Chapter 25 Old Love Can't Compete with New Affection

Elijah's laughter sounded cold. "I didn't even receive your invitation, how could I have the audacity to go?"

Even through the screen, Yvonne sensed his jealousy.

"If you want to come, just say so. Is beating around the bush necessary?" Yvonne retorted impatiently. "Mr. Harper, let me give you a piece of advice. The right amount of aloofness can enhance a person's image, but too much of it can backfire."

"Miss Brooks, let me give you a piece of advice too. The right amount of teasing can keep a man interested, but if you take it too far, it becomes pointless." Elijah's words pierced Yvonne's ears.

"Teasing?" Yvonne couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Elijah, I genuinely want to sleep with you. I've never hidden my desires from you, so I have no need for teasing."

Elijah fell silent.

"I'm having a meal, so if you have nothing important to say, I'll hang up." Yvonne's impatience was clearly evident.

"Yvonne," Elijah called out to her.

"If you have something to say..." Yvonne was interrupted by Elijah.

"After careful consideration, I've decided to continue this relationship," Elijah said.

"What relationship?" Yvonne had no idea what he was talking about.

"Of course, a romantic relationship." Elijah's voice lowered significantly, but it was filled with utmost seriousness. "I am an adult, and occasionally, I have physical needs. We can be together when we both want to, and if we don't want to meet, we won't disturb each other. Of course, I will provide you with financial compensation."

Yvonne nearly spat out the food she had just swallowed.

Elijah continued, "I am very busy with work. I don't want to waste any more time getting along with other women."

Yvonne was furious upon hearing this. "Mr. Harper, I may need money, but I haven't reached the point of selling my body. I can sleep with you and occasionally meet up, but only when I need a man. As for being your mistress, not now, not ever."

Elijah felt a bit embarrassed but persisted, "When I said those words to you, I had already lost my self-respect and manners. Yvonne, I don't want to return empty-handed."

Yvonne mockingly chuckled twice. "Considering your skills, being friends with benefits is barely acceptable, but being your lover is unnecessary."

With that, Yvonne angrily ended the call. She felt a bit overwhelmed. How could Elijah have the dirty thoughts of an ordinary man!

In the end, she had misjudged him and was deceived by Elijah's good looks.

Elijah remained stunned for a while before regaining his composure.

This woman went to great lengths to climb into his bed, resorting to many tricks. Just as he was about to define their clandestine relationship, she heartlessly rejected him.

Women who easily sleep with men, setting aside love, are usually fixated on money.

Yvonne had always been seen as that type of woman in his eyes.

However, their conversation just now made him even more uncertain about Yvonne.

He thought he could be the one controlling this relationship, but Yvonne didn't give him any chance.

Their unpleasant end to the phone call directly led to Elijah not going to Zero Club that night.

Philippe, Mason, and Louis all came. They enjoyed drinks and lively conversation.

Hannah was reserved, and they didn't dare to make excessive jokes with her. Although she said she would leave after an hour, Hannah endured until the end and left with Yvonne.

During this time, Philippe called Elijah several times, and Elijah always claimed to be working overtime.

Yvonne guessed that Elijah was angry but didn't pay much attention to it.

Everyone except Mason had drinks, and after the gathering, Philippe arranged a designated driver.

Hannah hitched a ride along the way, heading in the same direction as Philippe's place, and they got in a car together.

Mason went to another nightclub, and Yvonne rode in Louis's car.

There was still some distance to the Sunshine Community when Louis's phone rang.

Since he was driving, he put it on speakerphone.

"Joseph is having an attack again. Come to Bird Hills right away!" Elijah's urgent voice came through.

"Keep him in a semi-reclined position and do not give him any water! Spray one-third of the medicine into his mouth. If there's no improvement in five minutes, prepare a higher dose for oxygen inhalation!"

Louis had a serious expression. "I estimate we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"As soon as possible!" Then Elijah's line went busy.

Yvonne asked Louis in a low voice, "What's wrong with Joseph?"

"Asthma. Joseph was born with this illness and has been treated according to my plan for the past six years." Louis immediately changed direction.

It turned out that Louis was not only the head of internal medicine at a private hospital but also Elijah's family doctor. "Yvonne, I will drop you off at the intersection ahead, and you can take a ride back," he said.

"I feel so sorry for Joseph, I will go with you." Yvonne's heart tightened.

"Yes, poor kid. He never had a mother since he was young. When Elijah brought him back from Norway six years ago, he was as thin as a cat, struggling even to take a breath. Before he turned three, his asthma attacks occurred intermittently. Back then, I practically followed him around without a break the whole year," Louis explained.

Louis stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped up.

"Joseph has congenital asthma, and it's likely that the Harper family has a history of asthma." Yvonne, having some medical knowledge, thought that Elijah probably had the same condition.

Louis shook his head. "Five years ago, I did genetic testing for everyone in the Harper family, and the problem does not lie with them."

"Well, then it's simple. Joseph must have inherited it from his mother's side," Yvonne said.

"That's true. But Joseph's mother remains a mystery. Elijah has never mentioned her origin," Louis sighed. "In the year when Elijah was twenty-one, he went to Norway and brought back Joseph, who was born prematurely. Elijah had a profound first love, so Joseph must be the product of that."

Yvonne didn't know Elijah for long, but she knew that he would never let an unrelated woman bear his child.

It was simple - Joseph's birth mother could only be his first love.

"Her name is Emily Clark. Elijah and Emily were the couple everyone had high hopes for," Louis slowly continued, pondering. "Emily loved Elijah to the point of madness. If Joseph is her child, something must have happened between them that deeply affected their hearts for Emily to get married within a week of Joseph's birth. I just can't understand it."

So Elijah's first love was named Emily.

Yvonne had heard this name before; she was a ballet dancer, to be precise, a somewhat well-known one.

Yvonne felt inexplicably melancholic. "His first love got married. Has Elijah not been with another woman all these years?"

"Elijah is unwavering when it comes to his emotions. In my view, he probably still has feelings for Emily." Louis suddenly looked at Yvonne in the rearview mirror. "If you want to establish a relationship with him, you need to put more effort into capturing Elijah's heart."

"He's so aloof. He still keeps his first love in his heart and has a child," Yvonne scoffed, "I'm not interested in this kind of situation."

"I'll remember your words," Louis said with a hint of playfulness. "Never feel regret from now on."

The car drove into Bird Hills.

Yvonne followed Louis into a villa.

The spacious living room was incredibly quiet. Joseph had a pale face, lying semi-reclined on a large sofa with his eyes closed.

Two large medicine boxes were placed on the side coffee table.

When the housekeeper saw Louis, she exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Harrison is here!"

Elijah was helping Joseph with oxygen alongside a middle-aged woman with a worried expression.

"Let me take over," Louis rolled up his sleeves, hastily helping Joseph without washing his hands first.

Quickly, he took out a syringe and a bottle of transparent liquid from one of the medicine boxes and slowly injected it into Joseph's vein.

Yvonne glanced at the two large medicine boxes, neatly arranged with various medications and some small medical instruments.

"Oh God, please let the little kid wake up quickly!" The middle-aged woman taking care of Joseph clutched her chest, tears streaming ceaselessly.

"With Louis here, you can rest assured," Elijah comforted her. "Since your heart isn't doing well, go to the bedroom and rest. I'll inform you immediately if there's an improvement."

Supported by another housekeeper, the aunt slowly got up and curiously looked at Yvonne, asking, "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Mr. Harrison," Yvonne smiled. "Mr. Harper called and said that Joseph had a seizure when I happened to be in Mr. Harrison's car."

The aunt nodded with a smile and murmured as she left the living room, "Mr. Harrison is truly lucky."

It turned out that she was Joseph's "grandmother auntie," raising him since he was a child.

Although she was a "grandmother," her appearance and figure were well-maintained, and she looked kind. She appeared to be in her early forties.

Yvonne felt Elijah's gaze, but just as she turned around, Elijah's attention shifted back to Joseph.

To ensure unimpeded breathing, Louis had already used surgical scissors to cut open Joseph's shirt collar.

"Do we need to go to the hospital?" Elijah's face turned solemn, his heartstrings still tense.

Louis shook his head. "Joseph's seizure this time is related to the sudden drop in temperature. When the temperature drops, it triggers bronchospasm and asthma."

"The weather forecast mentioned the cold wave coming yesterday. It's my fault for being careless." Elijah looked at the frail Joseph with remorse in his eyes.

"Fortunately, the rescue was timely." Louis placed his palm on Joseph's chest. "Rest well at home for the next two weeks and don't go to school."

Elijah agreed, and Joseph suddenly spoke with difficulty, "Not going to school is okay, but I want to play with Aunt Yvonne..."

"He's awake!" Elijah and Louis laughed in unison.

They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"As long as you behave, take your medication, and cooperate with my treatment, you can see Aunt Yvonne every day from now on," Louis said.

Elijah looked back at Yvonne and said, "Come over here quickly. Joseph's first request after waking up is to see you."

At that moment, Yvonne's nose inexplicably felt a pang.

This child, whom she had only met twice, and who had brushed shoulders with death, spoke his first words with her in mind.

She walked over to Joseph's side and greeted him with a smile, "Joseph, I've been here for a while."

"Auntie..." Joseph's breath was unsteady, and his clear eyes were filled with excitement.

"Don't talk now. Once you feel a bit better, I'll play games with you." Yvonne reached out and touched his forehead.

Perhaps due to just waking up, his body temperature was slightly lower than usual.

Joseph nodded obediently.

Elijah gave up his seat for Yvonne, who comforted Joseph for over half an hour until he fell asleep.

Elijah thanked Louis for coming to take care of Joseph, to which Louis retorted, "Don't be polite with me!"

After checking her phone, Yvonne realized it was almost dawn. She bid farewell to Louis, saying she would take a ride back.

"That's alright. Tonight, I'll keep watch over Joseph, so I can't see you off." Louis felt somewhat guilty.

When Yvonne was about to leave, there was no interaction between her and Elijah.

As she was about to exit the residential area, she heard Elijah's footsteps from behind.

Yvonne turned around, and their gazes met amidst the night.

"I'll drive you." Elijah's voice sounded deep.