On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 160

“I know, I’ve thought about that, but…” Nathan began, his voice barely a whisper.

Arthur shook his head. “You boys are still young. I have nothing against divorced women. But if that woman is to be my granddaughter-in-law, I will never, ever allow it. George would have to step over my dead body to marry her.”

Nathan’s heart sank. He knew it would be difficult, but he had never imagined it would be impossible. Arthur George had drawn his line in the sand.

“I understand, Mr. George,” Nathan mumbled, his head bowed.

“I hear your grandfather complaining that you haven’t been home in a month,” Arthur said, waving a dismissive hand. “You’re here now. Go see him. Be a good grandson.”

Defeated, Nathan left.

Lance arrived at the clinic and was met by Patricia Allen.

“I’ve seen the news,” she said softly. “Don’t pay any attention to it. The internet is a mob. Every few weeks they find a new woman to tear apart. It will blow over. They have the memory of a goldfish.”

Lance clutched the divorce agreement in his hand. “Dr. Allen, where is Jessica?”

“She had a bit of a negative reaction,” Patricia explained. “Her abdominal pain was more severe than what most patients experience. We had to give her a sedative this evening. She’s still sleeping.”

“I’ll wait here for her to wake up,” he said.

Patricia hesitated. “Shouldn’t you be doing something about what’s happening online?”

“Lance, you begged me to compromise my ethics, to perform this procedure on Jessica against her will,” she said, her voice trembling. “I overcame my own conscience to help you because you said it was to save your marriage, to give Amy a complete family. You said it was the only way to win her back.”

He remained silent, his head bowed.

“And now,” she continued, her voice shaking with rage, “the moment it’s done, you’re going to divorce her because of some online gossip? Do you have any idea the amount of pain she has endured?”

Lance’s throat was tight.

Patricia stumbled back, leaning against the wall for support. “The egg retrieval, the embryo transfer… do you know how painful that is? And now what? Are you going to wait until we confirm implantation and then force her to have an abortion?”