Chapter 39
Katherine wasn’t actually asleep. She was just resting with her eyes closed.
Watching Derrick standing by the bed, towel–drying his hair, she reached out with her foot and poked his bare waist.
“Why are you drying your hair by the bed? You’re getting water everywhere,” Katherine complained.
Derrick glanced at her, one hand still drying his hair while the other reached back to grab her ankle.
“What are you doing? Let go,” Katherine protested, trying to pull her foot away.
She wiggled her foot a couple of times, but Derrick’s grip didn’t budge, so she just gave up and lay still. She knew he would eventually let her go.
Sure enough, once his hair was mostly dry, Derrick let go of her ankle and helped her up to a sitting position.
“Aren’t we supposed to go to the hospital tomorrow?” Derrick asked.
The baby was already four months along, so it was time for another prenatal check–up and the screening for any abnormalities. Derrick knew they couldn’t put it off.
“Really? I had no idea,” Katherine said casually.
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Katherine wasn’t too sure about the dates. She rolled her eyes upward, mentally counting from the day she got pregnant. “I think it’s been about four months.”
Derrick watched Katherine count the days, and when she thought back to the day they had sex, she didn’t seem bothered at all. Only then did he finally feel relaxed.
It really looked like Katherine had let what happened that day go.
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But every time Derrick caught sight of the curve of Katherine’s belly, that familiar guilt would hit him all over again.
The irritation from her earlier tease faded away, and Derrick lifted her off the bed. “Come on, let’s have dinner first.”
Katherine’s days were especially easy–good food, plenty to drink, and not a single worry on her mind.
But over at Windridge Villa, tirings weree different story.”
For the past two weeks, Richard had completely ignored Miranda and Mia.
”
He didn’t come home, didn’t answer his phone, and even when Miranda went to his office to look for him, she was turned away every single time.
She was Richard’s wife, for crying out loud. And now she was treated like some desperate business partners trying to get a meeting, shut out without a second thought.
Miranda’s face was twisted with hatred and a touch of madness.
“What exactly is Richard trying to do? Does he really want to divorce me?” Miranda shouted.
Their marriage had been rocky for years, but they’d still spent countless days and nights together. Yet now, Richard acted like he wanted to sever all ties with her for good.
‘No way. I absolutely can’t let this happen, Miranda thought to herself.
The endless torment was driving her insane. She’d been scheming to spend a night with Richard, hoping it would tip the scales in her favor. But now, she couldn’t even get a glimpse of him–how could her plan possibly succeed?
“Mia, why don’t you go find Katherine again and apologize to her?” Miranda said, clutching Mia’s hand like she was grabbing onto the
last straw.
She added, “Katherine is naive and sensitive. As long as you talk to her nicely, she’ll definitely forgive us. Oh, right, and Charles.
“Just release something about Charles to Katherine. If she doesn’t want to stay in Derrick’s place, then everything we’ve done so far will look like we were actually helping her.”
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Chapter 39
Miranda shook Mia’s hand frantically, her eyes burning with madness.
“Mom, don’t worry,” Mia said.
Compared to Miranda’s panic, Mia was much more composed.
D
Mia gently pried Miranda’s hand off her own, bit by bit. “Katherine has already moved on. She never even brings up Charles anymore. There’s no point in going to her.”
Mia’s eyes were just as full of scheming as Miranda’s. She said with a sly smile, “You want to get close to Richard, right? Instead of wasting your time on Katherine, why not dig for some gossip from your salon friends?”
Miranda’s face twisted in disgust at the suggestion. “Them? What could they possibly know? They’re just a bunch of pampered fools who’ve never seen the real world. All they care about is having fun.”
Miranda had always looked down on those women. They only had the lives they did because of their own families or their husbands‘ families.
But Miranda wasn’t like them–she’d clawed her way up, one step at a time, to become Richard’s wife, all on her own.
Mia could tell exactly what Miranda was Mia
thinking and gave her a
mocking smile.
‘Only someone like her would think those women don’t know anything, Mia thought to herself.
Mia patiently reminded Miranda, “Sure, they might not be on your level, but at least they know which dinners their husbands are going to. If you just chat them up, you’ll naturally find out which parties Richard is attending.”
At that, Mia shot Miranda a meaningful look. “Once you’re at the party, it is your turf, isn’t it?”
Back then, Miranda had pulled off her scheme at the company’s annual gala–she swapped Richard’s drink when no one was looking and made it work.
Sure enough, as she listened, a spark slowly returned to Miranda’s eyes.
“You’re right,” she said, her earlier despair vanishing in an instant.
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She looked at her daughter with newfound appreciation. “That’s my girl–always so clever.”
Mia sneered to herself, ‘Seriously? She thinks that’s clever? Guess Mom really doesn’t have a clue. From now on, I’m on my own.
At Cebiue Medical Center, Derrick stuck with Katherine through every single test, and as soon as they walked out of the exam room, they bumped right into John.
John had a bag in his hand and waved at them. “Morning. Brought you guys some breakfast.”
Derrick glanced at the packaging and didn’t turn it down. “Thanks, bro.”
Derrick and Katherine headed to John’s office.
John didn’t show up to work much, but his office was spacious–almost as impressive as Derrick’s.
“You really know how to enjoy life,” Derrick commented.
John shrugged. “Absolutely. If you don’t enjoy life, what’s the point?”
Katherine barely had any strength left. When John greeted her, all she could do was force a faint smile.
Her hands were shaking so much that she didn’t even have the strength to feed herself.
Derrick carefully wiped the spoon clean and fed her some soup.
John watched from the side, all traces of his usual teasing gone. His brows knitted together in genuine concern.
“How did her anemia get this bad?” John muttered, glancing at Katherine’s belly, which was barely showing. “She can’t go on like this.”
She was just at the early stage. Once she hit the later months, and the baby started demanding more nutrients, Katherine couldn’t be
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able to handle it.
Just drop it. I don’t need you telling me what to do,” Derrick snapped.
He was already in a foul mood. He hated it when people started nagging him about this kind of thing.
Katherine finally caught her breath and rested her hand on Derrick’s, letting him know to pause for a second.
“Sorry, his tone is a bit harsh. He’s just worried about me,” Katherine explained.
John was actually used to Derrick’s blunt way of talking. After all, they’d been friends for so many years, and this was just how Derrick always acted.
But seeing someone step in to explain for him and smooth things over, John couldn’t help but feel a little envious.
“You’ve got it good, man,” John said, shaking his head.
But hearing that, Katherine couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish.
Derrick had probably never mentioned her to anyone, and he definitely never let his friends see how worn out or troubled he really was.
So they had no clue that, for the past three years, the real lucky one had actually been her.
“Alright, go home if you finish eating. Hospitals aren’t really a place for pregnant women to hang around,” John said, his tone casual. He had only come by because he heard Katherine was having her check–up today.
He figured he might as well stop by since he had nothing else to do, but he just felt a bit unwanted.
After they finished eating, Derrick took Katherine to his office.
Since she’d just had her check–up, Derrick didn’t want to let her out of his sight for even a second.
Katherine didn’t feel like moving around either. She napped for a while on the beanbag, then moved to the bedroom for a proper rest.
The prenatal check–up really wore her out, and no matter how much she ate that morning, it was like she hadn’t eaten at all–her stomach still felt completely empty.
But she had to watch how much she ate.
With nothing to do all day, Katherine was tormented by cravings she couldn’t satisfy.
Thankfully, just after lunch, she got a call from Wyatt.
“Mrs. Graham, are you available right now? Something’s happened with Jasmine,” Wyatt said.
“Something happened?” Katherine immediately stood up. “I’m at Riverbend Group right now. I’m free“>
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