Chapter 14 Asking Me to Quit, I Can't Do It
After ending the call with Daniel, Amelia stepped out onto the balcony to get some air.
She looked down to see Frederick walking out of the yard. She watched him quietly as he got into his car and drove away. Then, she laughed mockingly.
She thought Frederick didn't want Amber to be alone in the hospital on Valentine's Day.
Sighing, Amelia felt a rush of sadness, her eyes stinging with tears.
She bit her lip, fighting back the sadness before turning back into the house and grabbing her phone to call Rachel.
"Rachel, did you find a divorce lawyer?"
Amber's voice was soft. Rachel couldn't detect her distress. However, tears filled Amelia's eyes, with some trickling down her cheeks.
After a few seconds of silence, Rachel said, "I'll have them contact you tomorrow."
Amelia acknowledged with a hum.
Rachel didn't say much else, simply advising Amber to get some rest early.
After hanging up the phone, Amelia felt increasingly heartbroken. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
She wished she could forget someone as easily as Rachel seemed to.
But she couldn't. The thought of Frederick spending Valentine's Day with Amber filled her with jealousy, and she even wanted to rush out and stop him.
Still, even when she tried hard to keep him, his affection was always lukewarm. His passion was not for her. This realization left Amelia feeling deeply disappointed.
The crisis at Davis Group was over, and with it, her marriage could finally end, too.
After tidying up the kitchen, Mary brought some fruit upstairs for Amelia.
Just as she reached the door, she heard sobbing coming from the master bedroom.
Mary's hand, poised to knock, froze. Peering through the gap in the door, she saw Amelia hunched over, quietly crying to herself.
Her shoulders shook as years of suppressed emotions were finally unleashed.
Mary had seen Felix arrive with flowers earlier and had thought that perhaps Frederick and Amelia had reconciled.
But no, their relationship was the same as ever.
With a sigh of resignation, Mary didn't enter the room to disturb Amelia and turned to leave instead.
After a good cry, Amelia lay down on her bed and, surprisingly, fell into a deep and restful sleep.
She slept soundly and woke up feeling refreshed. In the bathroom, she noticed her eyes slightly swollen.
With some cool water to soothe them and a careful application of makeup, she managed to hide the redness around her eyes.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, now looking fresh and composed, Amelia smiled. She dressed in a burgundy blouse paired with black slacks and headed downstairs.
Seeing Amelia descend the staircase, Mary quickly smiled and told her that breakfast was ready.
"Mrs. Hastings, breakfast is all set," she said cheerfully.
Amelia nodded and took a seat in the dining chair.
In her red blouse, she looked radiant.
"Mrs. Hastings, you look beautiful today."
Amelia smiled, "Thank you."
She spoke with a gentle smile, seemingly in good spirits.
If Mary hadn't seen Amelia hiding in her room crying the night before, she would have thought there were no problems between Amelia and Frederick.
The Hastings Manor's chauffeur had returned Amelia's car the previous night.
After breakfast, Amelia drove herself to the hospital.
Inside the hospital, Amelia stepped out of the elevator with a slight smile, greeting her colleagues as she walked by.
Everyone couldn't help but take an extra moment to look at her.
Amelia was stunning. Without makeup, she appeared gentle and intellectual. Now, with her delicate makeup on, she was positively glowing. Her beauty was striking, turning heads as she passed.
"Ms. Davis, why do you look so gorgeous today?"
"Are you in love?"
Amelia cracked a slight smile but didn’t reply.
Frederick stepped out of Amber’s hospital room and saw Amelia’s enchanting smile, which made him feel suddenly downcast.
His deep eyes fixed on Amelia, not bothering to hide his scrutiny.
Amelia’s colleague noticed Frederick staring and nudged her. She turned and saw Frederick standing at the door of Amber's room. He was still wearing the same clothes he had left in the day before. It was clear he had spent the entire night at the hospital with Amber.
She tried her best to seem untouched, mustering a faint smile. “How's Ms. Roberts doing?”
Frederick nodded. “She’s doing fine.”
Amelia nodded back. “Make sure you get some rest.”
Her voice was soft, and her tone neutral.
Frederick didn’t say anything more.
Amelia took her gaze off him and walked toward the storage lockers while chatting with her colleague.
The day before, some colleagues had heard rumors about Frederick and were eager to get confirmation from Amelia.
But Amelia had been busy with surgeries all day.
“Ms. Davis, I heard you’re actually Mrs. Brittany’ adopted granddaughter. How come you never mentioned that?”
The fact that Brittany was the owner of General Hospital was no secret in the workplace.
Amelia smiled warmly. “Did I never mention that? I must have forgotten.”
Amelia always focused on her work in the hospital. She was modest and had never made enemies, making her well-liked among her peers.
“I heard Mr. Hastings got married. Did you know about it all along?”
Amelia smiled softly and nodded. “Yes, I did.”
Her colleague, burning with curiosity, quickly said, “Mr. Hastings went through with it, but Mrs. Hastings doesn't seem to mind confronting the other woman in the hospital room. She’s very gracious.”
A flicker of discomfort crossed Amelia’s eyes. “Perhaps it’s because there’s no love lost between them.”
After saying this, she saw her colleague’s eager expression and hastily added, “I have to submit a surgery plan and do rounds soon. Let’s talk later.”
She hurriedly put on her lab coat and left the storage room.
As she approached the door to her office, she saw Frederick sitting in a chair inside, looking at her with a brooding expression.
“Are you seeing someone?” he asked.
Amelia remained silent.
She walked to her desk and sat down, facing Frederick. “Do you want me to be seeing someone?”
Frederick, with a stern face, said, “You better not!”
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Hastings, you seem to have a different set of rules for others than for yourself. Aren’t you involved with Ms. Roberts?”
Frederick frowned, casting a cold gaze upon her. "Amelia, there are some things men can do that women just can't," he declared.
Amelia's hand, reaching for a file in the drawer, paused momentarily. "Why is it that men can do them, but women can't?"
Frederick looked at her dispassionately and said, "Do you believe in gender equality? Amelia, I didn't expect you to be so naive."
She didn't know how to respond and fell silent.
Despite the constant advocacy for gender equality, it has not been realized. If a man cheated, most people would urge his wife to forgive him. But if a woman did the same, she would never be forgiven. Even her family would bear the brunt of the criticism. So, in this regard, Frederick was right. There were things men could do that women couldn't.
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