A Night with Her Cruel Mate

Chapter 16 This Is A Family Matter

Nelson watched Julia walk away. It was a mere coincidence that this hospital belonged to the Xu family. He hadn't expected to see her in the hospital while he was on tour.

"Dr. Zhang." Nelson beckoned to a doctor. "Help me figure out what's wrong with Julia Gu and why she was here."

As soon as he skimmed Julia's report, Nelson realized it would not be as simple as she had made it seem. It seemed as if Terence had caused her great suffering.

Closing the file, he said, "I see. Thank you." Nelson handed the file back to Dr. Zhang and walked out.

On exiting the hospital, he took out his phone and dialed Terence's number. As soon as the latter picked up, Nelson asked, "Where are you?"

Terence had received a call from Jean and was on his way to pick her up when Nelson's call came in. "I have a personal matter to attend to. What's up?"

"I was at the hospital for an inspection today. Guess who I ran into?" Nelson asked.

When Terence did not respond, Nelson realized his friend was not in the mood to play games. "I met Julia," he stated.

Terence's body tensed up. He clenched his fists tightly and felt a flicker of annoyance at even discussing Julia.

Pretending to be nonchalant, he asked, "Why was she at the hospital? Shooting for a film, perhaps?"

On the other end of the phone, Nelson grinned. He knew Terence was anxious to know even though he was not letting it show.

"She was here to see a doctor," Nelson replied coolly.

"She was there to see a doctor?" Terence was having difficulty believing it. His heart was now throbbing very loudly. "What's wrong with her?"

He was afraid that Nelson might find out he was more worried than he was letting on. But, his slightly trembling voice had already betrayed him.

"I could tell that she has lost a lot of weight. She told me she had a cold. I wasn't convinced so I looked into her case and found it was serious. The doctor treating her explained her condition to me and I could not believe that we were talking about the same Julia. She has a poor stomach and does not eat properly.

Terence, do you remember that she used to call you every day and ask you if you'd come home for dinner? I heard that she waited for you every day. I don't think she used to eat without you. I guess she's had her stomach trouble since then."

Flashbacks of their early days of marriage flashed before Terence's eyes immediately.

Julia would call and ask him to join her for dinner. No matter what his response was, she would tell him that she would wait for him to return so that the two could eat together.

The maid had informed Terence that Julia would wait at the dinner table for a long time every single day. If he did not come, she would eat the cold food.

This went on for the entire three years of their marriage.

Terence had thought that Julia's show would come to an end soon. But, he hadn't expected that it would last until they got divorced.

A couple of mixed feelings surged through his mind.

"Hello? Terence? Are you still there?" Nelson asked when his friend did not say anything for several minutes. "Enough of this indifference. Stop lying to yourself. If you have feelings for Julia, you can win her back. It's not too late—"

"Nelson, don't you have anything useful to do today?" Terence questioned, cutting him off. "Do you need me to ask your dad to arrange a job for you? Then you won't have all this free time to give me lectures," Terence spat out.

Nelson was shocked. "What's wrong with you? I am saying this for you well-being. I do not want you to end up regretting this in the future!" he said, adamant. But Terence was not going to have it. "You don't have to worry about it. Just mind your own business," he snapped.

His mind was now blank as he continued driving. Terence arrived at his destination and there was Jean, waiting for him. He exited the car and held open the door for her.

Jean felt that he was a little preoccupied. He was visibly tense. She felt a little embarrassed. "Did I interrupt your work?" she asked gently. "I know you are busy, and I am sorry about stealing you from your work."

"You don't have to apologize," Terence smiled. He focused his eyes on the road thinking how different these two sisters were. They were complete opposites! Where Jean was kind and considerate, Julia was vicious and selfish.

"It's a pleasure to go shopping with you."

Jean's face turned red. "It's all my fault. Julia and I don't really get along now. She doesn't even answer whenever I call her. Besides, I don't have any other friends in H City. So, I had no choice but to bother you." novelbin

"Did she give you a hard time?" Terence asked.

"No, of course not." Jean brushed it off. But Terence wasn't convinced.

"If she does this again, you need to tell me," he said coldly, looking at Jean.

"Actually, she didn't give me a hard time." Jean smiled bitterly. "It's my mom. I went to see her yesterday and saw what a terrible life she is living. She is scrambling to make ends meet. I had no idea about any of this in the years that I was living abroad."

She looked sorrowful as she continued, "Mom is living in a home that is the size of a room. It is barely thirty to forty square meters. Even her clothes are in such dire condition. I'm sorry for laying this out in the open."

"Really?" Terence frowned. "I remember buying an apartment for her when Julia and I got married. How could she...?"

"I don't know either." Tears rolled down Jean's eyes.

"I had no idea of my mother's living conditions while I was abroad. But I wired Julia money every month and asked her to give it to Mom. I wanted her to live a comfortable life. But I don't know what went wrong. In my absence, Julia was her only family. I would not believe Mom was suffering so much if I hadn't seen it for myself yesterday."

Although Jean didn't say it, it was obvious what she was implying.

She had sent money to Julia for their mother, but the latter had kept it for herself.

Jean was trying to sling mud at her sister. And Terence didn't doubt it for a second.

Taking out a tissue from the box on the dashboard, he handed it to Jean. "Do not cry. If this is true, I will handle it," he promised.

"Terence, I can't trouble you with this matter," Jean said immediately. She was afraid that Terence would investigate it and find out the truth. "It's a family matter after all, and you and Julia are now divorced.

As for Mom, I'm back now. I'll take care of her."