Chapter 6

Evelyn Clark’s POV

When Adrian Ashford saw me crying, he panicked at once. “Evelyn, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have left you alone at the old residence!”

“I promise you, from now on, no matter what happens, I will never leave you halfway again.”

His promise? He had made that same promise countless times before, and again last night.

But today, the moment he saw Lily Sullivan’s message, his soul was gone.

I raised my hand and wiped away my tears. “Drive.”

Not long after the car left the old residence, Adrian Ashford’s phone lit up again.

Lily Sullivan again. Adrian Ashford frowned and hung up at once.

I leaned back in the passenger seat, closed my eyes, and said nothing.

A few minutes later, the phone lit up again.

This time, Adrian Ashford didn’t hang up or answer. He let it ring for a long time until it ended on its own.

When it rang for the third time, he was already unable to sit still again.

I tugged the corner of my mouth.

“Answer it. Maybe there’s another emergency at the company.”

“I just promised you. No matter how urgent something is, nothing is more important than you.”

Adrian Ashford’s tone was firm. His eyes stayed on the road ahead, and he didn’t touch the phone.

I sneered inwardly and said nothing. But I knew he would leave in the end.

When the phone rang for the fourth time, Adrian Ashford finally answered.

Lily Sullivan’s hoarse, crying voice came from the other end.

Adrian Ashford’s expression changed abruptly.

“Don’t be scared. I’m coming right now!”

He hung up and turned toward me, his face full of conflict.

“I’m sorry, Evelyn. Something really did happen at the company. I—”

“Pull over.”

I didn’t want to hear him finish, so I cut him off.

“Evelyn…”

Adrian Ashford sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

“I have no choice when it comes to the company. Once I get all the shares from Grandpa, nothing will ever be able to make me leave you again.”

I had already unbuckled my seat belt.

“I’ll have the driver come pick you up. Wait here—”

Before he could finish, I pushed open the door and got out.

The night wind was strong. There was nothing blocking it by the roadside, and the cold air poured straight into my collar. My knees ached sharply.

I didn’t wait for any driver. I opened my phone and started calling a ride.

This road was some distance from the city, and there usually weren’t many cars passing by.

I waited for a long time, but no driver accepted the order. The driver Adrian Ashford said would come never appeared either. I pulled my coat tighter around myself and held my phone in my palm for warmth.

Lily Sullivan updated her WeChat Moments again.

It was a night view photo taken from the passenger seat.

The caption read: [No matter when or where, you always show up by my side in time and make me feel safe.]

I looked at the post and simply wrapped my coat tighter.

But the cold wind still slipped in mercilessly, chilling me to the bone.

An hour later, I finally got a car.

I got into the taxi, gave the driver my destination, leaned back against the seat, and closed my eyes in exhaustion.

I didn’t know how long it had been when the car suddenly jolted violently. A massive force threw my entire body forward.

A sharp pain pierced my forehead, and warm liquid flowed down from my head.

My consciousness began to scatter.

In the chaos, by instinct, I opened my contacts and dialed the most familiar number.

The call connected.

But the voice on the other end was not Adrian Ashford’s.

“Hello, Ms. Clark?”

It was Lily Sullivan’s voice, arrogant, smug, and careless.

“Mr. Ashford is taking a shower. If you need anything, I can pass along the message.”

My consciousness plunged completely into darkness, and the phone slipped from my hand.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room.

Outside the window, the sky was already bright. I glanced at my phone. Ten o’clock the next morning.

The phone was perfectly quiet. Not a single unread message, not one missed call.

Adrian Ashford hadn’t come home all night, nor had he called me once.

The door to the hospital room was pushed open, and the doctor on duty walked in.

“You’re awake? Where’s your family? Still not here?”

When I was brought in last night, they had been unable to reach any family.

“I don’t have any family.”

I calmly shook my head.

The doctor fell silent, then nodded.

“You sustained a blow to the head and have a mild concussion. You’ll need to stay for observation for two to three days. Don’t do any strenuous activity these next two days. If you feel dizzy or nauseous, press the call button by the bed immediately.” I nodded in response.

That morning, a nurse came to tell me to go for an examination.

I walked alone down the hallway toward the examination room.

When I reached the corner, I stopped.

At the other end of the hallway, Adrian Ashford was carefully supporting Lily Sullivan.

Lily Sullivan had one hand on her stomach, and her other hand gently hooked around Adrian Ashford’s arm. Her face was full of shy happiness.

Adrian Ashford kept his head lowered, looking at her the entire time. Occasionally, he bent down to say something to her, his expression focused and gentle.

I had seen that expression before.

Three years ago, he had used that same expression when he accompanied me to my prenatal checkups, supporting me through every hospital hallway.

I stood where I was and watched the scene, my heart oddly calm.

Because I had known one thing for a long time.

In that car accident three years ago, Adrian Ashford was injured even more severely than I was because he protected me.

The doctor secretly told me that Adrian Ashford’s injuries had affected his fertility. He could no longer have children.

I never told Adrian Ashford.

I was afraid he would be devastated. I was afraid he would feel incomplete. So I kept it buried alone, covered it up for him, and told the outside world only that I was the one who couldn’t have children.

But now, Lily Sullivan was pregnant.

Then whose child was in Lily Sullivan’s belly?

Things were getting interesting.

I quietly watched the two people in the hallway.

Adrian Ashford lifted his head, and his gaze happened to sweep over me.

He visibly panicked.

He immediately started running toward me, saying, “Evelyn, don’t misunderstand.”

Lily Sullivan grabbed his sleeve at just the right moment, her hand covering her lower belly.

“Adrian, my stomach hurts a little…”

Adrian Ashford immediately stopped in his tracks. He turned back to support her and asked anxiously,

“Where does it hurt? Is it serious? I’ll call the doctor over right now. Don’t be scared.”

By the time Adrian Ashford looked back again, I was no longer there.

I returned to the hospital room and lay back down on the bed.

My phone started vibrating.

It was Adrian Ashford calling.

I didn’t answer.

Messages popped up one after another.

“Evelyn, where are you?”

“Don’t misunderstand what happened just now. It’s not what you think!”

“Why are you at the hospital? Are you sick?”

I placed my phone on the bedside table and closed my eyes.

Before long, the door to the hospital room was shoved open.

Adrian Ashford rushed in. The moment he saw the gauze on my forehead, his expression changed drastically.

He strode over and grabbed my arm.

“What happened? You’re hurt? How did you get hurt?”

“There was a car accident last night.” My tone was calm.

Adrian Ashford froze.

His hand loosened, then curled into a fist.

Last night, when he heard the news that Lily Sullivan was pregnant, he was so excited that he forgot to send the driver to pick me up.

“It’s all my fault. Last night, I told the driver to pick you up. He must have been delayed!”

His voice was a little hoarse. “I’m the reason you got hurt. I’m sorry, Evelyn. Hit me. Yell at me. I’ll take it.”

“It’s fine.”

I pulled my arm back.

“Your company is important. I understand.”

Adrian Ashford lifted his head. There was no emotion on my face at all, and that made him even more uneasy.

“Don’t misunderstand what happened earlier.”

He sat down beside the bed, leaned down, and looked into my eyes, lowering his voice.

“Lily Sullivan broke up with her ex-boyfriend, and that man has been harassing her. Last night, she was pushed down and got a little hurt.”

“As her boss, I couldn’t just ignore it, so I came with her to get checked. It was on the way.”

I looked at him.

He said it so seriously, so matter-of-factly. There wasn’t the slightest flicker in his eyes.

Had he told so many lies that even he believed them now?

Had he forgotten that the department he was in was obstetrics and gynecology?

Ex-boyfriend?

Since he was so willing to be the father of someone else’s child, I wasn’t in a hurry to tell him.

I would let him look forward to it more and more.

When the day came that he learned the truth, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

“Mm. I understand.”