Amelia gently patted Courtney's hand. Smiling, she said, "It's hard to say."
Courtney looked at Amelia and with all seriousness said, "I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow for your
blood test. We'll have a doctor confirm the result. We also need to know about the precautions you
have to take. Oh, look at you. You're so thin! If you don't take care of your health, I worry you might
miscarry."
Amelia appreciated Courtney's thoughtfulness and nodded in agreement. But just then, she
remembered the message Jonny sent her. With a frown on her face, Amelia said, "I have to go to the
An's tonight. Johnny's parents want to see me. I don't know what to expect."
Hearing Jonny's name, a thought occurred to Courtney. "Are you planning on telling Jonny about it?"
"If I'm to keep a relationship with him, he's bound to notice." Things were beginning to look even more
complicated for Amelia.
"I can't say I know Jonny well, but he's been helping you all this time. It would be nice if he could act as
the father of your baby." Courtney looked hopeful. Smiling, she held a hand to touch Amelia's cheek. "If
Jonny doesn't mind that Lucian is the father, you can be a happy family. Your lives will be secured."
"Courtney, Jonny will definitely want to raise his own son. And he's been so good to me, I don't want to
cheat him on anything." Amelia didn't want to take things lightly, especially considering that there were
reputations on the line. She also didn't wish to get too involved with the An family as Lucian was going
to be their son-in-law soon enough. They didn't meet often, but there would be no avoiding of them on
special days. She would have to attend as Jonny's girlfriend.
"How could that be cheating? Look. I think Jonny likes you. Surely, there can't be a truly platonic
relationship between men and women. You're the only who thinks that he's being kind out of mere
friendship," Courtney pointed out.
Amelia had never told Courtney about what happened when she and Jonny were in middle school.
Courtney had no idea that Amelia had known him for years. Amelia couldn't blame Courtney for
thinking that Jonny had an ulterior motive.
Jonny made Amelia promise not to tell anyone about their past, so she kept her silence on the matter.
It was dusk when Amelia received a call from Jonny. He was driving to pick her up so she told him her
address.
"Jonny, I'm Amelia's best friend and I'm warning you. If you or any of your family hurts her, I will look for
you and beat you up!" Courtney said as she saw Amelia to the car. She glared at Jonny and shook her
fist in jest.
Amelia's face went red with embarrassment. She quickly turned to Courtney and said, "You left the
door open. Go ahead and clean up so you can go home."
Courtney waved goodbye as their car drove off. Amelia felt warmed by Courtney's protective gesture
and smiled to herself. She turned to look at Jonny and apologized, "Please ignore Courtney. She's
always joking around."
"It's nothing. It's great to have such a good friend who looks after you," Jonny replied with a soft smile.
"My father is away for the night so it's just going to be us and my mother at dinner. She said she invited
you because she wanted to cook for you."
Amelia looked at Jonny blankly. She was spacing out because her thoughts kept returning to Lucian.
Amelia always felt nervous visiting the Zhan family, but Lucian would always calm and reassure her like
Jonny did. But... As much as she wanted to feel at ease, Jonny's words didn't have an effect on her.
She only felt guilty for missing Lucian more.
Amelia placed her hands on her abdomen. Thinking of giving birth to Lucian's child offered her some
comfort.
Amelia was so absorbed in her thoughts that she missed the expression in Jonny's eyes as he looked
at her.
It was Amelia's first time to see the An mansion. Although she was not expecting a humble abode, she
found that she wasn't prepared for its grandeur. The estate looked like a palace. A huge fountain
gushing in the middle of the garden caught her attention as they pulled up the driveway. Walking up to
the house, they passed a sprawling lawn which smelled of freshly cut grass.
The grounds were sparkling with brightly colored lamps. Amelia's heart thumped loudly; she felt out of
place in the villa.
It was different from when she first set foot in the Zhan mansion. At the time, she felt nervous for fear of
losing Lucian if she gave off the wrong impression. She felt nervous going into the An mansion
because she knew in her heart that she didn't want to be there at all.
Entering the luxuriously furnished hall, they were welcomed by Emma. She was wearing an elegant
dress that shimmered under the chandelier. Seeing them, she smiled gracefully and greeted, "I hope
you two are hungry. Dinner's ready."
Surprised by her warm welcome, Amelia found herself speechless. She merely allowed Emma to take
her hand and walk her into the huge dining room.
She wondered why Emma felt gentle and kind despite having only met her that night.
Seeing the food lavishly spread on the table, Amelia forgot her feelings of nervousness and realized
just how hungry she was.
"I cooked all of this for you, Amelia. I hope you like them. Please try some," Emma said. She turned to
her son and added, "Jonny, what are you waiting for? Serve Amelia some of the pasta."
Amelia's face went scarlet. Before she could make a polite reply, Jonny was already spooning food into
her plate.
Emma smiled with satisfaction as Amelia reached for the cutlery and started eating.
"Auntie, these are delicious. You cook so well!" Amelia had no intention of flattering. She sincerely
meant her compliments.
Amelia preferred spicy food and was a bit dejected when she saw that the dishes didn't have pepper.
She thought she had no appetite, but she couldn't stop eating once she'd tasted the food.
"Really? Oh, I'm glad you like it. Please have some more," Emma replied happily. She gave Jonny a
wink, suggesting that he should offer Amelia more food.
Amelia's plate was soon a pile of delicious treats. Her pregnancy gave her an unusually increased
appetite. She was literally eating for two.
After dinner, Amelia was helping with the dishes when a voice broke through the peace.
"Mom, why didn't you tell me we were having a guest?" It was Shelly who came unannounced and
carelessly tossed her bag onto the sofa. Her face contorted into loathing and disgust as soon as she
saw Amelia.
"Shelly, you were staying at the Zhan's, right?" Why are you here? Have you had dinner?" Emma
walked up to her daughter and asked out of genuine concern.
Emma's questions only seemed to annoy Shelly more. She curtly replied, "Lucian has been staying at
SJ Garden. I don't like there so I came back."
Amelia thought there was a hint of sorrow in her words.
Seeing and hearing Shelly made Amelia's hands tremble, causing her to drop a small bowl. It broke
into pieces at her feet.
Embarrassed, Amelia stooped down to pick up the shards. Jonny rushed to her side and said, "I'll do it.
Please have a seat in the living room and make yourself comfortable." Amelia obeyed and went
straight into the living room, trying to avoid Shelly.
The broken china on the floor made Amelia remember how Lucian once broke a bowl when he tried
cleaning the dishes. Tears welled up in her eyes and her heart ached at the memory.
She thought that Shelly's mention of SJ Garden where she and Lucian used to live together may have
caused her to panic and lose control.
Enraged, Shelly followed Amelia.
"Was it because you heard me mention Lucian's name, Amelia? Do you still have feelings for him?"
Shelly glowered at Amelia as if the latter had done something completely unforgivable.
Jonny rushed to stand in between Amelia and Shelly. Facing his sister, he said coldly, "Stop acting like
a brat, Shelly. Amelia didn't do anything to you."
Jonny's defense of Amelia only made Shelly more furious. She reached out to shove Jonny. "Get out of
the way!
"Look at you, Amelia! First you went after Lucian, and now you're going for my brother. What makes
you think you're fit to be his girlfriend?" She mockingly looked at Amelia from head to foot.
Emma made a motion to pull her daughter away out of embarrassment. "Amelia is here as An family's
guest. Stop embarrassing us!"
Shelly was infuriated. She shouted, "Who am I embarrassing? As far as I know, Jonny doesn't want
anything to do with the family or the family business. Why should I care about what he thinks?"
Emma's face went from embarrassed to crestfallen.
"Shelly, if you continue to act like a spoiled little kid, even Lucian would eventually tire of you!" Jonny
said loudly but firmly. He then took Amelia's hand and went up to his mother, "Thank you for the meal,
Mom. Amelia and I will be leaving now. You'll find us at the villa south of the city if you need us."
"Jonny..." Emma could barely convince them to stay before Jonny dragged Amelia away and left.
Jonny was trying to control his temper, but his rage showed in how quickly he walked. Amelia had to
sprint to keep up.
The estate was so vast that Amelia was out of breath by the time they reached the gates.
"I'm sorry, Amelia. I acted too rashly just now," Jonny apologized when he saw Amelia panting.
Amelia waved a hand, dismissing his apology. "You didn't tell me we were leaving so soon. I didn't get
the chance to properly thank your mother."
"Don't worry. She won't mind," Jonny smiled reassuringly. He opened the car door for Amelia and saw
her in before taking his place at the driver's seat. Before starting the car, Jonny threw a lingering look at
the mansion. Coldly, he said, "I won't be coming back here again."
"What?" Amelia exclaimed. She didn't understand how Jonny could say those words. She wondered if
it had anything to do with his conflict with Edmund.
"You saw what happened just now. Someone clearly doesn't want me here," Jonny snorted.
Amelia understood. Reaching out a hand to Jonny's shoulder, she said, "Shelly was just in a bad mood.
She has nothing against you."
"No. She's always hated me. She deliberately attacked you to make me angry," Jonny pointed out.
"Oh, stop it. She's your sister. Anyway, An mansion is so huge and yet I didn't see a single maid. Why
is that?" Amelia tried desperately to change the topic as they drove off.
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