Winnie sadly smiled.
"I was too painful at that time. As a result, I went numb. There was no one who I could turn to. I even
couldn't find someone to help with my parents' funeral."
"In short, I was desperate. If possible, I wouldn't be a surrogate. Who would be willing to sell herself or
himself?"
Winnie was sad, but she was glad that she met Brian. And she was grateful to him for making her fall in
love with him. She had never regretted having fallen in love with him, and she had never regretted
having given birth to his children.
But she did not want to be with him anymore because she did not want to be hurt anymore.
Love was not necessarily to be shown nor to be put into action. It could also mean companionship or
attention from afar.
Winnie was willing to love him while keeping away from him. She was willing to love him silently,
instead of just trying to get him.
Love belonged to her, but the beloved did not. As long as her heart was filled with love, it did not matter
whether she could get the person.
"Do you regret having given birth to my children?"
Brian asked with sadness. If he had known at that time that he would fall in love with Winnie, he would
have solved all the problems for Winnie and would not have let her feel desperate and receive any
blow.
"No, my kids are great. But I regret having given Luke to you. If I hadn't given you Luke, I would not
have met you in my life again. And you won't know that you have those two kids in your whole life."
Winnie said frankly.
If she had hold on and did not give Luke to Brian, she might not have suffered so much.
"It's a good thing that you gave me Luke. If you conceal the fact that I have two children from me, it's
not fair to me."
"Let's not consider the deal and the money I paid. I'm the father of the children, and I have the right to
know that they're my children."
What Brian was most afraid of was that Winnie would regret her decision, no matter which decision she
regretted. He could not imagine how miserable it would be if he did not know he had two children.
"There are many unfair things. And we have to accept it."
Brian wanted to be treated in a fair way. Winnie also wanted to be fairly treated. However, she had
never been treated in a fair way.
When Wendy was her opponent, Brian chose to help Wendy; when Gloria was her opponent, Brian
chose Gloria. When Wendy, Gloria and she were in the same position, Felix cared only about Gloria
and Wendy. Who had ever treated her fairly?
If Winnie had been eager for fairness, she might have died while waiting long ago. And she might not
be able to be treated in a fair way before she died. She had to accept the fact and turn a blind eye to it.
After all, she had to live on.
Brian looked at Winnie's face with loving eyes. He wanted to know more about the past of Winnie and
how much she had suffered. But she refused to give him a chance, and she did not talk to him about
the past.
She just isolated herself and refused to tell him anything.
"Winwin, will you go to my mother's grave with me?"
The reason why Brian suddenly made this request was that he would like to talk about his relationship
with his father. But Winnie did not agree.
"It...It's not appropriate for me to go to her grave. You had better go there yourself."
After saying those words, Winnie stood up. She had neither a reason nor qualification to go to the
grave of Brian's mother. And she did not want to intervene in the family affairs of Brian anymore.
"Winwin, I'd like to try to improve the relationship between him and me. And I need your help. It's
appropriate for you to go to my mom's grave with me. I just..."
Being rejected, Brian was very sad. But he still wanted to have a try.
In the past, when Winnie tried every means to persuade him, he did not listen. Now, he really wanted to
change, but Winnie was no longer there to help.
He knew that it was his attitude that caused the change in Winnie's attitude. However, without Winnie's
help, it was difficult to improve the relationship between Rufus and him.
"Don't mention it anymore. I've tried many times. I'm pretty sure that I can't be of any help to you. And I
can't find any reason why I'm eligible to go to the grave of your mother with you."
Winnie interrupted Brian. After saying what she wanted to say, she went back to the ward.
She had tried to help him before. It was just that he did not care about it. From now on, she would care
only about her own affairs, and Brian should deal with his own affairs by himself.
The hospital in which Penny lived. Wendy secretly came to meet Penny again.
"Last time, Brian asked you to go out. What did you talk about?"
Penny wanted to know Brian's purpose, so she had been thinking about it.
"He warned me not to do anything bad. Besides, he said that Winnie was the only woman who he
would accept as his wife."
Wendy sighed. She did not tell Penny that Brian asked her to drop her.
"Brian must be out of his mind. Does Winnie have any advantage? If he married Winnie, he would
regret it one day."
Wendy couldn't help complaining. She was not sure what would happen in the future at all, but she was
unwilling to give up on Brian.
"Winnie must have used some tricks, and Brian's fooled by her."
"Don't think too much. Even if Winnie doesn't compete against you, there will be other women
competing for Brian with you. He is so brilliant and is a man of high station. Women will all fall in love
with him."
Penny was also unwilling to give up on Brian, but she knew that she had no chance.
If she would not be put in prison and if she was not going to die, she would surely try hard to get Brian.
Even if he did not love her, he must be her man instead of Winnie's man.
What a pity! She was unwilling to give up on him!
"I think so, so I don't take Winnie seriously. No matter Winnie will compete with me or not, I'll compete
for Brian."
It was not true that Wendy did not take Winnie seriously. As a matter of fact, she knew very well that
Winnie was her strongest opponent.
"When can you be discharged from the hospital? We should implement our plan as soon as possible
after you are discharged."
The reason why Wendy came here was that she would like to know when she could get her wish and
be with Brian again.
"Don't be anxious. Brian's father is sick and is in the hospital now. These days, it's impossible for us to
ask him out, no matter what tricks we use. Just wait. When there's a chance, I'll tell you."
Penny learned from Oscar that Brian's father was sick and that Brian and Winnie nearly came to the
hospital every day. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to find an opportunity. They
could do nothing but wait.
"Rufus is ill? What's the matter with him?"
Wendy asked with astonishment. Before Penny told her that, she really did not know it.
"I don't know. He has been here for several days."
Penny had asked Oscar about that, but Oscar didn't tell her. Penny did not know if he was really not
sure what the matter was with Rufus.
"Then, shall I go to visit him?"
Wendy had no idea what to do. She thought that it was a good chance for her to improve her
relationship with the people of the Bennet family, but she feared meeting the people of the Bennet
family. What she feared more was that she might be driven out by Brian.
"I don't know, either. Make the decision yourself."
Penny had once been in such a dilemma, too. So she couldn't give any advice to Wendy.
When she just got the news from Oscar, she thought about if she should go to visit Rufus and ease the
strained relationship between them. After thinking it over, she did not go. She was afraid that she would
be driven out. After all, she had abused Luke in the past.
Because of Rufus's illness, Wendy had to delay the plan. She was worried that Penny might not be
able to live to see the day when Rufus recovered.
However, she could do nothing with it. The only thing she could do was to pray that Penny would get
better and better day by day and that Rufus soon would recover.
After dinner, only Paul still stayed in the hospital. Other people all went home.
Rufus lied in the bed with a pale face. He had just received a minor operation, but he felt unwell.
"Where do you feel sick?"
Paul came close to the bed and asked Rufus who had been frowning.
"Everywhere. Even breathing hurts. Just now, the kids were here, so I didn't mention it. Alas, health's
the most important thing. Without health, it's meaningless to have a lot of money."
Rufus said. He was weak because he was ill and because of his worries about the test results. In short,
he was unable to settle down.
"It's the years of depression that make you sick. In my opinion, you should tell the kids the truth and
then solve the problem. Then, all of you will live a happy life in the future and you won't get sick
anymore."
Paul had worked for Rufus for decades. Seeing Rufus suffer, he was very sad.
He knew how depressed Rufus was over the years and that Rufus only got such a serious illness
because he was badly troubled by those things.
"It's too late. I might die soon, and it's meaningless to tell them the truth."
It seemed that Rufus had lost confidence in everything, and he was not confident that he could recover
from his illness at all. Now, for Rufus, whether to talk to his children about the past or not was not
important at all. What mattered was what to do with Isobel.
"Paul, according to Isobel, if I died, she would commit suicide. If I really die, you must take good care of
her. She has suffered too much in her whole life, and I can't let her kill herself."
Hoping that Isobel could live a happy life in the future, Rufus asked Paul to take care of Isobel.
"Don't think about it. And you won't need me to take care of Isobel. You'll be fine. It's unnecessary for
you to think about that."
Paul was sad to hear those words. He just tried to have a chat with Rufus, but Rufus talked as if he
were saying farewell and last words to him. At the same time, Paul found that Rufus was worried about
only Isobel.
"I hope I'll be fine, too. However, if anything goes wrong, I'll have no time to say those words to you."
Rufus kept sighing. He even found it tiring and difficult to sigh now. Even under such circumstances,
there was still something he must say.
"If I really die, tell Brian and Stella the truth. In that case, they won't have any reason to hate Isobel.
Then, they'll be able to live a happy life together."
"The video Brian’s mom shot is in my drawer. If I die, just show it to them."
After hearing those words, Paul wore a reluctant expression on his face.
"Why don't you tell them the truth now? You can live a happy life with them. I can't understand why we
can't tell them the truth while you're still alive."
Paul really could not understand why Rufus would refuse to get the happiness. It was so easy for him
to get it.
"As long as I'm alive, I would keep it a secret and solve the problems in other ways. Brian's mom is my
wife, and it's the only thing I can do for her. I'll try my best to maintain her dignity. This is what I, as her
husband, should do."
He did not love his wife. However, considering that she lived with him for so many years and that she
gave birth to his two children, he believed that he had an obligation to keep the truth a secret.
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