CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 33: HIS EMBRACE_2

The servant once again presented her with piping hot food, motioning for her to eat.

She slowly stood up. Sobbing, her entire body trembled as she took the bowl.

Howard Geoffrey rose leisurely, buttoned his suit, and remarked casually, "I recall you have another good friend named Isabella Joanna. If you act so willfully again, I’ll make her suffer in your place."

Her sobs grew more intense, tears dripping into the bowl before her.

As he was about to step out of the room, he added, "This is just a reminder for today. My patience isn’t great. Next time, I might not be in such a good mood to hear you beg for mercy... Also, don’t even think about aborting the child to retaliate against me. You won’t want to face the consequences."

Later, when she called Aunt Clare, she learned that Aunt Clare had been hospitalized for a full half-month due to severe damage to her respiratory lining. Aunt Clare had no idea Howard Geoffrey was behind it all; she wholeheartedly believed the robber, having failed to get any money from her, had retaliated.

After this incident, she finally learned the meaning of "obedient" and never dared to defy him again.

Upon returning from the hospital, Rebecca Quentin sat on the sofa, idly flipping through a magazine as usual.

Suddenly, a headline from the latest news caught her eye—

"Skytop Group’s CEO Howard Geoffrey and His Wife: A Love as Strong as Ever. Eyewitnesses recently saw Geoffrey personally entering a flower shop to purchase ninety-nine Louis XIV roses, symbolizing eternal love..."

Seeing this news, Rebecca Quentin merely gave a wry smile, then set the magazine aside and decided to take a short nap.

Perhaps due to pregnancy-induced drowsiness, this short nap lasted until six in the evening.

Strange, the servant hadn’t brought her soup at dinnertime as usual. To avoid starving the baby, she went to the dining room herself.

She hadn’t expected the dining room to be bustling with activity. Just as Rebecca Quentin was about to ask what was happening, the butler, who was supervising the servants as they set the table, hurried over to her and said respectfully, "Madam, dinner might be a little late today."

"Oh."

The butler added, "The Master will be back for dinner shortly."

Hearing the butler’s words, Rebecca Quentin froze, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

He’s coming home for dinner tonight? This is incredible. For the past three months, even when he came home, he never ate here. Is something going to happen tonight?

After waiting at the dining table for about half an hour, Howard Geoffrey finally walked in from outside.

The butler and the other servants respectfully greeted him with "Master" before quietly departing, leaving only Rebecca Quentin and Howard Geoffrey in the spacious dining room.

Unsure why Howard Geoffrey had returned tonight and fearing it might be for something bad, Rebecca Quentin was extremely cautious, terrified of inadvertently offending him.

Fortunately, it seemed he had simply come home for dinner. From the few stolen glances, she saw he was engrossed in his meal. His mood tonight is probably not bad. Despite this, she still didn’t dare stay in the same room with him for too long; her fear of him had become deeply ingrained.

"Um, enjoy your meal. I’ll... head back to my room," she said politely, then slowly made her way back to her room as if escaping.

Back in her room, Rebecca Quentin instantly felt a wave of relief. Patting her chest, she lay down on the bed.

The image of him torturing Aunt Clare as punishment for her own disobedience flashed through her mind again. She shivered, finding it incredible that she had once dared to risk using him.

Thankful that he didn’t live in this house, she breathed a sigh of relief and, grabbing her pajamas, headed into the bathroom.

To Rebecca Quentin’s utter astonishment, when she emerged from the bathroom drying her hair, she saw Howard Geoffrey in her room.

Her body stiffened. She didn’t dare make a sound, merely feigning calmness as she walked to the bed and continued drying her hair.

Catching him unbuttoning his shirt out of the corner of her eye, looking as if he intended to shower, she rose and went into the bathroom to run the bathwater for him.

Once he entered the bathroom, she quickly scrambled into bed and anxiously pulled the blanket over herself.

It wasn’t that she feared he would do anything to her. After all, they had lived together for two years; she didn’t need to feign innocence before him. Besides, it was unlikely he would try anything now. Her trepidation stemmed purely from the discomfort of sharing a room with him, as he had become increasingly like a stranger to her.

About half an hour later, the bathroom door opened, and the fresh scent of someone who had just bathed wafted to her.

Still awake, she heard him emerge from the bathroom, and her hands grew clammy with sweat beneath the blanket.

Whether expected or not, he lay down beside her.

Sensing the coolness of his body, she kept her eyes squeezed shut, her nerves stretched taut.

Just as her mind raced, unable to imagine what would happen next, his arm suddenly circled her waist, pulling his body close against hers.

「The following day.」

When Rebecca Quentin woke up, Howard Geoffrey was already gone.

The air still seemed to carry his pleasant scent. She slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard, her mind replaying the previous night.

She had been on edge all night, only to realize in the end that he had merely held her, making no other moves.

Of course, she wasn’t hoping he would do anything to her. She was simply afraid, unable to guess his thoughts, terrified that one wrong move might displease him. Fortunately, he hadn’t returned for her last night, but for the child in her womb.

She reached this conclusion because last night, as he held her, she had distinctly felt that his embrace lacked any hint of passion. While there was a sense of tender affection, it seemed more like he was expressing his anticipation for the child, through her.

To be honest, his expectations for the child had really astonished her...

Early in her pregnancy, she had believed he was indifferent to both her and the child. But these past three months, she finally understood she had been mistaken. It turned out he only didn’t care about *her*; he was extremely anxious and concerned about the child in her womb.

Looking back, during these three months, apart from that one time she angered him and received a stern warning, he hadn’t troubled her further. He even had the servants accommodate all her requests, seemingly treating her as he had before.

So, after these days, she had understood...

She was really stupid. Why had she confronted him from the beginning?

If she had willingly given birth to the child and handed it over to him, he wouldn’t have restricted her freedom or caused her any trouble. After ten months, she could have smoothly parted ways with him. So why had she fought him for this child?