Bethan did not manage to sleep well the entire night. She dreamt a lot of things.
At first, she dreamed that Jason and Bonnie had gotten married, but Jason murdered Bonnie after that, claimed her inheritance and insurance money for himself, and spent the rest of his life carefree and happy.
After that, Brettley appeared and stared down at her while, at the same time, ordering someone to abort her baby.
In her next dream, she failed to save Nigel and watched him die before her.
After she woke up from her last nightmare, Bethan could no longer fall asleep, simultaneously feeling her morning sickness acting up again.
She clung onto the rim of the toilet bowl and vomited over and over again at 3 a.m. in the morning.
After a while, Bethan got exhausted from all her vomiting and rinsed her mouth. Slumping against the sofa, she stared at the dark sky outside the window but did not dare to fall asleep.
It was already difficult enough being a pregnant woman, but with other things to worry about, it felt even more challenging than ever.
Bethan knew that she had to get more rest, but she could not bring herself to do so and instead stayed up till sunrise.
She took a quick nap and, at 7 a.m., finally woke up. After freshening up, she made her way to the hospital.
Yesterday, she and Gwen had decided to invite Luke over to the hospital today so that Bethan could convince him to let Gwen undergo her abortion.
Bethan hoped to achieve this as quickly as possible so that she could leave Banyan City and meet up with Theo soon.
As soon as Bethan arrived at the hospital and pushed open the door to Gwen’s ward, she sensed that something was wrong.
The atmosphere in the room felt a little eerie.
Luke was sitting in a chair, his expression dark. Meanwhile, Gwen was leaning against her headboard, her eyes red-rimmed. It was obvious she had been crying.
Bethan could not help frowning when she took in this scene before her.
She walked over to Gwen, lowered her voice, and asked, “What happened?”
Gwen sniffled and answered in a nasally voice, “Bethan This was good news.
Despite feeling excited by this news, she continued in a low voice, “Did you manage to convince him? “
Bethan had thought it would take a lot of time and effort to convince Luke.
“No.”
Gwen let out an exhale and shook her head. “It was Brettley who persuaded him.”
Bethan’s entire body stiffened.
She recalled that… Brettley had indeed promised her he would help her convince Luke as well, but she thought that after what happened last night, he would not be willing to do so anymore.
She did not expect that Brettley would do this the first thing after he left the beach.
Still…
Bethan furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why are you crying, then?”
Luke had already agreed to the abortion, so why was Gwen still upset?
Gwen lowered her head and handed something over to Bethan.
It was a small red book.
A small row of gold lettering on its cover read, [Marriage Certificate.]
Bethan was so shocked by this that she raised her voice, “You two got married?”
Gwen closed her eyes and nodded in response. “This was…the only condition he had before he allowed me to proceed with the abortion.”
The atmosphere in the room was eerily quiet.
Bethan took the marriage certificate from Gwen and flipped through it a few times to make sure it was real.
She always guessed that Luke was interested in Gwen. Otherwise, he would not have cared so much about her, but she did not expect that he would use this as a condition before allowing Gwen to proceed with her abortion.
“I was just using it to scare her.”
Luke, who had remained silent all this while, suddenly stood up and snatched the marriage certificate away from Bethan. “I told her that if she wanted to undergo an abortion, the only way I’d allow it is if she married me.”
“I thought she would refuse to, but I was surprised. She’s so desperate to get rid of this child that she’s even willing to marry someone like me.”
Luke carefully tucked the marriage certificate away and sauntered over to the door. “I guess this is good, too. If she dies during the procedure, at least she’ll have a husband to visit her grave now and then.”
Then, he opened the door. “By the way, the surgery is arranged for this afternoon.”
Just as he was about to leave, Luke could not stop himself from turning around to glance at Bethan. “I have to admit that you’re good. Brettley spent the entire night convincing me to go ahead with the abortion. You’re probably the only person who could get him to do something like this.”
With that, he turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
“Bethan, “
Gwen said feebly after Luke had left. “Did I… make a mistake?”
Her eyes were still red –rimmed from her previous crying. “Just now, I asked Luke what would happen t o him if I died… He told me that even if I died, his heart would be with me forever.”
Gwen closed her eyes. “Did I make a mistake? Luke is such a good person, and I don’t want him to waste his life away…”
Luke pursed her lips and reached out to grab Gwen’s hand. “You’ll be fine. Have you ever thought of what would happen if you didn’t die and instead survived the surgery?”
Gwen blushed slightly when she heard this. “Luke said that as soon as I recovered, he’d host the most majestic wedding in Sea City…”
She lowered her head and let out a bitter smile. “Bethan, I’ve been married before, and I’ve been used by so many other men before Luke… How can I possibly match up to him?”
Bethan gripped Gwen’s hand as tight as she could. “
Please don’t say that. You deserve this. Since Luke loves you so much, please believe that you’re deserving of his love. Don’t overthink everything.”
She consoled Gwen in a gentle voice, “Get some rest. Your surgery is set for this afternoon. Don’t worry about anything; you’ll be fine.”
“Okay.”
Gwen nodded earnestly, then lifted her head to gaze at Bethan. “We’ll be fine–both of us. I’ll recover from this, and I’m sure Nigel will, too.”
Suddenly, Gwen seemed to recall something and said to Bethan, “By the way, Luke told me just now that Brettley found out about your baby, but he… He thinks the child belongs to Theo.”
Bethan interjected before she could continue, “It’s not necessarily a bad thing that he misunderstood. At least he won’t try to do anything bad to my child for now.”
Gwen paused, then nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
Bethan spent the entire morning by Gwen’s bedside. After lunch, a doctor stopped by Gwen’s ward to give her a checkup before her surgery.
“Your body is in much better shape than it was a few days ago, so this will significantly lower the risks during your surgery.”
The doctor stared at Gwen’s report and could not help adding, “I guess women do know women best. Previously, when Mr. Jones was looking after her, her condition didn’t improve at all.”
Gwen smiled when she heard this. “Well, it’s all thanks to my friend.”
The doctor nodded, then glanced at Bethan. “What about your baby? Are you sure you don’t want to abort it as well?”
Bethan shook her head. “This baby is the most precious thing in the world to me now.”
As soon as she said this, Bethan suddenly felt the entire room grow silent, so silent that it felt a little spine- tingling.
She glanced in the direction of the door and realized that Brettley was standing there, staring at her with a cold expression, a contemptuous smirk playing on his lips.
Bethan recalled what he had told her last night and immediately lowered her head in shame, unsure what to say next.
The doctor wheeled Gwen into the operation theater while Luke waited outside in a corner, clutching a bouquet of white lilies. It was strange to see a ruffian like Luke holding a bouquet of fresh, white flowers in his hand.
Nonetheless, Bethan still felt her heart soften at the sight.
Gwen was a lucky girl. Even though she was with a scumbag like Ben and experienced heartbreak in the past, she had Luke already.
This tough and rowdy gangster was willing to wait for her so patiently outside the operation theater, clutching a bouquet like a love-struck teenager. Anyone would agree that Gwen was indeed a lucky girl.
This was a stark contrast to Brettley. He was a gentleman who appeared cold and arrogant but did not even allow Bethan Peterson to abort her children properly. Instead, he ordered for her to be murdered.
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.