The air became silent.
A strange emotion filled the air between the two people.
Ace's thin lips moved, as if he was about to say something.
But right then, the door of the ward slammed open.
"I see. So this is the so-called "holiday abroad". Incredible. You even lied to your grandpa!"
Susan walked in menacingly. She glared at Joanna, wishing she could devour Joanna alive.
Alice came in after Susan.
Her stomach had grown larger since the last time Joanna saw her. The round belly was like a silent slap to Joanna's face, instantly waking her up.
Heh, what an idiot she was.
Ace cheated on her. That was the cold hard truth. Yet she was foolish enough to test how he felt still.
Considering what had happened up to this point, was it important whether he regretted saving her or not?
"Now that you're here, I'm finally free."
Joanna calmly stood up from the chair. She gestured towards the bowl of medicine on the table and told Alice, "Three times a day, rub it on his whole body. This is a task more suitable for you."
Alice put on a soft, weak pretense and spoke like she was Ace's wife, "Thank you, Pierce. Sorry for all the trouble Ace caused you in the last few days. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
The mockery in that remark was so thick that Joanna felt like laughing.
But she did not say anything. She simply gave Ace a nod and turned around to leave.
"You don't have to go."
Ace said towards Joanna's back, his voice deep and cold with a domineering attitude that no one could question, "Like I said, there's no one more suitable to take care of me than you."
This was like a slap to Alice's face.
Alice's expression turned ugly. She secretly clenched her fists and tried to look innocent and wronged. But when she looked at Joanna, she could not suppress the hatred in her eyes.
Susan was angered too. She berated Ace, "Ace, do you even know what you're talking about? Alice is pregnant with your child and she'll be giving birth in a few months, while you're about to divorce this woman. Alice is the woman you'll spend the rest of your life with. How can she be more suitable than Alice?"
"You said it yourself, Joanna and I are about to get a divorce, which means we're currently still husband and wife. These tasks are more suited for a wife."
Ace's eyes were on Joanna the whole time he said that. His gaze was deep and complicated.
"You…!"
Susan was speechless. She did not know how to deal with her son.
"Can you tell me what's wrong with you? Why are you in the hospital? Is your hematophobia acting up?"
She walked over to Ace and looked him up and down with a worried expression.
Ace closed his mouth and chose silence.
Joanna was going to leave, but she suddenly turned back around to look at the three people in the ward with a weird smile on her face.
"I'm really sorry, Miss Susan, Mr. Moran was bitten by a snake while trying to save me. He's now a quadriplegia and may be paralyzed forever…"
She looked at Alice with a sympathetic expression and said, "Miss Alice, you'll have a hard life ahead of you. However, since you and Mr. Moran truly love each other, I don't think you'll mind. In the future, he'll have to rely on you as his crutch. I, as the ex-wife, wish you two a good marriage and a lasting relationship!"
"What… what?!"
Upon hearing this, Susan almost lost her balance.
Alice's expression was even more interesting.
"Impossible! Impossible! You must be lying!"
For the first time ever, instead of helping the unsteady Susan, she grabbed Joanna's arm like a mad woman and said, "You're lying! You don't want to get dumped, so you're trying to force me to quit, aren't you?!"
Joanna sneered and shook off Alice's hand hard. "You can ask Ace yourself."
Ace, lying in bed with an unreadable expression, looked coldly at Alice and said, "She's not lying. I really am paralyzed. Would you still marry me?"
"I…"
Alice stammered in slight awkwardness.
She did like Ace very much, but she liked him only when he was perfect and high-spirited. If he was a good-for-nothing who was paralyzed in bed, she would not even give him a glance, let alone marry him.
Joanna became slightly annoyed when she saw that reaction.
She felt like Alice was being picky and disdainful toward the treasure she had cherished for so many years, so she immediately protected him. She sneered. "Miss Alice, didn't you claim that what you had with Mr. Moran was true love? Why are you hesitant now?"
"Mr. Moran is so awesome. Even if he's paralyzed, his complexion, figure, and temperament are exceptional. If you wouldn't marry him, many people would. He's the famous Ace Moran. It's not up to you to be choosy!"
Being criticized, Alice was at a loss, and she went as white as a sheet. "I-I… I didn't mean that. I just…"
Ace, however, looked composed as he raised his charming brows. "It's fine. I can
understand."
Joanna inevitably shook her head and sighed while looking at him and patting his shoulders pitifully. "Take it easy. People are all very pragmatic."
'He's indeed mean, but he has such a difficult love life,' she thought.
'His first love ran away with his elder brother, and he became a schematic homewrecker under the pressure of the world. However, she'd run away the minute difficulties befell him.'
'How pitiful! Many women love you, but few are willing to share your pain and sorrows, save for me.'
'Of course, that was in the past.'
'I'm enlightened now, and I'll never go back to him!'
"You jinx! Shut up!"
Susan, who had calmed down, lost her mind. Completely unhinged, she threw herself at Joanna with every last ounce of strength. "You jinxed woman! I knew that Ace would get into trouble with you around. My family has never been peaceful since he married you!"
"Dylan is dead, and now Ace is paralyzed. It's all your fault. I'll kill you, even if I've got to risk my life, in exchange for some peace for my family!"
As she spoke, she picked up the vase on the table and tried to smash it on Joanna's head.
Joanna didn't expect she'd witness Susan's deranged behavior. Since she couldn't escape, reduce harm by shielding her head with both hands.
However, the vase did not fall on her head as expected, for she was protected by a warm embrace…
Joanna carefully raised her head and surprisingly saw Ace's extremely cold face.
"Mom, this vase is very heavy. Put it down."
Ace shielded Joanna with one arm while blocking the vase that his mother smashed on Joanna with the other. He then spoke coldly.
Susan widened her eyes exaggeratedly, and she shed tears of joy. "Ace… You… You're not paralyzed. You stood up!"
Ace remained cold and stated expressionlessly, "How am I supposed to get paralyzed?"
"That's wonderful! There's divine justice, and God won't be so cruel to my family. You scare me so much!"
Susan wiped her tears and started talking nonsense.
She might not be a good mother-in-law, but she was a good mother. No one could trump her love for Ace.
Alice's expression changed quickly. When she confirmed that Ace was standing there unscathed, handsome, and upright as before, she burst into tears. "Ace, I know that you won't make me worry. That was a terrifying joke. Don't make such a joke again. It'll worry me sick. You have no idea how much my baby was moving just now!"
Joanna, still in Ace's arms, pushed him away harshly with all her might…