Chapter 8 The Crazy Mom
1032 Words
When Grace didn't respond, Ruby wasn't about to back down.
"So, what, are you trying to smear me and take back your place as the lady of the Astor family?"
She tugged at Lucas' arm and stepped closer to the window.
"Sorry, sweetheart, but William's mine now, while you? You're just the dead ex-wife!"
Grace froze. Ruby knew about her?
The worst part was that all of the bodyguards from the Astor family were listening to Ruby.
If that was the case, no matter how much she tried to expose Ruby, no one would believe her.
Grace didn't look at Ruby anymore. Instead, her gaze locked on Lucas.
"Lucas, let me see your hand."
"Ha, you're so naïve. Lucas is a little hellraiser. If you think you can use that to accuse me, no one's going to buy it."
Ruby's tone was almost mocking.
Finally, Grace couldn't hold back anymore.
"Shut up! I'm not going to let you hurt him again. You'd better listen carefully!"
For a moment, Grace's expression was eerily similar to William's when he was angry, and Ruby felt a jolt of fear.
"Seal it! No gaps, no cracks!"
Panicking, Ruby ordered the bodyguards to seal the window, blocking Grace's view.
Inside, Grace pressed her hand to the window, straining to reach out.
"Lucas, come here, please—let me see you!"
Tears welled in her eyes as she pushed against the bodyguards who were trying to keep her away.
She was begging now.
"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."
As a mother, she had abandoned him from the moment he was born, never once being the mother she should've been.
How could she leave him in the hands of such a cruel woman?
She cursed herself, and she cursed William, 'William! Are you blind? How could you marry a woman like this? Doesn't your own son even matter to you?'
By the time William got the news, Grace hadn't eaten or drunk anything in an entire day.
"She wants to see me? Why?"
William, who had finally recovered a bit of strength, was lounging on the couch with his legs crossed.
"Is this because of what happened this afternoon? Does she think Ruby abused Lucas?"
He didn't look up as he said this.
Ruby had told him earlier that she was just trying to stop Lucas from playing with the drone outside, and she had been a bit rough with him.
At the time, he hadn't given it much thought. But now, just two hours later, someone was running in with urgent news.
"Mr. Astor, Ms. Miller... she's hurting herself!"
"What? What's happening?"
"She... she's cutting her wrist!"
William's expression, usually cold and emotionless, showed a flicker of concern for the first time.
Minutes later, he arrived at the locked room.
What hit him first was the scene that greeted him when the door opened: chaos everywhere.
A woman was lying next to the bed, her eyes lifeless, like a flower that had completely withered.
For reasons he couldn't explain, he felt a strange sense of helplessness and suffocation.
"What the hell are you doing?"
His eyes landed on the bloodstain near Grace's hand, and in a panic, he rushed over, grabbing her wrist.
"What are you waiting for? Get the first-aid kit, now!"
"You finally came? Should I be grateful? Your heart isn't cold enough to ignore me completely? Now that you hear... I'm going to die, and you finally show up?"
Grace slowly turned her head.
With swollen, red eyes, she looked up at the man who had finally arrived.
William's anger flared up again.
"You think I came because I couldn't bear to watch you die? Let me tell you what I really can't bear. That's you escaping your responsibilities!"
"Really?"
Grace's pale lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.
He was right, wasn't he? Why else would he care about her life or death?
Grace closed her eyes again.
"Then, can you please give Lucas back to me?"
"What are you talking about? Give him back to you?"
"Yes, William, you can hate me, despise me, even wish I were dead, but can you, for Lucas' sake, at least treat him right? He's innocent..."
William's brows furrowed even tighter.
"What are you saying? Of course, my son's innocent!"
"Then why did you leave him with that woman? Do you have any idea what she's done to him? She tugged him, pinched him, yelled at him..."
Grace trembled uncontrollably but pushed herself up from the floor, her body completely exhausted.
"Since you already have a new family, just give Lucas to me. I'll raise him right, please, I beg you!"
Seeing that Grace assumed he had a "new family," William didn't bother explaining.
The truth was, he wasn't married. But he did believe a child needed a mother figure.
During his research, he had chosen Ruby, who had been friendly towards him since they were in school.
He had given her a minor role at Astor Holdings to look after Lucas.
William knew Ruby, like many women, wanted to marry into a wealthy family.
But if Lucas needed her, he hadn't completely ruled it out.
Yet every time he thought about Grace's final image, lying on that hospital bed, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease.
Ruby had been taking care of Lucas for five years, and if she truly wanted to marry him, she should've known better!
But why was Grace saying all this now?
Was she trying to make him second-guess himself?
"You're cutting your wrist and talking all this nonsense—what's the point? Are you trying to manipulate me?"
He suddenly had a thought.
"Or... are you jealous, hoping to get Ruby to leave?"
"Manipulate you? Jealous?"
Grace nearly laughed in frustration. Her request was simple: to never see him again!
And yet, he was turning her desperate plea into some petty jealousy drama!
"Fine, believe what you want!"
She pressed her wrist down again.
"Then I'll trade my life for Lucas' safety. Is that enough for you? I can die, but please, get a better mom for Lucas!"
With that, she pressed harder, the blood pouring out from her wrist.
- Writer
