Chapter 273: Chapter 261: Belle Bloom’s Background
Jade watched the others leave, then shot Flora Bloom a glare. "Out with it. What’s going on between you and Captain Cross? Pregnant? You’re pregnant?"
Right now, Flora Bloom wanted nothing more than to drag Lex Cross over here and beat him to a pulp. Whether she could actually win was another matter entirely, but she was just so furious!
He had announced her pregnancy to everyone without any warning or discussion, giving her no time to react.
"Mom, please, let me explain."
"Explain what? Are you really pregnant?" Jade asked sternly.
"I... am!"
Flora Bloom glanced nervously at Jade, fully expecting a scolding. But instead, her mother just stared into space, dazed. After a long moment, she sighed, an indescribable look of self-reproach on her face.
"Sigh. When you were throwing up on the yacht, you told us you were just feeling unwell, that your stomach was upset. I had my suspicions even then. I’ve failed as a mother. I didn’t take good care of you, Flora."
Flora Bloom suddenly sat down beside Jade and took her hand. "Mom, it’s not your fault. There are a lot of things I didn’t know how to tell you, so I kept them from you. As for the pregnancy, I was going to tell you when the time was right, but who knew that guy Lex Cross would just take it upon himself to blurt it out."
"Well, I think the fact that he could tell us so openly and say he’d be responsible for you says a lot about his character. But what about you? What are you thinking?"
"Me? With him..."
"I can tell that young man, Lex Cross, is interested in you. But you two... how did this baby happen?" Jade gently touched Flora Bloom’s belly. "This... This looks like it’s been four months, hasn’t it?"
Jade’s expression suddenly grew uneasy. "Flora, I know I said Young Thorne is a good man, but... we can’t just lie to him. This is a four-month belly! You two didn’t even know each other four months ago, so how could you have a child? Oh, what a mess!"
Seeing her mother’s conflicted expression, Flora Bloom suddenly started to laugh. "Mom, you don’t actually think I’m lying to Lex Cross, do you?"
Jade slapped Flora Bloom’s back in exasperation. "Oh, what did our family do to deserve this! You silly child, you didn’t know him four months ago, so how could you be pregnant? I’ve been through this before, I know what I’m talking about. You’re just at the point where it’s starting to show. I just think we shouldn’t lie. You need to go and explain things clearly to Lex Cross."
Flora Bloom looked at her mother with a strange expression. "Mom, I’m not lying to him! This baby really is his! I swear it’s the truth!"
Jade froze. "What? It’s really Young Thorne’s?"
Flora Bloom nodded solemnly. "Guaranteed genuine!"
"Guaranteed genuine? Where are you going to get a replacement? Just tell me what happened, right now!"
"Four months ago," Flora Bloom’s expression suddenly darkened, "Belle Bloom drugged me with an aphrodisiac because of Shelton Underwood."
"What? Belle drugged you?" Jade stared at Flora Bloom in shock.
"She’s been in love with Shelton Underwood for a long time and could never get over the fact that I was his girlfriend. So that day, she drugged me at a bar and even arranged for someone to assault me."
Jade’s fists clenched, her expression flickering as her eyes darted around. "She... she really did that?"
"Mom, I..." Flora Bloom was on the verge of blurting out everything about her past life but managed to hold it back. ’If it weren’t for Lex Cross, I’d probably be...’ At this, Flora Bloom took a deep breath.
"How dare she! Belle Bloom really is an ungrateful wolf! I never should have been soft-hearted and brought her home to raise!"
Hearing her mother’s words and seeing her furious expression, Flora Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Brought her home to raise? What do you mean? Isn’t she the result of Dad’s drunken mistake?"
Jade sighed. "She’s not our child at all. Your father is such a straight arrow, how could he make a ’drunken mistake’? Back when he was a troop leader, he wouldn’t even touch alcohol!"
"So you’re saying, Belle Bloom isn’t your child at all?"
"Sigh. I guess it’s my fault, in a way. She’s the child of one of my cousins. That cousin’s husband ran off with the daughter of a rich family from the city, leaving her behind after she’d given birth to a girl. She was about to jump into a lake with her daughter when someone passing by pulled them out and sent them to the hospital. It took days to save the baby, and her health has been poor ever since. After the baby was saved, my cousin irresponsibly abandoned her and ran off. Sigh. In a way, your sister Belle Bloom is a pitiful person."
Flora Bloom’s eyes flickered as she asked, "Mom, if I told you that in a past life, Belle Bloom not only caused your and Dad’s deaths, but mine and my little brother’s as well... would you believe me?"
With tears welling in her eyes, Jade stroked Flora Bloom’s hair. "Oh, Flora. It’s my fault. I never imagined she would do something like this to you. We didn’t protect you!"
Seeing her mother’s tears, Flora Bloom couldn’t hold back the emotions she had suppressed for so long. She hugged her mother tightly, her own eyes beginning to sting.
"Mom, it has nothing to do with you! You always treated her like your own daughter, and I treated her like my own sister. Who could have ever imagined my own sister would drug me and try to ruin my life!"
Caleb Bloom’s voice suddenly cut in from the doorway, interrupting the mother and daughter’s conversation and their somber mood.
"What did you say? Belle was the one who drugged you?" Caleb Bloom glanced at Lex Cross, who had followed him. "So, the only reason you... ahem... was to save my daughter because she’d been drugged?"
Lex Cross nodded. "Yes, Dad."
Caleb Bloom’s brow furrowed. "What ’Dad’? I haven’t agreed to let my daughter marry you. Who are you calling ’Dad’!"
"Understood, Uncle!"
Flora Bloom covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Dad, what did you two talk about?"
"Hmph! What did we talk about? As a soldier, and one with special training at that, was all your training for nothing? Even if my daughter was drugged, you should have handled it calmly! Modern medicine is advanced. A little drug... how hard is it to take a trip to the hospital? Now look! In the middle of the apocalypse, a pregnant woman... how difficult will her life be!"
Lex Cross stood at attention, his expression serious and his attitude sincere. "Yes, Uncle. It’s all my fault. I was overcome by lust at the sight of a beautiful woman and couldn’t control myself!"
Flora Bloom shot him a covert glare from the side. "Speak properly! Dad, you can’t let him off the hook that easily!"
Lex Cross glanced quickly at the mischievous woman, the corners of his mouth curving into a slight smile. "Uncle, you can punish me however you see fit! But Flora... she’s going to be mine!"
Caleb Bloom’s face turned red. "You think you can have her just because you say so? My daughter... Flora’s mother and I struggled to raise her for over a decade. You think we’ll just give her away like that?"
"Then I can marry into your family. I don’t mind."
Caleb Bloom was rendered speechless by Lex Cross’s retort. Just then, Jade spoke up with exceptional calm.
"Young Thorne, Flora can be willful and mischievous sometimes, so please be patient with her. The girl is very stubborn. Don’t be fooled by her tough, outspoken exterior. Deep down, she’s very fragile."
"Mom! What are you saying?" No one knew a daughter better than her mother. Even after being reborn, Flora Bloom’s fundamental nature remained unchanged; it wasn’t something that could be altered so easily.
"Auntie, don’t worry. I understand!" Lex Cross gave Flora Bloom a subtle wink.
"Honey, this kid took advantage of our daughter, how can you...? I don’t approve!" Caleb Bloom’s face suddenly darkened. He turned his head away and refused to say another word.
