Chapter 222

Philip's POV

I slammed my apartment door with excessive force,yanking my tie loose and tossing my briefcase onto the marble countertop with a dull thud.

Damn Wall Street, damn the investors, damn everything. Tonight I just wanted tosit alone in the darkness, let whiskey numb my nerves and help me forget all the chaos that had unfolded recently.

When the doorbell rang. I was tempted to ignore it. But the shrill sound persisted. cutting into my temples like a sharp knife, over and over again.

"Damn it!" I growled, striding toward the door and yanking it open. "Can't you just-"

My words died in my throat. Standing in the doorway was my mother,Betty,her perfectly lipsticked mouth slightly parted, seemingly startled by my anger. But her surprise lasted only a moment before her eyes flashed with an expression I knew all too well.

Nothing good ever came when she wore that expression.

"Philip, darling," her voice suddenly trembled, her eyes filling with concern I'd never believed was genuine, "something terrible has happened. Sarah,she-"

"Not today, Mother." I was tempted to close the door immediately.

But her hand gripped the doorframe tightly. "You must listen to me! Sarah's at the hospital! She's going to-she's going to terminate your baby!"

Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water. My heart seemed to stop for a

second before pounding violently against my ribs. But then reason quickly regained control. I took a deep breath and let out a cold laugh.

"This routine again?" I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed."Your tricks are getting less original by the day."

Mother's eyes widened, displaying a huirt expression, but I could see the calculation beneath it. After all these years, I'd learned to read every one of her expressions.

"This isn't a trick!" Her voice rose sharply. "Ever since you told Sarah she could terminate the pregnancy, saying you didn't care about the baby at all,she's been heartbroken!"

*Liar,still lying to me!*

"She's been waiting for your apology," Mother continued her one-woman show, deliberately lowering her voice,filled with accusation, "but you never contacted her, not even once. Now she's desperate, Philip. She's decided to follow your suggestion and end everything."

I felt my temples throbbing. Mother's words were like poisoned honey-sweet, bitter, and deadly. How many times had I been bewitched by such words before? How many times had I been hurt because of them?

"If Sarah really intends to do this," I stared into Mother's eyes,trying to detect any trace of deception, "why aren't you at the hospital stopping her?Why waste time coming to find me?"

Mother's lips trembled slightly as she struggled to find an appropriate answer.That brief hesitation was enough to betray her.

"Enough, Mother," my voice was filled with exhaustion and disgust, "aren't you tired of these games? These endless manipulations and lies?"

"What games?" Her voice revealed a hint of irritation. "I'm serious! Your child is in danger, and you're standing here accusing me of lying?"

"If the situation were as urgent as you claim, you would have rushed to the hospital already." I calmly pointed out this obvious flaw.′′you wanted to contact me, you could have called, and even though I've blocked you,you could have at least sent a text, or contacted me through someone else."

I saw a flash of panic cross Mother's eyes-she hadn't expected me to see through her so quickly.

"I... I did try calling," her voice carried a hint of grievance, "but you blocked me. I didn't know how else to reach you, so I had to come find you in person."

"None of that matters," I waved dismissively, feeling a deep weariness seeping from my bones, "if Sarah truly doesn't want this child, then let her do what she wants. I don't want to deal with either of you anymore,and I don't care."

These words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Ever since Brian refused to see me, that sense of loss had been like a heavy stone weighing on my heart day and night. That little boy who once fell asleep on my shoulder,who called me "Daddy," now looked at me with hostility and disgust. And all of this was because of Sarah's instigation and my mother's indulgence.

Now, the life in Sarah's womb might be my only hope, my last chance at continuing my bloodline. But I wouldn't let Mother see this vulnerability,wouldn't give her another opportunity to manipulate me.

"When did you become so cold-blooded?" Mother's voice rose, her eyes flashing with accusation. "Don't you even care about your own child?"

Those words pierced my chest like a sharp blade. Cold-blooded?Me?

Rage erupted within me like a volcano.

"But weren't you and Sarah the ones who made me this way?"I practically squeezed these words through clenched teeth, each syllable laden with years of pent-up resentment. "If you want to blame someone,blame yourselves."

I could feel my hands trembling slightly, not from fear but from anger-anger toward this woman who never truly understood me yet always tried to control my life.

Mother opened her mouth as if to say something in rebuttal but ultimately closed it silently. Her expression wavered between shock and defeat,momentarily unable to find an appropriate response.

I took a deep breath and turned to close the door. I didn't want to waste another second on this meaningless conversation. Just then, my phone suddenly rang in my pocket.

"Allen?" I was surprised to see the name on my screen. Allen was one of my few genuine friends, and he rarely contacted me outside of work hours.

"Philip," Allen's voice on the other end sounded hesitant, "did you and Sarah...break up?"

A sense of foreboding rose within me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm at Manhattan Central Hospital right now, accompanying my wife for her prenatal checkup," Allen's voice came through the phone, carrying an unsettling seriousness. "Just now in the obstetrics lobby, my wife noticed something strange. Sarah's name appeared on the surgery appointment list-for that kind of.., you know, pregnancy termination procedure."

I felt a wave of dizziness, my fingers involuntarily tightening around the phone. Sarah really was at the hospital? She really was going to terminate the pregnancy? For an instant, various thoughts flashed through my mind like lightning: Was this real? Or was it another trap they had conspired to set? But Allen had no reason to lie to me...

"Are you sure?" My voice rose involuntarily as I felt my chest tighten.

"Absolutely certain," Allen answered without hesitation. "I don't want to interfere in your relationship, but... I remember you telling me that even though there were no feelings left between you two, you still wanted this child. So seeing this appointment confused me."

He paused, his voice filled with genuine concern. "What happened? Did you really change your mind?"

My breathing became rapid, an unprecedented panic rising from the base of my spine and spreading throughout my body. The feeling was like someone trying to take away a part of me, a life that hadn't yet had the chance to see this world but was already connected to me by blood.

"She's at the hospital right now?" My voice tremled slightly from tension.

"Yes," Allen's answer was firm and clear, "she was just called in for pre-operative preparation. Philip, if this is truly a mutual decision between you two,I respect that. But if there's some misunderstanding..."

"Please help me stop her!" I interrupted him, my voice carrying an urgency that felt foreign even to me. "Find a way to delay her, tell the doctor there's an emergency, do anything! I'm coming right away."

"T'll do my best," Allen promised, "but you'd better hurry, Once this kind of surgery begins..."

"I know." I almost roared, not daring to let myself think further.

After getting this definitive information. I hung up as I turned to mother.

"Why didn't you just tell me directly that she's really in the hospital?" I demanded, my voice slightly hoarse. "Why go in such a roundabout way?"

Mother blinked, her face dlisplaying a perfect expression of confusion. "I told you from the beginning, but you didn't believe me."

I had no time to argue with her further. Grabbing my coat and car keys, I rushed toward the elevator.

As the elevator slowly descended, countless terrifying images flashed through my mind: What if I didn't make it in time? What if Sarah had already started the procedure? That unborna child, that life I had never met yet had already made room for in my heart...

The elevator doors finally opened, and I practically ran to the parking garage. New York's evening air was cold and biting, but I couldn't feel the chill,only an urgency that threatened to tear me apart.

"Hold on,I silently said to that unborn child in my heart, "Dad's coming."