Zoey stayed in the car for a long time, leaning against the steering wheel. Her fingers clenched it firmly and the silence was deafening. Her phone had rung multiple times inside her bag, but Zoey ignored it.After what seemed like forever, Zoey slowly sat up straight and opened the car window for some air. It took her a couple of minutes to regain her composure. When she looked at her phone later on, she realized all the missed calls were from Arielle Flemming, who had just returned from overseas a few days ago."Zoey! Why didn't you answer my calls?"Zoey breathed in deeply and said, "Sorry, I was busy."Upon hearing her hoarse voice, Arielle sensed something was amiss."What's wrong? Did Mr. Scott mistreat you again?"At first, Arielle was genuinely happy for Zoey when her wish of marrying Laurence finally came true. Not long after, however, Zoey told her that their marriage was just for show and that they were nothing more than boss and employee.Arielle and Zoey had been deskmates
Zoey's listless voice tugged at Arielle's heart."Zoey, I'm coming to the hospital to get you. I'll treat you to a meal. You should stop thinking about unhappy stuff for a while."Zoey complied obediently."Okay."After ending the phone call, she remained in the car seat, dazed. She could already imagine the outcome once she broke the news to Laurence. The man had no desire for marriage as he didn't think it was anything special. During the previous new year, the Scott family had invited many guests. At that time, Laurence's cousin had just given birth to an adorable daughter. The baby was beautiful, with round cheeks, fair skin, and big round eyes. The family's elders couldn't stop holding her in their arms. As for Laurence, he'd only entertained his niece for a short while during his spare time. Obviously, he had no interest in the child. That very night, Zoey had gotten into bed after showering, and she felt that the room was too quiet. Therefore, she could only start a conversatio
Zoey couldn't understand the reason behind Laurence's tantrum, so she secretly went to ask the butler, "Did we have guests over today?""No, madam." "How peculiar," she thought. Nevertheless, she dismissed Laurence’s capricious temper as part of his mood swings. Fortunately, he stopped throwing a fit soon after that.As exhausted as Zoey was, she didn't have the energy to figure out what was on his mind. She headed to the bedroom upstairs and fell fast asleep.Zoey was still deep in her slumber during dinner time. Seeing the empty seat at the dining table, Laurence asked the butler with an unpleasant expression, "Where is Miss Jenner?" "I think she’s still upstairs.""Go and call her."Unable to stand Laurence’s sour mood, Mrs. Scott chided, "Who upset you now? Don't make that face at home."Laurence fell silent as a frown slowly formed on his face. Indeed, he shouldn't let Zoey affect his emotions so easily.Standing up, he said, "Never mind. I'll go and get her."Mrs. Scott felt fr
Laurence's most profound impression of Zoey was her obedience and sensibility. She wasn't one to do anything to embarrass him. However, unintended incidents were bound to happen between a man and a woman.A sneer crept on Laurence's mouth while his eyes filled with unprecedented indifference. Admittedly, he was unhappy about the fact that Zoey might be pregnant.He wasn't suspecting the child belonged to him because he always took preventive measures. He didn't like to make her take contraceptive pills either because it would harm her health.Nevertheless, after that one time Laurence had lost control of himself, he’d reminded her to take the pill to avoid unwanted consequences.Zoey wasn't a careless person. On the contrary, she was incredibly smart and wouldn't do anything stupid to jeopardize her health. If she didn't look after herself, nobody would. Holding the report in his hand, Laurence glanced at the words on it once again. He recognized each of the terms, which were exactly
Zoey was both taken aback and confused by his question. Looking up, she noticed that Laurence's expression was extremely sullen. His forceful pinch hurt her chin, but she endured the pain and replied softly, "No."Laurence looked at her with a fake smile and warned, "You'd better think twice before answering, Miss Jenner."Zoey's eyes met his cold glare, feeling dumbstruck yet again. His interrogating tone was starting to make her seriously reflect on whether she'd done something wrong behind his back.As far as she could remember, she'd never revealed the company's confidential information, and neither had she once inquired about Laurence's whereabouts like other wary women.Confidently, she shook her head and insisted, "I swear I didn't, Mr. Scott." While speaking to him out of fear, her voice sounded hoarse and quiet.Laurence released his grip on her chin, the hostility in his eyes easing slightly. He was wondering about the possibility of Zoey lying to him. He had a good impress
Looking back, there were no happy memories. Zoey could only live a carefree life when she was around 16 to 17 years old. Summer at that time made up her most memorable days.Apart from her mother's medical expenses, she hadn't had any worries. Like any other teenager, she’d been occupied with secretly observing her crush.Zoey sat on the lounge chair in the company's lobby for a long time, feeling completely worn out. She looked at the passers-by aimlessly, most of whom were her colleagues working in haste.In the park opposite, there were children feeding pigeons and college students selling flowers as their part-time job.Zoey stared at the roses in their hands, and her thoughts drifted away.The Scott family had a backyard filled with roses. Yet, none of them belonged to her. After a while, Zoey stood up wearily and tightened her coat around herself. Most of her face was hidden behind her scarf as she covered herself securely.She approached the college students and reached out her
In an instant, Zoey’s blood ran cold.She held her breath and raised her trembling eyes to glance carefully at the paper in his hand.A gray image was printed on the white paper.The bezels were also clearly visible.Zoey stood stiffly in her spot. Her feet seemed to have been nailed to the ground and filled with lead, feeling so heavy that she couldn't even lift a foot.At that moment, she hardly dared to look at Laurence's expression.Zoey had shredded all the documents from the hospital to get rid of the evidence. The only thing she’d kept was the ultrasound image because she was reluctant to discard it–which she’d hidden in the drawer.She didn't even know how Laurence discovered the truth.Zoey forced herself to calm down, trying to convince herself that maybe it belonged to him and wasn’t hers.With clenched fists, she waited until her quivering breath stabilized before walking over slowly.Then, she started changing her clothes as if nothing had happened.Laurence didn't make a
The sharp edge of the paper nearly cut Zoey’s skin.She was caught off guard. The secret she’d been concealing for up to a month had been exposed so blatantly.Zoey took the paper from Laurence. She didn't read it but quietly put it away.After a long silence, she looked at him and said, "Yes, I'm pregnant."Alas, despite having hidden it for so long, the truth still had to see the light of day.In the past few days, she was constantly afraid that Laurence would discover her traces and that she would face his ruthlessness any second.Surprisingly, Zoey only felt peace now that he’d finally learned the truth.The heavy burden on her shoulders was put down at last.Zoey tasted bitterness on the tip of her tongue. While she didn't know what would happen next, she predicted that the consequences would be awful.It was impossible to have everything she wanted.All that was left were more broken relationships.She could vaguely discern the stern outline of Laurence’s profile in the dark. He