CEO's Passion: Love by Mistake

Hearing that, Joyce halted in her tracks and spun around to gaze at him earnestly. “Is there really a first-aid kit here?”

“It should be in the bedside cabinet. You can try finding it yourself,” Stanley replied impassively.

Jonathan glared at him, his eyes turning an intense shade of red. “Stop lying to her,” he said through gritted teeth. “Do you really think we're going to believe you? If not because you're lying in bed, I'd have killed you on the spot when you asked Joyce to abort her baby. How could you be so heartless? I know you don't love Joyce, and I'm not forcing you to accept her or her child. We don't expect you to provide any child support. You can even ignore the child if you want to. The child won't affect your life in any way, so why can't you let the child survive? Are you really that cruel?”

Stanley lowered his gaze and said nothing else.

Cruel? If I was indeed cruel, the Riverses would've died a long time ago, and Joyce's baby wouldn't have existed until today.

Back in J City, Stanley had brought Joyce to a medical facility to have an abortion procedure performed. Unfortunately, the surgery did not take place, and Stanley did not push the issue.

If I was cruel, no matter what Joyce did, I'd never have let the child survive. Joyce fears that I will alert the authorities and have her father detained, but that is a thought that has never even crossed my mind. It did not even occur to me to ask her to get an abortion in exchange for her father's safety. I might've asked her to do that, but it isn't what I really wanted.

Stanley might have uttered that demand in his frustrated state, but it was certainly not his true intention. He was simply livid that she was prepared to go to such lengths to protect her father. The request was not intended to be taken seriously, as he was merely venting his anger.

Jonathan was initially filled with a blinding rage, but he quickly calmed down upon seeing Stanley staying quiet with his head hung low.

He was like a bomb, ready to detonate at any moment, but was suddenly drenched with water, rendering it inert and unable to explode.

Jonathan was consumed with rage, yet he felt powerless to express it. The emotions built up inside of him, creating an unbearable pressure in his chest.

Right then, Joyce discovered a first-aid kit in the bedside cabinet.

She raised her head to gaze at him in surprise. “You're right. It's here!”

Joyce's beaming smile and radiant eyes had a mesmerizing effect on Stanley, who found himself in an enchanted trance.

Is her smile this pretty?

Suddenly, Stanley realized that it had been a long time since he had seen Joyce smiled this radiantly.

Her smiles had always been a complex mixture of conflicting emotions—bitterness, excitement, eagerness, hopelessness, and disappointment.