Chapter 84: Are You Pregnant?
In the next second, Michael caught hold of Wendy’s hand. Forced to remain where she was, she could only stare back at Michael.
However, the examination sheet that she was holding was still hidden behind her back. She did not want him to see it.
The more Wendy behaved like this, the more nervous Michael felt. Gazing at her, he took a deep breath, seemingly to brace himself for the bad news. He said, "Wendy, I want you to tell me the truth about your examination results. If you... And I mean if, if you really have some kind of incurable disease, you should not give up on yourself just yet. I’ll find the best doctor in the world to treat you." Michael’s feelings of anxiety and concern were genuine.
When Wendy looked into his eyes, she felt moved for a fleeting second. However, it passed quickly. She wondered if Michael found out about her pregnancy right now, would he behave the same way that he did four months ago and tell her that she was not worthy of bearing his child?
If his affection for her recently had been genuine, it was likely that he would want her to keep the child. But that also meant that it was more unlikely that they ever get divorced. On the other hand, if the recent improvement in his attitude toward her was fake, he would ask her to abort the child. Both of these outcomes seemed unfavorable to Wendy Pursing her lips, she said, "I don’t have a terminal disease, I really just came here for a physical check-up."
She lowered her gaze, and to change the topic of their conversation, she asked, "Why are you here at the hospital? Don’t tell me that it’s just a coincidence."
Wendy had grown suspicious of Michael sending people to follow her secretly. When he heard her question, his expression changed. He coughed softly and explained himself, saying, "I came here to have the wounds on my hand properly treated."
Wendy did not believe this reason at all. If Michael was genuinely willing to receive treatment at the hospital, he would have agreed to do that the day before instead of allowing his injuries to worsen.
At just that moment, his phone rang. Wendy took advantage of his momentary distraction to flee the scene.
Michael started chasing after her but quickly stopped when he heard his staff over the phone.
They said, "Mr. Lucas, Mrs. Lucas came to the hospital today for a prenatal check-up."
"A prenatal check-up?" Michael’s footsteps halted when he heard those words. Sternly, he said, "You’ve been working for me for such a long time, but you can’t even successfully accomplish a small task like this?" His tone was furious and intimidating.
It frightened the person over the phone so much that he immediately replied, "Mr. Lucas, I’m certain that she came here for a prenatal check-up. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Mrs. Lucas about it. Otherwise, you can also investigate this personally."
Michael tightened his grip around the phone as he watched Wendy walk away with an unfathomable expression on his face. The truth was that he had not come to his senses after hearing the words, "prenatal check-up".
He thought, why would Wendy possibly undergo a prenatal check-up? Only pregnant women do that. Is she pregnant?
He suddenly recalled a period when she often vomited but attributed it to her sensitive stomach. At that time, he had wanted to take her to the hospital, but she was determined not to.
He then thought further back and recalled that one incident in which Wendy asked him what he would do if she was pregnant. Back then, he still hated her very much, and thought that she only asked him that question to get his attention.
After all, they had only slept together a couple of times, and he forced her to swallow contraceptive pills every single time. He had believed that the chances of her getting pregnant were very, very slim. Hence, he did not take it seriously.
But if Wendy was really pregnant right now, then the child could only belong to...
In Michael’s mind, a fantasy was slowly blooming. A delighted smile gradually appeared on his previously exhausted face.
"Wendy..." Michael shouted her name as he continued staring at her back.
Wendy had turned around to leave the moment his phone rang. She did not know who Michael had spoken to or what had happened. Right now, she just wanted to get divorced and leave him behind, putting as much distance between them as she could. Ideally, Michael would never find out about their child’s existence. Hence, she was speed-walking away from him.
Since Wendy had no intention of slowing down and instead only started walking faster, Michael ran after her. He grabbed her hand and could not help directing his gaze to her abdomen. Since she was dressed in loose clothes, it was hard to discern anything.
Subconsciously, Michael reached out toward her belly.
Wendy was so shocked that she instantly slapped his hand away. She yelled, "What are you doing?!" Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered if he had found out about her pregnancy.
Swallowing dryly, Michael smiled, "Wendy, are you pregnant?" He said those words slowly and carefully, as if he were afraid that he might startle the baby in her belly.
Despite Michael’s obvious happiness, Wendy felt terrible. Her worst nightmare had come true.
She shook her head, still trying to lie her way out of it. She said, "’No, I’m not pregnant. I told you, I just came to the hospital today for a routine physical check-up."
"Stop lying to me. I know that you came here today for a prenatal check-up," said Michael as he gripped Wendy’s hand tightly. He refused to let go no matter how much she struggled. He seemed afraid that she would run away the. moment he loosened his grip. For the first time ever, Michael felt the urge to be cautious.
However, this feeling did not make him uncomfortable. Instead, he felt elated.
"I told you, I’m not pregnant, I’m really not!" Wendy grew agitated; she was desperate for Michael not to find out about it.
"Then, show me your examination report and prove it to me," said Michael.
Wendy immediately hid the paper behind her back. She said, "I don’t want to show it to you simply because it has nothing to do with you."
"Wendy, I’ve already found out about it," said Michael excitedly. "Don’t worry, I promise to take good care of the both of you. I won’t ever let anything bad happen to you." His gaze was sincere and enthusiastic, and at that moment, every single word that he said was extremely convincing.
However, Wendy could not bring herself to feel happy even when she looked into Michael’s eyes. Instead, she retorted, "Michael, did you ask someone to follow me?"
She did not believe that his showing up at the hospital was purely coincidental, and that did not explain how he could find out about her pregnancy. Hence, she was sure that he must have done what she’d accused him of.
Michael coughed softly to disguise his own feelings of embarrassment. He said, "it was really just a coincidence. I told you, I happened to run into you only because I came here to get my hand treated."
"In that case, how did you find out about my pregnancy right after that mysterious phone call?" Wendy questioned him again.
"I’m just worried about your health," said Michael. He knew that Wendy was a very intelligent woman, and it would be difficult to lie his way out of this. Hence, he decided to talk about something else, "Wendy, are you hoping that it’s a boy or a girl? I think it’s better for us to have a daughter so that she will be as clever and beautiful as you."
Sensing the genuineness behind Michael’s happiness, Wendy frowned. She said, "Do you want this child?"
Four months ago, Michael had cruelly and heartlessly told her that she was not worthy of bearing his child. That memory still lived vividly in her head.
"Of course, I do, why wouldn’t I?" Michael released his grip around Wendy’s hand. He immediately took out his phone and said, "Let me call Grandmother right now, I’m sure she will be overjoyed."
Wendy’s feelings were extremely complicated. If this happened a month ago and she saw how happy Michael was to find out about her pregnancy, she would have felt ecstatic herself. After all, he was the father of her child.
However, in the past month, they had been through a lot, and she still did not know just exactly how Michael felt about Yvonne. Even though he kept claiming that he only ever treated her like a little sister, he had shown so much concern for her over so many years. She could not convince herself that Michael had no romantic feelings for Yvonne at all. And even if that was true, Wendy knew that Yvonne would never stop harassing Michael. It was only a matter of time before something happened.
Initially, Wendy had planned on leaving Michael and Lake City. She wanted to raise the child by herself. However, Michael had stopped her from departing before the train could leave. For the moment, her hands were tied.
"Yes, it’s true, Wendy is really pregnant."
"I think it’s been about five months."
Do you want to come over to see her right now? That’s not necessary, I’ll take her to the mansion."
There was still some lingering doubt in Wendy’s heart even as she watched Michael hang up on his grandmother excitedly. She could not believe that his instinctive reaction was not to question her about her child after finding out about her pregnancy.
"Wendy, aren’t you going to tell your family. about this?" Michael only just realized that he had never met her family members after having asked her that question. He had little awareness of her family background; all he knew was that her mother was a teacher at an elementary school. He also remembered that her father was not in the picture.
When they got married, all they did was take a quick trip to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate. No engagement party or wedding ceremony was ever held. He had never even met her family.
After all, he hated her back then. Now that he was reminded of all these things, he once again realized just how much he had mistreated her.
Lowering her gaze slightly, Wendy said, "I think I’d still prefer to keep it from my mother right now."
"Why?" Unable to understand her reaction, Michael said, "Why don’t you pick out a good time for us to go and visit her together? She’s my mother-in-law, after all. It might be challenging to hold a wedding ceremony in the near future, but don’t you worry. I know that I’ve mistreated you in the past, and I promise to make it all up to you."
"My mother doesn’t even know that I got married," said Wendy. "I’ll tell her when I find the right moment."
In the beginning, she loved Michael so irrevocably, but he still hated her very much. At that time, she did not dare to tell her mother about their marriage. Wendy knew that her mother would never have agreed to it if she found out about how things were between them.
For the past few years, she only returned home to visit her mother during the holidays. Hence, her mother still had no idea that she was already married. In fact, she would ask her daughter whether she was seeing anyone whenever they spoke on the phone.
Michael did not expect a response like this from Wendy, but it also sounded like a perfectly reasonable one. The smile on his face faded.
He gripped Wendy’s hand tightly and said in a guilty tone, "Wendy, I owe you so much. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to both you and our son in the future."
"Why are you assuming that it’s a boy already?"
Wendy chuckled softly. Her tone was much more pleasant now. Michael’s response had come as a complete shock to her. She had not expected him to be able to accept this child immediately and be so happy about it, too.
"You’re right," said Michael as he slapped himself. He started grinning again. He never expected to already be a father.
"Grandmother said that she wants to see you. Since she’s already so old, I told her to just stay at the mansion. I thought it would be better for me to take you to her. Are you okay with that?"
Michael’s instinct now was to discuss the matter with her rather than order her to go. If Wendy did not wish to go back, he would not force her to.
