Chapter 11 Eager for Divorce

The frustrated tone on the other end frustrated Marjorie. Who was the one who was late in the first place? "You're actually blaming me right now? Who was the one who was late?" "If you weren't late, then where are you?" The voice on the other end remained indifferent. "I'm at the hospital," Marjorie said calmly. "What happened to you?" "I'm fine. Vicky is hospitalized." "Marjorie, do you think I'm a fool? Hospitalization? Is my mother some kind of savior you brought in? Did she conveniently fall ill right when we were getting divorced?" In the two years of their marriage, Marjorie had definitely used Vicky to get closer to him, but she had not expected him to think this way. She suppressed her anger and said, "If you don't believe me, come over and see for yourself. I could lie to you, but the doctors in the hospital won't." The man on the phone fell silent. "Which hospital is it? I'll come right away." "St. Mary's Hospital, 3rd floor, room 501. Please come as soon as possible; the doctor said Mommy needs surgery." Earlier, when she entered the ward, she had checked with the doctor. She hung up and went to a nearby convenience store to buy a variety of bread. When she returned to the ward, Stephen was already there, talking to her by the hospital bed. "My darling, you're back. Did you bring me something delicious?" "I brought some bread, but you might not like it that much. There are some restaurants outside that you might like, but they are too far away, so I only managed to get some bread from the convenience store near the entrance. Have some if you can." Marjorie handed the bread to Vicky. Sure enough, Vicky's eyebrows furrowed when she saw it. After a few bites with a bitter face, she put it down. "I'll have Fiona make you something delicious for lunch." Fiona was Vicky's personal maid, someone she had trained herself. When Vicky retired, she rekindled her passion for cooking. She prepared her own sumptuous dinners every day and returned to the old way of life. At that time, Marjorie and her son were getting married, and Marjorie preferred fast food over cooking. So, Vicky sent her maid to the young couple's villa, ostensibly to help with cooking. However, with the underlying intention of looking after them and, hopefully, giving her some chubby grandchildren to play with. "Stephen, you should go back. Marjorie will take care of me here, and besides, you're not very good at taking care of people. You'll just annoy me." Stephen was somewhat speechless. Was she really his mother? If he did not know better, he would have thought Marjorie was her daughter and he was her son-in-law. This was absurd. "Alright, Mom. I'm going back to work. Take care of yourself, and I'll come to see you tonight." He said goodbye to Marjorie, got up, and left. Marjorie caught up with him. "We'll go and process the divorce paperwork later. It won't take much of your time. The officials there are very efficient." Marjorie's gaze fell on the ambiguous red mark on his neck. It was still visible even from the night before. Did he intend to keep it there forever? "Why are you in such a hurry? My mom is sick, and I'm not in the mood. We can discuss it another day." Ever since Marjorie had brought up the topic of divorce, he had been irritable every time he heard those words. That morning, he had not even gone to the divorce registry office. He had sent his assistant to check if Marjorie was there. Surprisingly, the two of them narrowly missed each other. When his assistant arrived, Marjorie had already left, and the two did not cross paths. The assistant waited for a long time before reporting to Stephen that Marjorie was not there. It actually made Stephen especially happy. Sure enough, she did not want a divorce. "Am I the one in a hurry? Look in the mirror. Who is in a hurry? You should check yourself in the mirror!" Stephen was taken aback by her ambiguous tone. He took out his phone and saw the red mark on his neck. It was actually a mosquito bite, and he kept on scratching it because it itched. She misunderstood. 'Is she jealous?' Stephen thought to himself. It seemed likely; otherwise, why would she be so concerned about a minor mark from a simple kiss? She noticed that mark on him that he never even realized was there. Maybe she still loved him. With these thoughts in mind, Stephen left with a smile. Marjorie could not understand the reason for his change in mood. Could it be that he was trying to show off? Surely not. It was just a kiss. Marjorie felt exasperated, watching Stephen disappear down the hallway. She leaned against the wall for a while, then turned back and returned to the hospital room. Upon entering, she saw Vicky touching up her makeup. "Mommy, you're a patient now. Why are you putting on makeup?" "Marjorie, a woman should never give up on herself at any time. What you see is just makeup, but it's actually my attitude toward life. I think you should understand. I enjoy life more than anything else, and makeup is a part of my life." As she spoke, she continued applying makeup. When she finished, a nurse entered the room. "Mrs. Vicky, I'm here to administer your medication." "There's no need to. I'm feeling better. Please help me remove the IV." Vicky was just pretending to be sick. If Marjorie found out, she would be upset. "Is that really a good idea, Mommy? You need to stay in the hospital for observation today, or you might get sicker." Marjorie looked at Vicky with a difficult expression. She wished she had left Stephen to take care of his mother. "Marjorie dear, I was just pretending. I know about your plans to divorce, so I wanted to keep you here." Vicky lowered her head. She realized that her actions were interfering with Marjorie's freedom. If Marjorie were going to fault her for that, their friendship would be lost. Marjorie did not know whether to laugh or cry but did not have the heart to see Vicky in distress. "Mom, you really scared me. Please don't do this again in the future." Finally, Marjorie gave in, and Vicky was 'discharged'. Since Vicky wanted to continue the act, she remained in the hospital. After visiting her, Marjorie received a call from the company. "Ms. Bluebell, we need you to dub a new film this afternoon. Do you have time to come over?" Marjorie had a flexible work schedule with the film company, so she did not have to work on-site regularly. She would go whenever they needed her. "Sure, I'll come over in the afternoon." In the afternoon, at the recording studio, Mr. Bohr was captivated by Marjorie's voice, which was sometimes sweet and sometimes wild. Choosing her had been the best decision. Caine was also present. "Marjorie, I think this part needs to be a bit more intense." "Mr. Caine, when did you arrive? Please have a seat." Cainewas a veteran in the industry, both in terms of experience and ability. He was a big shot here. "It's alright; you can sit. This is your home ground. I just came to see my student."