Chapter 353 I Don''t Need Your Being Kind
Jacob didn''t have the heart to refuse Beryl''s face glowing with such eagerness. How could he turn
down such an adorable face? He almost agreed to take her away, but in the end, good sense
prevailed, and he stopped himself from giving in.
"No, I can''t," said Jacob, as he shook his head with disappointment.
Beryl''s lower lip protruded in a sulky pout. As she stood there, hands crossed, feeling discontented.
Knowing that she was not in good health, Jacob couldn''t take the chance of taking her out and risking
her life. "Would you like me to take you out to eat next time?" he asked.
"No, I want to eat right now," she demanded. Beryl had a feeling Jacob would satisfy her wishes just as
long as she pressured him.
Jacob had to coax her, "Honey, don''t be like that."
Beryl rolled her eyes at him and looked the other way. Suddenly, she frowned with a melodramatic
flourish and said, "My stomach hurts, my head hurts. It hurts everywhere. I''ll feel better if I can eat
another strawberry cake..."
Jacob was at a loss. He didn''t know whether tough or cry at her actions. "Don''t be naughty," he said.
"It really hurts..." Beryl''s little face reddened, and she looked up at Jacob piteously.
Although Jacob knew that she was just pretending, he couldn''t help worrying about her. He walked
over and picked her up in his arms. "What''s wrong? How bad does it hurt?" asked Jacob.
Soon after, the voice of an anxious woman graced them from behind. "Beryl!"
Jacob turned around curiously and saw Emily rushing over towards them. She quickly walked up to
Jacob and took Beryl from his arms. Her face was riddled with worry.
"Honey, what''s wrong? Are you feeling sick?" coddled Emily.
"Mommy..." Beryl, however, was not expecting to see her mother anytime soon, so she didn''t know
what to say. But there was a clear sign of guilt on her face.
Emily, who had been worrying about Beryl, disregarded everything else and said, "I will take you to
hospital."
"Miss Lu." Jacob reached out to take the child from Emily''s arms, but she pushed his hand away
quicker than he could realize. Feeling daunted, she screamed at him, "Don''t touch her! She was just at
home, safe and sound, where she should be. Why did you bring her out?"
Jacob apologized, "I had no bad intentions, and she was just fine a while ago."
"Yes, you don''t have bad intentions, but you do not care about her." Emily did not know what was going
on with Beryl, nor did she have the patience to continue talking with Jacob. Herck of trust in Jacob,
forced a ferocious storm out of her. "She is not your daughter anyway!"
"Emily!" Jacob yelled sternly. He had never taken that tone with Emily. But considering the
circumstances, he lowered his voice and said, "If she''s not my daughter, then whose daughter is she?
Don''t ever speak such words again."
"Stop arguing!" Beryl cried out. When Beryl saw them quarreling, she realized that things had gone
pear-shaped. She quickly exined, "Mommy, I am fine. This handsome uncle has been very kind to
me. I came out with him because I wanted to..."
"What do you know? You''re just a kid!" Emily eximed. With a straight-face, Emily said to Jacob,
"Excuse me." She picked up Beryl in her arms and walked out of the shop without looking back at him.
"I''ve told you not to talk to strangers! Have you ever thought about what would happen if you came
across bad people? Beryl, you need to be more responsible. You can''t just go around asking for people
to take you out to y. Have you ever thought of your own safety?"
Emily was distraught. All she wanted was for Beryl to be more cautious and responsible. If today it
wasn''t Jacob, it could have been anyone else with ill intention. What would she do then?
Little Beryl couldn''t hold it in anymore. The grievances came out like an uproar from her throat in the
form of a scream. She sobbed into her mother''s chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket.
Jacob followed them from behind. Hearing what Emily had said, shivers ran down his body. At the
same time, a sense of bitterness and anger arose in his heart, but he didn''t speak a word of it.
N?velDrama.Org content rights.
Stranger? Did Emily just call him a stranger?
When Emily''s motherly instincts kicked in, she stopped caring about what Jacob thought. The only
person she cared about was Beryl. Seeing Beryl''s tear-soaked face, Emily was ovee by a wave of
emotions. "Don''t cry. Mommy will take you to the hospital and soon you''ll start to feel better..." she
comforted.
Jacob was also worried about Beryl. She was fine just a while ago, but then what happened?
"I will take you there," he strode past Emily and stood in front of her.
Tears kept falling down Beryl''s face one drop after another, without a sign of stopping. Her muffled sobs
wracked against Emily''s chest. "No, thanks. We will manage on our own," she said.
Emily''s words drove a knife through Jacob''s heart. He breathed deeply and steadily, as he told himself
that Emily was behaving like that because she was concerned about her daughter''s safety. "Can you
still drive in your present state? Don''t put yours and your daughter''s life in danger!"
Emily bit her lip, and reluctantly took Jacob''s advice. After some consideration, she got into Jacob''s car
with Beryl.
Jacob drove steadily. From time to time he would nce at the mother and daughter sitting next to him.
He felt the weight of the world pressing down on his heart, and he finally realized what Beryl meant to
Emily.
No wonder Jack did what he did to please Beryl.
Hesitantly, he mentioned, "I don''t think Beryl is feeling ill today. She was just being dramatic because
she wanted to have some strawberry cakes..."
Beryl, who was nestled deep in Emily''s loving arms, nodded her head. But Emily cut him off, "That''s
easy for you to say. She''s not your daughter, so you cannot understand what I am feeling. If something
happens to Beryl today, I will never forgive you!"
Jacob went silent. He gripped the steering wheel firmly and kept his mouth shut, as he drove the car all
the way to the nearest hospital at full speed.
When Emily got off the car, she hurriedly took Beryl to have checkup, while Jacob followed her.
When the doctor inquired about Beryl, Emily couldn''t give him any answers because she did not know
what she had done or eaten. Soon after, the doctor said, "Okay, let the child''s father speak up then."
Emily did not have the patience to correct the doctor. When Jacob noticed that Emily did not refute, he
dly exined, "We went to the amusement park. Then we had some strawberry cakes and some
water."
Emily listened attentively and then followed up after what Jacob had said with Beryl''s medical history.
Jacob stood there motionlessly, as he listened to Emily. In fact, he had already known about Beryl''s
condition, but hearing someone say it in person felt hard to take in. A tightening of his throat and a
short intake of breath forecast the explosion of emotion. He had managed to keep buried deep inside.
Finally, he realized, but still could not imagine, just how much pain Emily must have suffered in order to
bring Beryl into this world. And poor little Beryl, who was born with such a crippling affliction, has had to
live an unhappy life ever since she could remember...
If Jacob had forced Emily to have the child aborted, she would have hated him all her life.
The doctor examined Beryl carefully, and finally diagnosed, "The child is in good condition, and we
could not find any symptoms of disease. It may have been psychological effect that made her feel pain
all over, but there is no reason to worry about that."
Emily was still unconvinced, her heart beating anxiously. "Is she really all right? But she looked like she
was in pain just now."
"You were ovee with nervousness, which may have made the child nervous as well. But, if there is
anything seems unusual within the next 24 hours,e back and get her checked up again."
"Thank you, doctor." Emily breathed a sigh of relief, and used her hand to mop her brow, which was
now dripping with sweat. She sat down Beryl on herp and faced Jacob, with a guilty expression on
her face. "... I''m sorry."