Chapter 107 I Fail to Protect Her
“Is it so obvious?” Lucia said in a low voice, putting down the documents in her hands and frowning slightly.
“Lucy, we have known each other for such a long time. If you have any trouble, you can talk to me…” Nia made a suggestion to test how close she was with Lucia.
Lucia’s eyes brightened up but finally dimmed. She said softly, “I’m fine. You can go back first. I gotta see the paperwork again.”
Nia felt a bit disappointed when her kindness was rejected by Lucia, but she pretended to be calm and said, “Well, then, do not lose track of time or exhaust yourself.”
After saying that, Nia left. It was already ten o’clock in the evening. The office area in the company was clothed in darkness, and only the light in the corridor was still on. After Nia left, silence reigned.
The sudden silence made Lucia frown deeply. She was afraid of getting relaxed.
As soon as she relaxed, she would think of Arthur, the way he looked at her, that night when he left firmly, and the doubts about Juliana’s accident. They were all like heavy stones that weighed upon her and suffocated her.
She stood up and walked to the French window. Looking out of the window at the bustling city with flickering lights, she wondered if someone was experiencing vicissitudes of life and as depressed as she was.
During this period, Lucia had a hard time, so did Arthur. He was not only troubled by the conflict with Lucia, but he had to face Juliana whose mental state was unstable, which made him feel tired for the first time. And he had never mentioned Juliana’s misery to anyone.
It was not because he couldn’t be responsible for it, but because he was afraid that Juliana’s parents couldn’t take such a heavy blow. After all, Juliana was their only daughter, the apple of their eyes.
After thinking for a long time, he finally contacted Sophie.
“Arthur, we’ll be back in a few days. You and Lucia come to pick us up together. Teddy misses his mom.” Sophie’s voice sounded very gentle, which made Arthur feel both calm and bitter.
“Mom…” Arthur’s voice was leaden, and what he wanted to say next was weighty and it was quite hard for him to say that.
Sophie was very sensitive. She immediately sensed something wrong when she heard Arthur’s voice. She asked, “Is there anything wrong?”
Knowing that it was impossible to keep it a secret all the time, he slowly told Sophie what had happened after Juliana returned home.
Sophie was very shocked when she heard what happened to Juliana.
“How could it be? Julia, she…” Sophie’s choked voice said.
“It’s my fault. I fail to protect her,” he lowered his eyes and said guiltily.
“Arthur…” Sophie felt sorry for her son, but she had to admit that her son should more or less be responsible for Juliana’s suffering. Then she could only ask, “How is Julia?”
“She has recovered, but she had an unstable mental state. Sometimes she’s normal and sometimes hysterical. Every time she thinks of that thing, she will lose her mind. I feel so sad watching her like that, but I can do nothing. I am so guilt-ridden that I can’t face her parents.”
“If Juliana’s parents know it, they will be very sad…” Sophie said sadly, “but we can’t hide it from them. Let me tell them.”
“Mom, it’s my fault. I should be the one to confess. When Julia gets better, I’ll go to her parents to offer a humble apology.” He was never the kind of person who passed the buck.
“Good boy…” Sophie praised. After a moment of silence, she asked in a low voice, “You and Lucia…”
Speaking of Lucia, Arthur felt a pain in his chest and replied in a low voice, “We haven’t contacted each other for a long time. Julia’s statement is completely different from Lucia’s. I don’t know whom to believe.”
Sophie was very clear about the conflict in Arthur’s mind. She also had doubts after hearing the whole story. Though she was inclined to believe Lucia, who was kind-hearted in her eyes, Juliana, whom she saw growing up, would never lie to Arthur.
Then, something more important came to her mind. She said, “If you and Lucia break up, what about Teddy?”
Sophie was well aware that Edwin liked his grandson very much. If she gave Theodore back to Lucia, and the misunderstanding between Lucia and Juliana couldn’t be cleared, then she would have no chance to see her grandson in the future, right?
At Sophie’s words, Arthur frowned. It was not until then that he remembered that he and Lucia had a son.
If he broke up with Lucia, Theodore’s existence would embarrass both of them.
“Mom, what do you mean?” Arthur could tell Sophie’s concerns from her words.
“Arthur, your father likes Teddy. Anyway, Teddy is always the eldest grandson of the Davis family. If we send him back to Lucia, I’m afraid…” said Sophie carefully.
“You’re afraid that Lucia won’t let him see us?” He spoke out about Sophie’s concerns.
“Yes,” Sophie replied frankly.
“Mom, Lucia brought Teddy up. Only she knew how hard it was to raise Teddy. No matter what happened between us, I will never fight for the custody of Teddy,” he said firmly.
“It’s not what I expect,” Sophie sighed and said, “I just want you to give us a few more days before you send him back. Your father and I don’t want Teddy to leave.”
“Okay,” replied Arthur. He knew that Sophie was considerate to him and Lucia.Content © copyrighted by NôvelDrama.Org.
When he was about to continue, he saw Juliana coming downstairs from the second floor with a thin quilt in her arms. Then he hurriedly said, “Mom, Julia got downstairs. I gotta take care of her. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, take good care of her.” As Juliana’s senior, Sophie should comfort Juliana in person, but now Juliana only trusted Arthur, so Sophie decided to talk to Juliana when she got better.
As soon as he put down his phone, Juliana walked down and asked with a frown, “Arthur, who are you talking to on the phone?”
What had happened recently made this independent and strong woman break down. Arthur, who was supporting her all the time, naturally become the person she relied on. More dependence led to the desire to control.
After hesitating for a while, he replied, “My mother.”
Hearing that it was Sophie, Juliana rushed over. She didn’t care about the thin quilt falling to the ground and came to him. She asked in fear, “Did you tell your mother what happened to me?”
Seeing Juliana’s reaction and the red marks on her naked arm that resulted from her repeated scrubbing, he could only shake his head.