“What? Bella ran away from home?!”
Julia shouted angrily. She was furious after receiving news from Clara that Bella was not in her room and was not found anywhere in the house. Confirming that Bella had escaped made Julia furious.
“Why are you so careless, Clara? I paid you well to take care of and watch over Bella. But now what? That slut has escaped from my house. If this continues, I can’t ensure whether the baby in her womb is alive or not!”
Clara felt uneasy seeing Julia so consumed by anger. Although last night she made sure that Bella was asleep. She never expected the woman to act so recklessly. Moreover, after taking the abortion pills, Bella’s condition should have been weak and unstable.
However, when she went to Bella’s room this morning, Clara did not find the woman there. She deliberately checked the CCTV and saw Bella’s movements and what she was doing, it could be concluded that she deliberately ran away from home.
“I apologize, Madam. I admit that I have truly neglected my duties this time. I will try to find Bella’s whereabouts.”
“Argh!” Julia growled. Waving her hand in the air, she ignored Clara’s earlier offer. “No need. Let my minions search for her.”
Julia then grabbed her phone. She called Aaron to handle the current situation.
“Aaron, please mobilize all your trusted people to find Bella. That damn woman ran away from my house?”
On the other end, Aaron seemed surprised. He didn’t expect something like this to happen.
“What? Bella ran away?”
“Yes! That damn woman dared to run away after taking the pills you gave her. If this continues, I can’t ascertain her condition.”
“All right, I will try to mobilize all my trusted people to find her whereabouts. Don’t worry, Darling.”
“Thank you,” Julia replied, somewhat relieved. Luckily, there was Aaron whom she could always rely on. “Oh, one more thing,” Julia continued. “Please check on Bella’s mother. If possible, forcibly relocate her elsewhere. It seems I need that old woman as a last resort to lure Bella out of hiding.”
“Don’t worry, Darling. I’ll do my best for you. You don’t need to worry.”
“Thank you, Aaron. You are reliable indeed. Let me know as soon as Bella is found.”
“Where did Bella go?”
Julia hadn’t finished her conversation with Aaron on the phone when, unexpectedly, Edward, already back home, entered the room. According to the schedule, he wasn’t due to return to London until the following night. So why was he home now?
It was unclear whether Edward had overheard Julia’s conversation with Clara and Aaron. If he had, it could spell trouble for Julia.
“Darling? Why are you home already? Wasn’t—”
“Why the surprise? Don’t you like seeing me home?”
Julia glanced briefly at Clara, who was standing by, signaling for her assistant to leave the room. Then, Julia approached Edward, hugged him tightly, and kissed him briefly.
“No, Darling. How could I not like seeing you home? It’s just that I’m puzzled why you’re home before the scheduled time. Weren’t you supposed to return to London tomorrow?”
Edward nodded.
“My business is done. Plus, I have an important morning meeting tomorrow that I can’t miss. That’s why I decided to come back early. But, Julia… back to my earlier question. What about Bella? Where did she go that you had to ask people to find her?”
Julia loosened her embrace. She lifted her face, looking Edward in the eyes.
“Bella suddenly ran away from home.”
“What? Bella ran away?”
Julia shook her head.
“That’s why I’m troubled. You know I paid Bella in full to deliver our child. And now? After a quarrel, she just ran away like that. That’s why I asked people to find her and bring her back home.”
Edward listened carefully to Julia’s explanation. But for some reason, he felt a bit suspicious.
“Did you and Bella have a fight?”
“Of course not, Edward. Yesterday, I wasn’t even home all day. I only just learned minutes ago from Clara that Bella ran away. Maybe Bella left because she couldn’t accept that we will never divorce or separate.”
Edward took a deep breath. He was actually worried and troubled about Bella’s current condition. She must have been deeply hurt to decide to run away from home like this.
“We need to find her immediately. I won’t let my future child leave this house, Julia.”
Julia seemed to agree.
“That’s why I asked people to find her immediately. Don’t worry, I’m sure Bella will be found soon.”
Edward nodded. Despite his worries, he tried to remain calm. Meanwhile, Julia, who had just woken up, decided to freshen up. However, as she was about to enter the bathroom, she suddenly lost consciousness and fainted.
Panicked and worried that something bad might happen, Edward quickly took Julia to Santa Monica Hospital. Upon arrival, Julia was immediately taken to the emergency room for treatment and examination.
About fifteen minutes later, Julia underwent examination. Shortly after, the doctor came out of the room and approached Edward.
“Are you Mrs. Julia Estelle’s husband?”
Edward nodded.
“Yes, I’m her husband, Doc. How is my wife’s condition? What actually happened that she suddenly lost consciousness like this?”
The doctor smiled and then explained.
“Don’t worry. Your wife’s condition is fine.”
“Then, why did she faint? Is her blood pressure very low? Or maybe she has a certain illness?”
“No. Your wife is not sick. This is common for women in early pregnancy. As time goes on, her condition will gradually improve.”
Edward was startled. He sharpened his hearing to make sure he didn’t mishear.
“W-what, Doc? My wife is pregnant?”
The doctor nodded, trying to reassure him.
“Yes. Your wife is currently pregnant.”