Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Birthday Plans

Feeling the strong impact and hearing the loud bang, Bella realized she had hit something and slammed on the brake. She then hurriedly got out of the car to check the situation.

The road was dark due to the lack of streetlights. Only the car's headlight served as the light source along with the moon above.

Bella moved to the front, and her chest tightened to see a fawn lying below the bumper.

The fawn's eyes were barely open while it struggled to breathe. Its faint cries sounded like it was asking for help.

Bella observed the injured fawn and found an open wound on its leg, resulting from her reckless driving. Blood continuously flowed from the deep cut, threatening its life.

Feeling responsible for its pitiful condition, Bella did not think twice about taking the fawn with her.

***

Once she had arrived home, Bella carried the fawn inside their house and carefully laid it down on the sofa. She had no idea how to disinfect its wound, but she still took out their first aid box to clean and dress its wound.

Bella began wrapping the fawn's wounded leg with bandages as gently as she could, tight enough to stop the blood discharge.

The baby deer lay there obediently, not struggling at all. However, it wailed in pain when Bella tried to touch the wounded part to ensure that everything was covered to avoid infections.

"What's going on?" Edward was surprised to hear the sound and headed to the living room.

"It's all my fault...." Bella spoke with remorse. She was on the verge of crying. "I was in a hurry to get home. I didn't see it, so..."

Something pinched Edward's heart to see his wife in a pitiful state. He gently patted Bella's shoulder and said, "It's not your fault. No one wanted this to happen. It's an accident."

"I guess you're right..." Bella bit her lip and squeezed out a sentence from between her teeth. She could not help but recall why she worked overtime in the first place, leading to that mess. "This is all because of that president! If he didn't abuse his power to bully Kelvin and order him to make coffee all morning, then I didn't have to stay late in the office to finish my work. It's all his fault! I hate him so much!"

Edward was taken aback, and he slightly lowered his head in shame. He could not believe how he suddenly became a villain in Bella's eyes.

The next second, he decided to use that opportunity to ask Bella about her thoughts regarding Kelvin. "So..." He swallowed hard before he continued, "Who is Kelvin?"

"He is the president's new secretary that I'm currently training." Bella sighed and sat straight after she finished dressing the fawn's wound. "Kelvin is a great man, and he doesn't like to hold grudges. He didn't even complain earlier despite being picked on by the president. He even thinks he's a good man! Can you believe it?"

"Oh..." Edward pursed his lips for a second. "Do you like him?"

"If you're asking that as his colleague, well, yes. I really admire him, but that's it," Bella seriously replied. "But as a woman, you know I don't easily get charmed by men, and we're married." She glanced at Edward. "Jenny has a crush on him, though."

Edward felt even more ashamed of himself after hearing Bella's answer. He thought about how immature he was to pick on Kelvin and resort to power tripping.

On the side, Bella quietly observed Edward's reaction. Contrary to her expectation, she did not expect to see the frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" she carefully asked and peered into his eyes. "You don't believe me?"

"No, no... I'm just angry at your president." Edward cleared his throat, then cautiously lifted his gaze at Bella. "I promise he will never do that again."

Bella grimaced as she was puzzled by Edward's serious expression and sincere tone. It was almost as if he could really control the president's actions.

However, she decided not to dwell on it and shifted her attention to the injured fawn. They decided to keep it with them until it was strong enough to be released back to the wild.

Edward suggested giving the fawn a name, but Bella immediately rejected the idea. She was scared that she might become attached to it.

"Her mom and dad must be looking for her...." Bella whispered while watching over the poor fawn, which was asleep.

In fact, Bella also missed her parents despite telling Edward that she did not love them anymore. Whenever she was free and alone, she would secretly look through her pictures with them to cope with longing.

"You're missing the Whites, aren't you?" Edward asked with concern.

Surprisingly, Bella nodded and did not bother lying. She knew how Edward became so good at reading her mind. She could no longer hide her thoughts from him, so it was better to be honest with everything.

"If you want, you can try to visit them," he suggested.

After giving his suggestion a thought, Bella took a deep breath and said, "It's my birthday this Sunday. Do you think we can invite them to our house for lunch or dinner?"

Edward was about to agree to her idea, but Bella shook her head right after voicing her thoughts.

"Never mind," she said. "I don't think they'll come anyway. They never celebrated my birthday and only threw grand parties for Lanny."

Edward heavily sighed and gently pulled his wife into his arms. "Don't think that way...." He tried to comfort her. "I'm sure they have something special to do on your birthday to commemorate it. You're still their daughter."

Bella pouted. "Well, they used to donate to the orphanage under my name every year, but I still want to experience having a normal birthday celebration."

"Personally, giving donations is much better than having a birthday party," Edward told her and tightened his embrace. "I think they care about you a lot."

"I hope you're right...." Bella replied after giving it much careful thought. "By the way, do you have anything planned for my birthday?"

Edward shrugged and said, "I only just found out about your birthday when you mentioned it earlier."

"What a bad husband you are!" Bella grunted lightly and playfully swung her fist in a gesture to hit him.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Edward pulled himself away from her. He reacted exaggeratedly, forcing himself to look scared and shouting in a strange voice. "Please spare my life, Your Majesty! I'll be sure to prepare a surprise for you."

Bella burst out laughing because of Edward's funny acting. "You're hilarious!"

Hearing her carefree laughter soothed Edward's worries. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he endearingly gazed at her.

In fact, he had already known Bella's birthday for a long time and had long prepared a surprise for her.