Carl’s footsteps gradually faded away until they were interrupted by the dull sound of the closing door.
In the living room, Mrs. Waters sat back down, a mysterious smirk appearing on her face.
“So, this foolish boy went to look for Nana and hasn’t found her yet…”
Mrs. Waters dragged out her words, pondering why Nana had stopped bothering Carl. She was certain that Nana felt dumped and had become disheartened.
Although it was pitiful for a pregnant woman to end up in such a situation, Mrs. Waters felt no sense of guilt whatsoever.
On the contrary, she hoped that Nana would never appear again, and eventually, Carl would give up on her.
As for the unborn child, Mrs. Waters didn’t care either.
After all, Grace was young, beautiful, healthy, and strong. It wouldn’t be a problem for her to have one child or even multiple children in the future.
Seeing Mrs. Waters lost in thought, Grace pretended to be worried and spoke in a soft voice, “Mrs. Waters, since Carl seems down, maybe I should go upstairs and talk to him.”
“Alright, it’s a good opportunity for you to bond!”
Mrs. Waters smirked cunningly and imparted her wisdom with a serious tone, “Men are like this. When they’re at their most helpless, whoever brings them warmth will win their genuine affection.”
“Is that so?”
Grace always pretended to be ignorant about relationships, carefully responding, “Then I’ll give it a try. I don’t expect Carl to accept me, I just want him to feel a little better.”
While she outwardly compromised, in reality, Grace was going crazy with jealousy.
She couldn’t understand what made her inferior to Nana. Carl’s wholehearted devotion to another person seemed cruel to her.
Taking a deep breath, Grace maintained a smile on her face in front of Mrs. Waters, keeping her mind calm as she followed upstairs.
By now, Carl had already collapsed on the bed. He was incredibly tired, still fully dressed, and hadn’t even taken a bath. All he wanted was to see Nana in his dreams.
But just as he drifted off to sleep, Grace’s voice came from outside.
“Carl, what are you doing? I want to talk to you.”
Hearing that gentle voice, Carl felt nothing but annoyance.
“I’m sleeping. We can talk when I wake up.”
With that, Carl turned over and ignored Grace.
Grace was accustomed to his indifference, but it couldn’t go on like this forever.
Standing outside the room, rejected by Carl, Grace pondered how she could kick Nana out of his heart. That was the most pressing matter at hand.
In the evening, as night fell, Mrs. Waters saw her son still sleeping in his room. Filled with resentment, she knocked on the door to hurry him up.
“It’s almost seven o’clock. Are you not going to have dinner?”
“What do you take this house for? A hotel for sleeping?”
“Get up quickly! I won’t allow you to mope around for a woman!”
…
Mrs. Waters nagged for a full twenty minutes before finally coaxing Carl out.
With an irritable expression, Carl opened the door, coldly facing his mother and refusing, “I’m an adult now, and I believe I have the freedom to skip dinner if I want to!”
“You, child!”
Mrs. Waters immediately became furious upon hearing that, pointing her finger at Carl and scolding, “Do you dare speak to your own mother like that? Are you trying to make me angry before you’re satisfied?”
Nowadays, whenever the mother and son met, they would end up arguing. Hearing the commotion in the hallway, Grace hurriedly came out to mediate.
Of course, she understood Mrs. Waters’ temper, so she focused her attention on Carl.
“Alright, Carl, just say a few less words. Mrs. Waters is calling you to have dinner because she cares about you.”
After persuading Carl, Grace quickly signaled to Mrs. Waters with her eyes, “Mrs. Waters, please go ahead and have your meal. Carl and I will join you downstairs later.”
Mrs. Waters couldn’t stand seeing her son being reduced to such a state by Nana. Before leaving, she criticized him, pointing out, “Look at yourself, do you have any trace of a star? You will bring shame to the family sooner or later!”
Grace saw that Carl was unresponsive and placated Mrs. Waters before pushing him back into his room.
“Carl, don’t argue with your mother.”
Pulling Carl to sit down, Grace stood in front of him and patiently explained, “She’s getting older, and she just got out of the hospital a few days ago. What if she falls ill again?”
Noticing how understanding Grace always seemed to be in the Waters family, Carl sneered dismissively.
“How long do you plan to keep acting? Do you think you can make me compromise by pleasing my mother just because you’re pregnant?”
Although Carl had never doubted Grace’s pregnancy, he had some understanding of her true nature.
Was it her genuine nature or just pretense? Carl saw through it all.
So, even without Nana’s presence between them, he would never fall in love with a woman like Grace due to her hypocrisy.
Grace remained calm and composed, even when Carl exposed her true face.
Letting out a sigh, Grace feigned innocence in response, “Carl, it doesn’t matter how you see me. Even if you hate me, I hope you and your mother won’t let your relationship become so strained.”
“My family matters don’t need your concern!”
Carl still refused to acknowledge it, retorting coldly without hesitation.
“Fine, I know I’m an outsider.”
Grace pursed her lips, her restrained expression showing a hint of worry.
“But you’re a public figure. You can’t disregard your personal image. Have you seen the news these past few days? Someone spotted you on the street…”
“So what?”
Carl interrupted Grace’s words, indifferent. “I don’t care. Even if I’m not an actor, I can still live a good life.”
Grace felt helpless in the face of this.
She realized that Carl was in an extreme state of mind, unable to listen to anyone’s persuasion, regardless of whether it was good or bad.
“Carl, can you at least sleep after dinner?”
Grace played the family card, gently caressing her flat belly and speaking to herself, “If you keep tormenting yourself like this every day, I’m afraid you’ll fall ill. What will happen to the baby then, without a father?”
But Carl completely rejected her approach. He didn’t like Grace, and he even felt repulsion and avoidance towards her.
Therefore, he had no attachment to the child in Grace’s belly, only considering it a burden and guilt.
“If you’re so worried, you can always have an abortion, and I’ll compensate you accordingly.”
Carl coldly offered his suggestion, “I’ve advised you earlier, but you didn’t listen. What can I do?”
Surprised by Carl’s coldness towards her, Grace furrowed her brows and asked with a tearful voice, “You still refuse to accept my child? Do you realize this is a life?”
“I can’t be bothered with all that!”
Carl’s emotions grew even more agitated. He got up and grabbed Grace’s arm, dragging her out of the bedroom and leaving her in the hallway.
“Bang!”
He turned around, closed the door, and locked it without any mercy.
Finally, it became quiet. At this moment, all Carl wanted was to get a good night’s sleep.
However, as soon as he lay back on the bed, he heard Grace’s painful cry from outside.
“Carl, my stomach hurts so much, please open the door!”