CHAPTER 16: CHAPTER 16: HE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT THE CHILD

At this moment, another red line slowly appeared on the pregnancy test stick.

Though faint, it was clearly a weak positive.

She was pregnant...

Zinnia’s legs went weak, and she collapsed back onto the toilet lid, staring blankly at the pale pink line.

Yara snatched the pregnancy test, her hands trembling with rage. "Damn it, where was that bastard Jenson hiding during human evolution? He actually managed to get two women pregnant at the same time. The beast!"

She squatted down again and hugged Zinnia. "Zinnia, what are you going to do? Do you want to keep the baby?"

Zinnia didn’t know.

After they married, she had promised Jenson they wouldn’t have children, but deep down, she desperately wanted one. She felt an urgent need for a baby to solidify her relationship with him. She had even imagined that with a baby, Jenson might finally accept her as his wife and gradually fall in love with her.

Now she realized how silly and pathetic that thought was. She was determined to let it go.

But just as she’d made up her mind, the baby had truly come...

Zinnia’s mind was a mess. When her phone rang, she was desperate for a distraction and answered without even looking.

"Is this Adverse? This is Crystal Sutton. I’m calling about the music commission. I believe Manager Wilder from the Forrest Group has already made the terms clear. The price is not an issue; if you’re not satisfied, we can increase our offer."

Zinnia’s phone had dual SIM cards, and the number Crystal Sutton contacted was the one reserved for her alias.

Zinnia frowned and was about to hang up when Crystal raised her voice.

"I have the Forrest Group and the entire Stellar Group behind me, and they’ll spare no effort in promotion. With me, your music will get the maximum possible exposure. There are many talented people in the world, but talent alone won’t make you famous. On the contrary, plenty of artists who become arrogant about their talent miss their chance, only to be abandoned and blacklisted by their backers. Wouldn’t you agree, Adverse?"

Crystal Sutton was all but threatening to have Adverse blacklisted from the composition world for life if he didn’t know what was good for him.

Zinnia’s expression turned frigid.

Yara was about to explode. She grabbed the phone and fired back.

"Ha! That’s the first time I’ve heard someone make having a sponsor sound so fresh and noble! Have you no self-awareness? Give our Adverse’s music to you? With your clumsy, third-rate skills, what makes you think you can do it any justice? Why are you dragging the Forrest Group into a music commission, acting like the whole world owes you a favor? Your technique is trash, so you’re trying to take a shortcut? My advice? If you don’t have the talent, the harder you try, the more pathetic it gets. Just go home and sleep on it, and stop calling to harass us!"

After her tirade, Yara viciously ended the call.

She looked at Zinnia with concern. She had just discovered she was pregnant, only for the other woman to show up and be this brazen. The worst part was that the bastard Jenson was backing the mistress in her attempt to steal the fruits of Zinnia’s creative labor.

It was one blow after another, and Yara worried Zinnia wouldn’t be able to take it.

But Zinnia just looked at her and let out a chuckle. She stood up from the toilet lid and affectionately pinched Yara’s cheek.

"Let’s go. I’m not in the mood for instant noodles anymore. Let’s find a restaurant. I need to treat that sharp tongue of yours."

Zinnia linked arms with Yara and they headed out the door.

Seeing her friend’s nonchalant demeanor, Yara breathed a long sigh of relief and nodded.

"Exactly. You have to take special care of yourself now. You need to eat more nutritious food... and maybe find a stepfather for Jenson’s child."

The two of them left in a flurry. Back in the hospital room, Crystal Sutton was trembling with anger.

"He’s just some obscure composer! Does he really think he’s some great musician? The fact that I’m commissioning him is a compliment! And did you hear what he said?"

Rose Lowell tried to console her, but Crystal didn’t hear a word.

She would never forget the first time she saw Zinnia. She had her hair in a high bun, wore a pink and white princess dress, and stood barefoot on the sofa, playing the violin. The melody was enchanting; she looked like a princess from a storybook castle.

But all of that should have been hers!

For years, she had forced herself to play the violin with the sole purpose of crushing Zinnia.

But her own talent was mediocre. Her mother, Mrs. Sutton, was a dancer, and even though Crystal was her biological daughter, it seemed Zinnia, the fake heiress, was the one who had inherited all the talent for music and dance.

No matter how hard she tried over the years, she always fell short. The fleeting looks of disappointment in her mother’s eyes fueled Crystal’s jealousy and hatred for Zinnia to an extreme.

Now that she was back to build her career, her debut solo recital had to be stunning. But classic violin pieces would too easily expose her technical shortcomings.

That was why she set her sights on "Backlit." Just last year, a young violinist had won a highly prestigious international award with a hip-hop-influenced piece by Backlit.

Such a refreshingly original piece would be perfect to mask her technical weaknesses and allow her to make a sensational debut.

"I am playing that piece!"

Crystal’s eyes glinted coldly as she stared at Manager Wilder of the Forrest Group.

"Manager Wilder, the president entrusted this matter to you. I don’t care what methods you use; I only want results. If you can’t even handle something this minor, don’t feel wronged when you get fired."

"Rest assured, Miss Sutton. I’ll find this Adverse and have a proper talk with him."

「」

For another two days, Zinnia had no luck finding a job. It was obvious Jenson was using this method to force her to give up and return to him.

Knowing she wouldn’t find work through conventional agencies, Zinnia thought of another plan and asked Yara Fairchild to look for other part-time jobs.

Yara had also been bullied as a child and had vowed to become a modern-day heroine to protect both herself and Zinnia, often sneaking into martial arts classes for free. Who knew she’d have a real talent for it? She even got into film school on a martial arts scholarship. Now, she worked as a martial arts stunt double on film sets and was in numerous group chats for extras and production crews.

She was a social butterfly and knew many people, so within a few days, she found three part-time jobs for Zinnia.

Busy with her new jobs, Zinnia hadn’t been to the hospital for several days. Today, she prepared two bento boxes and headed over.

She first dropped one off for little Julia, then carried the other upstairs. She had promised Alaric Hawthorne she would cook for him personally, so while she was preparing food to coax Julia, she made one for him as well.

She was walking toward the elevator when the doors slid open, and Jenson and Crystal walked out side by side.

Not wanting to run into them, Zinnia immediately turned and slipped into the adjacent stairwell.

"Ouch!" Crystal cried out, stumbling near the stairwell entrance.

Jenson quickly reached out to steady her. "Careful."

"The soles of these shoes feel a bit slippery."

"I’ll have someone bring you another pair."

"Jenson, you don’t have to be so overprotective. I’m not made of glass..."

The familiar cadence of his voice and Crystal’s syrupy sweet tone drifted from the hallway, gradually fading away.

Leaning against the cool wall, Zinnia’s nails scraped against the painted surface behind her.

Jenson actually cared so much about the child in Crystal’s belly...

Jenson entered Eighth’s room first. Crystal lingered a step behind, her gaze flickering almost imperceptibly toward the stairwell as a smirk played on her lips.

She had just seen Zinnia.

After a long moment, Zinnia finally emerged.

She went upstairs, but Alaric was still in surgery, so she went to Mason Lawrence’s room first. Taking over from the caregiver, Ms. Chase, she began to massage Mason’s legs.

Her brother had been in a coma for half a year. His muscles had atrophied, and he was frighteningly thin. As Zinnia worked, her mind drifted back to the last time she saw him before the accident.

He had been so happy, telling her he’d landed a big financial case. Once it was over, he said, he would be able to buy a two-bedroom apartment.

"Then, our Zinnia will have a proper family home to come back to," he had said, stroking her head, his handsome face lit with a warm smile. "If you’re ever unhappy with the Forrest family, you can come home. Your big brother can support you forever."

But the case never finished. Instead, her brother got into a car accident. Zinnia picked up a towel and gently wiped his face.

"Are you pretending to be asleep just to get out of buying me that apartment?" she murmured. "I’ll have you know, my taste for luxury only grows with age. If you don’t wake up soon, I won’t want a two-bedroom anymore. It’ll have to be at least a spacious four-bedroom apartment!"

"You’re letting your brother off easy. Why not a lakeside villa?"

A teasing voice broke the quiet. Zinnia turned to see Alaric Hawthorne and smiled sheepishly.

"Senior, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I brought food."

"The air is nice today. Shall we go down to the garden?" Alaric walked over and picked up the insulated container.

The hospital garden was lush with green grass. The evening breeze was gentle on the skin, carrying the warmth of late summer and the faint, sweet scent of earth.

Alaric was obliging, eating with a refined air that still showed his genuine enjoyment.

Zinnia sat on the bench beside him, about to ask again about taking Mason abroad for treatment, when a grating voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Sister?"

Zinnia turned to see Crystal wearing a hospital gown. The towering figure standing beside her was none other than Jenson Forrest, with Timothy Cohen just behind them, holding a woman’s cashmere shawl.

The man was as cold and remote as ever. His mere presence seemed to make the corner of the garden feel as if autumn had arrived early, sending a chill through the air.

Crystal’s gaze shifted meaningfully between Zinnia and Alaric.

"Sister is as likable as ever, and with such outstanding friends. And who might this gentleman be?"

Zinnia’s face hardened. "And you’re as unlikable as ever, with a mouth full of your usual passive-aggressive remarks."