Free Web NovelChapter 132: Chapter 134: Feeling Like a Waste
"...What?"
The short sentence hit Sonia Quincy with the force of an erupting Mount Zorya.
Sonia Quincy froze for a few seconds, then a spark of excitement ignited in her eyes.
Felix Preston sensed something was off. He immediately put down his phone and looked over at her.
On the other end of the line, Evan Yates repeated, enunciating each word, "Sonia, I..."
"Wait a second!" Sonia Quincy cut him off abruptly. In a flustered motion, she switched the call to speakerphone, tossed her tablet aside, and shot up from the sofa, hurrying to Felix Preston’s hospital bed.
"Slow down." Felix Preston watched her hasty steps, subconsciously reaching out to shield her.
She paid him no mind. Instead, she excitedly held the phone up to his face.
"Evan Yates, say that again. What did you find?"
Evan Yates raised his voice, a thrilled tremor in his tone. "I found the man who infiltrated the Preston Group as a spy! After investigating, I’ve confirmed he’s Yvette Fuller’s husband!"
"Felix, did you hear that? We found him!" Sonia Quincy stared straight at Felix Preston, her eyes sparkling, her grin so wide she could barely contain it.
Felix Preston closed his eyes and let out a long breath. When he opened them again, a rare look of relief had appeared.
"I heard." He looked into Sonia Quincy’s smiling eyes and nodded slowly. "I heard you."
Evan Yates continued, "Following your lead, Sonia, I had someone check which employees joined the design department before the plagiarism incident and which ones suddenly resigned afterward. I finally zeroed in on a man named Ronan Quinn."
"He’s Yvette Fuller’s husband. Before joining the Preston Group, he was always a freelancer."
"That’s him! It has to be him!" Sonia Quincy said with absolute certainty.
"I think so too!" Evan said. "And the smoking gun is that he was involved in the development of the very product that was accused of plagiarism!"
"Then there’s no doubt," Felix Preston said coldly. "This Ronan Quinn’s purpose in joining the Preston Group was to work with Yvette Fuller from the inside, to stage a plagiarism incident to mislead us."
"Ronan Quinn..." Sonia Quincy murmured the name, a cold, harsh glint passing through her eyes. "Now that we’ve found him, the rest will be easy."
"Yes!" Evan Yates’s voice was energized over the phone. "I’m already compiling all the information on Ronan Quinn. I should have it ready by tomorrow afternoon. Sonia, we really owe this to you. If you hadn’t given us the idea and the leads, Felix and I would still be running around like headless chickens, with no idea what to do."
"I just did what I should," Sonia Quincy said with a smile, not taking the credit.
Between the investment and the Ronan Quinn situation, Evan Yates suddenly had a lot on his plate. He didn’t chat any longer with Sonia Quincy, wrapping up the call cleanly after relaying the news.
"Phew..." Sonia Quincy turned off her phone and let out a long sigh of relief. "We’re finally getting somewhere with this. Once I get the file from Evan tomorrow, I’m going to see Yvette Fuller."
"Yvette Fuller has been at Azure Studio for so long; she must have plenty of secrets on Liam Joyce. If we can get her to talk, dealing with Ethan Lockwood and Liam Joyce will be much easier."
"...Sonia." Felix Preston watched her, full of fighting spirit, and his expression suddenly filled with heartache.
He raised a hand and gently cupped Sonia Quincy’s cheek, his thumb stroking the corner of her eye with a tender, restrained touch.
"What’s wrong?" Sonia Quincy blinked, confused. She didn’t understand why Felix Preston suddenly had such a look on his face.
Felix Preston frowned unconsciously. He was silent for a long moment before he spoke.
"Sonia, don’t worry about Yvette Fuller. Leave it to me."
"Why?" Sonia Quincy didn’t understand. "Why shouldn’t I? I can handle this."
"Besides," she glanced at Felix Preston’s left leg, still wrapped in thick bandages, her eyes tinged with reproach, "you’re still injured. You have wounds all over, and none of them are fully healed. How are you going to go see Yvette Fuller?"
"The doctor said you shouldn’t be too active or overexert yourself right now. You just need to rest."
"...I shouldn’t overexert myself, and I need to rest. But what about you?" Felix Preston looked into Sonia Quincy’s eyes, his questioning tone gentle and calm.
"...What about me?" Sonia Quincy tilted her head, confused. His words felt hazy and unclear.
Felix Preston’s hand moved down, suddenly grabbing Sonia Quincy’s hand, which was hanging by her side. He pulled her forward and sat her down on the hospital bed.
"Sonia, you’re seven months pregnant. Don’t you need quiet? Don’t you need to rest?"
"...Huh?" It was Sonia Quincy’s first pregnancy, and she had no experience. On top of that, the baby had always been very quiet and had never given her any trouble, so she was a bit bewildered by Felix Preston’s sudden words.
"I’m perfectly fine. Why would I need to be quiet and rest?" As if to make Felix Preston feel even worse, she stared right into his eyes and said it so casually.
Felix Preston couldn’t bear the gaze from her clear eyes. He simply took off his glasses, letting his vision blur.
"Sonia." Once he could no longer see Sonia Quincy clearly, he finally found the courage to speak.
"I... I married you not so you would have to run around exhausted all day dealing with my crap while you’re pregnant. I know so many people, but I’ve never seen a single man who would let his pregnant wife wear herself out over his messes."
Perhaps it was the heavy look on Felix Preston’s face as he spoke that finally made Sonia Quincy realize why his mood had been so strange all evening.
"Felix Preston..." She leaned forward slightly, her eyes full of worry as she looked at his reddened rims.
Felix Preston must have been exhausted to his core. He sighed weakly, his entire demeanor visibly deflating.
"I feel like a useless piece of trash right now. Not only can I not do anything, but I have to be a burden to everyone around me."
"You’re pregnant, yet you have to run around everywhere for me. Mom is getting older, but she has to teach her classes, bring me food, and still find time to take care of me. I’m a man. I’m supposed to be the pillar of this family, but now, not only am I dragging you all down into this miserable life with me, I’m also a burden who doesn’t even give the people who are already exhausted a moment to breathe."
Felix Preston had been bottling up these thoughts and emotions for who knows how long. Tonight, he finally couldn’t hold them in anymore, and all his negative feelings poured out in a fit of self-deprecation.
But in truth, Sonia Quincy had suspected he might develop these kinds of psychological issues after the car accident. She had just been so busy lately that she hadn’t had a chance to ask him about it.
Seeing Felix Preston so completely dejected, she realized that this man, who wouldn’t flinch even if the sky were falling, probably needed a little comfort and encouragement right now.
So, she reached right out and gave Felix several light slaps across the cheek.
