Nina Walsh glanced down. It was an alarm clock.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., an alarm was set for every two hours.
It was a false alarm.
Nina Walsh unlocked her phone, opened the only ssaging app on it, and sent out her location.
"As for Second Brother Grant, I’ll find a chance to explain to him. For now, please keep it from him for . I’m afraid he’ll worry."
...
「Aethel Group.」
"Mr. Sinclair, Ms. Jacobs is trending."
Jay Keane handed over his phone. Aiden Sinclair tapped on the trending video. The headline read: [Popular Actress Clara Jacobs Brutally Beaten and Forced to Kneel in Public, Assailant Unbelievably Arrogant...]
The video was secretly recorded. The people were clearly visible, but the audio was unintelligible.
In the video, Nina Walsh moved quickly, splashing two cups of coffee in a row before grabbing Clara Jacobs’s hair from behind and forcing her to her knees.
She, on the other hand, sat leisurely in a chair, like a queen enjoying a subject’s bow.
’So arrogant. She’s really got so nerve.’
Aiden Sinclair’s well-defined fingers tapped lightly, closing the video.
BING—
Aiden Sinclair’s phone received a ssage—a location ping from Nina Walsh, with an attached photo and a sentence.
"The coffee at the shop is delicious."
The photo was a top-down shot of Clara Jacobs kneeling.
Aiden Sinclair turned off his phone, the corner of his lip curling into a slight smile. ’She really does have so nerve.’
"Mr. Sinclair, should we suppress the trending topic?" Jay Keane inquired.
Aiden Sinclair said, "Have the film crew release a statent saying they were just filming a scene. Then buy a few more press releases praising their acting."
Jay Keane froze, afraid he had misheard. He asked again, "Then what about this Nina Walsh? How should we handle her?"
As if reminded of sothing else, Aiden Sinclair changed the subject. "Who was in charge of handling Nina Walsh’s flash drive last ti? Have soone look into it."
Jay Keane quickly understood. The truth about the Selene Bay project was out. The Sherman Group had only won the project by bribing officials to get advance access to all the competing bids—it was all under-the-table dealing.
It had nothing to do with Nina Walsh leaking secrets. In other words, if Nina didn’t steal the files, then how did the proposal docunts get on her flash drive?
Aiden Sinclair suspected soone had secretly tampered with it.
"Mr. Sinclair, that’s impossible. You hand-picked everyone at Aethel..." Jay Keane imdiately argued.
"It’s better to be safe and check," Aiden Sinclair said, leaving no room for argunt.
"Yes, sir."
Just as Jay Keane accepted the order and left, a call ca in from Clara Jacobs.
"Aiden, I was attacked. It hurts so much right now," Clara Jacobs choked out on the other end of the line.
Aiden Sinclair asked, "Who hit you?"
Clara Jacobs imdiately started sobbing her story. "It was Nina Walsh. I happened to run into her at the coffee shop. I was just going to tell her they didn’t have to pay for yesterday’s wedding dress. But then, Nina went crazy, threw coffee all over , and said a lot of terrifying things."
Aiden Sinclair: "What did she say?"
Clara Jacobs burst into tears. "She said... she told to be careful, that next ti she’d take a knife and slit my wrists, telling to let out all the blood she donated back then. Aiden, she’s terrifying. I’m so scared..."
Aiden Sinclair pictured Nina Walsh’s expression as she said those vicious words, and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously. ’A woman this full of life is much more interesting.’
On the phone, Clara Jacobs was still rambling on, crying about her pain.
"Aiden, are you listening? I’m at the hospital. My body hurts so much. That woman was ruthless."
"If it hurts that much, then stay in the hospital for a few more days. We’ll postpone our engagent."
"What?"
Clara Jacobs shot up from the hospital bed, clutching her phone. ’Aiden Sinclair wants to postpone the engagent?’
"Aiden... I’ll be fine after a day’s rest. I’m not that fragile. Aiden, I won’t bother you at work anymore."
Clara Jacobs quickly hung up. The next second, she smashed the phone violently onto the floor.
A profound sense of crisis washed over her. ’Aiden Sinclair actually suggested postponing the engagent... could it be because of that Nina Walsh?’
’Postpone the engagent? Absolutely not! The woman by Aiden Sinclair’s side must be !’
...
「The Hospital.」
After finishing a surgery, Declan Grant ca out and found Nina Walsh in his office.
He smiled, his tone gentle, as pleasant as a spring breeze.
"When did you get here? Have you been waiting long?"
Nina Walsh took out the coffee and cake she had bought and placed them on his desk. "I just arrived."
"You know best. I’m starving. Our hospital director knows I’m going abroad soon, so he’s working to the bone, scheduling one surgery after another for . I feel like a workhorse on a collective farm."
Declan Grant sat down and began to wolf down the cake.
"That’s because you’re too outstanding," Nina Walsh said with a smile.
Declan Grant didn’t know about the incident at the bridal shop yet, but he could clearly sense that Nina Walsh was in much better spirits than she had been a few days ago.
"How has your body been feeling these past few days? You’re past the most difficult first three months, and the morning sickness is over too."
Nina Walsh wrung her hands and said with resolve, "Second Brother Grant, I still don’t want the baby. Can you schedule the procedure for ?"
Declan Grant’s expression filled with regret. He tried to persuade her again with kind words, but Nina Walsh had made up her mind and wouldn’t budge.
Resigned, Declan Grant pulled open a drawer, took out a report from the very bottom, and handed it to her.
"Actually, I haven’t told you yet... you’re pregnant with twins. And last ti, I used your blood to run a DNA test. It’s a boy and a girl—fraternal twins."
Nina Walsh clutched the report, her face a mask of shock and disbelief. "I’m having fraternal twins? How is that possible? You’re lying to , right?"
Declan Grant shook his head. "I never lie to you. It’s true. If you don’t believe , we can do an ultrasound. I’ll let you see for yourself."
Nina Walsh believed Declan Grant, but her mind was made up. She crumpled the report into a ball and threw it in the trash.
"Second Brother Grant, I still want the procedure. The babies... I really don’t want them."
"Nina! Don’t be reckless with your body. The hardest three months are already over. If you lose the babies this ti, you might never be able to get pregnant again in your life," Declan Grant pleaded.
At the ntion of the children, tears stread down Nina Walsh’s face uncontrollably. "Second Brother Grant, if I give birth to these two children and they end up like —without a father’s love, forced to endure a lifeti of bullying and insults—I’d rather not give birth to them at all. Please, help one more ti."
Seeing her cry so helplessly made Declan Grant’s heart ache. He still rembered when they were children, how Nina’s mother would design beautiful princess dresses just for her, and her maternal grandfather would give her beautiful tiaras. She was as happy as a little princess every day.
’Why did fate have to be so cruel to her? Wasn’t one hardship enough? Why did it have to tornt her again and again?’
Declan Grant’s resolve softened. "Alright. I’ll help you."
He opened his dicine cabinet and took out a red capsule.
...
As night fell, just before eight o’clock, Nina Walsh obediently returned to the residence Aiden Sinclair had arranged for her.
She sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the red capsule on the coffee table.
This was an abortion pill from Declan Grant’s latest research. It was less invasive than a surgical procedure; the embryos would be expelled three days after taking it.
She had just looked it up. The probability of conceiving twins was five in a thousand, and the probability of having fraternal twins of opposite sexes was even lower—only one in four thousand people.
For soone like her, who had difficulty conceiving, to beco pregnant with fraternal twins was practically a one-in-a-million chance.
This should have been a stroke of luck worth celebrating, yet now Nina Walsh wanted to get rid of them.
"Mommy is so sorry. In your next life, find a good family to be born into."
Nina Walsh let out a long sigh. She reached out, clutched the capsule, and used her other hand to grab a glass of water.
Just then, Aiden Sinclair’s voice suddenly sounded from behind her:
"What are you taking?"
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