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Novel Catalog
Chapter 74
Lucas took a few eager steps forward, reaching out to grab the pregnancy test sheet. “Let me see, what’s this?”
As his eyes scanned the paper, his expression immediately brightened. “Yay! You’re pregnant! You’re pregnant! That’s wonderful, Gale!”
Shawn’s face darkened in response.
Lucas, completely oblivious to the tension in the air, continued celebrating. “I knew it! No woman vomits for no reason—she must be pregnant! Oh, thank you, angels who watch over the Wood family! Finally, I can hold my great-grandson!”
He folded his hands together in a gesture of gratitude, his face alight with excitement.
“Gale,” he continued, “even though you’re the enemy of our family, this is the best way to atone for your sins. You’d better take good care of this child!”
Gale didn’t know how to respond, so she simply kept silent, her mind racing with thoughts she couldn’t express.
Lucas, still in his joyful state, turned serious. “Did you hear what I said?” His voice was firm. “As long as you can give the Wood family a child, I’ll consider… releasing Dr. Warm from prison.”
Shawn immediately intervened, his voice sharp with reprimand. “Grandpa, what are you talking about?!”
“The Warm family killed our Wood family’s son,” Lucas snapped back, his tone bitter. “Now they should pay for it! If the dead can’t be brought back to life, then let this child be our compensation!”
It was clear that Lucas cared deeply about the continuation of the Wood family line. For him, the greatest sin a man could commit was failing to bear children. Shawn’s career might be soaring, but without heirs, all of his success would be meaningless.
Gale, desperate, tried to cling to the faintest glimmer of hope. “So, if I give birth to Shawn’s child, will my father be released from prison?”
Lucas nodded, his voice full of conviction. “Yes, I’ll keep my word. I still hold authority in the Wood family.”
At that moment, Gale’s thoughts turned to the child she carried. She hoped with all her heart that it was Shawn’s, because if it was, her father could be freed, and the child would be born with privileges beyond measure.
But deep down, she knew the truth.
“I see,” she whispered, her eyelashes trembling. “I will… try my best not to disappoint Grandpa.”
“Try your best?” Lucas’s voice grew more insistent. “It’s not just ‘try,’ Gale. It’s a must! A must!” He turned toward the housekeeper. “Keep a close eye on Gale during the pregnancy. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you accountable!”
“Yes, sir,” the housekeeper replied with a bow.
With that, Lucas left, satisfied, and the atmosphere in Temperley Hall turned heavy, a silence settling over the space.
Shawn’s eyes, once dark, now seemed as deep and endless as the night itself. He and Gale stood facing each other, alone, the world around them still.
Gale broke the silence. “Why didn’t you tell Grandpa that my child isn’t yours? You had the chance, just now.”
Shawn’s gaze was unwavering, his pride evident in every movement. “Am I supposed to announce to him, in front of everyone, that you’ve lied?” His voice was icy. “Do you really think I would allow myself to be humiliated like that?”
“Then now…” Gale’s voice trembled with the weight of the moment.
Shawn’s expression hardened, his voice cold and final. “You must abort.”
Gale felt her knees weaken beneath her. Without thinking, she fell to the floor, kneeling before him. It was the first time she had ever begged him, and the first time she had actively knelt to him.
“Shawn, I beg you,” she pleaded, her voice breaking. “Let this child live. I just want him to be born safely, and I’ll leave, take him far away from you so he won’t be in your sight. We’ll divorce in two months anyway. If the old man can’t accept it, I’ll give birth to another for you… Please, this child is my life.”
Shawn stood over her, his gaze cold and indifferent.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” he sneered. “Give you another child? That would not only ensure this… evil thing inside of you survives but also give the Wood family an heir, all while saving your father’s life. Killing three birds with one stone.”
Gale’s heart shattered at his words, but she refused to back down. She raised her hand, clutching at his trousers, her fingers trembling with desperation. “A child is also a life. How can you just kill a soul?”
Shawn’s expression twisted with contempt. “What’s inside you is nothing but a bastard. You were born to be a slave!”
The cruelty in his words stung like a thousand needles. Gale wanted to scream, to lash out, but the despair crushed her into silence.