Elizabeth’s face changed. “Pregnant? When I visited her in the hospital you didn’t mention anything about it. How could she be pregnant suddenly?” Olivia suppressed her anger and said, “Liz, what is wrong with you today? How could you talk like this? I couldn’t say that much considering the crowd in the hospital the other day. Amelia is already five months pregnant, and I’ll be a grandmother next year.” “What’s going to happen to Cassie now that she is pregnant? Cassie is pregnant with Oscar’s child too. We are here today to discuss their marriage matters with you.”
Amelia’s eyes flashed with pain while utter disbelief darted across Oscar’s eyes. He looked at Amelia only to see the hurt hidden in her eyes. His heart twitched uncontrollably at that. Increasingly, he could not bear the sight of Amelia being sad. However, the news of Cassie’s pregnancy caught him by complete surprise. He had said that he loved Cassie, but he had never expected to have children with her. Olivia’s face fell immediately. “Liz, our families have been friends for a long time, so you can’t say malicious things like that. I would have been overjoyed to hear this if Cassie and Oscar were still engaged.
However, Oscar is married now and his wife is pregnant. Even though it is very normal to have mistresses in our society, it is not acceptable for our family as it is not aligned with our family values. I congratulate Cassie on her pregnancy, but please don’t link it to Oscar. We Clintons cannot offer to house your precious daughter.” Elizabeth flicked her perfectly coiffed hair and said, “Olivia, you’ve said so yourself that our families have been friends for years. No matter what, I wouldn’t make up something like this. Cassie is pregnant and she is really bearing Oscar’s child. If you don’t believe it, just ask Oscar. If he is a man he will own up to it.” Olivia turned to Oscar who actually nodded and said, “Mom, I did have a thing with Cassie.
I plan to marry her as well.” Olivia was so angry she raised her hand to give Oscar a loud resounding slap. Everyone was taken aback by the crisp sound of that slap. Nobody had expected Olivia to slap her own son. Oscar was a legendary figure in the business world and everyone looked up to him. His words were as good as the king’s decree. “Mom, how could you hit Oscar?” Stephanie exclaimed. Heartbroken, Olivia stared at Oscar and lamented, “Oscar, you’ve brought the company to such great heights, it led me to think that you were an honorable and upright man.
Never did I expect you to be such a mess when it came to your personal relationships. You have such a wonderful wife, yet you gave her up for a woman that had not only hurt you but had multiple relationships with other men. Is this how you’re going to repay me?” Oscar pursed his lips and silently allowed his mother to vent her fury. However, his silence angered her further, which led her to pant heavily while clutching her chest in agony. Worried that something would happen to her, Amelia quickly went up to support her. ”Mom, don’t be too worried. I’m sure that there must be some misunderstanding here. Take it easy, and let’s just talk properly.” It was only then that Olivia looked a little more relieved.
Owen stepped forward to support Olivia and said gently, “Look at you. You are pushing sixty and you still have such a raring temper. I am still the head of this family, so as long as you disapprove, I will not allow her to marry into the family. So don’t worry, all right?” Olivia finally looked better. She nodded and said, “Owen, remember what you said, and don’t disappoint me. Amelia is the only daughter-in-law I will ever have. If you make her suffer in any way, I’ll pack my bags and leave the family together with her.” Owen comforted, “Don’t worry. I will not allow that to happen.”
Stephanie stomped her feet angrily and protested, “Mom, what are you talking about? What’s wrong with Cassie? Why must you protect a woman who has nothing?” Olivia glared at her coldly. “Steph, I’ll talk to you properly when this is settled. I thought you were just a little strong-willed, but I didn’t expect you to be so rude that you wouldn’t even acknowledge your own sister-in-law.” Stephanie held her head up high and retorted, “Mom, Cassie is my only sister-in-law as far as I am concerned. This woman? She’s just a materialistic woman that only has her sights set on marrying rich.”
Olivia’s suppressed anger began bubbling away again. “Shut up!” “Steph, another word from you, and I’ll send you overseas again to learn some respect,” Owen said impassively. However, every single person in the room could sense the gravity in his words. Stephanie glowered at Amelia before looking down and muttering, “Sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have said that.” Olivia did not say anything in response. Instead, she asked the other relatives and friends to leave with the promise of an upcoming party.
They were very understanding and all left one after another. Owen brought Olivia to the couch while Oscar took Amelia in his arms to settle down on the other end of the couch. Amelia looked up at the palm print on his face, asking, “Does it still hurt?” Oscar looked down and his heart warmed up when he saw the distress in her eyes. He shook his head and replied, “I’m fine.” At this very moment, Oscar was actually somewhat resentful of Cassie’s willful actions. In fact, when he first heard of her pregnancy, his first reaction was not of joy but of suspicion. Is her child really mine?
He did not want to be suspicious but he was not dumb either. He did try to recall the one-night stand they had in the hotel, only he had no memory of what had happened halfway through his drinking that night. He was an excellent drinker. If not for Cassie spiking his drink, he definitely would not have difficulty recalling that night. He did not want to be cynical toward Cassie who looked pure and innocent on the surface, so he suppressed his suspicion. However, he was truly disgusted today, especially after she brought her parents to force this marriage on him. While he was willing to admit that he loved Cassie, there was still a bottom line. The moment that line was crossed, he would no longer dote on her unconditionally. “
Ms. Yard, so I heard that you are pregnant?” Oscar’s train of thought was interrupted when Olivia suddenly spoke up. Cassie glanced at Oscar and replied aggrievedly, “Mrs. Clinton, I know you can’t forgive me since I left Oscar at the altar. But we are truly in love, and I already knew about my pregnancy when I was doing up my papers to leave the country. It’s been one month, and here is the report. You can take a look if you don’t believe me.” Olivia took a look at the report and sniggered,
“Ms. Yard, I’ve gotten some people to check up on you. Even though it was not particularly easy to find out more about your doings while you were overseas, nothing is impossible with money.” Cassie’s heart beat wildly when she heard that. Olivia got up from Owen’s arms and looked at Cassie. “Ms. Yard, I was going to give you some respect due to the fact that your parents and I have been friends for many years. But who knew you could be so shameless?” Charlie and Elizabeth’s blanched. “Olivia, how could you say something like this? We have been friends for decades, and you have watched Cassie grow up since she was a little girl. Is this what you think of her?” To that, Olivia said, “If I had known that this little girl would use such despicable ways to destroy my son’s family, I’d rather that we’d never known each other.” The Yards’ faces fell and Elizabeth spoke up sharply, “Olivia, that is just mean and spiteful.
My daughter is now pregnant with Oscar’s child. No matter what, my daughter is at the losing end. You don’t have to acknowledge it, but how could you say that? Yes, the Clintons own a large business empire, but the Yard family is not to be trifled with either. If you don’t settle this properly today, this will spell the end of our families’ friendship.” Olivia smirked. “Sure. Let’s settle this once and for all then, shall we?” Then, she went upstairs amidst everyone’s puzzled eyes and soon reappeared with a manila envelope in her hands. “This envelope contains the results of my team’s investigation this past month.
I’m sure Ms. Yard would be very interested to see what’s in here. This is also for my silly son, for him to realize that this supposedly pure and innocent girl is not what she seems after all. My son is perfect in every way, but he has just lost himself to this woman. As his mother, I need to wake him up just so he would not be tricked by the same woman twice.” Cassie’s expression changed when she looked at the manila envelope in Olivia’s hands. She had an impulse to snatch the envelope from the latter’s hands, but she restrained herself and waited painfully instead. Olivia poured out the contents of the envelope. There were many photos inside, with Cassie featuring in each photo. However, there was a different man in each photo.
They were either holding her by her waist, kissing her, or dancing closely with her. There were even some photos of Cassie stuck closely to some muscular foreign men. Everyone was flabbergasted at how liberal she was. “Ms. Yard, could you explain the photos, please?” Olivia said coolly. Cassie’s face turned white when she saw the photos. Meanwhile, Charlie and Elizabeth were in complete disbelief as they had not expected their daughter to be that broad-minded.
“Cassie, what’s going on here?” Elizabeth asked, clearly beside herself. Even though Elizabeth was almost sixty years old, she had gone to great lengths to take care of herself and she looked barely forty with her fair skin and fashionable outfits. But today, she looked like a miserable old shrew who had completely lost all control over herself. Cassie’s face was pale. I remember being very careful each time I went partying. How did she get all these pictures? She subconsciously glanced at Oscar who had pain and disappointment written on his gloomy face. If I don’t get hold of Oscar today, the distance between us would only get farther and farther away.
After four years apart, Oscar does not love me as much as he proclaims to. In fact, he does not even realize that he has been rejecting my body. Even though he has never admitted it, my feminine instincts are definitely right. I know this child is definitely June’s, but there is no way I’m going back to him. This is the child that could help me tie Oscar down. However, who would have thought that Amelia would be pregnant and that Mrs. Clinton would run all those checks on me?
Am I still Cassie Yard if I admit defeat without putting on a fight? If I have been able to utilize a man’s influence to reach the peak of my career, I have my ways to persuade Oscar again. As long as I am sincere enough, Oscar will definitely love me again. I really love Oscar. I truly do! I was playful in my youth, but now that I have grown up, I am more than able to be a good wife and help Oscar with his family business. “Oscar, I can explain the pictures. It’s not what it seems.”
Cassie gulped and looked at Oscar pleadingly. Oscar’s eyes returned to their usual calmness. It was almost as if she had merely imagined the anguish and helplessness in his eyes just now. “Just speak, Cassie. I’m listening,” Oscar said coolly. Amelia knew him very well. The calmer he was, the more it indicated an impending storm. However, Cassie did not know that, and she assumed that he was about to forgive her.
