Chapter 2

Chapter Ninety-Four

Levi's words once again left Bella stunned. She cleared her throat and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you actually think I'm pregnant?"

Levi remained silent, which surprised Bella. It wasn’t that he didn’t know her plan, yet he was asking such questions now. Of course, she wasn't pregnant, and she hadn't even gone for a full medical check-up. The pregnancy report was fake.

This was all just an act to make those two scumbags turn on each other. Bella had assumed Levi, like her, understood this clearly.

Bella lightly shook her head in denial, "Stop joking. Do you really think I could be pregnant? Who do you think the father would be? You or my husband?"

Despite her words, if she were truly pregnant, the child in her womb could only belong to the man sitting in front of her, because she had never slept with her husband, so it was impossible for her to be pregnant with Max’s child.

Levi didn’t say anything. He silently tapped his fingers on the dining table, his expression unreadable, but his gaze remained fixed on Bella, sending a shiver down her spine.

...

"Are you crazy, Pear? Do you even realize how stupid and foolish your words and actions are?" Max had to chase after Pearl for quite a distance, his anger and frustration making him lose his temper and shout at her.

Because they were in a secluded area, Max didn’t bother to lower his voice as he angrily berated her. Pearl stopped, unsure of how she should feel at that moment—or rather, she didn’t know exactly what she was feeling.

Despair, anger, betrayal, abandonment, hatred, resentment, pain, and helplessness... Above all, she just wanted to tear that damn woman apart. Why, after all her efforts, had nothing worked? Why, despite all she had done, was Bella still pregnant? Why was Max so happy about it? Now that Bella was pregnant, did Max plan to casually discard her?

Seeing Pearl stand silently without responding only made Max angrier. He needed to get back to Bella; he didn't have time to waste on Pearl.

"Are you mute? Go back and apologize to Bella right now and say that it was all just a misunderstanding. Go back this instant!" Max roared. Although he had stopped Pearl in time earlier, he was still worried that even those few words might have made Bella suspicious.

Hearing Max's words, Pearl found his anger amusing and laughed maniacally.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Max thought this woman had gone insane.

"What are you so afraid of? Afraid she'll find out about our relationship? Afraid she'll learn about our plan? Now that she's pregnant, you can casually toss me aside?" Pearl laughed bitterly as she spoke.

At this moment, what she needed most was an explanation from the man before her, but the more she hoped, the more disappointed she became. This man, the one she had loved, now looked at her with nothing but disgust and anger.

Pearl's words hit the exact nerve Max had been trying to conceal. Furious, he rushed forward, intending to drag her back to apologize to Bella. He believed that only if Pearl apologized could he dispel Bella's suspicions.

Realizing he'd been away for too long, Max pulled harder, causing Pearl to cry out in pain. Her scream was so loud that Max immediately let go of her, looking at her with disdain as she fell to the ground.

"You're such a nuisance. Even now, you're playing the victim? If Bella finds out about what we've done, not only will I be ruined, but so will you. It's time you knew your place! Who do you think you are to say those things? Do you still think you're better than Bella? You’ll never be better than her. Look at yourself—you have nothing that can compare to Bella."

Pearl felt as if she had been struck by lightning hearing these words. The pain in her chest was overwhelming, and she murmured, "But you said… our child..."

"Our child? Are you out of your mind? What would our child be called? It would be a bastard, an illegitimate child. If it existed, it would be the reason I’d be dragged down. Stop dreaming, Pearl. I never even considered having a child with you."

Max hadn’t wanted to say these things. Although he had long been tired of Pearl because she was no longer useful to him, he had considered keeping her around due to the help she had provided over the years. He had planned to give Pearl a chance to turn back, to quietly remain as his secret mistress.

After all, Pearl had nothing to lose. She could continue being his secretary, his wife's "best friend," living a comfortable life without any worries or hard work.

But this foolish woman was ruining his mood and the dinner tonight with her ridiculous and stupid emotions. Pearl sat dumbfounded on the cold ground; she never thought Max could say such words to her. Just because Bella was pregnant and she was now worthless, Max discarded her like a rag.

The whole world seemed to collapse in front of Pearl; she could no longer hear what Max was saying, nor did she know how long she had been sitting on the cold ground. She didn't even realize when Max left. Pearl remained dazed, staring into the void, not knowing what she was thinking. Where exactly had she gone wrong to end up being discarded like this?

"It's raining..." It wasn't until the heavy rain started that Pearl murmured.

Under the heavy rain, there was a beautiful woman dressed in a very seductive outfit, but her beauty, seductiveness, and arrogance were all washed away by the downpour.

Max hurried back to the table, seeing Bella and Levi still calmly enjoying their meal as if nothing had happened, which irritated him slightly. Max had thought Bella would be so worried about him that she couldn't sit still, but instead, she was calmly dining with his friend while he wasn't there.

"Max, you're back? Where's Pearl? Didn't she come back with you?" Bella asked in a concerned tone.

Max sighed in frustration and complained, "Just ignore her. Maybe she's in a bad mood tonight, that's why. Let's not worry about her anymore."

Bella added a few comforting words, although she felt quite pleased inside, she had to keep acting in front of Max. She didn't plan to drag only Pearl down to hell; if only Pearl were dragged down, Bella worried that her "best friend" would be too lonely.

The dinner table now had three people left, and the joy of Bella announcing her pregnancy had faded since Pearl's strange reaction. The dinner turned into a discussion about investment between the two men. Bella wasn't too concerned with that; she just quietly listened and continued her meal.

Of course, Bella didn't forget to take pictures of the moments of intimacy with Max to post on social media, and as before, she set it so that only Pearl could see them.

In the car, Max was silent as if deep in thought, to the point that Bella had to call his name three times before he responded.

"What's wrong?"

"What are you thinking about that has you so lost in thought?" Bella asked.

Max shook his head slightly and smiled, "Nothing special, just what I talked to Levi about during dinner, you know. Levi invited me to invest in the AIN project."

Bella was a little surprised; she didn't remember Levi ever saying he'd invest with Max. Suddenly, she recalled that not long ago, she had mentioned wanting to spend all of Max's money, but that was just a casual say at the time.

Max continued smiling, "Initially, I didn't expect much from that project, but I trust Levi a lot. I didn't expect the profits from that project to be so great. So, I invested even more..."

Max kept talking endlessly about the AIN project he invested in, even though he didn't intend to tell Bella or anyone else about it. But tonight, he was too happy and had drunk quite a bit, so he didn't hesitate to share it with Bella.

Moreover, Max thought that his investment in this project, how much money he earned or spent, didn't affect Bella because it was all his money. More importantly, now that Bella was pregnant with his child, having a successful and wealthy husband like him was something she should be proud of and cherish.

Indeed, whether in the past or now, Bella only cared about whether her husband was busy or not, not what he was doing or investing in, and she never gave any advice on those matters. In the past, it could be said that Bella cared for her husband, not wanting to add pressure to him, but since discovering her husband's affair, Bella still cared, but it was about how to spend all his money.

"Is that project really making so much money? If so, I also want to invest with you," Bella said.

As soon as she finished speaking, Max's previously cheerful expression became a bit awkward as he tried to evade. He had intended to keep this to himself; it was just that tonight he was too happy and accidentally let slip so much.

Max shook his head, showing concern for his wife, "No need. You're pregnant now. Just stay home, focus on your pregnancy, and relax. Don't worry about these things. Oh, by the way, you should quit your job. There's no need to work anymore. I'll give you enough money every month to shop as you please, buy whatever you want as long as you like it. I'll also buy lots of supplements for you. Working is tough; it will exhausting both physically and mentally."