Chapter 788: An Unqualified Mother
The horrific bloodshed left Max’s face ashen with fear. He ran to Hannah, pleading, “Madam, stop, stop!” But Hannah, consumed by a reckless impulse to destroy Oscar, remained deaf to his pleas.
Max, desperate, ordered the bodyguards to pry Hannah's jaw from Oscar's tongue. Separated, both looked dreadful. Oscar's lips were scarlet, his face ghastly pale. His eyes, fixed on Hannah’s cruelly impassive gaze, held a silent plea. His severely injured tongue likely prevented speech; he could only watch her, his red-rimmed eyes following her as she vented her fury.
Max summoned the doctor. The doctor attempted to examine Oscar's wound, but Oscar refused, clenching his blood-filled mouth shut.
“Chief Commander,” the doctor begged respectfully, “please open your mouth so I can examine your wound.”
Oscar remained silent, his gaze locked on Hannah. He longed to ask if she felt better, if she would join him for a meal, but the fear of fresh bleeding kept his mouth clamped shut. He couldn't bear to display his ravaged state before her.
“Commander…” the doctor, lacking the courage to challenge the man, could only offer a helpless plea. Hannah remained silent, the taste of blood overriding the memory of her gruel.
Max, exasperated, rushed out to call Theodore; he couldn’t rely on Hannah for help. Upon hearing the news, Theodore ended the call with a curse and raced to the hospital, leaving his infant son unattended. He agonized over the troubled couple during the frantic drive.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived to find the couple locked in their stalemate, the doctor standing beside them, despair etched on his face. Max, frantic, explained to Theodore, "Master Oscar refuses to open his mouth for the doctor."
Theodore nodded to Max, then approached Oscar. "Oscar, listen to the doctor. Let me speak with Hannah."
Oscar remained impassive, his mouth firmly shut. He knew Hannah's resolve; once determined, she was unwavering.
Theodore’s patience snapped. "Do you want to die here, after all you've endured?"
Still, Oscar didn't respond. Theodore, exasperated, cursed, "Damn it!"
Force, he realized, was the only recourse. He delivered a swift, unexpected blow to Oscar's back—a move only he would dare to make. The surprise attack stunned Oscar, causing him to collapse. The doctor quickly intervened, preventing suffocation by clearing Oscar's airway.
As Oscar's mouth opened, a torrent of blood spurted onto the floor, staining it crimson. Theodore, cursing his frustration, hoisted his friend onto his back and, following the doctor's instructions, carried him from the ward. Before leaving, he glanced back at Hannah, her face unreadable, unaffected by the bloody scene, even Oscar's near-death experience.
The room fell silent after Oscar's departure. Hannah leaned back against the headboard, her gaze distant and vacant.
Max remained with her, fulfilling his master's orders to ensure her safety, regardless of the circumstances. He offered her a glass of warm water, suggesting, "Madam, for rinsing your mouth."
Hannah, roused from her reverie, asked, "Max, are you upset with me?"
He should have hated her for her treatment of his master. Instead, he replied, "I understand your suffering."
A faint, joyless smile touched her lips. "Thank you," she murmured.
"But I must beg you," Max pleaded, "to cease your torment. He acted as he must."
"I understand his sacrifice. I know what the Wells' power means. After Cian died, he became the last heir, burdened with the family's responsibility. But if he chose this power, why couldn't he simply let me go? We could have separated peacefully. I would have prayed for him. But this undignified existence is unbearable." Hannah’s voice was quiet. "Why couldn't we have parted decently?"
Max, too, struggled to comprehend his master’s actions. Oscar had insisted Hannah leave, yet kept her captive. Her unwilling presence benefited neither of them, and Max foresaw a grim future, filled with inevitable tragedies.
"Max, get me out of here," Hannah said softly, a heartfelt plea rather than a request. She didn't expect his help. She simply voiced her longing for freedom, her every moment poisoned by this forced, agonizing union with Oscar.
"Ma'am, just rinse," Max changed the subject.
Hannah took the water; the metallic taste sickened her. As she rinsed, Max placed a basin before her. The warm water triggered fresh stomach cramps, resulting in vomiting.
She instinctively clutched her abdomen as uterine contractions began.
Terrified, Max ran for the doctor. The mutual torment of Oscar and Hannah was a torment of incomprehensible proportions.
The doctor returned, bringing a sedative for Hannah. It was a worrying sign, as any hormone was potentially harmful to the baby. Hannah was tormented by the fact that she felt utterly inadequate as a mother.