Chapter 975: The Truth About Pregnancy
An hour ago, at the hospital.
Ann received a phone call and promptly left the hospital. Concerned about leaving Aurora unattended, she called Linda to accompany Aurora.
However, Linda informed Aurora she was preoccupied with getting a dress tailored for Wade's award ceremony and could not come.
The servants had been dismissed, leaving Aurora alone in the spacious hospital room. She gazed out the window, her mind teeming with a myriad of unsettling images.
She vividly remembered the scene from the night before last: Anthony was tightly holding an unconscious Jane, his expression etched with deep concern.
'Anthony has never shown such worry for me, not even when I was hospitalized for a near-miscarriage,' Aurora thought to herself.
Then, she recalled a different memory from yesterday when Anthony entered her room with an icy expression on his face, demanding an explanation for Jane's allergic reaction.
Anthony mentioned the Windsor family behind Natalie and Flora as part of his argument, but Aurora knew he was merely using them to placate Ann. She knew that even without Natalie and Flora's support, without Paykston's Windsor family, Anthony would still stand up for Jane.
'Is Anthony so protective of Jane?'
Aurora smiled, but her eyes were devoid of warmth, filled instead with biting sarcasm.
Even if Anthony was protective of Jane, he was targeting someone who did not even know the truth.
At this moment, the door to the hospital room abruptly swung open.
Aurora’s frown deepened with annoyance.
She heard the servant stammer an apology, "Ms. Dewar, I'm terribly sorry! I couldn't stop Mrs. Clark..."
The intruder was Kimberly Murphy, a well-preserved woman in her forties or fifties, dressed in a conspicuous Chanel outfit and clutching a Hermès crocodile leather bag. She was the wife of the Clark family’s second son.
Owing to power struggles and prestige issues, the relationship between the first and second sons of the Clark family was fraught with tension. Kimberly and Ann had been at odds long before Ann's marriage, and their relations remained chilly.
Aurora was puzzled by Kimberly's unexpected visit, just as she had been by Hubert's previous visit.
"Aurora, how are you? Is the baby okay?"
Kimberly, seemingly not finding anything wrong with barging into the room unannounced, hurried to Aurora's bedside with a look of deep concern and reached out to touch Aurora’s pregnant belly.
Aurora, unable to react swiftly enough, felt Kimberly’s hand on her abdomen.
It was just a gentle caress, filled with love and anticipatio, and it reminded Aurora of a grandmother eagerly awaiting the arrival of her grandchild. This realization both shocked and terrified Aurora. She forced a smile on her face and discreetly attempted to move Kimberly’s hand away.
“Aunt Murphy, what brings you here today?”
Kimberly, oblivious to Aurora’s discomfort, continued to touch Aurora's belly and asked, ''Aurora, is the baby okay? No problems, right?''
The almost fanatical gleam in Kimberly’s eyes filled Aurora with a profound sense of dread, as if the elegantly dressed woman before her was a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
“It’s fine. As long as I take good care of myself, there shouldn’t be any major issues,” Aurora replied perfunctorily without much thought.
With advances in modern medicine, pregnancy care had become quite reliable. Given Aurora's financial resources and ample time for rest, assuming no complications arose, the prospects for a healthy delivery were high.
Kimberly exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.
''That’s good. That’s good!''
She then took Aurora’s hand and said earnestly, ''Aurora, this child is the first grandchild of the Clark family. You must deliver him safely. Nothing can go wrong! That Jane Watkins is no good and you should get rid of her immediately. If she harms our first grandchild, it would be disastrous!''
Kimberly’s repeated use of phrases like 'first grandchild' and ‘our’ made Aurora increasingly uncomfortable. She wondered how Kimberly could be so certain it was a grandson and not a granddaughter.
Although Ann often spoke of a grandson, she was Aurora's future mother-in-law, which somewhat justified her preference. However, Kimberly’s words seemed out of place.
“Mrs. Murphy,” Aurora said, reaching her limit and pushing Kimberly’s hand away from her belly in a clearly defensive and rejecting gesture, “Even if the child I'm carrying is a boy, he's Anthony's child, not the Clark family’s first grandchild.”
The Clarks might still operate collectively in business under their family name, but internally they were a divided house.
“What do you mean he’s not our grandchild?” Kimberly challenged, pointing at Aurora’s belly, “He's our grandchild! Aurora Dewar, let me tell you, a good mother always puts her child first. Look at you, in and out of the hospital every few days during your pregnancy. What kind of mother does that? You should be resting, taking care of the baby, not caught up in nonsense all the time!”
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Aurora's expression turned unsightly.
She was certain that the child she carried belonged to Anthony. The baby should concern Ann, not Kimberly.
Kimberly, stung and humiliated by Aurora's overt rejection, said without thinking, "The child in your belly is Hubert's. How is he not my grandchild? Aurora, do you still believe you're carrying Anthony's child? What fantasy are you living in?"
"What did you say?"
The room fell into an uneasy silence for a few seconds.
Kimberly, realizing the gravity of her words, looked away, her discomfort palpable. She took a moment to gather herself before adding defiantly, "Anyway, I'm telling the truth!"
Knowing she had caused irreparable damage, she turned to leave.
"Say that again!" Aurora demanded, grabbing Kimberly's clothing, "What did you just say? Don't lie to me. Otherwise, I'll make sure you pay for it!"
"Who's lying to you? Who would bother?" Kimberly, now infuriated, decided against leaving, given that the cat was out of the bag.
Kimberly adjusted her clothes and declared, "Aurora, I'm telling you the truth. The child in your belly is my grandchild, my son's child, and has nothing to do with Anthony! You had better ensure the child is born healthy!"
"How could this be?" Aurora's face was drained of colors.
She tried to piece together the events of that night seven months ago. She had been drinking and was not fully conscious, but she distinctly remembered seeing Anthony.
'How could it be Hubert?'
However, if it was not Hubert, why would Kimberly make such outlandish statements at the hospital? Moreover, Hubert would not have come to see her at the hospital like a madman either. It was likely that Kimberly and Hubert were not lying to her.
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