Chapter 176

Before she could finish her sentence, Elisa started coughing violently.

Christina gently patted her back, trying to soothe her, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

It took a while before Elisa could breathe easily again. She exhaled heavily, "Christina, the hardest part for me is leaving you. I haven't even seen your baby yet, haven't held them in my arms."

A tear slipped from the corner of Elisa's eye as she spoke.

"Mom, don't talk like that. You're gonna get better. My baby needs their grandma, and you better be around when that time comes," Christina tried to sound cheerful, but the sadness and pain in her voice were unmistakable.

Elisa's face was pale, but a rare blush appeared as she smiled, "Christina, if you ever find yourself alone, don't try to handle everything by yourself. Take good care of yourself."

As they were chatting, Raymond walked in with a thermos, "Hey, you're here."

He sat on the other side of the bed, opening the thermos with practiced ease. Inside was some sweet millet porridge. "Have a little something to eat."

Christina noticed the gray hairs at Raymond's temples and how his posture had lost its former strength, replaced by a weariness.

"Thanks, Raymond."

Elisa naturally took the porridge he handed her, but her arms were too weak now.

Raymond seemed to notice her struggle and began feeding her spoonful by spoonful, "Is it sweet? I added a few extra spoons of sugar this time."

"Sweet," Elisa replied honestly.

It wasn't just the porridge that was sweet; her heart felt sweet too.

The peaceful atmosphere was abruptly shattered by an uninvited guest. Grace Cavendish, in high heels, burst into the room, "Dad, why are you here again? Didn't I tell you to hire a nurse to take care of her?"

It was Raymond's daughter, Grace, who had been living abroad for years and had only recently returned.

Christina sensed Elisa's tension and spoke coldly, "You're not welcome here. Please leave."

"And who do you think you are?" Grace retorted, her eyes sweeping over Christina with disdain. "You and your mother are just the same, only good for-"

Before she could finish her insult, Raymond cut her off, "Enough! This is not the place for your nonsense."

William stepped protectively in front of Christina, "Grace, apologize!"

Grace refused, "Uncle, you've lost your mind, letting a woman like Christina deceive you!"

Raymond, fearing the situation would escalate, quickly pulled Grace aside.

Christina, not wanting the conflict to disturb Elisa's rest, said, "I want to go home. Mom, I'll come see you another day."

"Okay."

"Let's go home," William immediately put his arm around Christina's shoulders.

Whatever Christina wanted, William was ready to do it.

Soon, William brought Christina back home.

The warm yellow light in the house couldn't chase away the chill surrounding Christina.

She walked straight to the couch, sat down, and closed her eyes, exhaustion written all over her face.

William quietly approached her, crouching down, and asked gently, "Christina, are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

Christina slowly opened her eyes, her gaze cold and distant. "No, I'm just tired. I need to rest."

William looked at her with deep concern but didn't press further. He nodded silently. "Let me help you to your room."

Christina avoided his outstretched hand, standing up on her own and heading to the bedroom.

William watched her retreating figure, his heart aching.

He paced the living room for a long time before quietly returning to his study to handle some work, though his thoughts remained with Christina.

Sometime later, the quiet night was broken by the sound of retching.

William jumped up from his chair and rushed to the bedroom.

He opened the door to find the room dark, but in the faint moonlight, he saw Christina bent over the bed, her body shaking from severe morning sickness.

William's heart clenched. He quickly turned on the light and hurried to her side, gently rubbing her back.

"Christina, are you okay? Is it really bad?"

Christina weakly waved him away, but the turmoil in her stomach left her too weak to speak, only able to continue dry heaving.

Ignoring her attempts to push him away, William went to the bathroom, fetched a warm towel, and gently wiped her face. He then brought a glass of warm water, carefully holding it to her lips. "Christina, rinse your mouth."

Christina turned her head, unwilling to accept his help, but her discomfort left her with no strength to resist.

William waited patiently, his eyes filled with worry.

Once Christina seemed a bit better, William helped her lie back down and tucked her in.

After making sure she was comfortable, William whispered, "Christina, get some rest. I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

Christina didn't respond. William took one last look at her before quietly closing the bedroom door.

Just as he reached the living room, the doorbell rang, breaking the silence.

William tensed up, glancing towards the bedroom, worried the noise might wake Christina. He quickly but quietly went to open the door.

It was his friend, Terry Perez. William immediately put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, and gently pulled Terry into the living room.

Terry looked puzzled but didn't speak. William quickly explained in a low voice, "Christina is resting. Don't wake her. She's had a rough day and just fell asleep."

Terry nodded in understanding.

William gestured for Terry to sit on the soft couch and then hurried to the kitchen.

He soon returned with a steaming cup of coffee, placing it gently on the table in front of Terry. "You came over so late. Is there an update on the project? Thanks for coming all this way."

Terry took a sip of the coffee, frowning slightly as he gathered his thoughts. After setting the cup down, he said, "Yeah, there are some new terms from the partners that we need to discuss. The project's on a tight schedule, so I thought it best to come over directly."

William nodded, but his eyes kept drifting towards the bedroom.

He refocused on Terry. "Alright, let's go over it quickly. I'm still worried about Christina."