BXBX NOVEL Chapter 514: So You Knew It All Along (24)
She doesn’t need to have a child right away; she’s actually already pregnant. But… it seems Steve Burton isn’t welcoming of this child at all.
“What, you don’t look so good. Is it because you can’t bear to see me get free from your clutches?” Edric Reat looks at Ruby’s pale face and speaks with a hint of worry behind his half-joking words.
Ruby snaps back to attention and shakes her head at Edric: “No.”
“Well, it’s getting late. I originally came to the hospital to see a friend. Where are you going? Need a ride?”
“No need, I want to stay here for a bit longer.” In fact, she doesn’t know where to go herself. She had a huge fight with her parents, Steve treats her coldly, and her only friend Madeleine is married now.
“Alright then.” Edric doesn’t push, raises his hand to call the waiter for the bill, and gets ready to leave. He then notices Ruby is only wearing a thin sweater and asks, “Do you want to keep the coat?”
“No need, thank you.” Ruby suddenly remembers Edric’s coat draped over her shoulders, quickly gets up, and hands it back to him: “I’ll make a call and get someone to bring me some clothes.”
Ruby’s long hair hangs on either side of her face, concealing the red mark Lady Gregory left with a slap. As she’s handing the coat to Edric, her head turns quickly, her hair fluttering, which allows his sharp eyes to spot the swelling on her face. Edric’s eyebrows furrow deeply, and he lifts Ruby’s hair, asking, “What happened to your face? Who hit you?”
In Ruby’s memory, Edric had always been a gentle man. She never expected him to display such harshness.
Ruby pulls her hair out of Edric’s hand, smiles at him with an obvious reluctance to discuss further: “It’s nothing. Drive safely when you leave.”
Edric knows that if Ruby doesn’t want to talk about it, pressing her won’t yield any answers. He stares at her for a moment before nodding lightly, “You take care of yourself. I’ll go now. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Ruby keeps smiling as she waits for Edric to leave, then tiredly collapses onto the table, staring blankly at the glass window. She’s overwhelmed by anxiety because of the child growing inside her.
–
When Steve Burton arrives at Maxwell Gregory’s hospital room, Ruby is not there.
Madam Gregory still greets him warmly, even pouring a glass of water for him herself. Maxwell continues discussing business matters with him, although both of their faces don’t look too good.
Steve sits in the room for about ten minutes without catching sight of Ruby, so he casually asks, “Where’s Ruby? Not at the hospital?”
Madam Gregory stares at her hand for a moment before answering with a smile, “Ruby said she had some business to take care of this afternoon, so she left.”
In recent days, Steve’s daily hospital visits appeared to be for Maxwell, but they were actually to see her. Today, he even brought a tube of ointment with him. Hearing that she isn’t at the hospital, Steve feels a subtle sense of disappointment. Still, his face remains cold and aloof, nodding nonchalantly to show that he understands, and then he continues discussing business affairs with Maxwell.