When Cecilia Nathan woke up, she was already in the hospital.
The private VIP room was spacious, but it reeked of antiseptic.
"Cecilia…" Frances Bennett sat by the bed, her expression complicated. "Do you know about your condition?"
Hearing this, Cecilia's heart skipped a beat.
Cecilia bit her lower lip, her hands clutching the blanket tightly. "No, I don't."
"You're pregnant." Frances didn't beat around the bush. "What are you planning to do?"
"Does Damian Hawthorne know?"
Cecilia asked the question that concerned her most.
"He doesn't know." Frances sighed. "I've kept it from him for now. I wanted to ask your opinion first—do you want to have this child?"
Cecilia gave a soft laugh. "I don't."
'It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that Damian didn't.'
Damian didn't want to get married, and she didn't want to be a single mother.
A child without a father's love would only suffer in the future.
"If you have the baby, I will compensate you. As for the child's future, with the Hawthorne Family's financial resources, raising one—let alone ten—is not a problem." Frances ignored Cecilia's opinion and made her decision clear. "Your family isn't well-off. Your parents don't have much in savings. With some money in hand, life will be a little easier for all of you."
"I hope you'll consider it carefully, not just for yourself, but for your family as well."
Cecilia looked down at her still-flat stomach, her heart twisting in agony.
Frances didn't know that she had been on birth control pills the whole time. Even if she really was pregnant, she probably couldn't keep the baby.
"Mrs. Bennett, it's Damian who doesn't want to get married." Cecilia put the problem back on her. "You've always known what he's like. Whether I have a child out of wedlock or become a single mother, neither will do my future any good."
"Damian and I aren't married. In this pregnancy, he contributed a sperm cell at most. It's my body, and I have the right to make my own decision."
"This child—I won't have it, and I can't have it."
Frances asked anxiously, "Don't you love Damian? Aren't you even willing to have his child?"
Cecilia smiled but said nothing.
'Loving him was one thing, but being responsible for a life was another matter entirely.'
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to take that risk."
Frances's eyes turned sharp. "What if I make Damian marry you?"
After saying this, Frances fell silent.
In the past, Damian might have married Cecilia. But after that girl appeared today, she knew he would never marry Cecilia now.
She couldn't imagine what kind of spell that college student had cast to have Damian so utterly bewitched.
"That Serena Hughes… I will absolutely never let her through the doors of the Hawthorne Family."
Thinking of that woman who knew nothing but how to hide behind her son and play the victim, Frances's face filled with disgust.
"Cecilia, I know I haven't always done right by you in the past, but I hope you can give me a chance. From now on, I will make it up to you. As for the child… please think about it. After all, it's a life."
At some thought, Frances let out a soft sigh.
She had always wanted a daughter, but her health, unfortunately, only allowed her to have one child.
The older she got, the more she longed for a house full of grandchildren. But with Damian's personality, he was unwilling to even consider an arranged marriage, let alone have children. If it weren't for the scandals with Cecilia these past few years, she would have started to suspect her son was gay.
Cecilia stared quietly out the window. It was a bright, sunny day, but the brilliant sunlight did nothing to dispel the chill in her bones.
Seeing that she didn't want to talk, Frances offered a few more words of care before leaving.
Just then, the TV in the room started broadcasting the latest celebrity gossip.
Serena Hughes and Damian Hawthorne's relationship had been exposed.
Damian had been picking Serena up from her university when the paparazzi cornered them right on campus.
The media reported that Damian Hawthorne had finally fallen in love.
Cecilia gave a bitter smile.
'Even the media knows. When Damian was with me, it was just for show—he was never truly in love.'
'After all, I was always the one pursuing him. As for Damian, although he treated me well in many ways, he never once acknowledged me as his girlfriend.'
Cecilia's eyes were fixed on the Damian in the video. The pain in her heart intensified when she saw his deep, focused gaze fixed solely on Serena Hughes.
'Those eyes… they used to be my favorite thing in the world.'
But now, his gaze was reserved for Serena alone.
Cecilia squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the tears, but the persistent stinging in her nose shattered her composure.
"If you want to cry, then cry." A gentle voice interrupted her thoughts.
Cecilia opened her eyes. Through her blurry, tear-filled vision, she saw a pack of tissues being held out to her.
She blinked, and the man in front of her finally came into focus.
He had a slender, well-built frame. His fair-skinned face had sharp, defined features, and his deep, dark eyes were like an abyss, impossible to fathom.
It was Hugo Grant, Damian Hawthorne's good friend.
When Cecilia didn't move, he pulled out a few tissues and pressed them into her hand. "Damian is serious this time. What are you going to do now?"
"Nothing." Cecilia wiped the corners of her eyes, her vibrant lips curling into a scornful smile. "I'll wish them well."
Hugo Grant seemed unconvinced, chuckling softly. "You've said that plenty of times over the past few years."
"I remember when I first started pursuing Damian, you warned me not to get in too deep. Did you already know back then that he had someone in his heart?"
Hugo's tightly pressed lips curved downward slightly. "It's not too late to turn back from the wrong path."
Cecilia fell silent, the great stone weighing on her heart feeling even heavier.
"I've already moved out of the Hawthorne residence…"
She hadn't given up before because there was no one else by Damian's side.
She loved Damian, but she wasn't shameless enough to cling to him.
"Damian once said he liked the feeling of being with you." Hugo seemed unable to bear seeing her so heartbroken. "Perhaps he just hasn't figured out his own heart yet."
Sometimes, liking someone and loving them can grow from habit.
The corner of Cecilia's mouth twitched into a half-smile. "Thank you for your words of comfort."
Hugo placed a bank card in front of her. "There are thirty million in here. Damian said to make sure you withdraw from the competition."
'Thirty million…'
'He's really willing to spend a fortune to promote Serena Hughes.'
The piece she had submitted had already passed the open auditions.
When she played her instrument, she felt like she had found her true self.
'I've suppressed myself for years for Damian's sake. I don't want to suppress myself any longer.'
'I want to be my true self again.'
'I don't want to withdraw from this competition.'
She pushed the card back toward Hugo, her gaze fixed on him. "Please give it back to him. I don't want this money."