CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: RELUCTANT TO ABORT THE CHILD

Erin Bishop was taken aback once more, then looked at Shannon Quinn incredulously and said, "Shannon, I didn’t expect you’re quite the player. I thought you were the type who’d be too shy to talk to guys. What happened? Tell me more."

"...I, about half a month ago, I drank too much and had an encounter with a stranger..."

"A one-night stand? Do you remember the guy?"

Shannon Quinn lowered her eyes and shook her head.

"Does your husband know about this?"

"He seems to know, but he hasn’t pressed on about it."

Erin Bishop sighed lightly and analyzed, "Probably he knows he can’t fulfill you, so he sort of acquiesces to this behavior?"

"Rona!"

"I didn’t mean it that way, Shannon. I know you’re not that kind of girl. What do you plan to do now? Are you keeping the child or not?"

Shannon Quinn said with a frown, "I just can’t make up my mind."

"Vincent Rhodes...does he lack that ability? If so, you might be able to discuss it with him, like you sought a child for him. Maybe he’ll accept the child?"

"But..."

"But you can’t get over it yourself, right? Actually, I think it depends on whether you and Vincent Rhodes plan to be together for life. If you really want to be with him for life and he can’t have children, I think you could keep the child. Otherwise, are you planning not to have kids in the future? If you abort now and want a child later, you’ll have to go for an expensive surrogacy."

Shannon Quinn felt that Erin Bishop had a point, and she couldn’t bear the thought of ending a small life, but she worried that Vincent Rhodes would be angry if he found out, and also feared Landon Sutton would realize the child was his.

"I think you shouldn’t think too much about it for now. I’ll go with you to the hospital for a check-up on Monday, but whether you choose to keep it or not, you have to go to the hospital at least once."

After thinking about it, Shannon Quinn asked Erin Bishop, "Do you have any connections? I don’t want to have a check-up at a big hospital; it seems like Vincent Rhodes has been investigating my matters."

"Yes, I have a friend who’s an OB-GYN. I’ll contact her, and we can go tomorrow."

"Thank you, Rona."

Erin Bishop comforted Shannon Quinn all night, and Shannon felt less anxious than before.

The next morning, they contacted Erin’s friend, who owns a private hospital. The basic equipment is still adequate.

Since an early pregnancy test is more accurate with a blood test.

Shannon Quinn had already come to terms with this reality, so when the doctor congratulated her on her pregnancy, she didn’t have a big emotional reaction.

"Everything is normal. Come back in a month for an ultrasound, but if you experience anything unusual or discomfort in the meantime, feel free to call me."

"So... if I were to have an abortion, what would I need to prepare?" Shannon Quinn asked softly.

The doctor glanced at Erin Bishop, seemingly surprised that Shannon was inquiring about an abortion, but was not unfamiliar with such matters, and replied, "The sooner, the better. Go home and discuss it. You still have time, and if you decide to proceed, a medication abortion can be done."

Shannon Quinn clutched the prenatal check-up report while anxiously looking out the car window.

Erin Bishop quietly drove, occasionally casting worried glances at her.

In this situation, probably no one would have a clear idea of what to do.

"Shannon, when you get home, have a discussion with Vincent Rhodes and see what he thinks. If he doesn’t object, and you want to keep the child, then have the baby."

"In life, you should ensure your own happiness, do what you want, and don’t care too much about others’ opinions. After all, the second half of your life is yours to live, not someone else’s. Decide what will make you happy and comfortable afterward."

Shannon really didn’t dare to tell Vincent Rhodes about this because she found him much more difficult to talk to than she had imagined. He surely wouldn’t let her keep the child...

And she didn’t know how long her marriage with Vincent Rhodes would last. If it truly was for life, she might be more inclined to have a child of her own.

If he wanted a divorce, without his interference, she might be even more unwilling to abort the child.

In any case, her heart leaned more towards keeping the child.

It had been raining for two days, and through these hazy days, she didn’t even know how she had gotten through it.

Perhaps because she hadn’t gone to a big hospital, Vincent Rhodes hadn’t found out she had a prenatal check-up, and he hadn’t contacted her.

Because she was pregnant, that afternoon Erin Bishop took both cats to her place to take care of them temporarily.

The room felt empty, and Shannon Quinn curled up on the sofa, listening to the mixed sounds of the rain and the TV, her mind feeling even more chaotic.

At the foot of the mountain on the outskirts, a dozen cars were parked on the muddy road.

Ronan Rhodes, without an umbrella, was soaked through and urgently grabbed one of his subordinates, asking, "Where’s Master Nate? Where is he?!"

"I don’t know. I heard someone say Master Nate seemed to be injured, but I haven’t seen him. A car drove off earlier; maybe they took Master Nate to the hospital."

Ronan got back into the car, holding his phone and dialing. He could get through, but no one answered, making him very anxious.

On the deserted street under the heavy rain, a black SUV was driving along.

The car wasn’t speeding; the wipers continued to move, yet the rain kept blurring the front windshield, making it hard to see the road ahead.

Inside the car, the smell of blood was overwhelming. Landon Sutton’s face was pale, cold sweat on his temples, controlling the steering wheel with one hand while the other pressed against his abdomen.

His white shirt was stained with mud, soaked with rain, clinging tightly to his skin.

Blood dripped down, glaringly scarlet and frightening.

Shannon Quinn lay in bed with the light off for a long while, unable to sleep, her eyes fixed on the lamp by the bedside. The sound of the rain refused to be muffled even with the windows tightly shut.

Suddenly, she heard an unusual noise outside the room, though the lamp by the bed remained on. Could it have been the wind?

She sat up in bed, listening intently. It did seem like someone had opened the door.

She sat still for quite some time, yet no one came in, though there were indeed some rustling sounds outside, and it seemed someone was speaking.

However, the rain was too loud for her to hear clearly.

Could it be that a burglar had entered the house?

Shannon Quinn cautiously got out of bed, unsure if Vincent Rhodes had come. She found a pair of scissors in the drawer, gripping them tightly in her hand, and gently opened the bedroom door.

The hallway light outside was on, enough to see the living room. Seeing the black-clad person in the wheelchair, her grip on the scissors relaxed a little, but seeing the bloodstain on the white floor frightened Shannon quite a bit.