CHAPTER 115: CHAPTER 115: HELP ME GET PREGNANT

The night was deep, and the hospital room was illuminated by a dim bedside lamp.

Jesse’s breathing was steady; he was already fast asleep.

Jean Ellison leaned against the nursing chair, exhausted but completely sleepless.

The paper bag in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, suffocating her.

Suddenly, the phone screen lit up in the darkness, its vibration breaking the silence.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Jean’s heart tightened inexplicably, a sense of foreboding washed over her.

She hesitated for a moment before moving to the corridor outside the hospital room to answer the call.

"Hello?"

Her voice carried fatigue and caution.

On the other end, Leah Sutton’s voice was clear and calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if the afternoon conversation full of schemes and candidness had never occurred.

"Jean Ellison."

Jean’s heart sank sharply as she gripped the phone tightly.

"Editor-in-Chief Sutton? Is there something else?"

She instinctively wondered if the other party had changed their mind.

Leah’s tone contained no detour, almost cruelly direct.

"I need you to do me a favor."

"A favor?" Jean frowned, completely unable to think of how she could help Leah. "I don’t understand what you mean."

Leah’s voice over the receiver was steady yet undeniably authoritative.

"You have a child, and I can have one too."

These words exploded like thunder in Jean’s ears.

She almost thought she heard wrong, incredulously confirming: "...What did you say?"

"I said," Leah enunciated each word clearly as if it was the most natural thing, "I want you to help me find a way to get pregnant with Justin Holden’s child."

"Are you crazy?!"

Jean blurted out, her voice raised due to shock. She then quickly lowered it, filled with absurdity and anger, realizing she was in a hospital corridor.

"How is that possible? Leah, are you...?"

"I’m not crazy." Leah interrupted coldly, her tone unwavering, as if discussing the most ordinary transaction. "I’m very clear-headed. Jean, you have no choice."

She paused, her voice lowered, yet it carried more threat.

"You want to protect your daughter and live a stable life. All I want is a guarantee. Help me achieve this, and our transaction will be completely over. I won’t use Jesse’s lineage as leverage again. Otherwise..."

The words left unsaid hung like a cold snake coiling around Jean’s neck, suffocating her.

Jean leaned against the cold wall, feeling a chill throughout her body.

She simply couldn’t fathom Leah’s thought process; the request was ridiculous, shameless, and perilous.

"Editor-in-Chief Sutton, this is impossible. Having a child involves two people. It’s... it requires a relationship. How could I... How could I help you with such a method? This is too..."

"That’s your problem to consider."

Leah’s tone remained calm yet had strong purpose.

"You’re the woman who should know Justin Holden’s preferences and habits best. What he likes, dislikes, when he tends to let his guard down, you should know something about these."

She didn’t seem to realize how unreasonable and crossing the line her request was, merely calmly issuing instructions.

"I only want the result; I don’t care about the process or the method — that’s up to you."

Jean opened her mouth, but all her refusals and reprimands were blocked in her throat.

She looked at the pitch-black night outside the window, then recalled her daughter’s peaceful sleeping face in the hospital room, and the genetic report capable of ruining their tranquil life.

A tremendous sense of powerlessness and coerced humiliation swept over her.

She knew Leah had targeted her Achilles heel.

For Jesse, it seemed she had no room to refuse.

Long silence ensued; all that could be heard was their suppressed breathing.

Leah didn’t urge her, patiently waiting, seemingly certain of the inevitable outcome.

After an eternity, Jean heard her own dry, hoarse voice break the silence, echoing with a resigned exhaustion and coldness: "...Alright."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, as if using every ounce of strength she had.

"I’ll... try. But you’ll have to give me time."

"That’s fine."

Leah answered quickly, as if unsurprised by this response.

"I’ll wait for your news. Remember, what I want is guaranteed success."

The call was decisively hung up. Only the busy tone remained in the receiver.

Jean weakly lowered her hand; the phone slipped from her sweat-laden palm, falling onto the soft carpet without a sound.

She slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor, burying her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she finally raised her head, her face devoid of any emotion, leaving only a numb calm.

She picked up the phone from the floor, unlocking the screen, and her fingertips lingered in the contact list for a long time, eventually stopping at the name "Justin Holden."

She edited a message, the wording simple.

"Jesse can be discharged from the hospital tomorrow."

She clicked send.

Almost the moment the message was successfully sent, the phone vibrated again. Justin replied quickly with only one word.

"Okay."

Jean stared at the cold "okay," her fingertips trembling slightly.

She continued typing.

"Would you like to come home for dinner tonight?"

This time, after a few seconds pause, the reply was still succinct: "Okay."

Jean looked at the screen, her gaze hollow.

She bit her lower lip as if she had made some kind of decision, typing again.

"There’s not much in the house. Tomorrow afternoon... shall we go to the supermarket together first? Jesse has just been discharged, let’s let her rest at home, we can make a quick trip."

She sent the message, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

She was gambling, betting on whether Justin would agree to this near "two-person world" proposal.

Time seemed to stretch interminably.

A few seconds later, the phone vibrated once more.

Justin’s reply, still just one word, but it made Jean’s heart sink entirely, growing cold.

"Okay."

Next evening, the weather was perfect, neither hot nor cold with a breeze.

Justin parked the car in the underground garage; Jean was already waiting there.

Today she wore a simple cream sweater and jeans, her hair loosely tied up, looking much softer than usual.

Seeing him get out of the car, Jean walked forward, a faint yet clear smile appearing on her face.

"You’re here?"

Justin paused looking at her smile.

He nodded, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment as if trying to discern something, but ultimately, he responded plainly.

"Mhm."

The two walked side by side to the elevator, the atmosphere somewhat subtle and silent.

Jean proactively pressed the elevator’s upward button, tilting her head to ask him.

"What would you like for dinner, hotpot or stir-fry?"

Justin’s gaze stayed on the changing floor numbers, his voice flat.

"Either way, you decide."

"Then let’s have hotpot, it’s warm."

Jean quickly made up her mind, her tone light.

"We can buy more different vegetables."

When the elevator door opened, they stepped into the spacious, bright supermarket.

Weekend evening, the supermarket was bustling, mostly with couples or families with children.

Jean naturally pushed over a shopping cart, Justin followed alongside her.

She initially pushed the cart towards the vegetable section, carefully choosing lettuce, crown daisy, golden needle mushrooms, occasionally picking something up to turn and ask him.

"Do you like this?"

What she picked up were all things Justin used to like, hopefully, his taste hadn’t changed over the years.