"Grace, I'm so sorry. I... I had nowhere else to go. Jason's passing was so sudden, and he didn't leave anything behind. My mother-in-law took all of his death benefits and kicked Timothy and me out..."
Seeing Grace Winslow open her eyes to look at her, Ivy White's eyes reddened, and tears began to fall uncontrollably.
The child in her arms started to cry as well.
Grace Winslow watched the scene before her in silence.
'Just like in my past life.'
'Caleb Forrest, Ivy White... In my last life, they treated me like a fool. I not only gave my job to Ivy, but I also took care of her and her son with all my heart for years.'
'Even my unborn child... was killed because of Ivy's scheming.'
She could barely suppress the hatred welling up inside her.
"Caleb Forrest."
A hoarse, broken voice rang out.
Even Ivy White's voice faltered for a moment.
Grace Winslow's high fever had yet to break. Her pale face now held an unhealthy flush, and her voice was terribly hoarse. She looked at Caleb Forrest. "When we got married, do you remember the promise you made to me?"
Caleb Forrest was visibly taken aback.
He and Grace Winslow had married for love, which was an incredible thing in this day and age.
At the time, he had just been discharged from the military and was transitioning to civilian life when he met Grace Winslow, who was still a student.
Grace, pure and beautiful, gentle and poised, had captured his attention at once.
After interacting with her a few times, he found himself increasingly drawn to her personality.
Later, he worked up the courage to confess his feelings. After getting Grace's consent, he found a matchmaker to formally propose marriage.
Now, three months into their marriage, they should have been in their honeymoon phase.
But today, he had run into Ivy White on the street...
Ivy was the girl he had liked in his youth, but his family's circumstances back then were not good enough for her. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as she married another man.
He never expected that when they met again, she would be a widow with a child. A widow and her orphan... he couldn't bear to see their plight. Without even thinking twice, he had brought them straight home.
Now, faced with Grace Winslow's question, he felt a pang of guilt.
Before he could speak, Ivy White clutched her child and knelt before Grace Winslow with a THUD. "Please, I'm begging you. If you don't take us in, we'll have no choice but to die."
"Jason's passing was so sudden, I wasn't prepared at all. If it weren't for the fact that I was pregnant with his child, I would have followed him in death long ago..."
"I never thought my mother-in-law could be so heartless."
"I thought that since Jason was her son, after all, she would, for the sake of their mother-son bond, not treat a widow and her orphan child so poorly."
"But she took all the death benefits to pay for my brother-in-law's wedding, complained that we ate too much, and then threw us out..."
"I... I really have nowhere else to turn. Please don't blame Caleb. He was just being kind. It's my fault... I shouldn't have been so shameless as to impose..."
Ivy White wept like a damsel in distress, looking as if she couldn't possibly go on.
Caleb Forrest's heart immediately ached for her. Even his tone toward his wife turned cold. "Grace, Ivy and her son are already so pitiful. How can you be so callous and cruel?"
"I never knew you were this kind of person. We're just taking her in. You're not even willing to do that?"
"I've already made up my mind about this, and nothing you say will change it. Tidy up the house and get a room ready for them. They'll be staying with us."
"She just gave birth and is still in her postpartum confinement. It's cold out, so she can't be exposed to the chill. You will take good care of her for the time being."