Zoe Lancaster hadn’t been able to fall asleep.
For some reason, she felt constantly nauseous. Trips to the bathroom only resulted in her dry-heaving bitter stomach acid, leaving her restless.
Feeling truly miserable, she looked up her symptoms on Google. Some results suggested gastritis, some said food poisoning, and others suggested...
Pregnancy.
Staring at the word, she froze. Her heart skipped a beat as a wave of panic rushed over her.
She couldn’t help but think back over the last few days. She really had been lethargic, and the nausea had struck multiple times. Ever since a doctor had previously told her it would be difficult for her to conceive, she had always harbored a sense of false security whenever Simon Hawthorne didn’t use a condom. But now, with these physical reactions... it led her to a bold guess.
Her breathing instantly quickened, and all traces of sleepiness vanished.
Consumed by anxiety, she waited for the right moment to sneak out of Somerset Gardens and buy a pregnancy test at a nearby pharmacy. She deliberately used the back door when she returned, her heart pounding with fear until she was safely back in her room.
She stared at the pregnancy test on the table, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Three minutes passed. She watched helplessly as two distinct lines appeared—
Suddenly, her body went weak. Her mind went completely blank, stripping her of the ability to think as she unconsciously placed a hand over her still-flat lower abdomen.
She wondered if she was really pregnant, if she was truly carrying his baby. She felt dazed and overwhelmed by a tangle of complex emotions.
They clearly had no future together.
Jules Yates was right; she couldn’t keep hanging onto a tree that would never bloom.
She wondered if, assuming she truly had a child in her womb, it would have to grow up in a single-parent household after it was born.
These agonizing thoughts twisted her face into an expression of pain. This was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
"Mr. Hawthorne, Mrs. Hawthorne is resting in this guest bedroom."
Zoe snapped back to reality. She hurriedly swept the pregnancy tests off the table and hid them. Just as she stood up, the door opened.
She looked up, meeting the eyes of the man in the doorway.
He was holding an exquisite medicinal bowl, tendrils of steam still rising from it. A familiar, foul odor invaded her nose, and the bitter taste seemed to already spread across her taste buds, making her frown in discomfort.
When Simon entered, he didn’t miss Zoe’s panicked movements. Her gaze darted around, avoiding direct eye contact with him.
Simon narrowed his eyes imperceptibly and strode in on his long legs. "Why are you resting here instead of going back to the master bedroom?"
Zoe swallowed the sourness in her throat. She felt that tearing away all pretenses to interrogate him about whether he and Peyton Joyce had done that sort of thing would only bring more humiliation. So, she simply said, "I don’t feel comfortable staying in there."
Simon paused subtly, his lips pressing into a thin line. "What kind of temper tantrum are you throwing now?"
He didn’t actually want to start an argument, and he was even willing to overlook Jules offending him. After all, this woman was ungrateful and clearly had no intention of saying anything nice to him. After a brief silence, he added, "Grandmother had someone send this over. The servants are all busy, so I had to bring it up to you myself."
Zoe subconsciously took a step back, her gaze on the bowl of medicine filled with conflict as she wondered if this medicine was really that effective.
"Grandmother can’t see us anyway. Just pour it out and be done with it," she said.
He had already walked over to her side. Grabbing her wrist, he forcefully made her sit down. "Why are your hands so cold?"
There was no way Zoe was going to admit it was from nervousness. She pulled free of his grip. "I’m not drinking it."
Simon, accustomed to her attitude, looked at her calmly, brimming with patience. "It’s good for your body. Stop fussing."
Zoe hesitated, looking at him with an inexplicable expression. Her gaze lingered on the reddish corner of his lips for a few seconds before she looked away. Feigning nonchalance, she asked, "Is this medicine really that good? If, hypothetically, I were pregnant, wouldn’t drinking this harm the baby?"
"No. You can treat it as a health tonic; it only brings benefits, no harm," he answered flatly.
Zoe hesitated for a moment. Ultimately, she picked up the bowl and swallowed it mouthful by mouthful.
If she overreacted, it would only make Simon suspicious. Right now, she wasn’t entirely sure if she was actually pregnant or not; she needed a thorough medical checkup.
Seeing that she didn’t have a huge emotional outburst and was even behaving rather obediently, his chest inexplicably felt full. His previous bad mood vanished without a trace. "Why are you being so good today? Usually, when I make you drink this, it takes me ages to coax you."
"You call that coaxing? Isn’t it more like threats and bribery?" Zoe exposed him.
Simon let out a soft scoff, his lips curling upwards as he pinched the soft flesh of her cheek in punishment. He sneered, "You really don’t know what’s good for you. Since you’re not asleep, come with me to the hospital."
At the mention of the hospital, Zoe instinctively grew defensive. "What do you mean? Why are we going to the hospital?"
Simon lowered his eyes to look at her. "The internet is ablaze with speculation about you right now. If you go to the hospital with me, it’ll help dispel some of the negative press and show we aren’t as at odds as they imagine."
Zoe instantly understood. A hint of mockery flashed through her stunningly beautiful eyes. "So this is your solution? Instead of directly addressing your relationship with Peyton Joyce, you just want to control public opinion?"
"Then what do you want me to do?" He turned around, his gaze calm as he looked at her.
He asked the question so casually. It was as if he would do whatever she asked him to.
But Zoe knew that asking him to protect her at the expense of Peyton was an impossible fantasy—and asking would only be humiliating herself.
She turned her head away. "Whatever you want."
Originally, she hadn’t wanted to see Peyton at all, but then it occurred to her that this was a perfect opportunity. She could use the hospital trip to check if she was truly pregnant, preventing Simon from getting suspicious later.
Simon gave her a thoughtful look. He likely felt that her obedience today was a bit out of character.
Zoe felt a pang of uncertainty but met his gaze head-on. "I’m doing this for myself, so people stop cursing me for pushing her so far that she tried to commit suicide. If I show up at the hospital with you, they’ll dial it back a bit."
Simon said nothing more.
When they arrived at the hospital, it came as no surprise that Zoe spotted reporters hiding not too far away.
Getting out of the car, Simon turned his head to look at her. Seemingly oblivious to the presence of the reporters, he lowered his eyes and took her hand, slowly tightening his grip until their fingers were intertwined.
He didn’t speak, but this simple gesture was incredibly thought-provoking. She wondered why he would be so tender and intimate with her if she truly was the villain who had forced him apart from his beloved.
Zoe looked up at him in a daze. The lines of the man’s profile were exquisitely perfect, his straight nose casting a shadow on one side. His flawless, handsome face was enough to make anyone’s heart flutter. Even if he were completely at fault, simply seeing that face made it almost impossible to blame him.
She hastily averted her gaze. She couldn’t let herself step back into the abyss.
Stepping into the hospital cut them off from the sightlines of the cameras.
Zoe was the first to pull her hand from his grasp. "I only came here to put on a show. Now that we’re inside and they can’t photograph us, I don’t want to put on a fake front with Peyton Joyce. Go see her yourself; I’ll just walk around."
Simon pressed his lips together, glancing at the woman’s aloof demeanor. His heart felt as though it were being scraped by sandpaper—a dull, uncomfortable ache. Even though he had a thousand words he wanted to say, he forcefully swallowed them down.
"Mm." With a cold look in his eyes, he dropped the single, frosty syllable before turning and walking away.
Zoe watched him enter the hospital room. Only then did she put on her mask and sunglasses, making her way to the outpatient department as fast as she could.
This was Kingsward Hospital, a top-tier private hospital, and their efficiency was remarkably high.
During the ten minutes she waited for the results, she wondered countless times what she would decide to do if she really was pregnant...
Until the doctor finally looked up from the test results and smiled. "Congratulations, you’re three and a half weeks pregnant."