Clare carried Mollie in his arms, trudging through the snow towards the first-floor hall. The cold wind whipped against their faces. Mollie buried her face in Clare’s chest, feeling the warmth radiating from him. She felt incredibly warm and safe.
She looked up at him and noticed his furrowed brows due to the wind and snow, but his handsome features remained unchanged. His profile was so smooth and attractive that it made her heart race.
Once inside, Clare set her down. Queena and Mr. Hipps were already waiting in the living room, smiling warmly at her return.
“Mollie, do you want something to eat?” Queena asked. “We have all sorts of fruits and nuts that you like,” she pointed to the coffee table.
Mollie was stunned to see the table piled high with various fruits, nuts, and some nutritional supplements.
“I… I want some fish soup and crab,” Mollie said, swallowing hard. “I don’t feel like eating fruit right now.”
“Crab is not good for you,” Queena smiled. “It’s too cold for pregnant women. Fish soup is fine. How about some rib soup or chicken soup?”
“I want fish soup,” Mollie quickly decided, overwhelmed by the options.
“Alright, I’ll have the kitchen prepare it,” Queena instructed a servant to cut some fruit and bring it to Mollie’s room. “You just got back and need to rest. Come down for dinner later,” Mr. Hipps added.
Clare took her hand and led her to their room. As soon as they entered, he placed his hands on either side of her, drawing them close together.
Mollie’s breath hitched, and she instinctively covered her belly with her hands. “What are you doing… I’m…”
Before she could finish, Clare kissed her deeply. Mollie felt dizzy from the kiss, realizing how much she had grown to depend on this man.
“I wanted to kiss you at the hospital,” Clare said, breaking the kiss but keeping his arms around her.
“Enough, Clare. I’m pregnant,” she said angrily, worried he might hurt her or the baby.
“Honey, you’re so cruel… You want me to stop now?” Clare said with a mischievous smile, making Mollie both angry and amused.
She had an idea and said, “Fine, don’t stop then. If anything happens, it’s your child who gets hurt.”
Clare cupped her chin and brought her face closer to his. “Honey, I was just teasing… Are you really mad?”
Mollie’s heart raced as he teased her.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Clare said, releasing her and heading to the bathroom.
Mollie made a face at his back and sat on the large bed with a sigh of relief. She thought he was really going to…
Luckily, he didn’t.
Perhaps due to her pregnancy, she felt sleepy and soon dozed off. She was awakened by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Clare stood in the doorway, his tall figure dripping with water.
“Do you need help with your bath?” he asked with a smile, leaning down to kiss her gently.
They stayed like that for a while before he pulled away. “Honey, go take a bath,” he said hoarsely.
“But I’m so tired…” Mollie complained but went to the bathroom anyway.
Unbeknownst to her, Clare started preparing something as soon as she closed the bathroom door.
Twenty minutes later, when Mollie came out of the bathroom, she was shocked by what she saw. The large bed was covered in rose petals, with a faint fragrance in the air. In the center was a red velvet gift box. Colorful lights led from the bathroom to the bed.
She walked along the lights to the bed and picked up the box, opening it gently. Inside was a pink diamond necklace with smaller diamonds around it, sparkling beautifully.
She was stunned by its beauty and knew it must be worth millions of dollars.
“Clare?” she called out, looking around the room.
Clare entered, wearing a well-tailored suit and holding a bouquet of red roses. Mollie was speechless.
“Honey, because of Sylvia and Jenna, our wedding has been postponed again. I’m sorry. But we are legally married now. This is my gift for your pregnancy. Thank you for having our children,” Clare said, kneeling on one knee and handing her the roses.
He then took out another velvet box and opened it in front of Mollie. Inside was a matching pink diamond ring, at least ten carats and stunningly beautiful.
Mollie’s eyes filled with emotion as she looked at Clare.
“Thank you, hubby,” she said softly, extending her hand for him to put on the ring.
Clare stood up and hugged her tightly, kissing her deeply again.
As they embraced passionately, there was a knock on the door. A servant’s voice came through, “Dinner is ready.”
“We’ll be right down,” Clare replied, kissing Mollie’s flushed cheek again. “Let’s go eat.”
Due to her early pregnancy, Mollie was very sensitive and had a poor appetite. But she managed to drink a bowl of fish soup and eat some other dishes.
Seeing her rush to the bathroom to dry heave occasionally made Clare’s heart ache.
“Pregnancy is really tough,” he said softly, patting Mollie’s back gently.
“The beginning is always hard. It gets better in the middle stages. But later on, when the belly gets bigger, it becomes exhausting,” Queena said cheerfully. “No matter what, women have it hardest during pregnancy.”
The Hipps family was filled with joy.
Meanwhile, at the Howlett family home, things were chaotic because Jaime had started school.
Geoff had enrolled him in the best kindergarten and dropped him off early in the morning. As a new student, Jaime wasn’t warmly welcomed by his classmates. A chubby boy even led others in bullying him, which infuriated Jaime.
Having learned some martial arts from Evie, Jaime threw the chubby boy over his shoulder, leaving him dazed and crying for the teacher.
After school, Jasper and Evie were called in by the teacher. The young female teacher blushed slightly upon seeing Jasper’s handsome face. “Your child seems a bit too naughty… How could he hit other kids so roughly?”
Jaime stood dejectedly beside Evie but glanced defiantly at both the teacher and the crying chubby boy and his parents.
The chubby boy’s parents were furious. They were wealthy real estate developers and used to getting their way.
“Dad, he hit me! It hurt so much! I even got a bump on my head,” the chubby boy complained angrily. “You have to get back at him!”
Jaime gave him a cold look but remained silent, his eyes filled with defiance.
Jasper knelt down to Jaime’s level and asked softly, “What happened? Tell Daddy.”
Jaime was surprised that Jasper wanted to hear his side of the story instead of just believing the teacher or the chubby boy.
Evie also looked at him kindly. “Jaime, tell us what happened.”
Jaime pouted. “He called me names with his friends because I’m new here.”
The chubby boy’s father immediately denied it. “Impossible! My son is well-mannered and wouldn’t say such things.”
The chubby boy’s face turned red but he weakly protested, “You… you’re lying.”
“We can ask other classmates if you don’t believe me,” Jaime retorted coldly.