The moment Jeffrey’s hand landed on Melanie’s belly, they felt a strong kick from the fetus.It was as if the fetus, that wasn’t yet six months old in the stomach, knew the touch of his father and was jumping and dancing for joy in his mother’s womb.Melanie and Jeffrey looked into each other’s eyes. She noticed him swallowing hard and the tears glistening in his eyes.“He’s kicking me,” Jeffrey said hoarsely, in a voice soaked with happiness.Melanie felt her heart going soft at that moment. She thought it was the sweetest thing she heard, filled with the love a father had for his child.She couldn’t bear to push his hand away, and allowed him to greedily caress her belly. The fetus in her womb continued kicking away happily as Jeffrey moved his hand to wherever the fetus was kicking, and the father-child pair continued interacting with each other.Suddenly, the baby kicked Melanie hard.Melanie couldn’t help but wince. “Ouch!” Jeffrey immediately pulled his hand back. “Does
The sight of the woman before him looking like a deer caught in headlights made Jeffery smirk. “Am I that scary?”“What do you think? Hooligan,” Melanie chided him, and quickly buttoned up her collar.“I just want to tell you that your suspicions might have something to do with this birthmark,” Jeffrey gently poked the birthmark behind the shoulder through her shirt.“You mean…”“I’ve asked the professor. He said there might be some kind of advanced gene technology implanted in your birthmark, resulting in gene mutation. That is why the DNA test was unable to pick things up.”“Are you sure about that?”“The professor wanted to conduct some tests on you, but you became pregnant and have to avoid radiographic testing,” Jeffrey explained.Melanie nodded. “I’ll do the tests in a few months.”“This kid will be out in a few months’ time,” Jeffrey said with a smile. He couldn’t help but reach out to caress her belly.Two hours passed, and Melanie gave Annie a call.Annie said that t
William swiftly had dinner served in the living room.Professor Turner was already seated. He made no secret about it as he asked Jeffrey and Melanie, who had just entered the living room, “Done washing up?”Melanie’s face turned a bright red. Professor Turner’s suggestive choice of words embarrassed her thoroughly.“What are you doing just standing there? Come over for dinner, quick!” Professor Turner urged.Melanie looked down, not wanting to have dinner in such an awkward atmosphere. “I’m still not hungry. You two go ahead.”“If it weren’t for your pregnancy, I wouldn’t have needed to accompany you for your regular meals. I wouldn’t have gotten hungry so easily,” Professor Turner said, displeased. “Just ask him: who would dare to rush me to eat when I was busy?”Jeffrey said with a smile, “He’s not exaggerating. Professor never called anyone to eat. He himself didn’t have regular meals.”“Quick, eat it while it’s hot.”Professor Turner saw how embarrassed Melanie still was,
“Come and check up on me a few more times,” Jeffrey said, still trying his luck.“Is your condition that severe?” Melanie said as she glanced at him.“Don’t you know best whether my condition is severe or not?” Jeffrey said in half-seriousness.Melanie rolled her eyes. The only thing she knew was that he was strong enough to have to curb his strength in order not to hurt her!“Again, let’s not see each other so often before my mom recovers,” Melanie reminded him ruthlessly. Jeffrey’s eyes dimmed. She still didn’t trust him.However, the situation was tricky and precarious right now. He could understand why she was so jumpy and cautious.He finally agreed to it. “I’ll see you at the Yorks’ banquet, then.”Melanie acknowledged his statement in silence before turning to leave with Professor Turner.However, that night, William reported to Jeffrey, “President, we didn’t receive an invitation for the birthday banquet…”Jeffrey’s eyes flashed.How could that be? The Yorks had alw
Upon seeing Melanie arrive, Yelena approached her and said, “They told me they had a surprise for me. I didn’t know the party was going to be held outdoors.”Yelena knew Melanie was pregnant, as they stayed in the research base together.She was smart enough to guess that Melanie was hiding her pregnancy from the Yorks for a particular reason.Although Yelena was a member of the Yorks, she hadn’t yet regained her memories. She wasn’t as close to the Yorks as she was to Melanie, and she therefore sided with Melanie whenever something happened.“It’s fine. My skirt hem is thickened. See, this is made of leather. Even if the wind blows my way, it’ll still remain poofy and conceal my stomach,” Melanie said.Yelena heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. “I’ll have them bring out more air-conditioning units. This dress looks too thick.”Very soon, Melanie saw Yelena instructing the servants on-site. “I feel rather warm. Bring in a few more air-conditioning units and cool down the place.”
Just then, another hand reached out to pull her aside.“Harlow, today is Yelena’s birthday banquet. There’s no need to blow things out of proportion and make everyone upset, is there?” Leo stepped forward to intervene.All the relatives of the York family quietened down as they focused their attention on the commotion.Leo never openly opposed Harlow in front of others. To think he stepped forward to challenge Harlow for Melanie Jones! What an exciting turn of events this was!“I was just inviting her to an opening dance. How am I making everyone upset?” Harlow said as he straightened out his suit.“If Melanie is upset about it, others will naturally be upset. How about letting me dance the opening dance with her and you take a break, Harlow?” Leo said.Everyone was mumbling under their breaths. Melanie looked on with her brows furrowed.She thought Leo had come to save her from the situation. As it turned out, he was here to invite her to dance as well. That surprised her.Har
Jeffrey looked over lazily and saw Leo walking toward them and sitting down unceremoniously with a glass of wine in hand.“This is between the two of us. There’s no need for you to fret over it, Mr. York,” Jeffrey said coldly.“Melanie and I have known each other for a while. I admire her talent, appreciate her personality, and even see her as my sister. I do fret over some of her affairs,” Leo retorted.Melanie blinked in confusion. See her as a sister?Did Leo say that carelessly or deliberately?“In that case, Mr. York, how did you know that I don’t have all that prepared?” Jeffrey replied, unperturbed. “Melanie has been staying overseas recently. I’ll give her everything she wants the moment she returns home.”“I don’t really care about status,” Melanie said. “After all, I didn’t give him an official status, too.”Melanie and Jeffrey exchanged smiles.Leo pushed his glasses up his nose bridge to hide his awkwardness. He knew that there was no way to push his agenda with thi
Jeffrey reacted fast as he lunged over from opposite Melanie and handed her an orange.She developed a love for the smell of oranges when she previously suffered from severe morning sickness.As he had expected, the moment the refreshing citrusy smell of the orange hit Melanie’s nose, her nausea faded. She lifted her head and said with a wave of her hand, “I don’t like it.”Leo arched his brow as he put down the smoked fish, and surveyed her from head to toe. “You don’t look very good. Why are you retching? Are you ill?”Melanie held her breath as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and nodded as calmly as she could. “I’ve been suffering from gastroenteritis recently,” she said.“Why don’t you take a rest? I’ll find you later and continue with the proposal?” Leo said with feigned concern.“Sure. I’ll go and grab my medicine.”She stood up, and Jeffrey held her steady as she walked to the washroom.She knew that there were people keeping close attention to her along the way. S