Seeing him go into the bathroom, she quickly took out his phone. It was protected by a passcode. A clever idea struck her, and she entered the six digits 818818. Sure enough, it unlocked.
However, the call was from an international number.
She was careful enough to quietly morize the phone number before putting the phone back where she found it.
When he ca out, she lay there and continued to act cute. "Honey, I’m so hungry. Can you bring sothing to eat?"
Herman Hawthorne dried his hair. "Okay. Let get dressed first."
After he went downstairs, Zoe Ellsworth took out her own phone. She set her caller ID to appear as a non-existent number so that even if the other party tried to call back, it would register as a dead line.
Then, she used an app to modulate her voice to sound like a man’s. When she spoke, the person on the other end would hear a male voice.
The ringtone played for a mont before a gentle female voice ca through. "Hello?"
Zoe said in a formal, business-like tone, "Hello, this is Young Master Hawthorne’s secretary. I’m returning your recent call. Young Master Hawthorne is currently occupied. You can tell what this is about."
Hearing a man’s voice, the woman on the other end lowered her guard. "In that case, could you please ask him to give a call?"
"I’m sorry, but that will be difficult if you don’t state your business. Our Young Madam has warned us that we must inquire about the purpose of any calls from won." Zoe’s heart sank.
"Oh, all right then. Just tell him Bianca Rhodes called."
"Very well. I will be sure to pass on the ssage."
Zoe hung up, imdiately opened Herman’s phone again, and added the number to his blocklist. She then changed his settings to only allow calls from whitelisted contacts. This ant that aside from the now-blacklisted Bianca Rhodes, all his other contacts could still get through.
After taking care of everything, Zoe staged the scene again and lay down. Her eyes darkened as she stared at the number on her phone.
’Who dares to steal my man? I—I’m not the type to steal soone else’s man. The only way is to eliminate the problem for good, to outsmart all my rivals with my wits.’
"The food’s here." He pushed the door open and brought the al to the table in front of her.
Zoe took it and wolfed it down as if she’d been a beggar in a past life.
"Eat slowly."
She looked up and said, "Honey, my ex-boyfriend just called ."
He grunted in response. "The one nad Jason Irving?"
She shook her head. "No, Jason Irving doesn’t count as my ex. He was a guy I had a huge crush on for a long ti. Then he started dating so rich, beautiful girl. I heard they just broke up, and now he says he wants to get back together with ."
Just as she expected, Herman Hawthorne’s expression darkened. "Tell his na. I’ll give him a warm welco."
Of course, Zoe couldn’t tell him, because this person didn’t exist. He was completely made up.
"I’m not telling you. You won’t tell about your ex-girlfriend, so why the hell should I tell you about my ex-boyfriend? To be fair, you have to tell first, then I’ll tell you."
He suddenly fell silent. After a mont, he said, "Fine. I won’t ask. Just hurry up and eat."
Although Zoe still had a playful smile on her face, in her heart, she was almost certain that this Bianca Rhodes was his ex-girlfriend!
And a woman he was still deeply in love with!
’I don’t know why they broke up, but he’s my husband now. Even if he’s given his heart to soone else, I’ll take it back, bit by bit!’
*
That evening, Marlon Marshall still hadn’t returned. Jean Grant was the type of woman who could completely snap out of her emotions and clear her head.
And so, right now, she felt a little numb.
Even though she had a feeling she knew exactly where he’d gone, she didn’t take any action.
She went downstairs. The housekeeper ca forward. "Miss, where are you going?"
"You stay and watch the house. You don’t need to co with . If the master cos back, just tell him I went to a friend’s place. If he doesn’t co back, then never mind."
The housekeeper nodded. "Alright. Then Miss, please be careful. Co back early. You’re pregnant, after all."
Jean Grant gave a faint smile and turned to leave.
She headed straight for General Hospital, wearing a mask and a hat as she went to the gynecology departnt.
Although she had money, she didn’t opt for a painless induced abortion.
Because only by feeling the pain could she completely eradicate the last traces of hesitation in her heart.
Once she made a decision, she would not easily change her mind.
She had to get rid of this child. She couldn’t bear for it to live in a ho where love no longer existed.
The doctor asked her again and again, "Are you sure you want to induce labor?"
"Yes."
She changed into a hospital gown and got on the operating table, clutching her phone tightly in her hand.
Jean Grant lay there trembling. Whether her eyes were open or closed, all she could see was the image of a chubby little girl.
’My child, don’t bla your mother for being cruel. I just don’t want you to grow up in a broken ho.’
She understood that if a husband and wife couldn’t be honest with each other, if one of them found soone else, the marriage definitely couldn’t be sustained. Even if so long-suffering won chose to forgive their partners, Jean Grant still felt that was just forcing it.
She couldn’t wash this shadow from her heart.
An injection was administered to her abdon. Within minutes, a dull ache began to spread through her stomach.
It was very slight at first, but it gradually intensified, feeling like a blender was churning inside her.
The pain made her grip her phone for dear life, her teeth clenched as cold sweat beaded on her skin.
After a short while, the doctor checked her and said, "The fetus has expired. Next, you will have to deliver it."
This decision sealed the fate of the child who had once been joyfully preparing to co into this world. But the good tis didn’t last, and now it was gone.
During the procedure, she realized she had only imagined the pain. The real pain made her face stream with tears.
One of the doctors comnted, "So many young girls these days have no self-respect. They casually sleep with their boyfriends without using contraception, and so of them don’t think it’s a big deal. They end up pregnant and co here for an abortion. Not only does it harm their own bodies, but it might also make it difficult for them to ever get pregnant again."
Jean Grant didn’t say a word. She just closed her eyes and waited for the surgery to be over.
After it was done, the doctor instructed her, "Rest for a few days, then co back for a color Doppler ultrasound to see if you’re fully cleared out. What a sha... it was a boy."
Jean Grant opened her eyes. Seeing a bloody, fully ford baby, her heart ached with excruciating pain.
"Doctor, I had a check-up before. They said it was a girl."
The doctor, who was cleaning up, replied, "Those small clinics nowadays... they’ll tell you the gender at three months, but honestly, their technology isn’t very good, and they often get it wrong. You can only be sure around the fifth or sixth month. But major hospitals are forbidden from revealing the fetus’s gender. I’d advise you not to check next ti you’re pregnant. It’s such a pity... a perfectly healthy baby boy, just gone like that."
Jean Grant nodded. She struggled to get off the operating table, put on her pants, and slowly left with her face covered. She didn’t even get a prescription for dication to prevent infection.
Her phone rang. It was a call from Ethan Ellsworth.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I’m behind you." Her weak voice reached his ear. Ethan, still holding his phone, turned around and saw her standing there, her face as pale as a sheet of paper.
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