Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 1332 - 1327: A Pitiful Woman

In the VIP ward of the hospital, Hannah Hargrave was leaning against the bed, scrolling through news on her phone. When she saw Nicholas Croft walk in, the surprise on her face was impossible to hide."Nicholas, you..."

When she saw the woman walking in behind Nicholas, the rest of Hannah’s words stopped dead in her throat.

The surprise on her face vanished, replaced by obvious coldness and rejection.

"What are you doing here? You’re not welcome!"

Sophie Foster clicked over in high heels, taking her time to walk up to the bed. Her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and the tight little black dress she wore made her look even more aloof and untouchable.

She arched a brow with lazy mockery, the corner of her lips hooked up as she looked down at Hannah and said carelessly, "You can’t put it like that. Legally speaking, you’re my godmother. Since my godmother got bitten by a dog, as the Goddaughter, I’ve at least got to come over and offer my condolences."

Hannah Hargrave...

She glared at Sophie in fury, her chest rising and falling violently.

Back when Sophie was first brought into the Hargrave Family, she had never suffered this kind of humiliation. And now, a little girl whose hair hadn’t even fully grown in dared to mock her. She pressed her lips together, clearly disdaining to argue with this so-called "Goddaughter," then suddenly turned to Nicholas and questioned him angrily.

"Nicholas Croft, did you deliberately bring her to the hospital just to piss me off?"

"Hannah, didn’t Genny just say? Her godmother is sick and in the hospital, so as the Goddaughter she came to check on you. How could I possibly stop her?"

Nicholas also sauntered over unhurriedly, lifting his hand to rest it on Sophie’s shoulder, the two of them standing side by side.

Hannah pressed her lips into a thin line, her beautiful eyes narrowing as she looked at Nicholas. "Does it have to be like this?"

Nicholas instinctively raised a brow, only to hear Hannah say in heartbroken anguish, "Nicholas, I am your properly married wife. Is this how you treat me?"

Faced with Hannah’s accusation, Nicholas wasn’t moved in the slightest. The corner of his mouth curved up, his brows lifting as he shot back, "Properly married?"

Then, before Hannah could say anything, he suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Hannah Hargrave, you and I both know perfectly well what kind of tricks you used to get that so-called proper marriage. So don’t act out your tragic little drama in front of me. You’re tired of putting on the show, and I’m sick of watching it."

As soon as Nicholas finished, Sophie sighed dramatically and said with feeling, "Ugh, what a pathetic woman."

"Whether I’m pathetic or not is none of your damn business!" When she turned toward Sophie, the light in Hannah’s eyes sharpened again. "What the hell are you? You actually dare to yap in front of me! Genevieve Croft, don’t think that just because your name’s been added to the Croft Family household register you can do whatever you want. Today, I’ll make it clear to you: as long as I, Hannah Hargrave, am here, your status will forever be nothing more than a shameful little Goddaughter who can’t see the light of day!"

"Oh, godmom, what are you getting so worked up for? You’re still injured. You should focus on healing that wound first. If you tear it open again and it leaves a scar, goddad will like you even less."

Sophie deliberately pitched her voice soft to "comfort" her, then hooked an arm back around Nicholas’s waist and turned her gaze up to him. Nicholas obligingly turned toward her, meeting her eyes as he took a sip of soup.

"My status doesn’t matter. What matters is I can take your place and make goddad want me so bad he dies for it and still can’t get enough."

Sophie finished and even deliberately turned to ask Nicholas, "Isn’t that right, goddad?"

"Genny’s right." Nicholas’s gaze was gentle, and he even couldn’t help lowering his handsome face to peck a kiss on Sophie’s lips.

He’d only meant it as a light taste, but Sophie hooked an arm around his neck, and the two of them started making out right there in front of the hospital bed, in full view of Hannah.

Hannah bit down hard on her lower lip in rage...

"Bitch! Bastard! Get out of here, both of you!" Hannah grabbed the pillow behind her and hurled it at them, that final "get out" shrill with hysterical sharpness.

Sophie pulled back from Nicholas’s lips, her wrist still hooked around his neck. Her eyes lifted in lazy mockery as she turned to look over.

She pretended to be puzzled. "What? You can’t take it already? If I remember right, that day you saw me and goddad doing it live and in person."

Hannah Hargrave...

"Get out..."

Hannah’s hoarse scream split the air. Even after the two of them had stepped into the elevator, they could still faintly hear her going crazy and smashing things.

"Genny, you still not planning to talk to daddy?" As the elevator doors closed, Nicholas took the initiative to grab Sophie’s hand, asking ingratiatingly. She didn’t pull away, but her gaze remained coldly fixed straight ahead.

Hoo...

Nicholas let out a heavy sigh, tightening his fingers as they interlaced with Sophie’s. "Soon, I’ll have her reputation completely ruined."

Sophie suddenly turned to look at him, her icy face showing little emotion, just like the words that came out of her mouth. "You’re willing?"

Nicholas Croft...

"Genny, I’ve never liked her. What’s there to be unwilling about? You’re the only one who’s my lifeblood. I was forced to get that marriage certificate with her."

When he got to the emotional part, Nicholas turned to wrap Sophie in his arms. She still didn’t show much reaction, just snapped coldly, "Let go."

The elevator stopped on the ground floor. Sophie shook off Nicholas’s hand, slipping past the crowd blocking the elevator doors and walking out. Nicholas shook his head helplessly; there were quite a few people clustered at the entrance, making it hard for him to catch up to her.

It was the weekend, and there were a lot of family members visiting patients. In the middle of the hospital’s main entrance, a little girl was running and playing as she followed the revolving glass door, her short arms and legs wobbling a bit as she ran.

Inside the lobby, two older women were chatting animatedly.

From the moment Sophie stepped out of the elevator, her gaze was glued to that little girl. If her own baby were still alive... would she also be laughing and playing so freely, just like this girl...

Her steps unconsciously slowed, and a layer of sorrow crept over Sophie’s cold face.

Inside the revolving glass door, the little girl’s legs suddenly buckled and she plopped down on the floor. The glass panels kept turning on momentum. Sophie let out a startled cry, swinging the handbag in her hand as she sprinted over like crazy.

"Baby! Baby, don’t be scared, mommy’s here..."

The two women who had been chatting turned curiously at the sound. When they saw their own little granddaughter trapped in the glass door, one of them went pale with fright and ran over.

The girl’s wrist was caught in the gap of the glass door, and she was screaming her lungs out. Sophie was kneeling outside the revolving door, both hands cupping the little girl’s trapped arm from the outside as she cried along with her. "Baby, don’t cry, baby... mommy’s right here... the police uncles will be here any minute to rescue you..."

"Get out of the way!"

A powerful shove hit Sophie on the shoulder, knocking her to the side. The old woman dropped into a squat where Sophie had just been kneeling, frantically asking, "Jia Bao, Jia Bao, where are you hurt? Tell Grandmother..."