Chapter 4

To prevent Chloe from causing trouble, I kept my pregnancy a secret from everyone.

And for the rest, I didn't need to be involved anymore.

Birds of a feather flock together. Chloe quickly learned to skip class without a trace after meeting those trust fund babies at the internet cafe.

The international high school used a university-style lecture system, meaning students moved to different classrooms for each subject, and attendance was taken via roll call. The foreign professors teaching there barely recognized anyone.

If you were studious, you were an elite. If you slacked off, you were trash.

The spoiled rich kids taught her, and Chloe quickly learned to pay others to answer for her during roll call. She, meanwhile, spent her days indulging in lavish meals, drinks, and games, frequenting internet cafes, bars, and even nightclubs.

The teachers, seeing nothing amiss in her attendance records, assumed Chloe had buckled down after her father's reprimand.

A few days later, Chloe started coming home later and later.

As a spineless stepmom, I could only feign concern and offer a few words of advice:

"Chloe, don't stay out too late. You should come home early and study. Even if the pressure for overseas university applications is low, you still need a good English foundation."

Chloe saw that I was completely subservient to her.

Her attitude grew even more brazen. She pointed at me and started cursing:

"What the hell do you care?! Who do you think you are, a stepmom?!"

"I'm out of money, give me some allowance."

Seeing me hesitantly holding my wallet,

Chloe snatched it directly, stuffing the cash into her pocket.

"This is all Dad's money, Miller family money."

"It's rightfully mine, what are you, an outsider, trying to protect it for?!"

In short, she cursed at me, and I endured it. She wanted something, and I gave it to her.

I maintained the facade of a good stepmom, so much so that even the villa staff felt sorry for me.

I had initially thought I'd have to endure this for a year to completely ruin Chloe.

Until this morning, when Mrs. Jenkins quietly told me.

While cleaning Chloe's room, she accidentally knocked over her trash can, and inside was a used pregnancy test.

Two lines.

Chloe was pregnant too.

Perhaps due to the pregnancy, Chloe was unusually quiet today, returning home by 5:30 PM. I smiled and greeted her, but she ignored me, hurrying upstairs with her head down.

I had planned to cut some fruit and bring it up to her.

But then I heard Chloe in her room, speaking in a hushed voice on the phone:

"It's definitely positive. I saw a doctor this afternoon."

"Give birth? No way! If Dad finds out, he'll kill me! This baby has to go!"

"I'm already eighteen, I don't need a guardian for an abortion. You're the father, you'll come with me!"

"This Saturday morning, 9:30 AM, at St. Jude's Hospital."

I tiptoed away.

Back in my bedroom, I eagerly called Robert:

"Honey, I think I'm pregnant. Can you come back and accompany me for a prenatal check-up?"

"I've already booked the appointment."

"This Saturday morning, 9:00 AM, at St. Jude's Hospital."

Hearing this, Robert on the other end of the phone was ecstatic.

He readily agreed. Even with his busy work schedule, he promised to go straight from the airport to the hospital to be with me.

I was very happy too.

After all, a joyous event like becoming a grandfather should be personally discovered by Robert.

On Saturday morning at nine, a travel-worn Robert arrived precisely on time. After a series of checks, he was beaming, holding my ultrasound results.

Suddenly, I nervously tugged on his sleeve, pointing forward:

"Honey, look!"

"Isn't that Chloe? Why is she at the hospital at this hour?"

Robert looked in the direction I was pointing.

Indeed, he saw Chloe sitting in the hospital corridor, looking around, as if waiting for someone.

He instinctively wanted to go up and ask.

But I held him back.

"Wait, if you just go up to her suddenly like that, she's a teenage girl, what if it's something private, a gynecological issue? Wouldn't it be embarrassing for her to tell you face-to-face?"

"Let's observe for a bit and see what's happening."

I pulled Robert to sit a short distance away.

After a few minutes, a boy with dyed blonde hair entered our view, walking straight towards Chloe. Without a word, he grabbed Chloe's hand.

At that moment, Robert's face beside me turned as dark as storm clouds, looking like it could drip ink.

He couldn't even bother to speak to me.

He stood up and walked quickly towards them.

Chloe, completely oblivious, was still complaining to the blonde-haired punk:

"Why are you so late!"

"Mrs. Jenkins said Dad might be back today."

"If he finds out I secretly came to the hospital for an abortion, everything will be ruined!"

Before the boy could respond,

Robert's furious roar suddenly erupted behind her, echoing through the entire corridor.

"Chloe Miller!"

"You're... carrying some bastard child?!"

The moment Chloe heard that voice, her entire body stiffened. The blood in her veins seemed to instantly freeze.

She didn't dare to turn around, instinctively wanting to run.

But Robert, in his fury, grabbed her shoulder tightly and spun her around: