Chapter 2

Two months later, in a hospital…

"Congratulations." The doctor handed the ultrasound scan result to Catelyn. "You're eight weeks pregnant!"

Catelyn paled as though she had been struck by lightning. Refusing to accept it, she asked, "Could there be a mistake, Doctor?"

"The sample of your urine shows that you are positive, and there couldn't possibly be a mistake," the doctor answered firmly. "Besides, your insomnia and postponed menstruation couldn't be faked, could they?"

Catelyn's mind went blank, her hands shivering as she grabbed onto the scan result.

She got pregnant, under the circumstances of her family's decline and the Mason family's withdrawal from the arranged marriage.

It was from that time with Jamie two months ago… It was Jamie's child.

The doctor seemed to be used to this sort of situation and reminded her kindly, "If you choose to do an abortion, I suggest that you do so as early as possible. Nonetheless, you're having twins, which rarely happens, so it's best to discuss with the father whether to keep them or otherwise."

…

Catelyn did not even remember how she left the hospital.

Two months ago, her father was involved in a car accident, and the car fell into the river with him in it. Jamie took her that night but did not help the Clark family afterward.

Instinctively, she knew that Jamie's response to this would be to have her get an abortion, but she was responsible for two lives.

Hope, however frail, rose within her as she was reluctant to take away these two lives.

However, when she arrived on the cruise ship Jamie was on and saw all the beautiful women on deck clinging onto the men, her heart froze.

"Master Jamie, here comes your fiancé," one of the men teased inside the private room.

Jamie shoved the young model in his arms away as his lips curled into a sarcastic sneer. "Catelyn Clark?"

"Mason, come outside for a bit. There's something I need to talk to you about." Catelyn forced herself to look away from the filthy sight before her and stood there expressionlessly like a statue.

Jamie lifted an eyebrow and teased, "Say whatever you have to say here!"

Catelyn bit her lip wordlessly and stared at him.

Jamie smirked and mused to himself, 'This woman was so aggressive that night from two months ago, and now she is playing innocent?'

The man next to him, who was enjoying the drama, whistled in Catelyn's direction with a mysterious smile. "Miss Clark, are you trying to borrow money from Master Jamie because your family went bankrupt? It's okay if he doesn't want to, I will. But let's get those clothes of yours off, huh? It's just a hot day to wear so many layers…"

As he spoke, he came over to tug at Catelyn's clothes.

The horrifying memories from two months ago flashed before her eyes, and she was instantly overwhelmed by the urge to vomit.

"Uurgh—!"

As the man's hand moved toward her, Catelyn vomited at his chest with no regard to her appearance and instantly caused a mess.

"Was that on purpose?!" Furious, the man moved to slap her.

Catelyn was already weak from the pregnancy and had no means to dodge the assault. She closed her eyes to brace herself for the slap, when Jamie stood up abruptly to stop the man before dragging Catelyn toward the deck angrily.

When they arrived on the deck, he flung her toward the handrail, which shot sharp pain up her back.

"Are you pregnant?" Jamie glanced at Catelyn's stomach and gritted out.

Catelyn felt as though he was crushing the bones on her wrist, yet she managed to squeeze a stubborn reply, "No."

"No?" He narrowed his eyes, before continuing in a sarcastic, cold tone, "You're just a lady without a penny to your name, and my wife has to be a lady from a powerful family. If I find out that you are secretly pregnant with my child, you should know the consequences."

'Consequences?' she scoffed. 'I must have been blind to have agreed to marry him in the first place!'

Regret, anger, and frustration rose within her, and she took out a hundred-dollar bill before throwing it at Jamie's face furiously. "Have you ever seen a client who hires a prostitute to keep the baby? Here's your tip, and keep it! That's all you're worth! You disgust me, Jamie Mason!"

When she was done, Catelyn left the cruise ship without a second glance at Jamie's darkened expression before starting to wander on the street.

What could she do from here onward? Should she truly get rid of the twins?

Crystal-like tears slid down her cheeks, knowing she did not have the heart to even do that. She did not grow up with a mother, her father having raised her on his own. Though her stepmother treated her fine, it was not the same.

At this moment, the gods ironically saw fit to make her pregnant when her father went missing.

Catelyn sat on a branch in the square dazedly for a long while. As she stared at the moving crowd walking past her in joy, anxiety, or no emotion at all, she slowly came to a decision.

As she got up, a commercial popped up on the large screen in the square.

The female anchor held the microphone, and in a clear voice, she said, "This just came in: Mason Group has launched their newest gardenia perfume named No. 520!

"Regarding the concept behind it, the designer claims that it was specifically designed for a woman who appeared in Room 520, who also loved the scent of gardenias…"

Following the anchor's introduction, the screen switched to a demonstration of No. 520, the gardenia perfume, and the package was incredibly glorious.

'No. 520. It's a date that symbolizes 'I love you' in some cultures. How romantic…' pondered Catelyn.

She thought back to the time when she was still the princess of the Clark Family. She would have bought this perfume for the creative concept behind it, because she had loved gardenia flowers since she was young.

The symbolism of the flower was to stay strong and be patient, and her father even went the length to collect all kinds of perfume made with the gardenia scent from around the world.

At this moment, however, she could no longer afford her favorite GrandExtrait Gardenia perfume, and could only use a cheap shampoo that smelled like it.

She wiped her tears away miserably before getting up and heading to the closest clinic without hesitation.

The sun shone through the branches of the trees. Her shadow stretched underneath the light, and each step she took felt draining.

…

By the time she was out of the hospital, Catelyn's face was already as pale as a ghost.

She dragged her exhausted body and headed toward home. The sky was turning dark, and as the cold wind blew, she could barely stand.

Screech!

A black Bagatti Veiron stopped abruptly at the side of the road.

Jamie's face appeared before her, and the rage on his face showed how much he wanted to swallow Catelyn alive. With a copy of the medical record in his hand, he took a few strides before he stood right before her.

She widened her eyes and subconsciously moved to run.

"Catelyn Clark! You're pregnant with my child!" Jamie grabbed her wrist from behind furiously. "How dare you lie to me?"

Catelyn could not breathe for a moment, but she then retorted callously, "I didn't lie to you; I got an abortion."

"W—What?" Jamie stared at her in disbelief.

Catelyn gritted her teeth and took out a receipt for the surgery from her purse, before handing it to him despite the pain in her chest. "Here's the proof. If you don't believe me, you can go ahead to check with the clinic stated here!"

Jamie looked at the name on the receipt and the surgery stated on it, and was instantly stunned.

'Isn't she supposed to threaten me with the child?' he thought to himself.

"Jamie Mason, the Clark family might have gone bankrupt, but my family doesn't owe you anything, and neither do I! We're going to go our separate ways from now onward, so don't come looking for me ever again. Goodbye!"

Steeling herself while Jamie was still dazed, Catelyn fought back her tears and ran away, leaving him standing alone, unable to recover.