Chapter 144: Heartache

Amanda Vance sidestepped, coldly watching her fall pathetically to the floor. A quick glance told her everything she needed to know about the situation.

Having heard enough, Amanda Vance sneered, not giving her a chance to speak. "What is it? Did the wife find out you’re the mistress?"

At her words, the onlookers who had initially thought Amanda was cold-hearted shifted their gazes to Shirley Vance. Her neck and face were covered in scratches that looked like they were dug in by sharp fingernails, and her hair had been pulled—classic moves in a catfight.

Paired with Amanda’s comment, the crowd’s expressions toward Shirley changed instantly. They looked at her with disgust, and any pity or sympathy they might have felt for her vanished.

’Were we crazy? How could we possibly sympathize with a mistress?’

’Looking at her miserable state now, all they could think was that she deserved it. And she still had the nerve to come to a hospital and make a scene.’

’These women are the worst. Destroying other people’s families... It’s absolutely disgusting.’

’Pah! And to think we were about to stand up for her. Thank god Dr. Vance showed up and set the record straight before we said anything out of line.’

Shirley Vance’s face stiffened. She never imagined Amanda would expose her so publicly. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Sensing the judgment in the crowd’s gazes, she grew even more humiliated and enraged, snapping, "Amanda Vance, whatever happened, the child was innocent! How could you harm it! Do you even deserve to be a doctor?"

Amanda almost laughed in exasperation. "Did I hit you?"

’No, it was Penny Palmer. The pregnancy had been high-risk from the start, and she hadn’t been taking proper care of herself. After today’s ordeal—getting beaten and terrified—the baby was just... gone.’

’That psycho Penny Palmer!’

Shirley seethed with resentment.

But she hated Amanda even more.

"If you hadn’t told her, how would she have ever found out about me!"

’I knew she was shameless, but this is a whole new level.’ Amanda looked at her mockingly. "I told her? Do I have her contact information? Are we close? How would I have told her? Shirley, before you did something so unconscionable, didn’t you ever consider the consequences?"

’Of course I did, but it wasn’t supposed to happen now.’

’Once I had the baby, I would have had the leverage and the right to enter the Rhodes family. But now, Penny Palmer has beaten all of that away!’

"If you didn’t tell her, then who did? You were the only one who knew!"

Shirley was truly regretting it now. She never should have come to Amanda’s clinic for an appointment; then Amanda would never have found out she was pregnant.

But it was too late for regrets now. All she could do was hate Amanda with every fiber of her being.

The onlookers finally had the full picture. No sane person could understand someone who, despite being clearly in the wrong, would blame everyone and everything else instead of taking responsibility. Hearing Shirley’s outburst only made them feel more disgusted.

’So, let me get this straight. She became a mistress, the wife found out and beat her up, she lost the baby, and now she wants to hold Dr. Vance responsible?’

’Pah! What kind of twisted logic is that!’

’And she has the audacity to say the child was innocent. If she had an ounce of shame, if she truly loved that child, she wouldn’t have condemned it to a future in the shadows.’

One of the more hot-tempered onlookers shot back, "Pah! I’ve seen it all today. The nerve of some people is just unreal."

"Seriously! Shameless. She’s so young, she could be doing anything, but she just had to be a homewrecker. It’s despicable."

"I wonder how her parents raised her."

"Hah, maybe her mother was a mistress too, and she’s just following in her footsteps."

And that was spot on.

Shirley’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe the same people who were about to demand justice for her just moments ago had turned on her so quickly. Her face contorted as she finally realized what a terrible mistake she’d made today.

’I never should have come to the hospital.’

Amanda watched Shirley’s expression shift and let out a derisive snort. "You just had a miscarriage. Are you sure you want to continue sitting on the floor throwing a tantrum?"

"It’s none of your business!" Shirley scrambled up from the floor, shooting Amanda a venomous glare. "I don’t need your phony concern!"

After saying her piece, she shot another vicious glare at the crowd, clutched her stomach, and walked away, still holding the knife.

A trail of blood stained the floor where she had walked.

Amanda stared fixedly at her retreating back and sneered.

’Since she decided to go down that path, she can take responsibility for her own actions.’

「Half an hour later.」

A woman collapsed on the side of the road. A kind passerby saw her and called 911. Shirley Vance, who had just stormed out of the hospital, was brought right back in an ambulance.

Amanda was just leaving when she happened to see it. Shirley’s face was ashen and her body was covered in blood as she was wheeled into the emergency room.

Amanda watched for only a moment before turning and walking away without a second thought.

Someone at the hospital recognized Shirley as the woman who had caused the scene earlier and sent a message about it in the staff group chat, tagging Amanda.

The message said she had started hemorrhaging, but because treatment was delayed, they had to perform a hysterectomy to save her life.

She would never be able to have children again.

For a mistress to meet such a fate was considered just deserts, a deeply satisfying outcome.

Amanda read the messages but didn’t reply.

She stood at the hospital entrance, watching people come and go, then turned to leave.

No one knew that for her, hospitals were a place of deep-seated trauma.

When she was five years old, Sarah Sullivan had shown up at their door holding a child. The shock sent her mother into a deep depression, making her a frequent patient at the hospital. Later, when her mother jumped from a building, she died on impact. She never even made it to the hospital and was taken directly to be cremated.

For a long time after that, she couldn’t even look at a hospital. She would take long detours just to avoid passing one. The sound of an ambulance siren was unbearable.

She had chosen to study medicine as a way to conquer her inner fear.

She couldn’t allow herself to be afraid of anything. Fear created weakness.

She had to live, and live well.

It was what her mother would have wanted.

Amanda lowered her gaze, hiding the pain in her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Her eyes snapped open. Turning her head, she froze. "President Ford?"

’Why do I keep running into him?’

Samuel Ford watched her expression. She had masked it quickly, but he hadn’t missed the flash of pain in her eyes when she first turned. His heart sank a little. "Are you all right?" he asked.

He had already heard about the incident at the hospital, but he had a feeling her current emotional state wasn’t because of that.

’Then what could it be?’

Amanda didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, "Do you have time, President Ford? How about we get a drink?"

Samuel Ford looked at her intently, then agreed without hesitation. "Okay."

They went to Samuel Ford’s house near the hospital, which had a small, dedicated bar. Amanda sent a message to Hayden Grant, asking him to look after her child for a while. She was in a foul mood and didn’t want her child to see her getting drunk.

Amanda had never touched the bottles on the liquor shelf, but she knew they were all high-end. She asked Samuel Ford, "Will you feel the sting if we drink this, President Ford?"

Samuel Ford looked up at her. "It pains me."

Amanda’s brow twitched. For some reason, she had a feeling he wasn’t talking about the wine.

Before she could dwell on it, a glass of wine appeared in her line of sight.

"Try it."