The Sound of Falling Blossoms

When Laura woke up again, she was lying on a hospital bed. Her back was burning.

"Laura!" James immediately came to the side of the bed. His eyes were bloodshot. "You're awake! Does it still hurt?"

Seeing how worried James was, Laura was a little dazed.

In the past, whenever she had a fever, he stayed beside her just like now.

But now, she didn't have a fever, but was ordered to be whipped by James's parents, and as for James, he just stood and watched.

She pulled her hand back and wasn't willing to look at James again.

James was stunned by Laura's actions.

He explained, "Laura, it's not that I don't want to speak up for you. It's just that if I spoke up back then, they would only give you a harsher punishment..."

"So you think it was me who hurt that baby as well?" Laura's voice was hoarse.

James swallowed. In the end, he chose to remain silent.

Such a reaction caused Laura's heart to ache even more. It was as if someone was driving a blunt knife into her heart.

She looked at him with red, teary eyes. "I've only got one question for you. Do you believe me or not?"

James furrowed his brows. There was a trace of anger in his voice that he himself didn't even notice. "Laura, the evidence was right there in front of me. How do you expect me to believe you? Didn't I tell you to give me a little more time? Why did you have to make a scene?"

Tears suddenly started trickling down Laura's face.

She thought the pain couldn't get any worse, but she was wrong.

She quickly turned around to prevent James from seeing the state she was in.

"You'd better leave." Laura's voice was so quiet that James could hardly hear her.

"Please just give me a little more time, alright?" James's voice softened. "Things will soon go back to the way they used to be."

'The way they used to be?' Laura closed her eyes. 'Do you really think that's possible?'

James now had Jessica and two children.

He had chosen to hurt Laura time after time for them.

Laura turned around slowly so that she had her back to James. She didn't want to say a single word to him.

James gently caressed her hair. "Get some rest. I'll be right here by your side."

Before James could say anything else, a nurse rushed into the ward in a panic. "Mr. Lawson! Miss Rane is crying and saying that she wants to see you..."

James furrowed his brows and hesitated for a while before finally standing up. "I'll be right back, Laura."

But he never came back to the ward after he had left.

The day that Laura was discharged from the hospital, it was raining heavily. Laura stood at the hospital entrance and looked at James driving slowly towards her.

As soon as she opened the passenger seat door, she saw Jessica sitting there with the baby in her arms.

"James..." Jessica looked at her and immediately nudged towards James. "I... I'm still scared of her from what happened last time..."

Her eyes were red, and her voice was trembling. "She can hurt me, but not the child. Can you... give me a little more time? I don't want to be in the same car as her."

Laura stood in the rain, trembling.

James remained silent for a while. Then, he passed Laura an umbrella. "Wait here for me, Laura. I'll be back to pick you up soon."

With that said, he closed the window, and the car drove into the distance.

Laura stood where she was and watched as the car disappeared into the distance.

She closed her eyes. Deep down, she felt an emptiness that she had never felt before.

She waited outside the hospital for an entire day, but the car that had promised to return to pick her up never returned.

Laura called James time after time, but he never answered.

As the sky became darker, the rain also became heavier.

She had no choice but to walk home using the umbrella to shield her from the heavy rain.

The strong wind almost broke the umbrella, causing Laura to stumble. She then suddenly slipped and fell into a puddle.

The umbrella landed on the ground with a loud crack and broke. The rain immediately soaked Laura.

When she finally arrived home, it was already the middle of the night.

She stood soaked in the foyer, but heard Jessica's cries coming from the living room. "James, I know you like Laura, but these are special circumstances right now..."

Her voice was soft and trembling. "I have a plugged duct, and it really hurts. The baby needs milk..."

She sobbed. "Please, do it for the baby. Help me... Don't worry. Laura will never know..."

Laura froze when she heard those words. The blood seemed to have stopped flowing through her veins.

James had his back to the door, so Laura couldn't see the look on his face. All she could see was his tense figure.

After a long silence, Laura saw James slowly raise his left hand and unbutton Jessica's clothes. He raised his hand to touch her soft skin and then began lowering his head.