Chapter 4: The Unexpected Miracle

Where are you? We need to find a designer and a wedding organizer immediately.

The message from Axel popped up on Adeline’s phone.

I’m at the clinic. I’ve started feeling unwell again, Adeline replied.

Which clinic?

The community clinic near my house.

Understood.

“Understood?” Adeline frowned. She didn't think the man would actually come to find her, especially since she was currently waiting in a crowded queue. In truth, she had been feeling feverish for days, but she had ignored it. However, this morning the fever had been accompanied by nausea and vomiting. She couldn't take it anymore and had to seek medical help.

As she waited, Adeline suddenly looked up and saw a tall figure in a crisp white shirt standing before her.

"Mr. Axel?" Adeline was bewildered. Was he already nearby? He had arrived incredibly fast.

“I went to your house, but you weren't there.”

“Ah... I’m sorry. I should have told you I couldn't make it,” Adeline said, feeling guilty. “I’ve inconvenienced you. If you want to head back, please do. If I feel better tomorrow, I’ll let you know.”

“I’m already here.” Axel sat down beside her, making the dark-haired woman feel a wave of awkwardness.

“You’re going to stay with me? Why?”

“I just want to ensure that if my future wife happens to drop dead, it doesn’t become yet another scandal.”

Adeline cleared her throat, remembering that his late wife had died in an accident. She had briefly thought Axel came because he was worried about her, but she realized she was being too self-confident. Who was she for a man like Axel to worry about?

“Oh...”

“Ms. Adeline!” A nurse finally called her name.

“Do you want to—”

“Let’s go.” Axel stood up first, walking ahead with his usual stoic expression.

“Is he... a robot?” Adeline wondered. Was he trying to show concern but was too proud, or was he just like this? Eventually, she followed him into the doctor’s office.

Adeline lay on the examination bed with a sense of anxiety, explaining her symptoms. The doctor smiled and sat back in his chair after the check-up.

“These are common symptoms. They occur frequently during early pregnancy. Have you seen an obstetrician yet?” the doctor asked.

Hearing that statement, Adeline spontaneously bolted upright. Pregnant? That was the massive question echoing in her mind. She knew her previous health checks had been quite bleak.

“W—what? I’m pregnant, Doctor?” Adeline asked, her lips trembling. She instinctively placed a hand over her stomach, which hadn't shown any visible signs yet.

Or was she just too naive about these things? She had been nauseous and felt bloated, sometimes feeling a strange flutter inside, but she had dismissed it as gastric issues or a common cold. She had a history of severe gastritis. She had also ignored the fact that her period was months late, as her cycle had always been irregular.

“So, you didn't know?”

“This is impossible! I had a check-up at a major hospital, and the doctor said the chances of me conceiving were extremely slim. How could I be pregnant? You must be mistaken, right? You aren't a specialist; maybe it’s a misdiagnosis. I can’t be pregnant.”

It wasn't that Adeline wasn't happy; she was simply in a state of shock and disbelief. She was pregnant at the very moment Julian had discarded her—and after being handed a verdict of being barren just a short while ago.

“If there is a ninety-nine percent chance you cannot conceive, then that remaining one percent is a miracle of the universe, Ms. Adeline. Anything is possible. I understand your doubt since I am a general practitioner, but my findings are quite accurate. You should have an ultrasound to see the full condition of the fetus. Most likely, you are entering your third or fourth month.”

Hearing this, Adeline slumped back into her chair. She burst into tears, caught between joy and a terrifying dilemma. What should she do now? She couldn't ask Julian to take responsibility; she refused to beg that man ever again. Yet, she felt a crushing guilt toward Axel, the man who was supposed to become her husband.

“Fine. Thank you. I will take her to the hospital for a follow-up,” Axel said, leading Adeline away. He placed her in his car and drove her back home.

Upon arriving home.

Adeline sat on the living room sofa, and Axel had not yet left. she stopped him for a moment to question the certainty of their marriage, as this was beyond her control. A pregnancy that once seemed impossible had suddenly arrived, and for the first time, she felt the reality of the life within her.

“Now you know I’m not a ‘good’ woman. Yes... I was that foolish. I gave everything to Julian without exception for five years. I am not pure; I’m not a woman worthy of being married by someone like you, Mr. Axel,” Adeline said, her eyes swollen from crying. However, Axel didn't look surprised at all. Even since they left the clinic, he had remained quiet, making Adeline assume he was disgusted by her.

“When was the last time you were together?”

“After the fertility check-up at the hospital, Julian and I stayed at a hotel once. It was a day before he took me to meet his mother. We broke up the very next day after his mother forbade him from marrying me.”

Axel fell silent for a moment.

“Do you want to cancel our wedding?”

Adeline paused. “Yes, because this will only bring you trouble. I can't ask for responsibility from someone who has nothing to do with this. But now... I can't tell Julian. Maybe I’ll move out of town to protect my father’s name. I don't want his reputation ruined because of me.”

Adeline clenched her fingers. She didn't know if this was the right decision. She couldn't sell her father’s flower shop—it had been there since she was five. Her mother had passed away long ago, and the house and the shop were all she had left.

“Are you sure?” Axel asked.

Adeline said nothing.

“Let this child be born where they belong.”

“What do you mean, Mr. Axel?” Adeline asked, confused.

“This child is my niece or nephew. Can you guarantee you won't do something desperate out there when you're overwhelmed? A pregnant woman’s emotions are sensitive. I may not have experience as a father, but I am doing this for my family’s blood.” Axel spoke with his arms crossed over his chest, maintaining his stoic demeanor even as he made a decision even more significant than the last.

“W—what? You want to go through with this? But you'll have to bear the shame...” That was what was on Adeline’s mind. How could she use someone else as a shield for her own problems?

“Our agreement has already been made. Did you not read the final clause? There is a five-hundred-million penalty for a unilateral cancellation.”

“What?”

“Is a week enough for you to rest? I have time again next week. You can let me know then, or send me the name of the designer and the location you want.” Axel rose from the sofa, grabbed his black blazer, and left Adeline alone with a thousand unanswered questions.

Adeline instinctively followed his footsteps, but Axel had already entered his luxury car and driven away.

“Is he serious? Why is he doing this? I don’t understand him at all; he didn't even look shocked or angry,” Adeline whispered to herself. Then, she slowly touched her stomach.

She finally realized why her abdomen had felt uncomfortable and was beginning to form a small, subtle curve. There was a baby there—something she had never expected. Previously, she hadn't worried about protection because for five years she had never conceived. She had been sure Julian would take responsibility if it happened, but after everything... she was more certain than ever that she would not tell him.

This was her child. Her own flesh and blood.

Adeline also realized she had been blinded by love in the past. She hadn't thought clearly. But she had promised to change her broken life. At the very least, she would not disappoint her father any further.

On the way home, Axel sat in the passenger seat. He let the driver do his job, while his own thoughts remained back at Adeline’s house.

His silence didn't mean he didn't know. In fact, Axel had known about her pregnancy since they were at the emergency room, when Adeline had collapsed at his brother’s wedding venue.

“The patient is pregnant. Are you the husband?” the doctor had asked Axel at that time.

“No,” Axel had replied. He had been shocked; Adeline’s face had been pale from emotional and physical pain, and now this news was added to it?

“Then please contact her family immediately so her pregnancy can be monitored.”

“Yes, I will inform them. Can she go home after she wakes up?”

“She may be discharged. Her condition is stable for now.”

Since that moment, Axel had grown to resent his family even more. Adeline was pregnant; Julian certainly couldn't marry her now. Mrs. Eleanor would clearly be the most shocked if the woman she had insulted for being "barren" turned out to be able to provide an heir. But all Axel thought about was how to get Adeline out of the pain she was in.

He knew it wasn't his responsibility, but he felt a sense of guilt because Adeline had suffered so much at the hands of his mother and brother.

“Rihanna, I hope you can see what I’m doing. I never intended to replace you. But now, I have to teach my mother and Julian a lesson. Tradition and ambition are truly sickening, aren't they?” Axel thought as he remembered his late wife.

Then, his phone vibrated with a series of notifications from Adeline.

Fine, I will go through with our marriage, Axel.

You don't need to worry about supporting me financially. I have a monthly income from the shop; I have enough.

You also don't need to worry about how I will face Julian or your mother. I can handle it.

But I only ask for one thing... I want this baby to be mine entirely.

Don't tell Julian about my pregnancy for now. I will do it myself, in my own way.

Adeline’s messages left Axel in a silence that spoke volumes.