CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 31: WANT TO ESCAPE? _2

"Becca..."

As he softly called her name again, she finally reached out and hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. Even I find this voice disgustingly sweet, she thought, as she cooed, "I’m willing. To the ends of the earth, I’m willing to follow you."

「Afternoon.」

Outside the "Golden Leaves" high-end club, Roye idly kicked at the stones beneath his feet.

Suddenly, Jason Wood walked out of "Golden Leaves."

Spotting Roye at once, Jason Wood frowned. "What are you doing here instead of being with your boss?"

Roye walked up and answered honestly, "Mr. Geoffrey has been with Miss Quentin these past two days, so I have nothing to do... I heard you were here entertaining that judge, so I came to see if he’d be difficult to handle."

Jason Wood said, "He’s already taken the money. What’s there not to handle?"

Roye chuckled. "Mr. Geoffrey’s move is really smart—cornering Miss Quentin so she has no choice, then playing the heroic savior to capture her heart..."

Jason Wood did not respond.

Roye continued, as if to himself, "I hope Miss Quentin can give Mr. Geoffrey a child with the MNSsU blood type in America. Otherwise, with Marie’s illness..." He let out a soft sigh.

The courthouse, usually a solemn and dignified place, was besieged by a large number of media today due to Rebecca Quentin appearing with Howard Geoffrey.

At this moment, under the protection of her bodyguards, Rebecca Quentin smoothly entered the courtroom and stood in the defendant’s dock on behalf of Alexander Quentin.

Howard Geoffrey sat in the gallery, looking like a relaxed passerby, yet still exuding his inherent nobility and pride.

The trial had begun. Rebecca Quentin cooperated with her lawyer, engaging in a legal battle with the lawyer representing the victim’s party.

When Howard Geoffrey told her today that he would accompany her to the trial, she was truly happy. She had originally wanted to protect her father’s reputation by choosing a closed-court trial. However, she suddenly felt it was unnecessary because she knew that with him there, they were sure to win.

Sure enough, after four hours of verbal jousting between the opposing lawyers, Rebecca Quentin finally got the answer she was hoping for...

The judge solemnly announced, "...Based on the principle that the benefit of the doubt goes to the defendant, this court rules that the deceased, Alexander Quentin, is not liable for compensation and is hereby declared not guilty."

Aunt Clare’s cheer immediately erupted from the gallery...

Perhaps due to excitement, when the judge’s gavel struck, Rebecca Quentin excitedly rushed over to Howard Geoffrey and impulsively kissed him on his handsome face, her joy overflowing. "Husband, I knew this would be the outcome! You’re truly amazing..."

Howard Geoffrey hugged the now-jumping Rebecca Quentin, a smile playing on his lips, but he seriously reminded her, "If you keep jumping like this, do you still want this child?"

"Uh..." Suddenly realizing she was almost hanging off him in her joy, Rebecca Quentin felt embarrassed. She slowly slid down from him and stood straight.

At this moment, the reporters who had been waiting outside the courtroom rushed in...

Faced with the countless flashes and floodlights, Rebecca Quentin, who had regained her composure, instinctively wanted to distance herself from Howard Geoffrey. But, to her surprise, he pulled her tightly into his embrace, brushed her cheek with a kiss as if no one else were there, and softly admonished, "You’re about to be a mother. Next time, don’t act like a child who doesn’t know how to take care of herself."

「Ten minutes later.」

Outside the courtroom, the bodyguards had cleared the scene of onlookers and were now standing in two lines, respectfully waiting for Rebecca Quentin to get into the car.

Aunt Clare stood with her back to the black car, asking worriedly, "Miss, are you sure you want to go back to the Geoffrey residence with Mr. Geoffrey right now?"

Rebecca Quentin nodded calmly.

Aunt Clare shook her head, finding it hard to accept. "Miss, you said that after the trial, you wouldn’t have any more dealings with Mr. Geoffrey, yet now you..."

Rebecca Quentin gazed at the arrogant figure sitting in the black car and said calmly, "My intentions have never changed."

"But just now in the courtroom..." Aunt Clare wanted to refer to Rebecca Quentin calling Howard Geoffrey "Husband" and hugging and kissing him in front of everyone.

Rebecca Quentin understood what Aunt Clare was referring to but had no words to answer.

She didn’t speak because she didn’t know how to explain it to Aunt Clare... In fact, in that instant, even she hadn’t anticipated that she would be so overcome with joy that she would embrace him and even call him by that name... After all, in their two years of marriage, she seemed to have never called him that.

Seeing Rebecca Quentin’s silence, Aunt Clare sighed helplessly. "I knew it. You still haven’t been able to let go of him..."

At this, Rebecca Quentin shook her head and smiled faintly. "Aunt Clare, you misunderstand. Actually, I know every time you hesitate to speak, you want to persuade me not to be with Howard Geoffrey. Although I don’t know your reasons for trying to stop me, I want to tell you: I don’t care about Howard Geoffrey, nor do I love him. These past few days, I only wanted him to help me resolve my father’s affairs. In fact, I’ve already bought a plane ticket to leave T City at midnight tonight. I’m only going back with him now because I have some matters to attend to at the Geoffrey residence."

「Nighttime.」

After his bath, Howard Geoffrey saw Rebecca Quentin standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring blankly at the starry sky. He couldn’t help but walk over, rest his chin on her shoulder, and hug her from behind. "What are you thinking about?"

Rebecca Quentin continued to gaze at the sky, replying honestly, "I’m making a wish on the stars."

Howard Geoffrey followed her gaze to the sky and teased, "What wish could there be that I can’t grant you?"

Rebecca Quentin turned her head, tapped his nose, and said playfully, "A wish won’t come true if you say it out loud. And anyway, it’s a wish you can’t grant."

Howard Geoffrey chuckled softly, then reached out to touch her lower abdomen. "Is the baby moving?"

Rebecca Quentin glanced down at her abdomen, which wasn’t obviously showing yet, and said with a smile, "You can usually feel it around four months, right?"

Howard Geoffrey hugged Rebecca Quentin tightly and said in a distant, wistful tone, "I hope it’s a girl..."

Rebecca Quentin asked curiously, "You like girls?"

"Mm, girls are cute," Howard Geoffrey replied lightly.

At that moment, Rebecca Quentin began to envision a little girl’s face in her mind—eyes like his, eyebrows like hers, nose like his, chin like hers...

Realizing she had let her imagination run too far, she pushed him away as if escaping and said with a laugh, "I’m not going to chat with you anymore. I’m going to take a bath. I’m so tired today; I want to go to bed early."

"Alright."

「In the dead of night.」

Rebecca Quentin, who had been pretending to be asleep in Howard Geoffrey’s arms, finally opened her eyes.

Carefully removing Howard Geoffrey’s arm from her waist, she slowly sat up.

It was now 1:00 a.m., the time she had planned to leave...

She had originally thought she wouldn’t even glance at him when it was time to leave, but after changing in the bathroom, she couldn’t resist walking to the edge of the bed and watching him quietly for a few seconds.

Two years had passed, yet he was still as young and handsome as when she first saw him.

Actually, she should be grateful to him...