Adeline carefully approached Helena. The moment she got close to her, Helena grabbed her by the neck. "You're a bad woman! You're a slut! You've destroyed my family! I will strangle you to death!" Helena cried. Mental patients could be so strong when they were in a manic state. Helena squeezed Adeline's throat as if there were a deeply rooted hatred between them. Not daring to hurt her mother, Adeline tried to unclamp Helena's hands around her neck and said with difficulty, "Mom, it's me, Adeline. Look at me, I'm your daughter. However, Helena just kept staring at her with eyes that burned with tremendous fury. She kept strangling her daughter as if she didn't hear a word she said. Seeing this, Brendan immediately rang the bell. Not long after, doctors and nurses rushed in. "Hold her down! Don't let her hurt anyone else!". After saying that, the doctor let the nurses and orderlies grab Helena and press her down on the bed. Helena flailed around and continued screaming. The doctor gave her a tranquilizer. Soon, Helena stopped struggling, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. In order to keep Helena from hurting anyone when she woke up, the orderlies strapped her down on the bed by her arms and legs. Seeing this, Adeline was stunned. As a member of a wealthy family, her mother was a beautiful and graceful woman. Helena once liked singing and dancing, and she often played the piano for her. As a little girl, Adeline had made up her mind to become as elegant as her mother when she grew up. But now. Looking at the red marks around Helena's wrists and ankles, Adeline knitted her brows and bit her lip. Thinking of what her mother had been through and that she would suffer like this for years to come, she felt her heart splinter into pieces, and her hatred for Arthur further deepened. She asked the doctor beside her, "Is it absolutely necessary to tie her down like this? I think she's getting better. She recognized me just now and called me by my name. The doctor who had been treating Helena was named Kole Blakely. When he heard what Adeline said, he whipped his head to her and stared at her with narrowed eyes. Afterward, he lowered his head and said with hesitation and a little bit of impatience, "What did you say? She recognized you just now?". Adeline nodded and replied, "Yes. I'm sure of it. She looked at me and called me Addie before she grabbed me. Is it possible that my mother's condition is getting better? Can she recover and return to normal?". The field of medicine was evolving and developing constantly, so at this point, there must be something that could be done for Helena. Adeline still hoped that her mother could be freed from her illness. Kole glanced at Helena. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, clenched them into fists, and then slowly loosened them. He answered calmly, "You're too optimistic. Your mother's condition is already too advanced, and for mental patients in such a stage, there's no turning back. Yes, there will be moments when she's lucid, but they won't last long, and she will snap again just like she did moments ago. If I discharge her now, it's very likely that she'll hurt people trying to fit back into society. I can't let that happen. As soon as he finished his words, a nurse came over with a bowl in her hand. Kole waved his hand and said, "Make her drink it. "Yes, Dr. Blakely. " The nurse nodded and then walked toward Helena's bed. "Wait a minute. At this moment, Brendan stopped the nurse. He frowned, feeling that something was amiss. He asked, "What is that in the bowl?". Doctors usually administered drugs to patients through injections or tablets and capsules. But in the bowl in the nurse's hand, there seemed to be some sort of potion made of herbs. They already gave Helena a tranquilizer, and she'd already calmed down. Why would they give her more medicine? . Withdrawing her gaze from her mother, Adeline soon understood why Brendan asked such a question. Adeline took the bowl of potion from the nurse, flashed her a fierce look, and asked, "What is this? Tell me!". "This is. This is the special medicine for soothing the nerves. " The nurse faltered, "The patient's family requested us to give this to the patient regularly

"Yes, this is the medicine we especially prescribed for the patient according to her family's requirements. It' s designed to assist in her treatment," Kole explained. Her fami ly? . Helena's conservator w as Arthur, so Kole must be talking about him. How could Arthur be so kind to care about Helena's treatment? . It was impossible! Would th at damn bastard do anything to harm Helena on purpose? . It seemed that Hel ena was taking the potion every day. Adeline knew that it was unwise to act rashly and alert her enemies. S he quickly darted her eyes around. She had to know what was in that concoction, so she planned to tak e some samples of it while Kole and everyone else around weren't lo oking. But Kole watched her carefully. She couldn't make her move. She waited for a long time but didn't find a n opportunity to sneak away some of the potio n. Disappointed, she walked out of the ward. She had just been beaten by Arthur. Although she had taken he r medications, she still felt dizzy. The pain and nausea had been making her suffer, but she decided to just endure them. But now, she was so tire d that she felt as if sh e were floating on air. She wasn't paying attention to the way ahead, so she tripped and started falling forward. " Ah !" . Adelin e crie d out. Somebody had come in tim e to break her fall. He g rabbed her by the waist. Next thing Adeline knew, she was locked in a warm, familiar embrace. It felt nice for a moment, but then she immediately recognized Bren dan's scent. As soon as she regained footing, she started shoving him . a wa y. Feeling Adeline's hands on his chest , Brendan looked at the wound on her forehead and then at her pale face. She was so weak and vulne rable now. Why did she ins ist on refusing his help? . He growl ed, "Don 't move!" . After saying t hat, he hugged her tighter. He knew better than anyone else how sexy Adeline's figure was and how slender her waist was. At this thought, B rendan couldn't hel p feeling aroused. Adeline also f elt it. She blushed and pushed him aw ay harder. "Let go of me! Bre ndan! Don't be unreasonable!" . "What if I just want to be unreasonable? Don't forget that you ar e still my wife. You can't refuse me if I want to do something to you here and now," Brendan joked, flashing her a crooked smile. He was grinning, and his eyes sho ne with mischief. He looked unscr upulous, and it stunned Adeline. Then, he pres sed her body against his. Adeline couldn't get rid of him at all. Her face turned even redder. "Don't forget that we are going to get divorced soo ner or later. And we're in a public place. Have some shame!" . She gritted her teeth. She was in pain, and she felt unc omfortable all over. The last thing she wanted to do was indulge whatever sick fantasy Brendan had at the moment. She ref used him again. Brendan started to be lieve this woman reall y needed to be tamed. But looking at Adeline's pained face, he decided that this wasn't the time to make things difficult for her. He real ly wanted to kiss her, but she was obviously in distress. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "You wanted some of that medicine, didn't you?" . "Why? Did you get it? " All of a sudden, Ad eline's eyes lit up. Arching his eyebrows, Brenda n replied, "I got it just now when they were not looking. His smile was al so in his voice as he answered. When he entered the nursing home, he noticed that th e pharmacy wasn't that far from the ward. He took th e sample of the potion out and showed it to Adeline

"Oh, that's great!" Excited, Adeline clenched his arm, forgetting how int imate they were being at the moment. Brendan's eyes darkened, and h e found it more difficult to p ut up with his desire for her. She was such a seduc tive woman, and she wasn't even trying. The next moment, Brendan called his assistant Al ex to the nursing home. Half an hou r later, Al ex arrived. Brendan handed the potion sample to him and said, "Take this to Tay lor. Ask him to examine this and then send me the report. Do it sec retly. I don't want anyone finding out about it, do you understand?" . Alex had been working for him for several years, so of cour se he knew what he should do. "Yes, Mr. Cl emons. After Alex left, Adeline lo oked at Brendan. She was pl agued with mixed feelings. She really wanted a clea n break from him, but no w she owed him a favor. "Brenda n. Tha nk you. Brendan looked back at Adeli ne. Why did she have to be s o polite and formal to him? . When Rodger helped her, she kept h im company and cooked for him. She even defended Rodger against him. Now he helped her, a ll she could give hi m was a "Thank you". Brendan couldn't help feeling a bit deje cted, but looking at Adeline's wounded f orehead again, he felt his heart soften. He witnessed how Arthur beat her. Arthur was so cruel to her as if she were his enemy. W hy would he hurt his own daughter like that? . If Brendan hadn't arrived in ti me today, Arthur might have hurt Adeline enough to disable her. He squinted his eyes and a sked, "Are you in pain? Ho w could he do that to you?" . After saying that, he reached ou t and attempted to touch her bea utiful, albeit blemished, face. Adeline wat ched in ast onishment. But looking at Brendan's hand, she thought that he'd touched Tiffany wi th it before, and the idea disgusted her. She quickly turned her head an d pushed him away. After breaking free from his grip, she stepped back. "It's none of your business! Seriously, Brendan. You need to stop sticking your nose in other people's lives and start minding your own. Yes, my family is indeed a dysfunctional mess, but that's my problem, and I'll solve it myself. You don't need to worry about me anymore, okay?" . If he had that much free time in his hands, then he should h ave just kept Tiffany company. She thought so, but she didn't s ay it out loud. If she did, it would only prove that she re ally cared about him. She didn't want to think about Tiffany and Brendan anymore. Th ey were no longer her concern. After calming herself down, Adeline continued, "But tha nk you for what you've done for me today. From now on, we should just keep a healthy distance from each other. She turned around and left in a h urry, fearing that Brendan would g rab her again and not let her go. Hearing that Adeline wanted to draw a clear line between the m at once, Brendan clenched his jaw. His usually icy aura sl owly melted away, simmered, and then went into a full boil. No one da red to re fuse him! . If Adeline wanted him to stay away from her, then she would have to go through hell to make that happen. At first, Brendan was sure that Adeline would eventually come crawling back to him. But now, it was starti ng to look like that was never going to happen. She kept pushing him away, and he realized that they were growing farther and farther apart. At this point, it seemed that there was no way he was winning her back. This thought drove him to the ed ge of his sanity. He hated when things were beyond his control. When he saw Adeline and Rodger together, he was overwhelmed by displeasure. He wished that he could lock Adeline in hi s house forever so that no other man could lay eyes on her. He didn't know when he started to ha ve such feelings, but they were gett ing stronger and stronger every day. He grabbed Adeline by the wrist, dragged her to his car, and pushe d her in without saying anything