Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?



Gilbert frowned deeply, his face a picture of somber silence.

Sylvia was beside herself with worry. "Come on, speak up! Did you two have a fight? Did you upset Sherilyn? She's pregnant, for heaven's sake, can't you just cut her some slack?"

Gilbert managed a half-hearted smile, thinking to himself how he'd love to do just that-if only she gave him the chance.

"Why the silent treatment, huh?"

Sylvia was getting frantic, but Gilbert remained mute.

"Not talking, huh? Fine, I'll just go find Sherilyn myself!"

"Grandma!" Gilbert caught her arm in a swift move, "Please, don't!"

"Then talk to me!"

"Grandma..." Gilbert was at his wit's end, knowing full well that keeping secrets was futile, especially now that Sylvia was here. There was no avoiding

the confrontation.

He closed his eyes briefly, then said softly, "Sherilyn and I... we broke up."

"What?" Sylvia was taken aback, her irritation turning into a mix of laughter and disbelief. "Are you joking? Sherilyn is carrying your child... How can you even think of breaking up?"

"The child..."

At the mention of the child, a wave of bitterness surged through Gilbert, leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

"What about the child?"

Gilbert averted his gaze, unable to meet Sylvia's eyes. "The child is gone..."

"What?" Sylvia's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean gone? Explain yourself!"

Gilbert struggled to find the words. How could he possibly tell Grandma that Sherilyn, dissatisfied with him, had decided to terminate the pregnancy? "Out with it!" Sylvia was close to losing her patience. "Make it clear!"

This was about the Johnson family's lineage, no laughing matter.

"It... didn't survive," Gilbert finally blurted out, cornered into calmness. "The first three months are always precarious, anything can happen..." So, that was it?

Sylvia, being a woman herself, understood the fragility of early pregnancy.

Yet, Sylvia couldn't accept it.

"Not survive? How could it not survive?"

Her blood pressure spiked, vision blurring as she swayed dangerously.

"Grandma!" Gilbert exclaimed, rushing to steady her. "Grandma, are you alright?" "Mr. Gilbert, the medicine!"

David scrambled from the car, fetching the emergency medication and handing two pills to Sylvia. Then, Gilbert lifted Sylvia, "Quick, to the hospital!"

n

Upon receiving the news, Sherilyn rushed to the hospital.

With clouded eyes, Sylvia grasped her hand. "Sherilyn, you've suffered."

"What?" Sherilyn was confused.

"I know everything." Sylvia glanced at her belly. "It's Gilbert's fault, he didn't take good care of you, didn't save the baby." Sherilyn was stunned.

On her way here, she had guessed that Sylvia might know about the loss...

But how did Gilbert explain it to Sylvia? Claiming it was his negligence? Why?Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Outside the room.

Gilbert was on the phone with

Francis on serious, just

bit

motional... I'll tell you r

it later. Yeah, okay...

After hanging up, he turned to enter the room.

Just as he slid the door open, Sherilyn was coming out, bumping into him face to face.

Gilbert instinctively reached out to steady her.

For a fleeting moment, their eyes locked, then quickly shifted away.

"Thanks." Sherilyn pulled away, slightly uncomfortable, adjusting her hair. "Sylvia's fine now, I'll head off first."

"Alright." Gilbert nodded, not uttering another word.

He would have offered her a ride home, but he knew she wouldn't accept.

Sherilyn thought back on Gilbert's

protective stance in front of Sylvia, hesitating multiple times as if

el

wanting to speak, yet in the end, she left without saying a word.

As she turned to leave, Gilbert's gaze inadvertently fell on Sherilyn's hair...