CHAPTER 209: CHAPTER 209: LET’S GET MARRIED

Sheila Yardley seems to have no other means of opposing him except choosing to starve herself.

He’s been quite busy with work lately, having specifically hired people to take care of her, including a prenatal nutritionist, nanny, and psychologist.

But Sheila Yardley appears to have isolated herself from the entire world. Ever since being confined, she hasn’t uttered a single word.

Most of the time, she just sits by the window, gazing at the blue sky that doesn’t belong to her.

"Sir, the young lady still hasn’t eaten." The nanny brought out the cold meal from the room.

Caleb Grant nodded, "Leave it, you all can go back now."

"Sir, the young lady is pregnant. If this continues, there’ll be trouble. You should really try to persuade her."

Caleb Grant closed his eyes and leaned back against the sofa, his eyebrows filled with distress.

He sat quietly by himself for about half an hour, seemingly pondering something, then stood up, grabbed his coat and car keys, and left.

When he returned, it was already past eleven at night.

He didn’t rush to find Sheila Yardley right away but instead put down his things and went to the kitchen to make some nutritious porridge for her.

Once the porridge was ready, he took the items together to her room.

Opening the door, the main light in the room was still on, but the bed was empty, its blanket half on the bed and half on the ground in disarray.

She was asleep curled up on the carpet beside the window.

Luckily, the carpet was thick and soft, and since it was summer, it wasn’t easy to catch a cold.

He walked over and placed the porridge on the bay window so she would see it when she sat up.

Perhaps his shadow caused her to notice the change in light, disturbing her as she awoke.

She looked at him and sat up, leaning her back against the wall, facing him, somewhat wary and guarded.

Caleb Grant stood there, looking down at her, and said, "Let’s talk."

Sheila Yardley merely stared at him, without saying a word.

Caleb Grant seemed to be organizing his thoughts internally; after a long time, he finally spoke, his voice deep, "Let’s get married."

He glanced at her reaction, seeing a faint mocking smile creeping up the corners of her mouth.

"After marriage, peacefully have the baby. I will be responsible for you and the child."

She parted her dry lips, her voice a bit hoarse, "How’s that different from suicide?"

Caleb Grant lowered his eyes in disappointment. Although he knew the outcome, when he finally mustered up the courage to propose marriage, her words were like a sharp dagger piercing his heart.

Those words about love seemed like self-humiliation, so after being played by her last time, he never mentioned liking her again.

Caleb Grant gritted his teeth and handed the document in his hand to Sheila Yardley.

Sheila Yardley reached out to take it, seeing the four large words at the top of the paper: Death Certificate.

The next section began with her name.

"What do you mean?"

Caleb Grant said, "As you see, I’m giving you two choices. First, consider this as surrogacy; after the child is born safely, I’ll let you go. Second, you can choose not to have this child, but I’ll file your death certificate, organize a grand funeral for you, and then you’ll stay in this house for the rest of your life."

Sheila Yardley looked at him in astonishment, never expecting he’d go to such great lengths and use every tactic to force her.

"Madman!"

"I’m going on a business trip tomorrow. Give me your answer by tomorrow morning, and think about it well tonight."

"Why should I believe you?" Initially, everything promised sounded good, but complying with him only brought her to live a life that’s neither human nor ghost.

Caleb Grant said, "Then you can choose the latter."

After saying this, he left the room, reminding her as he went, "Eat the porridge while it’s hot."

Sheila Yardley sat despondently on the floor, looking at that death certificate.

He seemed like the creator of a game, making every choice a dead end for her. What she found incredibly important might just be a game plot to him, just like having the child or the death certificate in her hand.

After lying by the window for a long time, Sheila Yardley finally compromised.

The next morning, Caleb Grant came to her room. She had obediently moved to the bed and drank the bowl of porridge.

He already knew her choice. While relieved, he also felt melancholy.

In less than ten months, he would completely lose her.

"I will tell your family you’ve gone abroad for work and will return in a year. For the remaining time, focus on nursing your body. I want a healthy child."

"...Why do you insist on me having this child?"

Caleb Grant lowered his gaze, looking at her for a while, didn’t answer, turned, and left the room.

Julian Yardley received a message from Sheila Yardley saying she was going abroad to work for a while. Although he didn’t doubt the truth of this matter, he still had many concerns about her.

He inquired about many things, such as when Elaine was going, who she was going with, and what the company would arrange for her to do after she got there.

Of course, these questions were answered by Caleb Grant using Sheila Yardley’s phone, only saying that she’s not very clear for now and would get in touch after she arrived.

Thinking of Elaine’s workplace being a legitimate company, moreover, with Aidan Lockwood as the boss, he didn’t worry about her being deceived. Going abroad to further study was also a good thing, but Julian Yardley was just worried about her going alone and being unaccustomed to the unfamiliar environment.

Julian Yardley squeezed time, searched on his computer for some information about the place where Elaine was supposed to go, and made a list of things to pay attention to for her.

"Everwood, did your teaching qualification come through?" A colleague passing by sat on the edge of Julian Yardley’s desk and asked him.

Julian Yardley’s eyes continued browsing the computer as he distractedly answered, "A few more days, what’s up?"

"You really plan to go teach at a school, huh? With your operational expertise, going to teach those very basic computer skills in a school would be such a waste, what a pity."

Julian Yardley smiled, "I’m just planning to try it out for a while, the classes aren’t much, and I won’t abandon my work here."

"Alright, alright, I’m saying you’re just inviting trouble for yourself. Your mom’s illness is better now, the debt is almost paid off, and our project’s about to bring in big money. Why bother with that little school salary?"

Julian Yardley smiled without speaking.

It’s all because of Claire Wilde, that girl, pestering him every day.

But why should he go along with her thoughts to please her? He clearly finds that noisy, cheeky girl annoying.

As he was thinking, Julian Yardley’s phone rang; it was Claire Wilde calling.

Usually, it’s just texts bombarding him, but now she directly calls.

Julian Yardley picked up the phone, stood up, and moved past colleagues to stand by the window to answer the call: "What now?"

"I can’t find you." Claire Wilde said urgently on the phone, "I see a very tall building, and there’s a square beside it. I’m at the statue in the square."

Listening to her description, Julian Yardley felt it familiar, walked to another window and could see the square she mentioned, "Why’d you come this way?"

"Come pick me up quickly, I’m going to melt!"