Chapter 11
“Doctor, if the medical report indicates I’m pregnant, my child won’t survive,” Grace clenched her lips, pleading.
The female doctor looked at her with pity. “Is it really that serious?”
Bitterness filled Grace’s voice. “The man who claimed to be my friend that day, he’s actually my husband.”
The doctor’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve witnessed how he treated me before. We’re divorcing in three months. He’s about to marry someone else. In his mind, I’m a stain he doesn’t want to acknowledge. He won’t let me keep this child.”
Listening to this, the doctor sighed deeply, then looked at Grace seriously, “If he’s divorcing you, why keep the child? Do you want to raise the child alone? This is your first pregnancy. Your uterus is fine. You could choose not to keep the child and start a new life after leaving him.”
“No, our marriage is merely a contract. It was wrong of me to fall for him. I can’t bring myself to get rid of this child. Even if life gets tougher, I’ll keep this child.” Grace shook her head.
The doctor sighed deeply. “Why are you so foolish? Since you insist on having the child, I won’t say more. I promise you, I’ll do my best to cover for you with the people in the checkup department.”
“Thank you!”
After the checkup, Grace took a cab back home. Before long, she received a call from Brian.
“How was the checkup?”
“Same as last time, low blood sugar,” Grace said casually over the phone.
“Are you sure there are no other issues?” Brian seemed skeptical, probing again.
“I’ll send the medical report to you.” Grace threw out the statement and hung up on him.
Brian glanced at his black–screened phone, furrowing his brow. He hadn’t expected Grace to dare hang up on him.
A short while later, his phone received a file. Brian opened it, and the report did indeed mention minor issues like low blood sugar and anemia. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, put down the phone, and massaged his forehead.
These days, Louise had been busy preparing for the wedding. Whenever she was at home, she would pull Grace into helping her with various wedding matters, even kindly inviting Grace to have meals with her in the dining room.
Today, Brian had gone to the office early for a meeting, leaving only Louise and Grace at the dining table during mealtime. Louise suddenly asked, “Grace, how’s your recovery going?”
Grace first responded with a vague “Hmm,” then answered, “It’s okay.”
“Then how about you accompany me to ch*ck out some houses?” Louise suggested, “Brian and I are planning to buy a new house, but I’m unfamiliar with Mantos and have no idea about the good locations. You must be more acquainted, so come with me!” After saying this, she looked at Grace with anticipation.
Thinking about the two of them getting married and moving into a new house together, Grace felt a pang of pain in her heart. The idea of being involved in all aspects of their wedding plans for the next three months made her even more upset. It felt like torture for her.
Grace sipped her soup absentmindedly and murmured, “Since it’s your house, I think it would be more suitable for you to go with Mr. Brian. He’s from Mantos and knows the place well.”
“But he’s always busy with his company. How would he know about these things? Besides, the type of layout he likes might be different from mine. We’re both girls, our tastes are more similar, and I really want to hear your opinions. Come with me, okay?” Louise pleaded, her eyes sparkling and her voice charming, making it hard for anyone to refuse.
Seeing Grace still hesitant, Louise continued, “Are you worried that Brian won’t agree?”
Before Grace could deny it, Louise went on, “How about I give Brian a call and let him know.”
Feeling a sinking sensation in her heart, Grace stopped her. “No need, I’ll go with you.”
Grace was afraid that if Louise called Brian, he would think Grace was intentionally not following Louise’s orders and might get angry.
As they stepped outside, Louise linked arms with Grace, presenting an image of two best friends. Grace hadn’t expected house hunting to be such a tiring task, especially since Louise was unfamiliar with Mantos‘ real estate. They visited various houses, sometimes traveling from the west side to the east and then from the east to the south. They explored all the high–end properties in Mantos.
During this time, Louise would ask Grace to buy things for her if she got thirsty or hungry. Louise would sit in the sales office, listening to the property consultants, while Grace, sometimes under the scorching sun, struggled to bring back the iced coffee Louise wanted. By the time Grace returned, Louise had already finished viewing the house and calculating the price, ready to leave. After a full day of this, Grace was nearly exhausted.
Fortunately, at 4:30 in the afternoon, Louise finally found a detached villa located by the Flora River. After buying it, they could move in immediately. Due to her pregnancy, Grace’s legs began to swell after walking too much. She wanted to sit down, but the house had no furniture yet, and there was no place to sit. She had to squat against the wall to relieve the pressure on her legs. Louise seemed satisfied with the villa and called Brian to come over.
The location was not far from Brian’s company, and he quickly arrived by car. Seeing Grace squatting on the ground, his brow slightly furrowed, he calmly followed Louise into the house.
Louise, holding his arm, asked, “How is it? The location is excellent. You can see the Flora River, and it’s just a few minutes drive to the company after crossing the river. Very convenient, what do you think?”
Brian nodded. “It’s good. I’ll go pay the deposit.”
“Great, I’ll go with you.”
(
Brian glanced at Grace, still on the ground, displeased. “What are you still doing there?”
Exhausted, Grace got up and followed the two back to the sales office. Finally, there was a place to sit, and Grace slumped onto the sofa.
Brian and Louise went to the finance office to pay the deposit, and Louise went to the restroom afterward. Seeing Grace sitting in the chair and massaging her calves, Brian walked over and sat across from her. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m fine.” Grace paused massaging her legs, and straightened up.
Brian looked at her. Grace had used an umbrella today, so her face wasn’t sunburned, but she appeared unusually pale. Brian felt that her anemia hadn’t improved during this period, and if anything, it seemed
to worsen.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, when Louise, wearing high heels, suddenly emerged. “Brian, what are you two talking about?”
Suppressing his emotions, Brian looked gently at Louise and said, “Nothing, just waiting for you. The house is settled. Let’s
go home.”
“But I still want to look for a design company,” Louise said after giving it some thought.
Brian was about to agree but changed his mind at the last moment. “Let’s go home first. I’ll have my assistant handle the designer search.”
