Adam Willow looked at their backs, his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, unable to move.
His eyes were full of loss and desolation, the happiness he once thought was within reach had completely shattered and dissipated.
He just stood there dazedly for a long, long time.
He didn’t know how long had passed when the sharp ring of the phone pulled Adam back to the real world from his pain and confusion.
He slowly lowered his head, his gaze somewhat blankly watching the flashing caller ID on the phone screen, staying still for a moment before reaching out and pressing the answer button.
Adam struggled to utter the word, his voice full of exhaustion, as if all his strength had been drained in an instant.
On the other end of the phone, Evan Palmer’s voice came through the receiver, with a tone of undeniable severity,
"Adam, what on earth is going on? Didn’t you say Dr. Sterling appreciated you?"
Hearing his father’s questioning, Adam fell into silence.
His mind was a mess, replaying everything that had just happened, Emily Parker’s rejection, Carlos’s provocation, all made him irritable.
Suddenly, Adam seemed to remember something, a sharp light flashed in his eyes as he coldly questioned,
"Dad, did you already know that Carlos and Emily were married?"
His voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of anger.
Adam’s hand holding the phone tightened abruptly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Evan’s voice came through the receiver, each word like a knife stabbing into his heart,
"They got married, but it was all because of the child.
Emily was pregnant before marriage, Carlos was forced to marry her."
Evan mentioned Emily with undisguised disdain in his tone.
When Adam heard the words "pregnant before marriage", his head buzzed, as if it was hit by a heavy hammer, a dull pain in his chest made his breathing somewhat labored.
Scenes of his past interactions with Emily flashed like a revolving lantern in his mind, now all became blurry and unclear.
He always thought Emily was waiting for him, that their love was unbreakable, yet he never expected her to betray him so early.
Adam’s eyes slightly reddened, his lips trembling,
"You won’t be liking that Emily, will you?
Let me tell you, better give up that idea soon.
That woman is not simple, she is deeply scheming.
Not only did she climb into Carlos’s bed for money, but I also heard she’s been involved with Mr. William, acting as his mistress."
Evan maliciously slandered Emily over the phone.
All of a sudden, Adam said to the other end,
"Dad, I’m not planning to be a doctor anymore, I want to go into business."
As Evan’s illegitimate child, Adam was constantly nagged by his mother since childhood to always be stronger than Carlos.
During those days, he was like a machine that had been wound up, working tirelessly, studying and researching medical skills day and night, all to surpass Carlos in every aspect.
With extraordinary perseverance and talent, he indeed achieved that, emerging in the medical field, becoming a standout in people’s eyes, appreciated by Dr. Sterling, with a bright future ahead. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NovelHub(.)net
But now, everything had changed.
He lost his job, his lover, his mentor, all those former honors and achievements turned into bubbles in an instant.
The beliefs he held kept crumbling under the successive blows.
And Emily, the girl he cherished for years, whom he always thought was pure and kind, who would wait for him, eventually fell into Carlos’s arms.
He once naively thought their feelings were pure, unbound by worldly matters and status.
But the cruel reality told him that Emily still chose to marry Carlos for his wealthy background.
Thinking about these, Adam felt like countless needles had pierced his heart deeply, pain spreading throughout his body.
He realized that in this "competition" with Carlos, he seemed to have completely lost.
If so, then start anew. He decided to prove himself in the business world, to show Emily that he, Adam Willow, was not a loser.
"Adam, you finally get it."
On the other end, Evan’s tone carried a hint of gratification,
"These years, I have secretly built up some industries, unbeknownst to the Carter family. You come and take over, I’ll hand them all to you."
All these years, Evan hid in the shadows, using his own means and strategies to quietly build his own commercial empire.
He had been waiting for an opportunity, a chance to confront the Carter family head-on.
Now, Adam’s transformation gave him hope, he believed that as long as the father and son worked together, they could stir up a storm.
"Once the old man goes abroad,"
Evan spoke with determination, "we father and son will join forces, the entire Carter clan will have to take the Palmer name!
By then, the whole business world will be ours.
But for now, you need to go coax Sophie Parker first, she’s still waiting for you at the police station..."
In the car, Emily carefully sat into the passenger seat.
Her belly was already four to five months pregnant, slightly bulging, beginning to show.
As soon as she sat down, she noticed the small cushion on the passenger seat.
The cushion was brand new. Light blue, the soft material looked particularly comfortable, with a few small white clouds embroidered on it, delicate and cute.
Emily’s fingers lightly stroked the cushion, feeling a warm current surge in her heart.
She knew Carlos must have prepared this especially for her, thinking of Carlos who usually seemed indifferent but always paid silent attention to these small details.
Emily’s lips couldn’t help but slightly lift, adding a bit of tenderness to her gaze.
She gently hugged the cushion in her arms, leaned against the back of the seat, adjusted her position to make herself sit more comfortably.
"Wasn’t it agreed to have a secret marriage?"
Emily recalled the photo of the marriage certificate on Carlos’s phone earlier, full of doubts, she couldn’t help but ask.
"What, afraid the identity of a married woman will affect you?"
Carlos glanced at Emily and snorted coldly, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
His fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel, the reason there was a photo of the marriage certificate on his phone was completely because "it’s that simple".
Since the secret marriage with Emily, Carlos’s luck with women hadn’t diminished at all.
Being bothered made Carlos annoyed, without thinking, he directly snapped a photo of the marriage certificate, and sent it to the harassers, with a message,
"I’m married, no appointments."
As soon as the message was sent, his previously noisy WeChat instantly quieted, and after that, the people who harassed him indeed reduced significantly.
"Anyway, we already got the certificate, why don’t we announce it on our social media too?"
At that moment, they encountered a red light ahead, the car gradually came to a stop, Carlos’s hand gripping the steering wheel tightened unconsciously, suddenly coming out with this sentence as if on an impulse.