Chapter 03

Clarice returned to Nicholas's mansion, only to find that he wasn't there. She went up to the bedroom and lay on the bed. Hours passed, and it was nearly 7 o'clock in the morning, but he still hadn't returned. Clarice knew that her relationship with Nicholas was beyond repair, but she didn't know how to tell him that she was expecting his child. She wasn't doing this for herself; she wanted her child to have a chance at having a family. But now, after finding out about Nicholas's engagement, what should she do?

Looking at the turned-off phone screen, Clarice felt a wave of disgust. She rushed to the bathroom and vomited again, and while waiting, every minute and second was torture. Clarice sat on the couch, expressionless, watching the bells on the wall move in circles.

"Miss, don't think too much. Mr. will be back soon, and he will surely give you an explanation," Sonia tried to console her, seeing her troubled expression. She knew it wasn't normal for Nicholas to sleep away from home.

"Sonia, do you think he still loves me?" Clarice asked with a sad and confused expression.

"I think so, and he's been so good to you. How could he not love you?" Rose replied quickly. "Everything you like or want, he does to please you."

"I don't know anymore. That girl yesterday claimed to be his fiancée, and he confirmed it to me."

"Clarice, I know life throws many twists and turns, but I've known President Nicholas since he was a child, and there must be something more to this marriage. Please wait for him to come back and explain. He wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Sonia had noticed, since the day Nicholas brought Mary home, that their relationship might not be straightforward. Especially because the girl seemed to trust Nicholas a lot, and Nicholas was so gentle and kind to her. She had rarely seen such a scene when they were together.

Considering the girl's attire and temperament, it was clear that she came from a wealthy family at a single glance. So people didn't doubt that she was Nicholas's fiancée.

In comparison, Clarice was like a delicate flower that had been nurtured by Nicholas in the garden. He had shielded her from the wind and rain to create a beautiful garden for her.

Clarice had thought she was plain, believing that it didn't matter if he treated her well. After getting along with her in the past few days, they had developed feelings for each other, so her heart was still somewhat attached to him. She hoped that Nicholas could treat her a bit better.

The mansion's door was opened from the outside, and Clarice realized that he wasn't Nicholas. It was Luna, Nicholas's personal assistant.

"Luna, why are you here so early? Where is Nicholas?" When Sonia asked this question, she didn't forget to look back.

"Clari, the president had something to attend to, so he won't be able to come home for a while." Luna walked directly in front of Clarice and spoke hesitantly, not wanting to hurt the woman's feelings.

She was well aware that Clarice and Nicholas were in a complicated situation and needed to talk, but just now, her boss had to leave, and it was like killing Clarice all at once in the dark.

"Miss…," Sonia noticed that Clarice had turned pale and thought she might faint. She quickly took a few steps to check her condition, and Clarice waved her hands helplessly. She was trying to stop the tears from flowing as she gave Sonia a questioning look.

"Is he so busy that he can't even give me an explanation? Or does he disdain doing so?" She looked at Luna with a serious and confused expression.

"Clarice…," Luna just stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Alright, he refused to come. So let me ask, is Miss Armani really his fiancée? I need to know that to make a decision about my life."

"This…" Luna's expression was very difficult. She didn't want to lie, but she was afraid the truth would harm Clarice. After hesitating for a while, she opened her mouth and said, "Clari, the President cares about you..."

"Cares? Really?" A trace of mockery crossed Clarice's eyes.

"The marriage between him and Miss Armani was arranged by the president's grandfather a long time ago. The president never took this matter seriously and treated it as a joke from his grandfather at that time. Furthermore, Miss Armani has been studying abroad, so the two families never brought up this matter. It's only now that Miss Armani has turned twenty and is the only daughter of Mr. Armani, and her health hasn't been great in recent years, that they're pushing for the marriage." Luna did her best to explain the relationship between Nicholas and the Armani family's Miss.

But Clarice didn't want to hear any of it. She just shook her head, and her tears fell like broken beads.

"If that's the case, why didn't he come back as he promised tonight?" She couldn't believe he didn't really want to marry Miss Armani. If he truly didn't want to, who could force him?

"He was prepared to stay home, but Miss Armani suddenly fell ill and was sent to the hospital," Luna anxiously explained, but after hearing that, Clarice let out a bitter laugh.

"So he went with her."

"Clari, you... believe me, even if the president does marry Miss Armani, you are still the mistress of this family," Luna didn't want her to lose hope and spoke with a resolute and decisive tone.

"Really? I'm the mistress of this family, and Miss Armani? What about her?" Clarice felt that these words were extremely sarcastic.

"She won't be coming back to this house, and the president will arrange another place for her."

"So that's how it is. I wait for him in this house every day, to be a third person who will never see the light of day... Is that his plan?"

"At the very least, the president never thought of giving up on you." Luna's voice sank, and these words sounded like a reassuring reminder.

"Does he think I can't live without him?" Clarice finally got angry. He wanted to treat her like a pet and make her grateful for his kindness?

"Of course not, but your father..." When she mentioned her father, Clarice's expression changed.

"What do you mean? What happened to my father?"

"You probably don't know this, but he took twenty thousand dollars from the president previously, but he lost it all very quickly. The president never told you about this because he didn't want you to feel indebted to him. He also didn't want you to feel inferior in front of him because of your father's actions."

"What did you say... Is that true?" Clarice looked at Luna incredulously. She hadn't expected that, without knowing, she already owed so much to Nicholas.

"So don't think that the CEO has let you down. He genuinely cares about you. But there are some things that are difficult for him. If you still have a little conscience, don't push the CEO." When Luna said these words, there was no longer the familiar

 feeling of the past. Clarice only now realized that she was Nicholas's subordinate after all. Accepting Nicholas's salary meant she had to think of everything for his sake.

"Furthermore, the CEO has given orders to handle this. I believe the Gatti family will fall soon, and he will take revenge for all the humiliation you suffered at the party." After hearing this, Clarice showed a bitter smile, opened her mouth, and her voice was choked with emotions and trembled. She looked at Luna in surprise, wondering how Nicholas knew about what had happened yesterday. How did the news reach him so quickly?

"Then I will have to trouble you to thank Mr. Murray for me." After hearing her response, Luna's expression froze.

She wanted to say something, but Clarice had already gotten up and walked to the second floor without even looking at her. Clarice went back to her room and took the pregnancy test results from her bag.

Looking at the results, she laughed and cried again. In the end, she took a lighter and burned all the test results. Lying on the bed, her trembling hands caressed her still-flat belly, and her heart bled deeply.

"My dear, what do we do? Your father doesn't want us anymore!"

The next morning, Sonia woke up early and went upstairs after cooking a nutritious soup for Clarice. After all, following the incident from the previous day, she believed Clarice must not have slept well the previous night.

As she climbed the second floor and lightly knocked on the door, there was no response from inside. A little concerned, she carefully opened the door but found no one on the bed. She checked the bathroom, but it was also empty. She turned and headed to the other rooms, but there wasn't a single person around. Clarice had simply disappeared without a trace.

When the news reached Nicholas, he was at the Murray Family Mansion, accompanying his grandfather for breakfast. Upon hearing Luna's words about Clarice's disappearance, his expression changed, and he put down his utensils on the table.

"What happened? The breakfast isn't to your liking?" Mr. Murray frowned when he saw this and spoke unhappily.

"Grandfather, I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't be able to have breakfast with you," Nicholas wiped the corners of his mouth and stood up.

"Personal matters? What personal matters do you have? Is it a woman?" His mother entered the dining room, gracefully taking her seat.

"Mother." When Nicholas saw her, he greeted her stiffly.

"You still recognize me? After all this time, I thought you'd forgotten I was your mother," Olivia looked at him coldly and then mocked.

"Olivia, what are you saying? You're Nick's mother. How could he forget you?" His grandfather intervened and wasn't pleased with her attitude.

"Father-in-law, even though this child was born from my womb, he was more like his father. I'm sure he heard about what his father did to me back then. What, did he avoid me intentionally? After all, he's been staying in the mansion these past few days, but I only saw him today. Is he deliberately avoiding me?" Olivia looked at Nicholas with disdain.

When his grandfather heard this, he knew that his daughter-in-law was still angry with her grandson because of his father's betrayal. While he felt unhappy in his heart, he also thought it was wrong to blame his grandson.

"Don't accuse Nick unfairly."

"Since Grandfather said that, I'll have some mercy on my son." Olivia sneered and said.

"What Grandfather meant is that if you want to see me in the future, you can wake up early or stay up late like he does," Nicholas replied coldly, not caring about her reproach.

He would never forget that when he was young, he used to greet his mother sooner or later, but he was never allowed to enter her room. He would always kneel outside the door for an hour before leaving while crying.

His grandfather had just said that he was suffering the consequences of his father's sins, but he didn't understand why his father wanted him to redeem his mother. Did he want his father to abandon his mother? In the face of Olivia's shocked expression, Nicholas said goodbye to his grandfather and stood up, walking out of the room.