With a loud thump, Rachel was pushed to the wall again.This time, however, she covered her lower
belly with both hands before she hit the wall, protecting her unborn child.
Unfortunately, this prevented her from knocking Victor's hand away, and he grabbed her slender, white
neck.
"Rachel, you're asking for this!" he bellowed in fury.
He ruthlessly squeezed his hand, tightening his grip on her neck.
The color on Rachel's face quickly faded, and she started wheezing in a struggle to breathe.
She raised one hand and feebly tried to pry his strangling hand off whilst protecting her lower belly with
the other.
Victor's eyes were murderous, though, and he didn't let go.
After having a few words with the nurses, Clara left the operating room.
When she saw Victor strangling a feeble Rachel in anger, her face turned pale.
"Let go of her, now!"
If you don't stop, you will kill her!
"Good.Then, she can accompany her baby down there!"
Clara froze when she heard that.
‘'Accompany her baby?’'
In her shock, her gaze shifted to the paper on the floor, and understanding dawned on her.Her eyes
darted to Rachel, who was now making gurgling sounds.
Clara could tell she was dying.
"Victor, the baby is still alive!" the doctor screamed.
Victor stiffened when he heard that.
His grip loosened, and Rachel crumpled in a heap, passing out before her body hit the ground.
"What did you say?" Victor asked, turning to look at Clara with wide eyes.
His anger had already evaporated.
Clara didn't have the time to answer him, though.She ran past him instead and crouched in front of
Rachel to check if she still had a pulse.
Her expression worsened, and she quickly took out her phone and rang the nurse station, asking them
to send nurses over immediately to take Rachel to a ward.
The nurses arrived quickly, and Rachel was placed on a gurney and wheeled away.
A while later, Clara was standing beside a hospital bed, watching IV fluid drip from the infusion bottle
into Rachel's arm.
She seemed lost in thought.
Suddenly, her phone rang out loud, jolting her from her reverie.
She took the phone out of her pocket and checked the caller ID displayed on the screen.
Then, she snuck a glance at Rachel, who was still unconscious, Satisfied that Rachel hadn't woken up
and wouldn't hear her, Clara answered the call right there.
"Clara, are you busy?"
A gentle male voice echoed through the phone.
It was her brother.
"I was a little busy, so I missed your call earlier.Is anything wrong?" Clara replied with a smile.
It was easy to discern from her gentle tone that she loved her brother very much.
"No, there's nothing wrong.I just want to tell you I'll be back home next Wednesday," Roger Jimenez
said.
He was standing in front of the French window with one hand in his pocket.
Clara's eyes lit up with joy, and she exclaimed, "Are you coming back?"
"Yes, and this time, I'll stay forever," he replied.
"Dad and mom will be very happy! You don't know how much they have looked forward to your return,"
she said with a bright smile.
"Besides, Riley is almost two years old, and you haven't seen her yet."
Roger smiled and looked out the window, taking in the towering, luxurious buildings that filled the
metropolis.
"I really look forward to seeing her."
"What time will your flight arrive next Wednesday? I'll come to pick you up at the airport."
"I haven't bought a ticket yet.When I buy it, I'll tell you the time of arrival.You don't have to come and
pick me up if you're busy.I can go home myself." Clara smiled.
"No matter how busy I am, I'll make time to come pick you up.You are my dear little brother.Nothing is
more important than you."
"Okay, that's settled then," Roger said.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door behind him.
He turned around and shouted, "Come in."
The door opened, and someone came in with a document.
"Mr.Jimenez, this document needs your signature."
"Put it on the table.I'll sign it later," he replied with a dismissive wave.
"I'm sorry, Mr.Jimenez, but I'm afraid you'll need to sign the document now.It's of great importance," the
man said respectfully.
Roger sighed and shifted his attention back to the call.
"Clara, I have to go.There's something I need to deal with right away.When I come back, I'll treat you
and my brother–in –law to dinner.How does that sound?"
"Great! Okay then, you should get back to work " Clara said with a warm smile.
Suddenly, her gaze shifted to Rachel for a moment.
After a brief hesitation, she said, "Roger, you"
But before she could go on, Roger had hung up.
Clara slowly lowered the phone and pursed her lips, staring at the blank screen for some time.
Then, she decided to leave the ward and let Rachel rest.
When she opened the door, she saw Victor waiting outside.
"Miss Bennet is fine.Since she was severely shaken up, she will need to rest properly for a few days,"
she said right away.
Victor eyes darkened.
"Thank you, Miss Jimenez," he replied.
Clara was shocked that Victor had recognized her so quickly.
However, as someone very experienced, she had long since expected him to discern her true identity
at some point, albeit not this soon.
She quickly regained her composure and said, "You're welcome.I'm just doing my job."
She made to leave but stopped after a few steps, visibly debating within herself.
After a few moments of silence, she said, "Miss Bennet didn't have an abortion.However, she was
terrified, and that's bad for her and the baby.Please, I implore you, don't be violent with her again.The
first three months of pregnancy are the most dangerous, as the fetus hasn't fully developed yet.The
chance of a miscarriage is very high, and even mental duress can trigger it!"
With that, she walked away without looking back.
She had said all she could, after all.
As Clara's footsteps dissipated down the hallway, Victor stood there, staring at the ward's door.
The scene of Rachel crumpling to the ground played in his mind over and over again.
Her face, which was as white as a sheet, was the feature that showed most vividly in his head.
There was blood oozing down both sides of her mouth.
During the struggle, she had bitten her lips so hard that she had drawn blood.
The blood had accentuated her paleness.
Even after she had fainted, her brows remained furrowed.
It was as though she was still in great pain.
At that moment, she didn't exude her regular domineering aura; she was just vulnerable.
Victor clenched his fists hard.
He had yet to come to terms with the fact that he almost strangled her to death.
When his hand was wrapped tightly around her neck, he wasn't pleased.
As he watched her lose consciousness after struggling so much, his heart tightened as though it was
being squeezed by an equally powerful hand.
Every breath he took at the time brought him a lot of pain.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
The footsteps belonged to Ivan; he had completed the paperwork for Rachel's hospital admission.
"Mr.Sullivan, it's done.I have also gotten the results of Miss Bennet's medical examination," he
reported.
Victor's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Tell me."
"Miss Bennet is indeed six weeks pregnant, but all her biological measurements are almost below the
recommended levels.If they continue to fall, the fetus will be in danger, I'm afraid," Ivan replied.
It had been more than an hour since he found out that Rachel was pregnant, yet he was still in shock.
Even more shocking was the fact that she was carrying Victor's baby.
Fate really was the ultimate trickster.
Its tricks could nail just about anybody.
Ivan could tell by how furious Victor had been that he wanted to keep the child.
However, the child's mother was Rachel, a woman who Victor was not the least bit fond of.
He would care for the child, though, and this will be a weakness that Rachel could exploit.
When the time came, she could demand that he remarry her.
After all, she was the child's mother.
Ivan didn't think he had gone too far with his assumptions.
He had witnessed–with his own eyes—the evil acts Rachel committed in the past.
He knew what she was capable of.
If Rachel ended up getting her way and remarried Victor, what would the future hold? He didn't dare
imagine any further and shrugged those thoughts away.
He looked at Victor and wondered what he was thinking.
"Mr.Sullivan, do you want to go in and see Miss Bennet?" Ivan asked after a moment of hesitation
Victor's expression turned cold.
He stared at the door a bit more before turning around.
"Have someone stand guard here.When she is discharged, bring her to my villa," he coldly ordered.
Then, he left without another word.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda