President, I Know How to Listen Now; Why Are You Crying?

Five days after Ash Durand, my daughter, died, Saul Durand and I got into a car accident. To keep me in the passenger seat from hitting a deer, Saul shielded me and smashed into the road, then fell unconscious, while a shard of metal lodged in my shin. After the doctor removed the bone fragments and put my leg in a cast, he asked again, "Are you sure you don't want us to inform your family?" "No." The nurse standing nearby recognized me. "But you're Mrs. Durand. Mr. Durand is right here in the VIP ward. Someone is visiting him. I can help you over afterward." Only then did I realize the ambulance had brought me to the TransOcean Group's private hospital. I founded this hospital to commemorate the birth of Ash. Every member of the staff, from the director down to the interns, was interviewed by me personally. They knew exactly who I was. However, not a single one of them would tell me now that my husband, Saul Durand, had Fannie Moore by his side. Once, I would have stormed over there in a rage immediately. But this time, my voice was surprisingly calm. "No need." Half an hour later, Saul came down anyway. When he pushed the door open, I heard the young nurses whispering outside. "Mr. Durand came to see his wife right after he woke up. They're such a loving couple." "I don't get what Mrs. Durand is sulking about." "Married to a handsome, wealthy husband who still loves her, what more could she possibly want?" But they hadn't caught Fannie's perfume on Saul. His tall figure loomed over me, his expression darker than the night outside the window. "The nurse mentioned you broke your leg?" I stared down at the cast on my leg, as if I was talking about someone else's injury. "I won't die anyway." Saul's brow furrowed even deeper. He had never seen me like this before. In our first year of marriage, I would even run to him to be coddled when I shed a few extra strands of hair while brushing. Later, his gaze on me grew more and more impatient, and he would often remind me with a cold face, "Shirley, look at the piles of documents on my desk. I can't always respond to your meaningless little moods." Now my leg was broken; the metal shard had pierced through flesh and blood. It had been wedged in my bone for hours before it was pulled out. However, I hadn't let out a single cry of pain in front of him. The nurses outside the door were still gossiping. "Ms. Moore came right away as soon as she heard Mr. Durand was in an accident." "Mrs. Durand didn't even care to ask how he is. Isn't it obvious which of the two of them loves him more?" Clearly, Saul had heard those words too. He knew I hated it more than anything when people mentioned Fannie. And he expected me to get jealous and start questioning him, just like I used to. But this time, I didn't even lift my head. Left with silence, he had to take the initiative. "Leo let it slip. That's why Fannie came. Don't overthink it." As Saul's wife, I didn't even have the right to know the details of his daily schedule. Yet Leo Brown, his personal assistant, proactively reported his movements to Fannie. I closed my eyes. "Got it." "Nothing happened between us. Don't you believe me?" "I do." I looked up. "After all, she's adopted by your family. It's perfectly normal for a younger sister to come visit her brother." I didn't throw a tantrum or cry. I had learned to say exactly what he wanted to hear. But Saul's expression didn't relax at all. Just then, Leo hurried over. "Sir, Ms. Moore fell down the stairs. She's crying and asking for you." Saul's anger finally found an outlet. "Does this hospital have no doctors?" Leo immediately lowered his head in fright. Saul turned his gaze back to me, his voice softening a little. "I know you blame me for what happened to Ash. But that was an accident." As he spoke, he reached out to hold my hand. I pulled my hand back immediately. Surprise flickered in Saul's eyes. From the corridor came the sound of a crutch hitting the floor. Fannie stood outside, bracing herself against the wall, a thin bandage wrapped around her ankle. She looked so frail she might collapse at any moment. "I just found out Shirley was hurt too, so I wanted to come visit. I didn't expect to fall down the stairs..." She'd taken barely two steps before she pitched forward, just as expected. Saul instinctively rushed over, caught her, and pulled her into his arms. Fannie leaned against his chest, deliberately showing off her pearl earring. "I'm sorry. I never thought Ash would die. Don't hate Saul. Hate me, okay?" She looked pitiful, but I knew it was a provocation. After Ash died, I found an identical earring at home. In the past, I would have lunged over to claw at her and demand answers. "Where were you, you b***h, when Ash had her accident? This is definitely your earring!" That day, facing my accusations, Saul had held her tight in his arms. He pointed at her ear. "Can't you see hers aren't missing? Our daughter is dead, and you're still fighting over jealousy. It's just an earring, sold everywhere. You want to convict someone over a single earring?" Dead silence fell over the ward. This time, I looked away in silence. Saul stared at my pale, gaunt face, his chest inexplicably tight. "I'll take Fannie home first." As he walked out the door, he added, "I'll be back soon." He walked away holding Fannie in his arms. And that night, he never came back. Late at night, I received a call from a top medical team. "Professor, are you sure you want to join the coagulation drug R&D project? This is set to be the biggest breakthrough in the pharmaceutical industry in 30 years..." I replied calmly, "Thank you for the invitation. I confirm my participation." "But you're not allowed any private contact with the outside world during the project. Does your family know about this?" After Ash died, Saul had promised to give me a large amount of property. And I slipped the divorce agreement inside the property transfer and handed it to him. Clearly, he'd signed it without looking at either. In three days, the divorce agreement would take effect. "I have no family left." I hung up the phone and closed my eyes. Once the funeral was over, nothing here would have anything to do with me anymore.