Chapter 85: An Explanation
Wendy was not used to seeing Michael like this.
She did not expect a such drastic change in a. man who had told her that she was not fit to bear his child just four months ago. He was so ecstatic and cautious with her now that he knew that she was pregnant.
As she reached out to touch her belly, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. If
Michael genuinely liked and was willing to accept this child, perhaps that might be a good thing for her. Or at least, it would be good for their baby. Of course, this was all predicated on the condition that Michael broke things off with Yvonne completely.
When they were in the car, Wendy could not help but ask again, "Michael, do you really accept this child?"
Michael understood that her repeated questioning must be due to the trauma that he had caused her in the past. He understood why she was afraid that he might not want this child.
He answered sincerely, "Wendy, you are my wife. Of course, I’ll accept our child." Then, he paused momentarily before continuing, "Right, how did the prenatal check-up today go?"
When he was reminded of how he used to force Wendy to swallow contraceptive pills after they slept together, he felt nothing but regret. He said, "It’s all my fault for making you take contraceptive pills in the past. I know how harmful they can be for your body, let alone for a fetus. I’ve heard that it might even result in."
He had heard that people who took contraceptive pills but still got pregnant had a significantly higher chance of giving birth to a deformed baby. However, since Wendy had already been pregnant for five months and she had undergone prenatal check-ups, he was sure that any possible problem with the fetus would be detected. He had completely forgotten about this problem in a moment of happiness.
Now, his face suddenly grew solemn as he waited for her response.
The results are fine, there’s no issue with the baby, said Wendy. After hesitating, she decided to come clean with Michael, "The truth is that I... did not swallow the pills."
Instead of getting mad, Michael felt extremely happy when he heard that.
"Is that so?" He sighed in relief, "Thank goodness for that."
The car quickly arrived at the mansion. Mrs. Lucas had been waiting for Wendy since the phone call with Michael. The moment they stepped into the living room, Mrs. Lucas took Wendy’s hand with a benevolent smile on her face.
She said, "Wendy, come sit down. The car ride here must have been exhausting. Now that you’re pregnant, you mustn’t tire yourself out."
Mrs. Lucas usually treated Wendy much well too. Now that she had learned about her pregnancy and knew that she was about to have a great-grandchild, she felt overjoyed.
"I’m okay, Grandmother," said Wendy, smiling.
"I can’t believe you hid the news about your pregnancy from us for five whole months. If Michael had not called to share this exciting news with me today, I may never have found out," said Mrs. Lucas. Even though she had said that slightly begrudgingly, she could still barely contain the overwhelming happiness that she felt.
Michael previously thought about asking Wendy why she had kept her pregnancy a secret from them for such a long time. However, he could not bring himself to do it. Deep down, he knew that it was because he had been too cruel to her in the past and made her afraid to tell him about it. Fortunately, both Wendy and their baby were healthy today.
"I..." Feeling awkward, Wendy said, "I just found out about it too."
"How is that possible? It’s been such a long time" said Mrs. Lucas. She could tell that Wendy was just trying to find excuses for herself, but she did not intend to expose her for this. Turning her head, she gazed at Michael.
Even though she was still smiling, she threatened him, saying, "You’re not allowed to bully Wendy ever again. If you do, I’ll make sure that you pay a heavy price."
"Of course, I wouldn’t," said Michael. All he wanted to do was treat Wendy like a princess now, there was no way he would ever mistreat her again.
...
Winnie Quinn was in the middle of a facial treatment when she received a phone call from Mrs. Lucas. She immediately rushed back home. When she saw Wendy sitting beside Mrs. Lucas, she approached her with a smile while gazing at her belly. She said, "Wendy, I heard that you’re pregnant? Is that true?"
Wendy nodded.
"My goodness, what wonderful news! I’m going to have my first grandson!" said Winnie as she took a box out of her shopping bags and handed it to Wendy. "I bought some herbal products earlier, you should take them home. They’re good for your baby."
Wendy took the box from Winnie awkwardly. When Winnie noticed the slightly uncomfortable look on Wendy’s face, she added with a smile, "Of course, they’re good for you too."
"Thank you, Mother," said Wendy as she nodded lightly. After three years of being married to Michael, this was the first time that her mother-in-law had ever given her anything. Of course, it was only given to her because of her pregnancy. Wendy was used to Mrs. Lucas treating her well, but Winnie was another story.
She felt flattered from all the attention, but also knew that this was only happening because of her child.
"You must take care of yourself well so that you can give birth to a healthy child," Winnie muttered. t was clear that she was hoping that it would be a boy so that he could continue their bloodline. She continued, "Do you know the baby’s gender yet?"
Winnie’s current standing in the Lucas family was a little unstable at the moment. But if her daughter-in-law could make her proud by giving birth to a son, it would restore much of her dignity. After all, she knew that the other members of the family had been mocking Michael in private for not being a father yet despite having been married for so many years.
"Mother, it doesn’t matter what the baby’s gender is. Even if the baby is a girl, she is still just as valuable," said Michael, who did not like Winnie’s gender-biased views. When they were outside the hospital, Wendy had gotten irritated at him for saying something wrong. Now that they were at the mansion, Michael knew that Wendy would not speak up even if she felt offended. However, even if she could endure it, he did not want to cause her any unhappiness.
Winnie was not pleased to hear Michael’s response. After all, it was true that she preferred a grandson. Michael’s words seemed to suggest that it might be a girl. But since everybody was present, she could not be too obvious about her sexist tendencies. Instead, she continued smiling, "Yes, you’re right. The baby’s gender makes no difference."
"How about the both of you just move back here?" said Mrs. Lucas, "I don’t feel at ease about Wendy staying elsewhere. If you move back here, at least there are so many helpers around to take care of her."
"I don’t think that’s necessary," answered Wendy, who found the affairs in the Lucas family too complicated and did not wish to constantly have to see Michael’s relatives. "I’ve grown used to staying in my apartment. I might feel uncomfortable moving here."
"In that case, I’ll have Zoe move to your apartment. She has been taking care of me for over ten years, she’s really fantastic," said Mrs. Lucas.
"It’s okay, Grandmother, I can take good care of myself," said Wendy with an awkward smile as she continued refusing the offer.
Zoe was a 51-years-old helper who had been taking care of Mrs. Lucas for a long time, tending to every need in her daily life. The fact that Mrs. Lucas was willing to send Zoe back home with Wendy was revealing of just how much she prioritized her grand-daughter-in-law.
However, due to Mrs. Lucas’s old age, Wendy did not feel good about taking her most valued aide.
She said, "Don’t worry, I promise to take excellent care of both myself and my baby."
Since Wendy was so insistent, there was nothing else that Mrs. Lucas could say.
"Right, didn’t you go for a prenatal examination today?" asked Mrs. Lucas after a while. "Let me see the results."
Since Wendy had left the medical report in the car, she said, "I didn’t bring it out of the car with me."
Mrs. Lucas immediately instructed the helper standing behind her, "Zoe, go and get it from the car."
Zoe quickly returned with the medical report. Mrs. Lucas took it from her and started reading through it before Winnie and Michael crowded around her to do the same. Smiling, Mrs. Lucas said, "Why are you here, Michael? Didn’t you already read it before this?"
Michael felt helpless. He had not seen the medical report. Wendy had refused to admit her pregnancy when they were standing outside the hospital earlier. After things were confirmed, he had brought her straight back to the mansion.
However, Michael decided to keep this to himself. He would just read the report after his grandmother was done with it.
When Mrs. Lucas saw the ultrasound image of the baby, she pointed at it with a grin, "Look, is this the baby’s hand right here? And is that the foot?"
"I think you’re right," said Winnie, smiling just as widely. "Wendy, you sure are good at keeping secrets. I can’t believe you only told us about your pregnancy at this stage."
"I agree," said Mrs. Lucas. When she saw the time stamp marking the fetus as 17 weeks old at the bottom of the image, she was reminded of Michael telling her that Wendy was already five months pregnant earlier. Looking up at him, Mrs. Lucas said, "You are so incompetent as a husband."
Michael did not understand what his grandmother was saying to him. He asked, "Grandmother, why would you say that about me? Even if I was incompetent in the past, I promise to be a good husband and father to my wife and daughter from now on."
"You shouldn’t blame me for saying that about you," said Mrs. Lucas as she held the report up before Michael’s face. "Look, the fetus is only 17 weeks old, which means that Wendy is only four months pregnant. Earlier on the phone, you told me that she was already five months pregnant. One entire month makes a big difference. How could you have gotten that wrong? Is it wrong of me to call you incompetent?"
Wendy is only four months pregnant? Michael’s face instantly darkened when he heard those words.
He thought, how can Wendy only be four months pregnant? The last time I had sexual intercourse with her was five months ago, the night that l went home drunk. That was also the same night she started asking me cryptic questions about what I would do if she was pregnant. I have not touched her ever since then.
Even though there were a few times that I tried to initiate it, she always rejected me.
Michael immediately snatched the ultrasound image from Mrs. Lucas. He gazed at the time stamp and saw that the fetus was indeed stated to be 17 weeks old. An incredulous look filled his eyes. For a moment, his hands trembled. He then looked at the medical report and saw that the same timestamp of 17 weeks was stated on it.
Could it be that the baby was only conceived four months ago? If that was the case, it was most certainly not his child.
"Wendy, don’t you owe me an explanation for this?" said Michael with a sullen expression as he gazed at Wendy. Just a moment ago, he was elated about the news of her pregnancy. Now, it felt like this beautiful illusion was being shattered.
Wendy explained herself, "The time stamps on the report and image are indeed wrong. However, the doctor did assure me that the results are accurate, and that my child is perfectly healthy."
"The time stamps are wrong?" Michael genuinely wanted to believe her words, but it was difficult to be convinced by that explanation.
When Wendy observed the look of disbelief on Michael’s face, she bit down on her bottom lip.
She did not know what to say. After all, she was telling the truth. She had also asked the doctor about it when she noticed the time stamp.
However, she had not intended to tell Michael about her pregnancy when this first occurred.
She also never expected that he would see this medical report. Otherwise, she would have made the doctor reprint everything with accurate time stamps.
When Mrs. Lucas saw how Michael and Wendy were reacting, she felt bewildered. She looked at Michael, then at Wendy, and said, "What’s wrong? Is something wrong?"
