CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: SCUMBAG

Henry Preston thought for a moment, then gave me a reply, "Let me think about it."

Thinking about it is better than outright rejecting me, so I nodded, "Okay."

After finishing our coffee, Henry suggested taking my car back, saying his car had already left. Of course, I had no objections.

To my great surprise, we actually talked for a while on the way, mostly about my past foolishness in relationships. I joked about it openly, and Henry didn’t ignore me like he used to.

At the entrance of Maplewood Gardens, I sighed, "Who would have thought our relationship could ever ease up."

"Anything is possible in life," Henry replied calmly.

That’s true, after all, I’ve been reborn!

The servants looked surprised and gossipy when they saw Henry and me return together. I instructed Laura Lawson to prepare lunch, then lay down on the sofa, pondering over Leah Lane’s situation.

Should I tell Leah or not? I was so torn inside when my eyes fell on Henry, I hesitated before asking, "Henry, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." Henry was browsing a financial magazine across from me, not even raising his head.

"If you were deeply in love with me and we had a great relationship but weren’t married yet, and one day I found out you cheated, while I was pregnant, do you think if I forgave you, you would change out of guilt and for the sake of the child and never do it again?" I asked.

I couldn’t say "I have a friend" because Leah really is my friend; it would be too easy to guess. Only by making it about myself would Henry not think too much about it. After all, I used to fantasize about such silly scenarios with him, and he never replied, yet I kept doing it.

Henry furrowed his brow, his tone very serious, "Are you pregnant?"

I was startled. What kind of thought process is that? I quickly explained, "No, I just watched a TV show, and the plot stuck with me, so I wanted to know how you guys think."

"Did you take birth control?" Henry ignored my question and asked instead.

We only slept together twice, and neither time did we take any precautions. Maybe neither of us expected such a situation to happen, so there were no contraceptives at home.

I replied, "Don’t worry, I took it, and you should know by the timeline that it’s impossible for me to be pregnant so quickly."

"Oh." Only then did Henry’s expression ease, and he answered my question, "No, if he truly loved the woman, he wouldn’t cheat."

My heart instantly sank to the bottom.

Just thinking about how much an abortion would hurt Leah, along with the pain from Connor’s betrayal, I felt utterly distressed.

I must find a way to tell Leah, and I couldn’t delay any longer. The bigger the fetus grows, the harder the surgery will be.

I took out my phone and contacted Crystal Dawson and Tiana O’Connell, inviting them directly to my home. The two agreed to come over for dinner.

At that moment, Henry’s phone rang, and from his expression, it seemed likely it was Azure Vaughn.

"Okay, I’ll head over right away." Sure enough, as soon as he answered the call, Henry’s tone turned gentle, and whatever Azure said hurried him to get up and prepare to leave.

"Henry, aren’t you staying for lunch?" I called after him, asking.

"I have something to handle first." Henry changed his shoes and left without looking back.

I stood there for a moment, then gave a wry smile. I was really asking for it, trying to keep him here? But I still felt a bit down, losing more each time, it would hurt anyone.

After lunch, I went upstairs to rest alone, sleeping until it was dark. When I woke up, Crystal and Tiana were already waiting for me in the living room.

"Zoe, how can you sleep so much? Turned into a pig?" Crystal mocked me while eating fruit.

"Is there a pig this skinny?" I yawned and replied with a grin, then walked over and sat down.

Tiana asked, puzzled, "Why didn’t you invite Yara over today?"

I sighed, "I called you here to talk about Yara. Let me show you something!"

I pulled out photos and videos from my phone of Connor getting cozy with another woman and showed them to Crystal and Tiana. After seeing them, Crystal rolled up her sleeves and stormed towards the kitchen, "Where’s the knife? I just want to cut that scumbag to pieces right now!"

Tiana’s face turned livid with anger, and she started cursing, "Damn, how does that dude named Connor have the nerve to cheat? With his conditions, Yara is already settling down!"

"Calm down, you two. Our priority isn’t to get back at Connor right now." I hurriedly stopped Crystal.

"What can be more important than this? Digging up his family tomb?" Crystal actually found a knife, looking like she could be mistaken for a terrorist walking down the street.

I took a deep breath, "Yara... is pregnant."

"Clang!" The knife fell to the ground, and Crystal was dumbfounded.

Three minutes later, the three of us were back on the couch, discussing what to do next. Pregnancy is a big deal. We feared Leah would endure it for the child, yet we were also afraid she might sensibly break up, as abortion is hard on the body.

It’s a real dilemma!

"We can’t drag it out, better a short pain than a long one. The longer it takes, the more harm it will do to her!" Tiana’s face was stern.

"Yes, it’s better to tell her as soon as possible. Even if she’s stuck in a romantic daze and doesn’t recognize me as her friend, I just can’t watch her be deceived. If we don’t tell her, and her kid is born and learns the truth later, they’ll blame us." Crystal agreed with Tiana.

I actually thought so too. I just wanted Crystal and Tiana to persuade Leah together.

Suddenly, Crystal’s face turned grimmer, she hesitated and continued, "Even if Connor didn’t cheat, I wouldn’t suggest Yara be with him. On their engagement day, didn’t I leave earlier than both of you? Downstairs at the hotel, I bumped into Connor’s parents. What they said was truly... disgusting!"

"What did they say?" I asked.

"They said their son was great, promising, found a rich and beautiful woman. They were reluctant to even give out the little dowry, only doing so because they expected more at the wedding, otherwise, they would have held back. They also said Yara’s biggest flaw was having a younger brother, meaning in the future, most of the family inheritance would go to him, otherwise, it could all be Connor’s." Crystal said this while gritting her teeth.

I was furious too. Connor cheated, and his parents were bloodsuckers. Poor Leah gave her sincere affection and always said how great Connor was in front of us.

If I hadn’t been reborn, hadn’t met Joel Sutton, hadn’t gone to the bar that day to see Connor’s ugly face behind his mask, Leah would have surely had a terrible marriage with him after my death in my previous life!