Cecilia Nathan's heart pounded in her chest.
'She hadn't expected the doctor to come over right now.'
Damian Hawthorne stood by the door, his gaze fixed on the doctor, a rare look of seriousness on his face.
The attending physician grew a little nervous under his stare.
"Sir, are you Miss Nathan's...?"
"He's my friend," Cecilia Nathan cut the doctor off. "About what you just said... we can talk about it later."
"Why later?" Damian Hawthorne quickly noticed that something was off with Cecilia Nathan. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Cecilia Nathan's heart leaped into her throat.
"Doctor, why did she faint?" Damian Hawthorne narrowed his eyes.
Ever since the doctor arrived, Cecilia Nathan had been visibly tense.
"Damian Hawthorne, this is my own private matter. It has nothing to do with you." Cecilia Nathan watched Damian pressure the doctor, her fists slowly clenching.
'Actually, there was another reason she didn't want Damian Hawthorne to know.'
'She was afraid that, just like Frances Bennett, Damian Hawthorne would make her have the baby.'
'Damian Hawthorne would never marry her.'
'She would either have to be a single mother or give the child to the Hawthorne Family.'
'But this was a child she didn't want.'
'It wasn't that she was cruel; she just didn't want to give a child an uncertain future.'
'She had taken contraceptive pills; this child was doomed from the start.'
'She didn't want to hear Damian Hawthorne personally end this child's life, nor did she want him to let it live.'
"As your friend, surely I'm entitled to know about my friend's physical condition, right?" Damian Hawthorne's words were laced with hidden meaning.
Seeing the two of them arguing endlessly, the doctor glanced helplessly at the medical chart and said, "Miss Cecilia Nathan has a hormonal imbalance and is in poor health. We recommend that she rests and recuperates properly."
Hearing the doctor hadn't mentioned her pregnancy, Cecilia Nathan breathed a sigh of relief.
'But then it occurred to her—Frances Bennett had arranged for her to be here. She had probably already spoken to the doctor.'
After the doctor finished speaking, Damian Hawthorne's expression softened slightly.
Just then, Damian Hawthorne's phone rang again.
Damian Hawthorne glanced at his phone and strode away.
As the doctor listed precautions beside her, Cecilia Nathan's mind began to wander.
'Frances Bennett had even bought off the doctor. It was clear she was dead set on making her stay in the hospital to carry the baby to term.'
'Frances Bennett knew from the doctor that she had taken contraceptive pills, but she still hadn't given up on this child.'
'Cecilia Nathan knew that as long as she stayed here, Frances Bennett would do everything in her power to make her give birth to the child.'
...
Cecilia Nathan was woken by the voices of reporters.
They were crowded outside her hospital room, their faces alight with the anticipation of a good show.
"Miss Nathan, have you and Mr. Hawthorne broken up? What are your thoughts on his new flame?"
"You haven't been seen with Mr. Hawthorne for a long time. Have you given up on him?"
"Do you think Serena Hughes is a homewrecker?"
The reporters all shoved their microphones toward Cecilia Nathan.
In the past, Cecilia Nathan would have fired back without hesitation, declaring that Damian Hawthorne loved her.
But now, she could only sit on the bed and grit her teeth, guarding this small, quiet island of hers.
'Her relationship with Damian Hawthorne had always been something she'd had to force.'
She was just about to tell the reporters that her relationship with Damian Hawthorne was over when someone in the crowd suddenly shrieked.
"Serena Hughes! It's Serena Hughes!"
For some unknown reason, Serena Hughes had been rushed into the emergency room.
Cecilia Nathan found out while scrolling on her phone.
The news said Serena Hughes's family had refused to move out for a demolition project and had gotten into a fight with the land developers.
Serena Hughes had fainted in a fit of extreme agitation.
Cecilia Nathan thought about it for a moment and ultimately decided to check out of the hospital.
'Deep down, she didn't want to be in the same hospital as Serena Hughes.'
However, just as she finished packing her things, Serena Hughes was wheeled into her room.
"Miss Nathan, we're short on rooms. Mr. Hawthorne told us to put Miss Hughes in here with you."
The nurses explained in a low voice, as if afraid she would lose her temper.
"Cecilia..." Serena Hughes lay on the bed, her face so pale it looked like she might faint at any second.
"Cecilia, I'm sorry for taking up your room..."
Cecilia Nathan smiled faintly. "I was just about to be discharged anyway."
With that, she picked up her small bag and prepared to leave.
Serena Hughes called out to her. "Cecilia, I heard you plan to take responsibility for the investment matter... Thank you."
Cecilia Nathan's hand, holding the bag, paused.
"Don't thank me. You should be thanking Damian Hawthorne."
The tips of Serena Hughes's ears turned red. "Cecilia, Mr. Hawthorne and I are innocent. I don't want to be a homewrecker, and I would never come between you two..."
Serena Hughes sounded utterly pitiful.
Cecilia Nathan smiled but said nothing.
'Perhaps, in the beginning, Serena Hughes truly hadn't considered being with Damian Hawthorne.'
'But with Damian Hawthorne's methods, Serena Hughes was destined to be ensnared.'
"Once Damian Hawthorne sets his sights on you, he won't let you go."
"Perhaps you're only interested in the resources Damian Hawthorne can give you, but what he's interested in is you," Cecilia Nathan said in a light, casual tone. "Serena Hughes, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
'Damian Hawthorne never did anything he wasn't sure of.'
'Now that he had locked onto Serena Hughes, he would definitely make her fall for him.'
"But I'm not as beautiful or as capable as you, Cecilia. Maybe Mr. Hawthorne is just confused right now. He'll come back to you sooner or later." Serena Hughes stole a glance at Cecilia Nathan, and seeing no reaction, she relaxed slightly.
'It wasn't that no one had pursued her back in school, but this was the first time she'd been pursued by such a powerful and influential man. She was powerless to resist... and unable to refuse.'
"Love is a complicated thing."
Cecilia Nathan thought about how she herself had pursued Damian Hawthorne, going to desperate lengths for a very long time.
'Eventually, Damian Hawthorne must have gotten annoyed and agreed to give it a try, but only in front of other people.'
'As for marriage, Damian Hawthorne had never considered it before, and he never would.'
'In the end, it was all just her own pipe dream.'
"Do you love Mr. Hawthorne?" Serena Hughes pressed. "If you loved him, you wouldn't just give him up to someone else. You've been together for so long; how can you bear to see him fall for another woman?"
Serena Hughes's words, each one sharp and glinting like the tip of a knife, stabbed into Cecilia Nathan's heart.
Cecilia Nathan closed her eyes.
'The thought of the eyes she was so captivated by looking at someone else was excruciating.'
"Miss Cecilia Nathan, you don't actually love Mr. Hawthorne, do you?"
Serena Hughes suddenly stated it as a firm conclusion.
Cecilia Nathan suddenly laughed. "That's right. I don't love him. I'm just after his money."
Damian Hawthorne, who was just walking over, happened to hear that exact sentence.
'He remembered Cecilia Nathan saying that after leaving him, she wanted to use her fame to marry a decent man.'
'With her looks, what kind of decent man couldn't she marry? So it turned out she wanted to marry a rich man all along.'
Damian Hawthorne scoffed. The sound wasn't loud, but it was just audible enough for those inside the room to hear.
Cecilia Nathan looked up and saw Damian Hawthorne's faintly sarcastic smile—handsome with a roguish edge, and utterly dazzling.
"Mr. Hawthorne..." Seeing Damian Hawthorne, Serena Hughes struggled to sit up.
Damian Hawthorne immediately strode in to steady her, afraid she might fall.
Damian Hawthorne had always been the fearless type; no one could stir his emotions.
But Serena Hughes was an exception.
Damian Hawthorne's clear gaze was intense. "The doctor said you need to rest."
Damian Hawthorne was already handsome to begin with, and his brown eyes were as deep and dark as if they had been steeped in ink.
Serena Hughes had never been this close to a man before, let alone had anyone shown her such concern. Her face instantly flushed a deep red.