Chapter 468 I'm Pregnant
Harper barely caught that sentence before she slapped a hand over Agnes's mouth and yanked her back.
Once they were back in the car, Agnes was still puzzled. She turned to Harper and asked, "Mom, didn't you say I was Daddy's only kid? How could that lady say Daddy has another kid with her?"
Harper was stumped too. She was waiting for Francis to spill the beans, but she couldn't drag Agnes into this mess.
"Agnes, let me talk to Daddy first, and then I'll tell you, okay?" Harper decided to be straight with her.
Agnes was already over five and way more mature than other kids. If she found out something was being kept from her, she'd be crushed.
"Okay, but you and Daddy need to talk it out, no fighting." Agnes said, sounding like a little grown-up.
Harper nodded, "Alright, I promise, I'll find a good way to talk to Daddy."
Harper got Isla to take Agnes home while she stayed behind. She needed to confront Francis face-to-face about what was going on.
Why was Audrey pregnant with Francis's kid? Harper was freaking out. They had just patched things up, and now this bombshell dropped.
Harper had no clue what to do. If Audrey was telling the truth, what then? Even if it was a mistake, could she really handle Francis having a kid with another woman?
Her mind was racing, and she felt super uneasy. After a bit, Francis finally called. When he heard she was still in the parking lot, he rushed down.
He opened the car door and, seeing only Harper, looked surprised and asked, "Where's Agnes?"
Harper replied, "I sent her home."
Francis stayed cool, reached out to ruffle Harper's hair, and said, "Sorry, the meeting ran late."
This made Harper feel icy inside. He was hiding something. If she hadn't stumbled upon it, he might've kept it from her forever.
Harper asked, "Did your meeting really take that long?"
Francis paused and then said gently, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
This apology made Harper feel even colder. He was dodging.
In that moment, Harper felt all her questions were pointless. Francis had already chosen to deceive her; would he ever come clean? Her head hurt, and her heart felt frozen.
Harper didn't want to say anything, but she remembered she had promised Agnes to have a good talk with him. She gave him another chance, looked at him seriously, and said, "Francis, is there anything you're hiding from me?"
Francis stayed calm and said, "What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything."
He was still dodging.
Just then, Francis's phone rang. It was a call from Victor.
Francis answered, and whatever was said on the other end made him frown. He responded a couple of times and said he'd handle it.
After hanging up, Francis apologized, "Harper, I still have some things to take care of. Why don't you go home and wait? If it's really late, I might not come over. Can you tell Agnes I'm sorry?"
Harper felt colder and colder, both inside and out. Another question would be pointless and just embarrass her.
Francis leaned in to hug her, his voice still magnetic as he said, "Harper, I miss you."
Harper let him hug her, her expression numb and cold.
Before leaving, Francis gave her a light kiss on the forehead.
The car drove away. Francis's figure grew distant. Finally, Harper couldn't hold back her tears. After everything they had been through, it all seemed like a lie.
If he didn't love her, why'd he risk his neck to save her? And if he did love her, why'd he lie after they both said they were into each other?
Back home, Harper shut off her phone and crashed. Agnes was a little angel. Seeing Harper was out of sorts, she didn't cling to her and just listened to Zoey, going to bed after getting cleaned up.
Harper slept until the next afternoon. When she woke up, she started stressing about the studio, so she turned on her phone. There was only a message from Jessica, saying everything at the studio was running smoothly and that she should just chill. But Francis? Not a single message all night.
Harper wasn't dumb; this said a lot. She let out a bitter laugh.
She pulled herself together and got ready to head to the studio. Work was the only thing she could control right now.
Harper threw herself into work, leaving no room to think about anything else. When it got dark, Jessica invited her to dinner to talk about future projects. They hit up a mall near the company.
Halfway through the meal, Jessica got a work call and had to bounce. After finishing her meal, Harper thought of getting something for Agnes and headed to a store on the first floor.
As soon as she stepped in, a clerk stopped her, saying, "Sorry, ma'am, we're temporarily closed to the public."
Harper was confused and asked, "But you're open, aren't you?"
The clerk said, "We're serving a VIP customer. Hope you understand."
It was pretty common, actually. Harper got it and was about to leave when a familiar voice called out, "Ms. Murphy!"
Harper looked up, her face instantly turning cold. Audrey, with her belly slightly showing, stumbled out, supported by Abigail.
"Ms. Murphy, shopping for baby clothes? Who's the lucky kid?" Audrey knew Harper had been MIA for five years, during which she got married and had a kid, so she was being a jerk on purpose.
Harper noticed Audrey's belly wasn't that big, maybe three months along. But she seemed to be sticking it out on purpose.
Harper didn't want to get tangled up with her and turned to leave, but Audrey wasn't having it. She grabbed Harper's arm, smiling, "Ms. Murphy, long time no see. Why don't we take a moment to catch up?"
Harper shook off her hand coldly and snapped, "We're not close, are we?"
Audrey stumbled a bit from the shake. Abigail immediately scolded, "Are you blind? You almost knocked her over."
Abigail had no love for Harper after the hospital room incident. She couldn't stand that Harper was involved with both Francis and Keith, whom she despised.
Harper's expression was icy, and she said, "Abigail, get it straight, who grabbed whom first?"
Abigail didn't listen, fuming, "Audrey was just being nice and saying hi, and you want to hurt her!"
Harper was really over it. No wonder Francis told her not to bother with Abigail. Abigail really seemed to have a persecution complex.
Audrey stepped in, pretending to be all magnanimous, and said, "It's okay, Mom, I'm fine."
Even the way she addressed her had changed, making Harper uncomfortable. She turned to leave.
Audrey still wouldn't let her go, seeing an opportunity. She stepped forward, blocking the way, and said, "Harper, I'm pregnant!"
Harper almost laughed. So Audrey thought she hadn't noticed.
Harper smiled, "Congrats, Ms. Hernandez. Are you married? Haven't heard anything about it."
This made Audrey's face look very sour.
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