The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains

At Emerald City Hospital, in the Psychological Intervention Department, Michael stared at the doctor, completely lost. "Wait, you're telling me this is all in my head? There's no way to fix it?"

He'd booked this appointment first thing in the morning, but hearing this now felt worse than a punch to the gut.

"Yeah, Mr. Smith, there's no medication for your condition. Maybe try to accept your wife and not push her away," the middle-aged doctor said, not really offering much help.

Michael left the office looking pretty down. His phone had been buzzing like crazy in his pocket for over ten minutes. He rubbed his temples and pulled it out. Seeing the caller ID, he hesitated for a second before answering. "Sophia." He tried to sound calm and gentle.

"Michael, didn't you say you'd come see me first thing this morning?" Sophia's voice was playful.

"Yeah, I'm at the hospital now. I'll be there in a sec." After hanging up, Michael headed straight to the orthopedic floor.

Sophia was in a great mood, especially after her outburst yesterday. She was sure Michael would divorce that witch Emily. When she saw him, she couldn't help but smile. She knew she was the most important person to him. "Michael, did you come empty-handed?" Sophia teased, pouting a bit.

Michael looked at his empty hands and laughed. He'd totally forgotten about his promise to visit her this morning, so he didn't bring anything. "My bad. I'll have someone to deliver some food here right now. What do you want? Or do you want a gift?"

"I'm just kidding. I'm happy you came." Sophia, sitting in her hospital gown, looked even more pitiful. Michael smiled and ruffled her hair. He remembered her always being like a ray of sunshine, always cheerful. But after two years apart, it seemed like everyone had changed a lot.

Sophia pulled Michael to sit by the bed and casually asked, "By the way, did Emily give you a hard time last night? It's my fault. If I hadn't broken my leg, I wouldn't have been easily pushed over by Emily." She pouted regretfully. Thinking about Emily, Michael remembered the scene from this morning. Emily curled up on the sofa, looking small and cute, with messy hair covering her face. She was still in the white camisole dress from last night, and it had ridden up to her thighs. Emily, asleep, was unaware of this.

Otherwise, she would mock him. He got out of bed and kindly pulled down her dress, finally carrying her to the bed. After doing all this, he felt inexplicable, but he did it anyway.

Thinking of all this, Michael couldn't help but smile, which made Sophia a bit uneasy. 'Why is he smiling when I mentioned Emily instead of getting angry?' she wondered.

She gripped the blanket tightly, trying to sound casual. "Michael, why are you smiling?"

Michael frowned slightly at her words. "It's nothing."

Out of nowhere, Sophia hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Michael, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you two years ago to go abroad, but I had no choice. My mom threatened to kill herself, so I had to go for further studies. I regret it so much, Michael. I shouldn't have gone."

Michael was caught off guard by Sophia's sudden explanation. They had both avoided talking about it since she came back, and he thought it didn't matter anymore. So it was her mom who forced her back then. He instantly forgot about Emily.

"Alright, I don't blame you. Don't cry." Michael gently hugged her back.

Sophia knew that if she didn't bring up the past, Michael would probably have left by now. Her eyes were red from crying, and Michael felt a bit sorry for her. He raised his hand to wipe away her tears.

"Don't cry. You'll look bad if you keep crying," Michael teased with a smile.

Sophia nodded and then lowered her head in disappointment. "If I hadn't left back then, I would be Mrs. Smith now. I would be the one married to you."

Michael's hand froze in mid-air, unable to move, because he couldn't help but think of Emily again, the one who disturbed his thoughts and controlled his emotions. He clearly hated her, but seeing her lying on his bed like a cat, he couldn't help but find her extremely cute.

"Get some rest. I'll come see you when I have time." Michael suddenly felt the urge to leave.

Sophia, with tearful eyes, grabbed his sleeve. "Can't you stay with me a little longer?"

"Be good, take care of yourself. I'll come see you every day. Be good." When Michael was gentle, it was really hard to resist. No woman could refuse this kind of gentleness.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Sophia suddenly got up from the bed and kissed his cheek without thinking.

Michael was startled by the sudden kiss, and an overwhelming sense of nausea hit him. He couldn't say anything, broke free from Sophia, and ran to the bathroom.

He held onto the sink, retching. The overwhelming nausea made his face pale instantly, but he hadn't eaten anything in the morning for the check-up, so there was nothing to throw up. And he realized that this feeling didn't belong to him; it was Emily's.

He wondered, 'What is Emily up to? Why am I vomiting so badly?' After a while, he stared at the mirror with a pale face.

At the bathroom door, Sophia was stunned. 'I just kissed his cheek, and he's this disgusted?' Her face was even paler than Michael's.

"Michael, you..." Sophia felt embarrassed, humiliated, and self-deprecating.

After a while, Michael noticed that Sophia was at the door. His thoughts were in chaos, and his chest pain returned. He didn't leave any explanation, just said sorry, and hurriedly left.

Sophia couldn't believe that Michael could leave so coldly and decisively.

Sophia could only keep comforting herself that Michael was just a germaphobe. 'If I couldn't touch him, then Emily couldn't either, right?' Thinking this way, she felt relieved, and the little episode just now didn't bother her anymore. Michael returned to the car and instructed the driver to head back to Emerald Lake Manor immediately.