Chapter 8 My Dear Beloved Wife

• "The patient's head sustained an injury, but fortunately, it wasn't serious. Only three stitches were needed. Her arm will be fine after a few days of rest. As for everything else, she's all good."
• Meanwhile, Sophia held a tight grip on Benjamin's sleeve with tears streaming down her face like a never-ending waterfall. "Ben, I thought I would never see you again when the car hit me. I kept wondering what you would do if I were gone?" she said and threw herself into his arms, but Benjamin stopped her expressionlessly. "First, tell me what happened."
• Alas, Sophia bawled harder and gazed toward Jadyn, who had been spacing out all this while. "Jadyn, are you okay?"
• "Huh?" The young woman finally came around. Her eyes flickered as she gazed at the two while she shook the terrifying idea out of her head.
• "Ben, Sophia only insisted on the divorce to return to you. But her ex-husband refused to go through with it, and it was only after Sophia gave the man her dowry that he finally agreed. But who'd have thought the man was a gambling addict?! When he lost all his money, he started harassing Sophia. She refused to give him money as she didn't want to enable him, but who'd have thought the man turned out to be so perverse, stalking and threatening her like a hooligan?! Thank goodness Sophia is okay."
• Right then, Sophia wore a sorrowful face, looking absolutely pitiful, evoking even more sympathy in people.
• Benjamin frowned when he met her expectant gaze but ultimately only said, "Take good care of yourself. I will sort this out for you."
• With that, he turned to walk out. Sophia stopped him at once. "But you just got here. Why are you leaving already?" she asked with urgency.
• Jadyn nodded in agreement, echoing, "Yeah, Ben. You can't leave. Sophia just narrowly escaped death. She needs someone close by her side. What if her ex-husband comes back?!"
• However, Benjamin merely took a plain gander at her. "No one will come. Besides, you're here."
• "Me?! B-But…" Jadyn hadn't even finished her words when Benjamin had already left the ward.
• Meanwhile, Sophia froze in place, tears streaming down her face as she bawled with great sadness and pain, wailing, "How can he do this to me? Do I not mean anything to him anymore, Jadyn?"
• Jadyn became flustered when she saw Sophia crying so uncontrollably. "Please don't cry anymore, Sophia. Of course, you mean everything to Ben. Don't overthink things." She paused for a moment, her eyes flickering. "Why would he abandon Melanie and rush to you if he doesn't have feelings for you? It's obvious he's worried about you."
• Sophia paused at once. "He dumped Melanie for me?"
• Jadyn nodded aggressively as if to prove her point. "Yes! The few of us were together at the time, and Ben immediately abandoned her and rushed to you right after he heard you got into an accident. So how can Ben possibly still not have feelings for you? No one is more important to him than you."
• "Really? But why would he leave…" Sophia gazed at the entrance, unwilling to resign to fate, seemingly still wishing deep down that the person she yearned for would reappear the next second.
• "Well, you know what exactly my brother's like. He probably still harbors some resentment against you for leaving him back then. I'm sure you two will reconcile and be as good as before."
• Sophia nodded hesitantly, slowly drooped her eyelids, and bit her lower lip. I can't continue waiting passively for him to come back to me anymore. I will have to start making substantial moves, but why can't I shake off the feeling that something's missing between us this time?
• …
• As he gazed at the traffic light, which was flashing red, Benjamin pulled his phone out and called the Moore Manor's chauffeur.
• "Have you sent her back?"
• "Mrs. Melanie refused to let me send her home, Mr. Benjamin. She took a cab herself."
• When he heard that, he hung up the call at once and fished out Sophia's number. As he gazed at the saved contact name—My Dear Beloved Wife—he fell into a trance, recalling how the nickname came to be.
• That time, they had just shared an intimate moment. As she lay limply in his arms, waving her phone, she suddenly said, "I saved your number as 'My Dear Beloved Husband.' Let me see what nickname you've given me."
• With that, she grabbed his phone. When she discovered that he had simply saved her number as 'Melanie Davis', she pouted in displeasure and insisted on changing it to be the same, claiming that it was only fair.
• It didn't really matter since no one else could possibly have access to his phone apart from her.
• As the automated voice on the other end continuously reminded him that there was no answer, his thoughts returned to the present, and he pursed his lips, ended the call, and drove straight to her building.
• He looked up at the illuminated window for a moment before killing the engine and getting out of the vehicle.