Chapter 2

I cradled my scraped, bleeding palm and looked up at him in utter disbelief. "Mom and Dad flew back from abroad just for this, and all our friends and relatives have already been notified. How could you just call off the wedding on a whim, Nicholas?"

Nicholas, burning with rage at being lied to, clamped his hand over my chin and snarled, "You're really that desperate to marry me, huh?

"Did Clara hit the nail on the head about you being nothing but a disgusting, trashy gold digger? It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about the fact that I actually slept with you, Lillian!"

He roughly shoved me aside and walked away, with the others following him. He hadn't gotten very far when I heard him say, "Go help me book an appointment for an HIV screening at the hospital."

I instantly felt a pang in my chest after hearing that, and I wept from the injustice of it all.

I had gone as far as to bring in another 14 billion dollars in revenue for Naughton Group just to convince Mom and Dad to let me marry beneath myself and move all the way from Halport for Nicholas.

I did it simply because I trusted his character, since he had rushed me to the hospital when I fainted with a fever the first day we met.

I never thought that the love I held so close to my heart would be twisted into nothing more than desperate harassment, driven only by a desire to marry him for a payday.

I suddenly felt an unprovoked pain gripping my lower abdomen. I was overcome by a wave of physical nausea, but I still dragged myself all the way to the hospital.

It was then that the doctor studied my examination results and said, "You're five weeks pregnant, Ms. Naughton. You've experienced abdominal pain because your emotions were triggered. Your uterine wall is very thin, and because it's your first baby, I recommend that you carry it to term."

I frowned in disbelief as I clutched the pregnancy report. I hadn't even figured out my next move when I caught sight of Nicholas and Clara stepping out of another examination room.

Nicholas' expression instantly hardened the moment he caught sight of me. He strode over and sneered coldly, glaring down at me.

"You've got a lot of nerve following me here, Lillian. You should count yourself lucky you didn't pass any filthy STD to me. Otherwise, even if you gave up your life, it wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

I had already realized that Nicholas didn't trust me one bit. I had no desire to deal with him further, so I turned to leave.

Clara spotted the report in my hand instantly. She snatched it away, read it through carefully, and let out a mocking laugh. "You've got to be kidding me, Lillian. You're so desperate to secure a payout from Nicholas that you went ahead and faked a pregnancy report, huh?

"Do you actually take him for a fool? He's not going to fall for the same trick twice, Lillian."

Clara had shown an inexplicable hostility toward me from the very first day we met, but back then, Nicholas loved and protected me, never allowing anyone to disrespect me to my face, and I had never stooped to petty arguments with his friends.

I saw no reason to tolerate his friends any longer, since he was just standing by and watching coldly. I snatched the report back and looked at her coldly. "I have no reason to fake something like this. You're going to pay for your actions, Clara!

"You've insulted and defamed me repeatedly—and Naughton Group won't let this slide! That goes for the entire Gunter family! You can forget about ever doing business with or stepping foot into any of Naughton Group's establishments ever again!"

Clara acted as though she had just heard a massive joke. She loosely threw her arm around Nicholas' neck and laughed out loud, wiping away tears of amusement before looking at me with pure contempt.

"You're actually bringing up Naughton Group, huh? That company has hundreds of locations spanning from Halport right into Caldoria, while you're nothing but a mere gold digger. You're delusional if you think you can link yourself to Naughton Group.

"It is said that the people behind Naughton Group are coming to Caldoria in three days. If they find out you've been using their name to pull a marriage scam, do you think you'll get away with it?"

Clara glared at me viciously. She stepped right up to my ear and hissed, "You're nothing but a worthless whore who's been passed around. Do you really think you're somebody, Lillian?"

I instantly snapped. I looked up and slapped her hard across the face. "You'd better watch what you say, Clara!"

Clara, still dazed from the slap, immediately turned to Nicholas in fury. "Lillian is not even your fiancee anymore, Nicholas! How could you just stand there and do nothing when she slapped me?"

Nicholas' expression hardened as he ordered the bodyguards to restrain me. He then said in a chillingly calm voice, "Hit her back. How dare a trashy gold digger like you lay your hands on Clara!"

I clenched my fists, a bitter sense of irony rising within my heart. Nicholas and I had been in a relationship for eight months, and our lifestyles and hobbies matched perfectly. I used to think we were meant to be, but I never imagined it would prove so fragile in the face of a few manipulative comments.

Clara returned the slap with force, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. "Nicholas will never marry you, even if you use a fake pregnancy to threaten him, Lillian!"

In that instant, a vivid handprint appeared on my cheek as blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

Nicholas, spotting the hatred in my gaze, said indifferently, "You'd better change your name and get out of Bellevue this instant!"

He then looked down at my stomach and waved his hand indifferently, ordering his bodyguards, "Get rid of the thing inside her belly. I won't allow someone of her sort to taint the Jordan family's bloodline."