“The pregnant patient is actually fine.
She just fainted because her body is too weak.
Pay close attention to her diet, keep her away from cold water, and avoid drafts.
Keeping her in good spirits is crucial for an expectant mother.”
Once the doctor finished speaking, Jensen Austin’s heart finally settled back into his chest.
On the car ride over, Jensen had already reached out to his industry contacts.
He had circulated June Dunn’s dossier throughout the business world; now, no one would ever dare hire her.
“Jensen, my baby…”
“Your baby is fine.
You’re just too weak.
You have a baby to think about now, so you need to pay more attention to your health.”
Jensen let out a long sigh.
Just then, he caught sight of Mark Austin and Winona Hayes rushing into the hospital.
“How is Chloe?
Chloe, how are you feeling now?”
Mark’s heart ached for his daughter.
He kept his eyes locked on Chloe, barely even daring to touch her out of fear he might hurt her.
“Mom, Dad, Chloe is fine.
Her health is just too poor right now.
It looks like we’ll need to hire a nutritionist to help condition her body.”
“I said earlier we should find a nutritionist, but your mother thought it was unnecessary.
Now that Chloe is expecting, I’d say it’s absolutely necessary, wouldn’t you?”
Mark and Winona bickered back and forth over the topic, not giving Chloe a single chance to get a word in edgewise.
“Mom, Dad, listen to me!”
Chloe looked at her parents helplessly and offered a faint smile.
“Mom, Dad, how about you just bring Aunt Miller back?
I really only love the food she makes.”
Mark hesitated for a brief moment before nodding in agreement.
Nothing was more important than Chloe.
Besides, the doctor had stressed the importance of a balanced diet.
Winona considered the fact that as Chloe’s pregnancy progressed, she might lose her appetite entirely, making the taste of her food all the more critical.
“Mom, Dad, I knew you two were the best to me…”
Chloe whined affectionately, causing the smile on Mark’s face to grow even brighter as his heart melted.
“Just keep spoiling Chloe.
She’s been a picky eater since she was a child, and it’s all because you indulged her.
Honestly…”
Winona feigned anger, prompting Mark to immediately start sweet-talking her.
“Honey, don’t get mad at me, it’s not worth it.
You know how I am.
Please don’t be angry.”
“Mom, Dad, let’s step outside so Chloe can finish her IV drip in peace.”
Noticing that Chloe was starting to look drowsy, Jensen took the initiative to herd Mark and Winona toward the door.
“I’m not leaving.
I want to stay right here and watch over Chloe.
If anyone is leaving, it’s you two.” Winona’s tone suddenly turned unyielding as she gently tucked the blanket around Chloe.
“Listen to you.
If her mother isn’t leaving, why should her father?
I’m not going anywhere either.
Come on, Chloe, Dad will peel an apple for you.
If you don’t want an apple, we can have some grapes.”
Mark also busied himself doting on her, and the whole family was once again wrapped up in bustling around Chloe.
“I’m sleepy.
I’m going to take a nap.
Wake me up when the IV is done.”
Chloe let out a natural yawn and closed her eyes, fully trusting her family’s attentive care.
But the moment she shut her eyes, Chloe was reminded of the time she had been in the hospital all by herself.
Initially, Chloe had only caught a mild fever.
But she had stood outside her front door for a long time, braving the cold wind while waiting for Caden Sterling to come home.
Caden hadn’t returned at all that night.
It wasn’t until Chloe called him the next day that she learned he had spent the entire evening with Vivian Sullivan.
“Caden, it seems Chloe might have misunderstood something…”
“It’s fine.
Let her misunderstand if she wants to.
The most important thing is that you aren’t wronged.”
“But no matter what you say, Chloe is your lawfully wedded wife.”
“So what?
If she doesn’t behave, she’s no different from a stray cat or dog on the street.
I’ll just kick her to the curb.”
The conversation between Caden and Vivian that day pierced Chloe’s ears like a sharp thorn, leaving an agonizing sting.
Those memories swirled relentlessly in her mind.
An expression of sheer agony surfaced on Chloe’s face, prompting Jensen to quickly pat her shoulder.
“Chloe?
Chloe, what’s wrong?”
“Jensen, I had a nightmare.
I dreamt about Vivian and Caden, they…”
A thin layer of cold sweat coated Chloe’s face.
Mark’s expression darkened instantly.
“Chloe, your mother and I will definitely get justice for you.
I will arrange for a lawyer to handle your divorce as soon as possible.
Those nightmares will pass.” Mark gently stroked Chloe’s cheek.
She couldn’t fall back asleep after that.
“Mom and Dad are taking you home.
Don’t be afraid.
We’re going home, and you won’t ever have to be afraid again.”
Winona was deeply heartbroken by Chloe’s current state.
As a woman herself, she possessed a strong sense of empathy and could truly feel her daughter’s pain.
Jensen drove the family back to the Austin villa.
After returning home and taking a proper nap, Chloe felt her condition had improved significantly.
The next day.
Chloe decided she was still going to work, even though Jensen didn’t want her to.
“Jensen, just don’t worry about it.
I’m fine.
Didn’t you say it yourself?
The only thing you can truly rely on is your own strength.”
Jensen smiled helplessly, then drove Chloe to the office.
“I’m dropping you off here.
The rest is up to you.”
Jensen opened the car door for Chloe, and she headed straight into the company building.
“Chloe, your relationship with President Austin…”
“Chloe, we didn’t stick our necks out for you yesterday because we were afraid June Dunn would retaliate against us.
It’s not that we didn’t want to help you.”
“Yeah, Chloe, we wanted to take your side too.
We just didn’t know at first that you…”
The others poked the speaking intern’s arm to silence them.
Chloe offered them a thoroughly fake smile.
“Let’s all get back to work.
We have a design proposal to submit today, remember?”
“Chloe is right.
Let’s all get to work.”
Because Chloe was present, the interns sharing the office space didn’t dare slack off in broad daylight anymore.
The girl who had been promoted yesterday approached Chloe and greeted her.
From the girl’s words, Chloe finally learned her name.
“I’ve seen your work.
It’s quite good, but it lacks your own personal vision.
Be a bit bolder with your designs in the future,” Chloe said, evaluating Zara Miller for a moment before turning her focus back to her own documents.
“Thank you.
I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”
Zara bowed to Chloe, but Chloe didn’t spare her another glance.
Winona had given the design department a new assignment: to design a bracelet.
Original brands were a dime a dozen these days, and there were only so many creative elements to go around.
Many design companies simply plagiarized each other’s work in an endless cycle.
Sitting at her desk, Chloe formed a concept of her own.
She took a casual sketch she had drawn a few days prior and completely redesigned it.
After meticulously polishing the details, she finally handed it over to Zara.
“Team Leader Miller, this is my design draft.”