جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 540

The minute Zoey received his reply in her inbox, she took time to mentally prepare herself before opening the file. As luck would have it, she only found three comments annotated—a drastically reduced number compared to the last time. She forwarded the email to Katie and the two had a quick run-through before they started amending the plan accordingly. Once the revised version was completed the next day, Zoey went to the office building of the Scott Group for the meeting. They had specifically requested her presence—perhaps Laurence had too much on his plate lately to be picking on her.He was also absent from the meeting. Zoey heaved a sigh of relief upon realizing he wouldn't be joining the meeting. The lead of the Carol Bay project was replaced by a very capable-looking middle-aged woman. On one of the two toilet breaks she took, Zoey bumped into Amanda, who was there to discuss some matters with her uncle. The minute the lady laid eyes on Zoey, they were pinned on her for a go

Laurence only went home around 1 am.His mother was waiting for him in the living room. She had noticed he had been busy the past few months but had no clue what he was busy with. It seemed he was keeping himself busy to distract himself from problems that plagued his mind.“Why are you home so late? Did you work overtime again? Were you the only one working overtime?”Laurence did go to the office to do work. He couldn’t sleep early anyway, so he thought that he might as well do that.“Things at the company have been hectic lately.”“Are you sure?”“Yes.”Mrs. Scott scrutinized him and only believed him when she could tell he wasn’t lying. “You should take care of your health nonetheless.”She was very sleepy but forced herself to stay up to see him. She had already forgotten what she’d wanted to say to him. Instead, she handed him a photo album. “The helper found this when she was cleaning the guest room today. There are two photos of Zoey in it. It should be hers. Return

The wind howled.It had been a while since Laurence last called Zoey. They never contacted each other for work or personal issues. Zoey had been going out less often, so she never bumped into him on the street. They’d last met on the night of the dinner party. Since then, they hadn’t met at all. Zoey thought Laurence would not come looking for her anymore. She did not expect him to call her. She didn’t know what he had to say to her. They usually corresponded through email or held face-to-face meetings for work-related matters.Zoey kept quiet. Laurence did not seem to know what to say either.“I love you. I can’t live without you. Let’s get back together. It’s all my fault.” There were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Instead, he said, “It’s been a while since we last met. My mom’s birthday is next month. She likes you a lot. I wanted to ask if you'd like to attend her birthday party.”He was using his mother as an excuse.Zoey hesitated. Mrs. Scott had treated he

Laurence stood rooted to the ground, not far away. He couldn't find the energy to step forward. His gaze lingered on Zoey’s protruding belly for a long time as if trying to get a closer look. The sunlight illuminated his increasingly pale face, reflecting a vivid image in his eyes. He remained silent, not wanting to disturb her.Although Zoey felt sore and swollen, she couldn't lie in bed all day. Moderate walking was beneficial for pregnancy, and over the past few months, she had gradually developed an emotional connection with the child in her belly. She finally understood why parents were willing to sacrifice everything for their children. Some love truly was unconditional.Although Jared would often boast that he was the child's father, he didn't dare touch her belly. It was as if her abdomen was fragile, and he was afraid of accidentally causing her harm. However, the baby in her belly was well-behaved. It wasn't picky with food and rarely kicked.Spring was about to arrive in

Laurence stayed in Southgrove for a few days. He watched as Jared entered and exited Zoey’s house. He would leave for work in the morning and get off punctually in the evening. Then, he would shop for groceries before heading back to Zoey’s place. Zoey had made the right choice and picked a man that seemed to be devoted to her. He seemed more like her nanny than a boyfriend.Laurence did not want to believe she was pregnant with another man’s child. He remembered how opposed she had been to the idea of them having a child. She had rejected him so adamantly. He had always caught her buying birth control. He never thought of fooling her. When he brought her to the hospital, he had also bought her birth control. He never thought of deceiving her. Laurence asked his subordinates to check with the hospital where Zoey got her health checkups. Soon, he received her medical reports in his email inbox. They included a few maternity reports. He stared at the reports stating she was four month