Chapter 17 Do You Want to Get Pregnant That Badly?

That night, a maid knocked on Stephen's door.

Yvonne thought the maid had brought dinner, but when she opened the door, she saw that the maid was empty-handed.

"Ms. Miller, Mrs. Anderson wanted both of you to have dinner with her downstairs."

After he'd become blind, Stephen had only had his dinner in his room, and Yvonne had done the same after moving in. This was the first time Elizabeth invited them downstairs. The sudden invitation gave Yvonne a bad feeling, and she grumbled inwardly. Even so, she replied obediently, "Sure. I'll go down with Stephen in a moment."

After the maid left, Yvonne turned and looked at Stephen. "Is Grandma trying to torment us again?"

Stephen, however, remained expressionless. "You can reject her."

Yvonne shook her head. "No way. I need to continue playing my role as an obedient granddaughter-in-law," she murmured thoughtfully. "If we have dinner downstairs, we'll probably have more to eat, I guess?"

The corner of Stephen's mouth twitched. He didn't know what to say in response to that.

Soon, Yvonne helped Stephen to the dining room. As they entered, she realized the table was full of people.

Elizabeth introduced everyone to her one by one. "This is Stephen's uncle, William, and his wife, Hazel. That's Noah, Stephen's elder brother."

Yvonne greeted them as Elizabeth introduced them.

Hazel Johnson clasped her mouth. "My gosh, Stephen did marry a—" William Anderson's deliberate cough cut her off before she could say the word "troll."

Hazel looked at Yvonne with disgust, and there was a hint of gloating in her eyes. The man once favored by God had ended up marrying an ugly woman. There would be lots of people waiting to have a good laugh at him.

The next moment, Hazel smiled and invited Yvonne to sit down with great hospitality. "Come, have a seat. You're married to Stephen now, so we're all family. Make yourself comfortable."

Yvonne could tell that Hazel was being sarcastic. She sneaked a glance at Stephen, but seeing as he hadn't bothered to respond, she didn't take it seriously either. Her attention was on the whole table of dishes in front of her. For the past few days with Stephen, the maids had brought them little food. It hadn't been enough for her.

When she sat down, she couldn't help but gulp. Stephen overheard the sound. It made him speechless. Had he been starving her?

The dinner was pretty agreeable at first. Yvonne was going to help herself to some chicken wings after helping Stephen with food when she heard Elizabeth casually say, "I heard that you've taken over Miller Jewels. Did you?"

Yvonne paused for a moment and looked at Elizabeth. She told her honestly, "Yes. My grandfather left it to me."

"It's your family business. Of course, it's reasonable for you to inherit it. I didn't mean to interfere." She looked Yvonne in the eyes. "But you're still young, and you've just returned to Northerna City. In business, there are lots of complicated unspoken rules. There are lots of things you still don't understand. I would say that it would be better for you to keep your nose clean."

Elizabeth spoke in a tactful manner, seeming concerned about Yvonne. However, she was actually implying that she didn't agree with her taking over Miller Jewels.

Yvonne had been prepared for that, so she replied without fear, saying, "Grandma, the Miller family devoted their lives to Miller Jewels for generations. I have no reason to stand by and watch as it's ruined by someone else."

"If you need money, our family has plenty for you. There's no need for you to fight for Miller Jewels. Even though we're wealthy, we don't take on failing businesses. You should give up your inheritance of Miller Jewels."

Elizabeth thought Yvonne was just being young and naive. "Forget about Miller Jewels. Instead of thinking of inheriting it, you might as well work harder on becoming pregnant as soon as possible to secure your position as Stephen's wife."

"Mother, Yvonne doesn't have the final say on getting pregnant; Stephen has a say in it too," Hazel interrupted. "Last time, Ariel—"

"Mother!" Noah Anderson, who'd been silent this whole time, finally spoke. "Don't talk nonsense about things you shouldn't even be talking about." Hazel fell silent sheepishly. The atmosphere at the dining table was ruined in an instant.

Before Yvonne could react, Stephen stood up swiftly. "Grandma, I think you should forget it."

Elizabeth's face changed slightly. "Stephen, what do you mean?"

"I won't have any children." After he finished speaking, Stephen strode away. Realizing that something was wrong, Yvonne stood up and looked at everyone apologetically before quickly following Stephen.

After entering the room, Yvonne grabbed Stephen's hand. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Why don't you want children?"

Stephen turned away from her, and she sensed a cold, stern air about him.

Stephen pinned Yvonne in front of him in the dimly lit room. He lowered his head and slowly inched closer to her face, cornering her until she had nowhere to escape.

When he finally spoke, his voice was lowered, giving her a dangerous feeling.

"Do you really want to get pregnant that badly?"