Camille finished speaking coldly before patting Cathy on the shoulder.
“Miss Jordan, I believe that Carter and Shirley have more to discuss. Let’s take a seat downstairs in the meantime.”
Cathy too did not want to stay with Ada and her mother, so Cathy followed Camille downstairs.
Ada held her burning cheek that Carter had slapped. She gritted her teeth with extreme displeasure.
After Ada returned to her room, she clenched her fists at the sight of the swelling on her cheek and the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“He actually hit me for that stinky beggar! ” Ada gritted her teeth. “I can’t let this go. Mom, what should I do now? Would Carter really disfigure my face and break my legs if I went against him?” “He wouldn’t dare!”
Ada’s mother had a domineering and arrogant gaze.
“Don’t be afraid, Ada. Remember your current status. That Shirley is nothing in comparison to your family background! ”
“She’s pregnant, though. Carter has accepted the child, and even called Shirley his woman…” Ada said, simultaneously feeling resentful and upset.
Ever since they married, Carter had never shared a room with her.
Even if she desired to produce a child for the Gray family, she had not been given the chance.
She dared not tell her mother this. It was too shameful.
“Don’t worry, Ada. I won’t allow that stinky beggar to give birth to that vile spawn!” Ada’s mother promised solemnly.
Ada immediately understood her mother’s meaning, but Ada kept silent and pretended not to understand. She was afraid that the walls had ears, and she did not want to be involved when anything happened to Shirley.
Carter pushed Shirley into the laboratory.
That laboratory was unfamiliar to her. It was not the usual laboratory where she had conducted her research and experiments.
Carter walked straight to a small refrigerator not far away. He swiftly entered the password and opened the refrigerator’s door, then pulled out a rectangle box and handed it to Shirley.
Impassively, he looked at Shirley squarely and said, “All the necessary ingredients are in this box.”
Shirley stared at the box skeptically before opening it. With her professional expertise, she confirmed that it did indeed contain all the ingredients required for AXT6g.
She silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Shirley was about to put away the box when Carter grabbed it.
She stared at Carter in confusion. “What’s the meaning of this, Carter?”
Carter laughed. “I’m sure you know how valuable this formula is.”
“And that’s why this formula is more valuable than this little thing that’s growing inside me?” Shirley asked with a chuckle.
As soon as he heard her words, Carter’s eyebrows tightened, and the expression on his stone-cold face darkened instantly.
“Shirley, just keep your mouth shut if you can’t speak properly. What’s this little thing? He’s your child too!”
“You’re wrong. This isn’t my child.” “What did you just say?”
Carter thought he had a hearing problem, but Shirley did, in fact, say those words.
“This isn’t your child? Shirley, do you even know what you’re saying?” Carter asked with restrained anger.
Shirley remained indifferent as she smiled and responded, “Aren’t you forgetful at times, Carter? Earlier in the study room, I had clearly said that the baby was just a bargaining chip in exchange for the anti- toxoid test reagent formula. Just a bargaining chip. Do you understand?”
“You…”
For the first time in his life, Carter was tongue-tied because he was too furious.
While he was distracted, Shirley took the opportunity to grab the box from his hands
Having been jolted out of his daze, Carter found Shirley grasping the box firmly.
He found that ridiculous.
She would not even get a chance to touch it if he had no intention of giving it to her.
“Shirley, now that you’re here at the Gray Manor, don’t think about leaving. You can develop the anti- toxoid test reagent if you want. You’ll find this laboratory the ideal place to work on it. Don’t even think about going anywhere else except the Gray Manor.”
Carter demanded sternly.
Shirley’s eyebrows creased. “Are you putting me under house arrest?”
Carter bent down and got close to Shirley’s face.
He raised his eyebrows and tugged the corners of his lips.
“You’re now the mother of my child. Even if you go against my wishes again, the child in your womb is still the first grandchild of the Gray family.”
Carter’s words drifted around Shirley’s ears and plunged straight into her heart, leaving her with a sharp pain.
There would be no mother of any child. There would be no grandchild either.
Adam had explained clearly that this child could not be born, and if he were, there would be birth defects.
Adam had not meant to frighten her, and Shirley too was fully aware of that.
This was her sin to bear; she had no right to blame anyone.
Cathy was chatting with Camille in the living room when Cathy saw Shirley entering, then Cathy immediately stood up and approached Shirley.
She had intended to bring Shirley home, but Shirley interrupted her.
“Cathy, I have something to tell you. You’ll be heading home by yourself later.”
Cathy was momentarily taken aback. “You’re… not coming with me?”
Shirley smiled and shook her head. “There’s food and clothing here for me. I’ll even have people waiting on me. Why would I want to leave?”
“…” Shirley’s words left Cathy speechless.
However, Cathy could sense that something was amiss from Shirley’s abrupt change in behavior.
Cathy pretended not to notice. “If you’d like to stay, then go ahead. I’ve nothing more to say to you.”
“You might not have anything to say to me, but I do.”
Shirley looked askance at Carter, who had been following her closely, then turned to face Cathy.
“I’ll see you out.”
Understanding Shirley’s meaning, Cathy immediately stepped forward to push Shirley’s wheelchair.
Camille glanced at Carter with concern. She watched Carter standing still as Shirley left the room, and Camille decided to stay silent.
Once Cathy had pushed Shirley out of the entrance and ensured that nobody followed them, Cathy then spoke.
“Are you really going to stay here? Why?”
Shirley, in response to Cathy’s skepticism, explained in an unusually calm manner, “It makes sense for me to stay here. Carter’s laboratory is perfectly equipped with all the resources I need, so staying here would allow me to develop the anti- toxoid test reagent quickly.”
At first, Cathy had assumed that Shirley decided to stay because Shirley still had feelings for Carter.
She had not expected Shirley’s decision to be predicated on such considerations.
Nevertheless, Cathy remained concerned.
“But if you don’t go home, Adam will not see you and be worried.”
Hearing Cathy’s words, Shirley raised her head and looked ahead. There was a gust of fresh spring breeze, and the corner of Shirley’s lips seemed to quirk up.
An unusually gentle smile adorned her face.
“I know he’s actually very worried about me. He always had a soft heart and had looked after me without letting me know. But I must pay the price for my sins. It’s time to stop troubling my brother.”
When Shirley spoke, her tone was peaceful, as opposed to the hostility she had when facing Adam.
At this point, Cathy began to feel that Shirley was not a cold-hearted person.
In fact, Shirley cared.
“You don’t have to tell Adam anything. Just let him assume I sneaked out by myself.”
“Why won’t you let me tell him the truth?” Cathy was baffled.
Shirley smiled brightly. Despite the visible scar on the right side of her face, her smile was exceptionally pure at that moment.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.