Chapter 287

Susan felt as if she had been poisoned, her mind clouded. Her strength seemed to have left her, leaving her unable to resist as Caleb's lips drew closer. The touch of his lips was like a spark, igniting a flame within her. Her heart danced in the fire, and she was on the verge of surrendering to the moment.

Just as their lips were about to meet, the sudden ring of her phone jolted Susan back to reality. Startled, she pushed Caleb away, her chest heaving with the intensity of her breath. Her face turned pale as she realized the gravity of the situation.

"What have I done? How could I... with a married man? Susan's self-reproach was fierce. As she looked at the screen, she saw a message from Victoria.

'Could something be wrong with Oliver?' Susan's heart tightened. Caleb also glanced at her phone, and she quickly ended the call. She didn't know how to face this awkward situation, only feeling a deep sense of shame. Both of them were consumed by turmoil. Caleb, too, despised himself and this forbidden desire that had taken hold of him. He must be out of his mind, and Susan was his curse.

Just then, another message came in from Victoria. Susan's hands trembled as she opened it. Her eyes widened in panic, her face drained of color.

Oliver lost a lot of blood and fainted. Susan almost rushed out of the room, barely managing to keep her composure. Caleb noticed something was off with her as she was trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "It's nothing," Susan replied, her voice trembling.

"You should leave."

"Caleb, please just go," Susan urged.

An awkward silence filled the air. Finally, Caleb set down the oats. "Remember to eat and rest well," he said, giving her a deep look before leaving. Susan heard the door close and quickly got up to change her clothes while making a call to Victoria, "I'm on my way."

She grabbed a few random pieces of clothing and rushed to get the keys, but suddenly, the world spun around her, and she had to grab onto the wall. She felt dizzy, almost collapsing, but she couldn't afford to faint. Oliver was still waiting for her at the hospital.

With a strong sense of worry, Susan made her way downstairs and hailed a cab. "To the Central Hospital," she instructed. The fifteen-minute drive felt like an eternity to Susan. She was tormented every second. As soon as the car stopped, she rushed out.

"You haven't paid yet," the driver called after her. Susan hurriedly ran back and handed him a hundred-dollar bill before rushing upstairs.

"Oliver!" she shouted as she rushed into the ward.

Victoria, with tears in her eyes, stood by the bed and turned to wipe her tears. "He suddenly had a nosebleed, a lot of it, and I couldn't stop it. I was so scared..."

"How is he now?" Susan asked, her voice filled with worry. "The doctor said there is no immediate danger, but his condition has deteriorated faster than expected. He needs surgery as soon as possible, or..." Victoria's voice trailed off, her throat too tight to continue.

"Oliver..." Susan grabbed Oliver's hand and kissed it, her heart heavy with guilt. "I'm sorry, Oliver..."

In the next moment, as if sensing something, Susan turned around in a panic, and Caleb was standing at the door. The hospital's central garden was bustling with people. Some children in hospital gowns were building snowmen, laughing happily. Parents were by their side, with both smiles and tears. It was a noisy scene. Susan sat on a bench, her head lowered, looking at her tightly clasped hands, lost in thought.

"Why didn't you tell me that Oliver had leukemia? He is my son, isn't he?" Caleb's voice was filled with worry. Susan remained unusually calm, or rather, exhausted. "Yes, he is your son." Though Caleb had already guessed the truth, hearing it confirmed by her own mouth left him in a state of disarray.

"Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Why?" Susan laughed bitterly. "You already have a family. Even though I tell you, what can you do? Should I force you to divorce or let my son become an illegitimate child?"

"It's not up to you to decide! Susan, don't you think you're being selfish? When you were pregnant, you should have told me."

"I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you over the phone, but I didn't want to miss the surprise on your face, so I waited for your business trip to come back, but what I waited for was your engagement."

The truth of the year was revealed. Destiny never spared anyone.

"Grace?" Caleb's pupils tightened. "She came to you four years ago?" Grace never told him. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? What I waited for was not the father of the child, but my boyfriend's fiancee. I thought I was the happiest woman in the world. I fantasized about our wedding, future, and family, but I was just a third party..."

Caleb's throat was stuck with a strong smell of blood. His chest was dull and suffocating. He couldn't speak. He never imagined that the truth of the year was like this! "Why didn't you come and ask me? I had already broken up with Grace."

Susan didn't look at him, a sarcastic smile on her face. "You broke up with her when we just got together?" Caleb fell silent. He felt embarrassed.

"Grace was arranged by my family. I didn't like her, and I had no feelings for her, but at that time I thought I would not fall in love with anyone, so I accepted to marry a woman who could help me in my career until I met you. I knew what love was. Susan, you are the first woman I love."

She did not deny that at that time, she could feel his love, but...

"If that's the case. Why didn't you break up with her and be with me? At first, you were just playing with me, right? I was just one of the women you had during your engagement, so you thought it was unnecessary to tell me, right?"

Caleb lowered his head. "I admit that when I first met you, I never thought I would be so attracted to you, but on the third day of our relationship, I broke up with Grace, and she refused to accept it. In my opinion, I had already broken up with her."

"Is a three-day deception not a deception? Caleb, don't you understand that deception is not about the length of time, but about the act of deception? You lied to me, so that's a lie. Three days or three years, that doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry." Caleb couldn't express how guilty he was at the moment.

He hated her for three years, but the most hateful person was himself. She never betrayed him, but he deceived her, embarrassed her, and let her go through four years of hardship alone with the child. He couldn't imagine how she had survived. Caleb shook his head, suddenly feeling that everything was so absurd. If he hadn't been so eager to be with her, or if she hadn't used Francis to retaliate against him, they wouldn't have reached this irreparable point. A single misstep led to a cascade of errors, but he took the wrong step first. He was the root of the mistake. At this point, apologizing a million times was of no avail.

"Susan, let me make it up to you and Oliver..."