The moment the procedure slip hit the floor, Solana instinctively snatched it up and stuffed it away as quickly as she could. However, Isaiah's sharp eyes had already caught sight of the words "procedure slip" on the paper.

Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it had jumped to her throat, and she could even hear the thumping of her heart in her ears. She fumbled for a moment, trying to come up with something believable.

Finally, she mumbled, "It's nothing; it's just a simple dental procedure. Dr. Bates said I should take care of any dental issues early during pregnancy, or it'll cause trouble later."

Solana deliberately brought up the pregnancy. Sure enough, Isaiah's face darkened after hearing it, and he didn't pursue the matter further.

His brow relaxed slightly, but he still maintained a cold expression as he said distantly, "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital for another check-up."

Solana waved her hands frantically, and she was panicking. "Oh, no need. You should go take care of your business. I—"

"I said I'm taking you to the hospital. Didn't you hear me?"

Upon hearing his tone grow noticeably heavier, Solana had no choice but to timidly follow behind him and shut her mouth. As they passed through the living room, he suddenly stopped and explained the situation to the elders who were still discussing wedding plans.

Solana's mind was racing, wondering what she would do if Isaiah discovered the truth at the hospital. While distracted, she accidentally bumped into him. Her soft chest pressed against his back, and an unusual emotion arose as Isaiah cleared his throat, his face showing discomfort.

The elders on the sofa were all pleased with Isaiah's attentiveness toward her. Nonetheless, one person noticed his subtle reaction. Alyssa's eyes dimmed as she silently clenched her fists.

Isaiah had initially planned to drop her off at home along the way. However, she suddenly offered to join them at the hospital.

She said, "Isaiah, Sol is a girl after all. It would be inconvenient for you to go to the hospital with her. Having me there would be helpful."

Solana hadn't wanted her to come along. Just sitting in the same car with her was already uncomfortable enough. Then again, she couldn't show her reluctance too obviously.

Isaiah barely understood anything about her pregnancy, but Alyssa was a woman, too. This meant Solana would be in trouble if she noticed anything suspicious.

Solana sat in the back seat, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Alyssa, who was in the passenger seat, stopped talking and began fiddling with the car's decorative accessories.

Isaiah had always been a neat freak. His car was usually spotless and fresh-smelling with a minimalist interior. Solana particularly loved little trinkets and always wanted to redecorate the vehicle. However, he refused, not even wanting to change the car's air freshener.

Once, when Solana had low blood sugar from hunger and opened a pack of crackers in the car, Isaiah snatched them away and ruthlessly threw them out the window. "No eating in my car."

She endured the discomfort while frantically searching through her bag, hoping to find a piece of candy to relieve the pain. Sadly, she found nothing and had to suffer the entire ride home. She even nearly fainted by the time they arrived.

Yet now, Alyssa had not only redecorated the car's interior to her preferred style but had even changed the air freshener.

Solana finally realized the difference between being loved and unloved. Her heart suddenly ached as she clutched her chest and turned to look out the window.

It had started raining when they left, and it was getting heavier, with large raindrops pounding loudly against the car. As the car headed toward the hospital, Solana's heart began to race again.

Just then, Alyssa suddenly cried out from the passenger seat. "Oh no! Isaiah, what should I do? I forgot to close my window!

"The little plant you gave me is still on the windowsill, and with such heavy rain, I'll be heartbroken if it gets ruined. That's the little plant you potted for me on my birthday.

"It's the only thing that gives me hope when my depression kicks in. I treasure it more than my own life!"

Through the rearview mirror, Solana noticed Alyssa's gaze directed right at her. She suddenly realized that Alyssa was doing this intentionally.

"I'll turn around and send you home right now!" Isaiah agreed without hesitation.

"Yes! Isaiah, you're the best!" Alyssa beamed, her face lit up with the happiness that she didn't even try to hide.

Then, she looked hesitantly toward the back seat. She said uncertainly, "Isaiah, this means Sol will have to make an extra trip with us. Won't that delay her doctor's appointment?"

The car suddenly screeched to a stop on the roadside. Isaiah pointed at Solana coldly, saying, "Get out and go to the hospital yourself. There's an umbrella in the trunk."

Solana was taken aback for a moment. Nonetheless, she quickly recovered and responded, "Okay," and quietly opened the car door.

"But Isaiah, this new dress I'm wearing today was also a birthday gift from you. What if it gets soaked?" Alyssa asked this just as Solana was getting out of the car.

"We need to use the umbrella, so we can't give it to you." Isaiah didn't give her a chance to get the umbrella and drove off immediately.

The pool of water on the ground splashed as the car sped away. Solana stepped back to avoid it, only to look up and meet Alyssa's smug little face through the car window.

She sighed helplessly and quickly took shelter under the awning of a nearby shop. It was raining cats and dogs to the point that she was already soaked through just from getting out of the car.

Solana shivered from the cold. As the recent abortion had weakened her body significantly, she crouched down powerlessly and hugged herself.

Usually, it was easy to catch a ride around here. However, the sudden downpour had turned the smooth roads into traffic jams, causing the available cabs in the area to dwindle. She glanced at someone nearby who had been fumbling with the rideshare app for a while to no avail.

That was when she realized that getting a cab home wasn't a feasible option. So, she forced herself to stand up despite the cold and walked in the rain. However, she hadn't gone far when sharp pain and waves of cold hit her lower abdomen.

She hadn't eaten anything all day. Moreover, she hadn't had any time to rest after the abortion procedure that morning. Unable to hold on any longer, she collapsed in the heavy rain, her vision going black.

When Solana opened her eyes again, she saw white walls and Isaiah's grim, cold face. She was startled and quickly jumped out of bed, only to notice the IV needle still in the back of her hand.

Solana worriedly touched her lower abdomen, worried that her abortion had been discovered.

"Who told you to get out of bed? Lie back down! You're 18 years old, yet you still can't take care of yourself? Did you know your blood sugar levels dropped again?"

The second she heard the words "blood sugar," her expression softened with relief. Under Isaiah's firm gaze, she obediently lay back down. It was only then that she looked around and realized that this wasn't a hospital, but Alyssa's home.

"Isaiah, didn't you drop Ms. Hill off? Why—"

Isaiah cut her off, clearly irritated. "Why did I come back for you and bring you here, too? Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused? Grandpa went off on me like mad!"

It finally hit Solana that she had accidentally triggered her emergency protocol when she collapsed. Her emergency contact was Cedric, who had suggested that she make it him. The reasoning he gave was that everyone else in the family was busy, but he would always be free to answer Solana's calls.

She never expected this call to go through. The call connected, but Solana didn't respond. So, Cedric immediately called Isaiah, furious to learn he had abandoned her halfway.

Isaiah had hung up and turned the car around right away. He didn't even listen to a word Alyssa had said because his mind was entirely on Solana. She couldn't get hurt. If anything happened, Cedric would kill him.

Soon, he found Solana collapsed not far from where he'd dropped her off. He knew about her chronic hyperglycemia and was about to take her to the hospital.

However, Alyssa said the hospital was still some distance away, and the roads were jammed. Hence, it would be better to take her back to Alyssa's home first and call the family doctor.

That was how Solana ended up lying in the guest room at Alyssa's house. She hadn't expected this to happen and said, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I feel much better now, so I won't disturb you and Ms. Hill."

She sincerely apologized and wanted to give them space. In her past life, she'd always been jealous of Alyssa. They fought so many times because of it, and he always called her immature.

Yet, now that she was being mature, he seemed even angrier. "You're still thinking about other people at a time like this?"

Solana wanted nothing more than to leave, but she didn't want to argue with him. So, she quietly followed his order and lay back down. She quietly thanked him, "Thank you, Uncle Isaiah."

Isaiah's cold gaze fell on her face, feeling like she was somehow different from before. In the past, she loved clinging to him most, chattering nonstop whenever she saw him. If something like this had happened, she would have already been crying and complaining to him.

Moreover, she hadn't called him "Uncle Isaiah" in a long time. At some point, she had started calling him by his name.

Thunder rumbled outside as the heavy rain continued falling. She obediently finished the IV drip under Isaiah's supervision.

"Solana—"

Isaiah was about to ask what was wrong with her lately and why she had become so well-behaved when a scream came from the next room. His expression grew serious, and he instinctively rushed out.

"Ally must have been startled awake by the thunder, and her depression is acting up again. I have to go comfort her."

Solana nodded silently, tears streaming down her cheeks. Although she knew he didn't have feelings for her, she couldn't help feeling heartbroken when he abandoned her.

Suddenly, a large hand landed on top of her head. "Be good. I'll be right back. Sleep for now, and I'll take you home later."

Isaiah didn't know why he returned after just stepping out of the bedroom. He felt uneasy, as if Solana might disappear at any moment. He rushed to the adjacent room again, picked up the screaming and frantic Alyssa, and took her to the safe room in the basement.

In her past life, Alyssa's episodes would strike suddenly, and Isaiah would shut himself in the so-called safe room with her. He would ignore the world for days until she calmed down.

Solana remembered one night when Harper was just six months old. Her temperature spiked, and she started convulsing from a seizure.

Solana was so scared she called Isaiah in tears, begging him to take Harper to the hospital. However, he scolded her for being inconsiderate, saying Alyssa couldn't be left alone during her episodes and told her to figure it out herself.

At that time, Solana had just given birth a while ago. What could she possibly do? So, she braved the freezing snow with Harper in her arms.

She didn't even have time to change; she just went out in her pajamas and slippers to flag down a ride. She didn't know how many times she knelt in the snow before a car finally took them to the hospital.

At the hospital, Harper was administered emergency care. Solana was only 19 at the time, and she had never experienced such an emergency. She was shaking so severely that she could barely sign the forms.

She knelt outside the ICU and called Isaiah countless times, but he never answered once. Afterward, he even blamed her, telling her not to disturb them with such trivial matters when Alyssa was having depression episodes.

A knock at the door brought Solana back from her thoughts. "Ally wants seafood bisque from The Palate. I'm going out to buy it for her. Can you watch her for a bit?"

She was stunned. Although she had initially planned to text Isaiah and leave, given the current situation, she had to agree.

Just minutes after he left, Alyssa emerged from the safe room. She looked at Solana with disdain, her lips curling in mockery. She looked nothing like a depressed patient who needed constant companionship.

Solana could immediately tell that Alyssa was faking it. After all, she had suffered from severe depression in her past life, and she knew what real depression patients were like.

Alyssa said, "You think using the baby to force him into marrying you makes you special? He loves me. He will always love me. You'll never compare to that."

Seeing that she hadn't provoked Solana's anger like usual, Alyssa felt the frustration building. Then, she suddenly smiled and added, "Solana, however much he used to love you, that's how much he'll hate you now!"

Solana looked at her in confusion, not understanding. However, Alyssa only laughed louder and returned to the safe room. Moments later, terrible screams could be heard from inside.

Solana's heart clenched. Without thinking, she sprinted toward the basement.