My Alleged Husband

Chapter 549 - 528: Lend a Helping Hand (Part 1)_1

"How can you use your father’s health as a bargaining chip just to have me come back to your side? Do you realize that by doing this you really make me despise you? Your dad should be living happily, yet what about you? How can you curse him like this, when he is your own flesh and blood? He owes you nothing; on the contrary, he’s given you so much that others couldn’t give to their sons. He wanted to give you everything he cared about, yet what about you? Once, you heartlessly abandoned him. I also have my faults, because it was my selfishness that led us to make this choice. But now that so much time has passed, how can you bear to say these things? Do you realize how devastating such words can be to a father?"

Xia Jing would no matter what not believe that Old Master Zhang, who she had just been on the phone with, could actually end up in the hospital this time.

Rather than saying Xia Ji could not believe her ex-husband’s words, it’s more that she felt this was an entirely impossible situation, sheer nonsense. How could that once lively and cheerful person now resign himself to a lengthy hospital stay? Even if it might be true, she was unwilling to shamelessly accompany her ex-husband back to the hospital ward. This was a dilemma for Xia Ji. All she wanted now was to live freely, without any more entanglement with her past life. However, now, because of Elder Zhang’s illness, if she were to go back to the hospital ward with Zhentian, it would signify that there was still an unbreakable connection between them—Old Master Zhang. How could she allow such a thing to happen?

Zhentian heard from Xia Jing’s words that she didn’t believe him, yet at that moment, he was truly on the verge of collapse. The father of his child was seriously ill, yet his ex-wife still refused to accompany him to the hospital. If the day were to come when his father was the one in view, would his wife also be unwilling to step through the doors of the Zhang family home to pay her respects?

"Xia Jing, do you have any conscience left? How well my father treated you, do you not remember? How could you be so thankless and forget all the kindness my father has shown you? How can you do this—right now he’s lying alone, gravely ill in the hospital, hoping that we, as his juniors, would at least come see him. But you rejected him without a moment’s hesitation. Don’t you realize that by doing this, you’re basically bullying my father? I know that I was the one who was wrong to you, and it had nothing to do with my father, but you should understand he truly saw you as his daughter-in-law. How desperately he wished for us to be by his side,"

Does your action justify my father’s expectations of you? He valued you so much that he even placed you above me, his own son. In my father’s heart, you, the daughter-in-law, may be even more important than I am, his son. He could forgive you unconditionally, yet he hasn’t been so generous with me.

Perhaps you think I’m joking about my father’s safety, but even if I am unwilling to return to his side, I would never treat my father’s safety as a joke. My father holds you in high regard, and I don’t understand what he means to you in your heart. But I also hope you can appreciate my earnest efforts; I am doing this for my father’s sake. I am not the kind of person who will stop at nothing for his own benefit. Even if I once used unscrupulous means to achieve my goals, I wouldn’t do so now. This is my biological father we’re talking about, and now it’s my own son who has brought me this news. Even if I don’t believe it, I must accept the reality because surely my son wouldn’t deceive his own father about his grandfather’s safety, would he?"

When I first heard this news, I too seriously doubted its truthfulness. Although I’ve had many unhappy moments with my father, at the end of the day, he’s still my biological father. How could I not love him, even if he is reluctant to have me return? But I still treat him as my father. This time, he wanted me to come back, but it was only because of my pride. I didn’t want to swallow my pride and take the ladder he offered to climb back down. I didn’t want to return to his side to stay with him forever, making me feel like my self-respect had been trampled. So, I refused. I didn’t expect my refusal would lead to such a significant turn of events. I never thought that because of my refusal, my father would be diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. When my son told me that, I was completely stunned. I have always been unable to accept it as reality, but I had to admit it is the truth. What could I say with the facts right there in front of me? Could I go abroad and bring back a specialist to confirm whether my father truly has the terminal illness they claim? I couldn’t do that, as it would only add pressure to my father’s heart. My actions would only make him feel that his son didn’t believe he was really sick. He would think that his son suspected him of using illness as an excuse to bring me back to his side. Don’t you know that to my father, it isn’t just an insult but an affront to his self-respect? For a man as proud as him, how could he possibly endure such an assault to his dignity—pain that’s worse than losing his life? He has never suffered so much before, yet here I am, his son, subjecting my own father to all this torment. How can I continue to let him suffer like this? Don’t I owe it to my biological father to make a sacrifice? Is it wrong for me to return to his side, to accompany him, because of my biological father? I hate my pride. I despise that part of me that always struggles against returning to my father’s side, trying to prove to myself that I’m right and strong. I hate how that side of me has become too terrible, hurting the people who love me the most!"

Having heard Zhentian’s words, Xia Jing was momentarily at a loss for words. Could this all be true? Yes, even though everyone might not understand when this day comes, she nevertheless knew him well. Whatever the situation, he would absolutely not casually use his own father as a pawn. It must be true then!