“Never mind, you’re pregnant now and should take some nutritional supplements,” Mrs. Waters said, her tone slightly softened as she glanced at Nana’s small bulging belly before calling for the housemaid.
“Elyse.”
The middle-aged woman known as Elyse responded to the voice with a smile, walking quickly to Mrs. Waters’ side and asking, “What can I do for you, ma’am?”
Mrs. Waters was somewhat reluctant but also helpless as she told Elyse, “Go buy a duck and make your best duck soup for her to supplement her nutrition. She’s carrying Carl’s child now and can’t be lacking in nutrients.”
Elyse knew about the friction between Nana and Mrs. Waters but couldn’t say anything since she was an outsider. Hearing what Mrs. Waters said, Elyse only glanced briefly at Nana before quickly retracting her gaze and nodding before starting to take off her apron in preparation to go out shopping.
Mrs. Waters breathed out a sigh of relief after watching Nana for a while longer with her gaze fixed on her stomach.
“You’re carrying Carl’s child now,” she said finally after taking another deep breath of air into her lungs while looking directly at Nana once more.
“In light of how you arranged medical care for us when we needed it from Dr… I won’t say anything more about that matter anymore.”
“From this point forward though,” continued Mrs. Waters sternly. “You must take good care of yourself so that our family can have a son born into it because Carl is an only child who will carry on our family name; you cannot let it become extinct.”
Extinct? If this had been said earlier, then Nana would have definitely retorted back, but nowadays society is much more open-minded than ever before; besides there isn’t even any royal throne succession issues involved here either!
However, due to Carl being involved in all this mess, Nana always felt guilty towards the Waters family so even if there were things that could be said, she still wouldn’t dare speak up.
As fate would have it though, Mrs. Waters’ words were overheard by Tracy who wasn’t happy about what was happening between their families already; hearing someone else talk about having their daughter give birth specifically just so they could have a boy made Tracy angry enough that she walked up briskly, pulled Nana behind herself, and glared angrily at Mrs. Waters saying, “What did you just say? You’re such a mature person yet still don’t know how to speak properly? Don’t tell me you never watch TV or something like that! What difference does it make whether my daughter gives birth to a boy or girl? How could anyone decide something like that themselves anyway?”
“What if your son’s genes end up deciding they’ll only ever have daughters together?”
“Then what happens when my daughter gets bullied by your family again?”
Tracy had never had a fight with anyone in all her years, until Mrs. Waters came along. Tracy’s defense of her daughter left Mrs. Waters speechless and angry, pointing at Tracy as she spoke.
“I only have Carl as my son, and now he’s lying in the hospital because of your daughter. If Nana can’t give birth to a boy, what will happen to my family? Is it wrong for me to want a male heir to carry on our family name?”
“You’re still stuck in old ways,” Tracy retorted. “Haven’t you heard of scientific explanations? You’re so fixated on tradition…”
The argument escalated quickly between the two mothers, with Nana standing by helplessly before eventually walking away.
In a hotel room in Paris…
Jane wasn’t the only one who arrived early for the design competition; Susan was also there thanks to an invitation from the organizing committee every year. This year was even more special because Leo would be participating too.
Susan wasn’t originally planning on coming but changed her mind when she heard about Leo’s reputation. She wanted to see who this person was that could beat her designs.
She spent most of her time gathering inspiration and working on revisions at their branch office while also trying to find out more about Leo’s identity.
“Did you find anything?” Susan answered impatiently when someone called with negative news about their search for information on Leo.
“If you can’t even find any information about him, then why are you telling me?” She continued irritably before hanging up abruptly.
It had been so long since they started looking but they still couldn’t dig up any dirt on him. It seemed like he appeared out of nowhere without leaving any trace behind!
Susan couldn’t believe that someone could hide themselves so well; it made her jealous that he managed to take away what should have been hers all along.
Not to mention that she had found out beforehand that Leo had participated in fashion design competitions for years without revealing his identity. Even when he won awards, someone else would accept them on his behalf. This person was too mysterious.
People who are too mysterious usually have flaws. She didn’t believe he was an exception.
The sound of high heels echoed through the hallway.
Standing outside the door was Freda, and it was easy for her to find Susan’s studio. Freda raised her hand and knocked on the door.
“Come in.” A tired and impatient female voice came from inside. Susan pinched her nose bridge, trying hard to perk up and sit up straight.
Freda pushed open the door and walked in, turning slightly to see Susan before walking over with a friendly gesture of extending one hand.
“Miss Susan, hello, my name is Ann.”
Susan was usually wary of strangers making such gestures; she frowned slightly and glanced at Freda’s outstretched hand. In her memory, this woman was a stranger.
“May I ask who you are?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am but what matters is that I know who you’re looking for, Leo.”
Freda immediately got hold of Susan’s weakness because even though others may not be familiar with Jane after all, this time she certainly knew very well herself.
Sure enough when she heard Leo’s name, Susan’s eyes lit up immediately with surprise, “You also know him?”
“I’m very familiar with him,” said Freda as a hint of coldness flashed through her eyes when saying those last two words before sitting down on a chair next to Susan’s desk.
“I know you have always been first place in these international design competitions but now… it’s all because of Leo that you’ve become like this but don’t worry; I know who he is and can help you.”
As they say: flattery will get you everywhere or if not then deception will do just fine.
Even if Susan wanted to find out who Leo really was; she understood what this phrase meant so suddenly became more alert. What did this stranger want?