Chapter 318 - 305: If the Child Is Yours, We’ll Divorce

In reality, Elliot Sheridan and Quentin Chase didn’t exchange many words. The four of them sat quietly in the hospital room, a silent tableau.

Aidan Sheridan looked at Quentin Chase, then his gaze shifted to Elliot Sheridan. He spoke up, "Bro, Quentin is finally back after all this time. Aren’t you going to say something?"

Elliot Sheridan looked up, his expression unreadable. His eyes rested on Quentin Chase for a long moment before he finally spoke. "Welcome back."

Hearing this, Quentin Chase’s expression turned awkward. She forced a laugh. "Thank you."

The stilted words, just like yesterday afternoon, were delivered with Elliot Sheridan’s characteristic indifference.

’Elliot Sheridan was a man of muted disposition.’ At least, that was the overall impression Quentin Chase had of him after all the time they’d spent together.

’Nothing ever seemed to pique his interest or capture his attention. He viewed everything with a detached air.’

’Even when she’d confessed her feelings to him back then, her girlish heart pounded with anticipation as she awaited his answer...’

She vaguely remembered Elliot Sheridan’s reply: "Quentin Chase, if you truly believe you like me, then let’s try dating for a while."

She had cheered with joy, but he remained as impassive as ever.

After that, they started dating.

The only thing that changed between them was that they went from being friends to being a couple. Other than that, everything was the same as before.

She was a year below Elliot Sheridan in school, but she’d seen plenty of girls confess to him, secretly slipping him love letters or boldly stopping him in the halls. It always came to nothing.

Elliot Sheridan never responded, watching their heartfelt affections with cold detachment until the girls, feeling humiliated, would run off on their own.

Before her own confession, she had been terrified of receiving the same cold shoulder from Elliot Sheridan. She hesitated for a long time before finally confessing with the encouragement of her friends.

’You never know the outcome until you take that final step.’

’Elliot Sheridan accepted her. That must have meant she was different from the other girls in his eyes, right?’

’Besides his muted personality, he was also a calm man.’

No matter what happened, she had never seen Elliot Sheridan flustered.

However, that entire impression had now been shattered.

When that woman had burst in unexpectedly, Elliot Sheridan’s pupils had dilated. His usually flat tone became animated when speaking to her, as if it had been infused with color and vitality.

’When you care too much about someone, love them too deeply, you start to notice their every move, every subtle change in their body language.’

After that woman left, she noticed a shift in Elliot Sheridan’s mood.

When Miles called him "Daddy," he had snapped harshly. Miles, a little scared, had retreated back into her arms.

’He was probably worried about that woman’s feelings.’

In the time that followed, Elliot Sheridan became agitated, as if he had turned into a completely different person.

A strange Elliot Sheridan she no longer recognized.

’What was that woman’s name again? Georgia Thorne, I think.’

Nathan Rhodes had once said that successfully pursuing Elliot Sheridan wasn’t the great achievement; the one who could completely change him would be the truly great one.

She had accomplished the former, while Georgia Thorne had accomplished the latter.

According to Nathan Rhodes, Elliot Sheridan had changed a lot for Georgia Thorne, in ways she could never have imagined.

’Now,’ she thought, ’I think I can imagine it.’

The brief conversation made things worse, not better. The atmosphere grew even colder, dropping to a freezing point.

Quentin Chase suddenly couldn’t bear to sit any longer. She shot up from her chair. "It’s getting late, and I have work tomorrow. I should get going."

"Quentin, Mom isn’t here yet. Why don’t you wait a little longer?"

Aidan Sheridan sat up straight, but Quentin Chase was already bending down to her son. "Miles, say goodbye to your uncle and daddy."

Miles ducked behind Quentin Chase, clearly not wanting to leave.

Just then, Sharon Ennis hurried over from another hospital wing and saw Quentin Chase coming out of the room with the child.

"Quentin, this child is..." Sharon Ennis was so shocked she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Hearing about it from Georgia Thorne was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was completely different.

"Sharon, you’re here!" Quentin Chase said calmly, taking Miles’s hand. "Miles, this is Grandma. Go on, say hello."

"Hello, Grandma."

"H-Hello!" Sharon Ennis paused, her eyes fixed on Miles’s face.

Talk about perfect timing.

Sharon Ennis pulled Quentin Chase back into the room to talk, asking where she had been all these years and why she hadn’t come back, even after having a child.

Sharon Ennis had watched Elliot Sheridan grow up. The child in Quentin Chase’s arms looked exactly like Sharon did as a child. She would have a hard time believing he wasn’t Elliot’s own flesh and blood.

On top of that, Quentin Chase had named the child Miles. It was clear she still held onto her feelings for Elliot Sheridan.

That must be why even after leaving without a word and going to a foreign place, she had insisted on giving birth to Sharon’s child.

In Sharon Ennis’s subconscious, she had already accepted Miles as Elliot Sheridan’s son.

Raising a child as a single woman was a difficult task. She must have endured a lot of hardship, being away for so many years.

Quentin Chase talked about the past and raising her child, but she never once mentioned why she had left in the first place.

"You silly girl, why did you have to leave? Was there something you couldn’t discuss with us?" Sharon Ennis said, her heart aching for her.

’This has made things so awkward. She’s come back with a child, so what does that mean for Georgia Thorne!’

For Quentin Chase, Sharon Ennis felt mostly sympathy—the kind of affection one has for a daughter, much like how she felt about Aidan Sheridan.

"Mom, I’m going upstairs to see Georgia."

"Hey, Sharon, won’t you sit a while longer?"

Sharon Ennis hadn’t even finished her question before Elliot Sheridan was out of the hospital room.

Back in front of Georgia Thorne’s room, he smoked several cigarettes outside to calm his agitated mind.

He told himself over and over that the Georgia Thorne of today was different from before. ’Stay calm when you’re with Georgia.’

’Have some patience. She’s already scared of me. I can’t make her more afraid; that will only push us further apart.’

The hospital room was pitch-black. Georgia Thorne was asleep.

Elliot Sheridan glanced at the person in the bed and faintly saw a stir under the blankets.

He first went into the bathroom for a quick shower to wash off the smell of smoke before lifting the covers and getting into bed.

The moment he lay down, Georgia Thorne scooted over to the far side of the bed. She wasn’t asleep; she was clearly avoiding him.

Displeased, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Georgia Thorne’s waist, pulling her into his embrace.

"Can you please not touch me!"

Just as he was thinking he could fall asleep like this, Georgia Thorne suddenly spoke.

"...I can’t sleep if I’m not holding you," Elliot Sheridan said, his lips close to the back of her head.

Her heart, which had finally hardened, softened again. Her eyes grew hot as she pushed his hand away. "You can go hold Quentin Chase. And your son!"

"Hold them for as long as you want. Just don’t touch me!"

Elliot Sheridan was speechless.

Georgia Thorne didn’t sleep. Neither did Elliot Sheridan.

The two of them spent the entire night lying back-to-back.

The paternity test results would be ready in three days.

「Three days later, on the day of Georgia Thorne’s discharge.」

Georgia Thorne changed into her own clothes and slowly packed her belongings. She didn’t actually have much, but she deliberately took her time.

She was waiting, just like everyone else, for those paternity test results.

The only difference was, they had all gone to the doctor’s office.

The paternity test results came back: the genetic similarity between Elliot Sheridan and Miles was 99.99%. They were biological father and son.

When Elliot Sheridan saw the paternity test report, his expression was blank. Only he knew what he was truly thinking.

Georgia Thorne, who hadn’t spoken to him for three days, had finally said her first words to him this morning.

"Elliot Sheridan, if that child is yours, I think we should get a divorce. There’s no way I can accept this."

She had been very calm when she said it, devoid of any emotion. It was clearly the final conclusion she had reached after days of thought.

’What had he been thinking at that moment?’ He had been holding onto a sliver of hope that Quentin Chase’s child wasn’t his.

The results were in, and they were just as disappointing as he’d feared.

The first thing Quentin Chase did upon seeing the report was look at Elliot Sheridan beside her. His face was a mask.

Even after knowing Elliot Sheridan for so long, she couldn’t tell whether he was happy or not.

Sharon Ennis, on the other hand, was conflicted—both happy and worried.

It was wonderful that Elliot Sheridan had a child, but this child wasn’t Sharon and Georgia’s. What about Georgia?

That girl was stubborn. If she really insisted on divorcing Sharon, then...

Elliot Sheridan crumpled the report, slammed it on the table, and looked at Quentin Chase. "You, come outside. I need to speak with you alone."

Quentin Chase nodded and bent down to say a few words to her son.

Miles tugged on the hem of her shirt, not wanting to be separated from his mother.

They really did need to talk. Sharon Ennis said gently to Miles, "Miles, come to Grandma."

"Go to Grandma, she’s very nice," Quentin Chase added smoothly. "Mommy and Daddy are just going to step out to talk for a minute. We’ll be right back."

Miles hesitated before walking over to Sharon Ennis and taking her hand. "Grandma."

"Good boy, Miles!"

Meanwhile, Quentin Chase followed Elliot Sheridan out.

They didn’t go far, just to a quiet stretch of hallway. Leaning against a window, the cool wind blowing on his face helped to clear his head.

"Elliot Sheridan, do you..."

"Why did you give birth to him!"

Quentin Chase had begun to speak, her heart filled with joy, only to be doused by Elliot Sheridan’s words as if by a bucket of ice water, extinguishing her hope completely. "What do you mean?"

"This child should never have been born, should he?"

"...Don’t you like Miles?" Quentin Chase grew frantic, wringing the fabric of her clothes as she looked up at him. "Or is it because of your wife?"

"I told you, once you left, you shouldn’t have come back. Did you not understand me? Are you that confident in yourself, or are you that confident in me? Were you so certain that if you came back with a child, I would definitely marry you? Don’t forget, I am a married man now. Even if your son is mine, there is no way I will ever marry you!"

"N-No, that’s not it! I never intended to ruin your marriage, I..."

Elliot Sheridan had no desire to argue with a woman. He shot her a cold glance and turned to leave.