"Oh, a pregnancy can be detected within 10 days, let alone 20 days." Tiana, despite knowing what she was feeling, reminded Sage. "Sage, we can go back for a second checkup, but brace yourself. You're likely to get the same result."Feeling overwhelmed, Sage agreed, "Let's go to the hospital."Tiana immediately stopped her. "You need to dry your hair first no matter how rushed you are. Take some time to calm down."Sage sat limply as Tiana helped her to dry her hair. Then, the two women exited the salon. Tiana said, "Give me your car keys. I'm driving." Sage did not insist on driving and obediently handed the keys to Tiana.Meanwhile, a finely dressed woman emerged from a room in the salon. The stylist inquired, "Madam, would you like a styling session?"Flashing a polite yet indifferent smile, the lady declined. "It's fine. I have to leave."…Sage stood in the hospital corridor, clutching the report which indicated that she was three weeks pregnant. She felt as though she had b
"Do I need to make an appointment right away?" Sage questioned.Tiana shook her head. "No, you don't have to. We can only schedule the abortion after checking the fetus' development. Come on. I'll send you to the hotel."Tiana helped Sage up from the bench. Only then did she realize that Sage's palms were sweaty. Feeling sorry for Sage, she advised, "Sage, you can keep the baby if you want, you know?"Sure, there will be a risk to the baby's health because you were under hallucinogens when you got pregnant. But you've always been healthy. The risk is relatively low."Why don't you opt for a comprehensive checkup at a later stage?""There's no need for that. Let's go." Sage shook her head hopelessly.Tiana did not try to persuade Sage anymore. She simply assumed that Sage needed more time to process the sudden news. Since Tiana had to work in the afternoon, Sage stayed at the hotel alone. Tiana, however, was very worried about her. "Are you really okay? Do you want me to take a
Giselle's unexpected arrival surprised Sage. She recalled the incident where Giselle stormed out of the airport parking lot, furious at her and Shane. She wondered if Giselle was here to cause a scene because of that incident."Ms. Joyner, please open the door. I have something to ask you," Giselle said solemnly while staring at the peephole after hearing Sage's footsteps on the other side.Sage reluctantly answered the door. She assumed that she was safe within the confines of the hotel. Besides, she couldn't dodge Giselle forever. Even if the latter was here to stir trouble, they would soon become colleagues.Giselle marched through the door into the room. Sage kindly handed her a bottle of water, but Giselle declined, "I'm not drinking that!"Huffing and puffing, Giselle seemed to have teared up. She had a mix of despair, envy, and frustration on her face."Ms. Rosethorn, what's wrong? Did someone upset you?" questioned Sage with a puzzled look. That only further provoked Gis
Only then did Sage realize that Giselle wasn't at Haldon City that eventful night. Still, she was baffled by Giselle's logic. "Ms. Rosethorn, how can you be sure that I'm carrying Shane's baby?"Although she had a lukewarm relationship with Ian, she was still married to him. How could Giselle be so sure that she wasn't pregnant with Ian's baby?"Whose child could it possibly be? Your marriage must be rocky because you've moved into a hotel. An unhappy couple would not be making babies!" Giselle growled furiously. "What's more, your husband hasn't shown up yet, so I assume you are too scared to tell him about the pregnancy. The only explanation is that you're pregnant with Shane's child!"Sage stared at Giselle incredulously, feeling astonished at the latter's "remarkable" analytical skills. They could even rival Shane's. In some way, Giselle and Shane were a good match. Although Shane had nothing to do with Sage's pregnancy, Sage had decided not to inform Ian about the matter. S
Giselle reluctantly rose from her seat. But before leaving, she warned, "I will not let this slide if you don't abort the child!" With that, she slammed the door shut, venting her anger.Sighing, Sage realized that she had lost her appetite. After giving it some thought, she dialed Shane's number."My lovely Sage, what's up? It's rare of you to call me," Shane replied flippantly. He seemed to be in a great mood.Firstly, Sage asked him about the construction site issue. He assured her that it was a false alarm before saying, "No doubt, Ian was behind it."As he spoke, Sage heard some noise coming from the other end. It sounded like a chair spinning. "Ms. Joyner, judging from that, Ian Holcomb seems to care about you."Sage did not want to talk about Ian, so she got straight to the point. "Shane, I have some good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?""Why? Have you come across some tough projects?" Shane questioned lackadaisically.She decided to tease him.
Sage did not continue bickering with Shane. She admitted, "I do not plan to tell Ian about the pregnancy, and I do not intend to keep the baby. I'm still waiting for the right time to have the surgery, but if Ian learns about my pregnancy, I hope you will step up."If Ian learned about her pregnancy, he would be unlikely to agree to the divorce, be it out of a sense of responsibility or otherwise. Not only that, he might get the older family members to pressure her into moving back to Solaris Estate. Therefore, Sage thought of getting Shane to take the blame for the time being."Tsk! I can't believe you. You're so insistent on divorce to the point that you're even keeping a pregnancy a secret from him," Shane commented, feeling amused."So are you helping me or not?" she pressed."I can take the blame, but I never make a bad bargain. What do I get out of this?" he asked.Sage honestly revealed, "You gain nothing out of this. But if you refuse to help me, I'll tell Giselle that I
Terry was the only one to calmly put away his laptop and meeting documents. When he was done, he followed Ian out of the meeting room. Without guessing, he knew that Ian was feeling troubled because of Sage.Although Ian had a busy schedule yesterday afternoon, he drove himself to the Joyners' residence after getting a call, having no time to call the driver. He had left in haste, and this morning he showed up at the office looking quiet. Terry had to tiptoe around Ian for fear of getting scolded.Thankfully, Ian did not vent his anger on Terry despite looking upset. His emotions seemed to be well under control.Noticing the deep frown on Ian's face, Terry said timidly, "Mr. Holcomb, I need to excuse myself for a bit. I have somewhere to go."Still frowning, Ian questioned, "Where to?"Terry replied, "Heliconia Hotel."The familiar name attracted Ian's attention. He unclenched his fist and turned to Terry. "Why are you headed to that hotel?"Terry lowered his gaze. He explaine
Underneath his suit jacket, Ian wore the shirt that Sage had handed to him last night. As it had been stuffed in the corner for a while, the shirt's collar didn't look as stiff as it usually did.She thought in surprise, "Isn't Ian very meticulous about his appearance? He also has a dressing room in his office. Why didn't he change into a fresh shirt?""What were you up to before this to fall asleep this early?" His low, baritone voice drew her attention.She rolled her eyes at him. But instead of answering, she questioned, "Why are you here?"Ian handed her an exquisite-looking bag. "Terry said he forgot to return this to you at Morita. He asked me to deliver it."His remark puzzled Sage. She thought that Terry had returned every item to her when they left Morita. Did he miss anything?She accepted the bag and checked the packaging of the item, but she could not recall whether or not she had bought that item. She brushed it off as possibly a gift that came with her purchases tha