad had personally guided her every step of the way. Even her biggest investor was my dad.

Back then, she refused to work for Stuart Group. She insisted that she wanted to build a comfortable life for us with her own two hands.

Unfortunately, she had little talent for business. Her company had been operating at a loss for the past two years. My dad had been quietly covering for her behind the scenes out of consideration for me.

But in her version of the story, Dad was painted as the unreasonable investor who kept making things hard for her.

She truly was an ingrate.