He was looking forward to the birth of the child so much that he would naturally pamper this child in the future. What else did she have to worry about? Without the child, she could end her entanglement with him. In the future, she would be able to completely forget him and start a beautiful life anew.
Therefore, in the following months, she would take good care of her pregnancy and patiently wait for the child’s birth, never daring to challenge his bottom line again.
「Another month passed in a blink of an eye.」
On this particular morning, Rebecca Quentin, already more than five months pregnant, was about to go downstairs for a walk in the garden. Suddenly, a leg cramp caused her to accidentally twist her ankle as she stepped off the last stair. Losing her balance, she fell to the ground.
The maid, who had just been about to go upstairs to attend to Rebecca, witnessed this and screamed in horror.
The Geoffrey household was immediately thrown into chaos. Rebecca, overcome by pain, fell into a coma. In her hazy consciousness, she heard the butler anxiously calling Howard Geoffrey.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she felt herself being held in a warm, solid embrace.
Half an hour later, she was carried into the hospital.
Due to the pain in her lower abdomen, she curled up in his embrace. Though she knew this was a man—this familiar yet forbidden source of comfort—she wasn’t allowed to depend on, in that moment of sheer terror and helplessness, she clung to him tightly, as if wanting to hold on even harder.
The second hand on the clock in the hospital room ticked steadily. Lying in the bed, Rebecca fluttered her long lashes and slowly opened her weak eyes.
Her gaze fell upon the white ceiling above.
Her mind remained in a haze for several seconds before she gradually recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness.
Startled, she quickly placed a hand on her belly.
When she felt the familiar bump and the baby’s movement within, a sigh of relief escaped her. She caressed her stomach lovingly.
At that moment, the memory of yesterday’s accident flashed through her mind. Not long after her accident, he had rushed over like a whirlwind. All the way, in her daze, the only thing she was certain of was that he had been holding her, refusing to let go. When she was lying on the operating table, she had faintly heard him yelling at the four or five doctors who had rushed in anxiously. She remembered a doctor, voice trembling with trepidation, telling him that if they wanted to save the child, the mother might not survive. As she was about to lose consciousness, she never imagined she would hear him declare, "You must save them both. If anything happens to either of them, I will raze this hospital to the ground." Even now, she found it hard to believe. She had assumed that at such a critical moment, he wouldn’t have spared a thought for her; as long as the child was fine, that would be enough. However, the words he’d spoken in his fury clearly showed he cared about her too.
Just as she was immersed in these thoughts, the door to the hospital room was gently pushed open.
Sensing his presence, she immediately squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to still be asleep.
He entered the room accompanied by a doctor and a nurse. As the nurse was changing her IV drip, Rebecca heard him ask the doctor, "Why hasn’t she woken up yet?"
The doctor, still appearing frightened, stammered, "By rights, she should have woken up by now. Perhaps the anesthesia hasn’t completely worn off. She might wake up a little later."
Howard Geoffrey said nothing further, and the doctor and nurse quickly departed.
Silence returned to the room. Rebecca could feel him staring at her, making her nervous. She struggled to control the trembling of her closed eyelids and clutched the bedsheet beneath her tightly.
After what felt like a long time, she heard his phone vibrate.
Perhaps afraid of disturbing her, he walked over to the window before answering the call.
She slowly opened her eyes and watched him answer the phone by the window. Although she couldn’t hear his words, she gazed intently at his tall, straight back.
"Boss!" Jason Wood’s slightly anxious voice came from the phone.
Howard Geoffrey stood with one hand in his trouser pocket, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "What is it?" he responded coldly.
Jason Wood got straight to the point. "My men watching Aunt Clare sent me a video. It’s critical, so I’m sending it to you now."
BEEP. The video arrived on Howard Geoffrey’s phone.
*Video playback commenced—*
In the Quentin study, Aunt Clare was speaking to the urn containing Alexander Quentin’s ashes. "Sir, I’m truly worried now. You must tell me what to do. After your passing, I constantly advised the young lady to leave Mr. Geoffrey, and she listened, even promising me several times that she wouldn’t get entangled with him again. However, the last time, when she was about to leave T City, I couldn’t reach her anywhere. It wasn’t until she called me later that I learned she had returned to the Geoffrey estate and decided to stay by Mr. Geoffrey’s side, completely devoted. I don’t know what sweet nothings Mr. Geoffrey used to deceive her, but she completely ignores my advice now and hasn’t been back to the Quentin home in over four months. I’m terrified, Sir. I’m afraid Mr. Geoffrey is solely focused on taking revenge for what happened to you by hurting the young lady. Now that she’s carrying his child, I’m not worried he’ll harm her immediately, but I am worried about the future. You know, Christine Quinn apparently had a child once. If Mr. Geoffrey is only being good to our young lady because he plans to use her baby to save Christine Quinn’s child, then things will become even more dreadful. Because you and I both know, Sir, that the young lady could never save Christine Quinn’s child."