Chapter 3 Are You Pregnant

In a hospital downtown, Chelsey held on to her registration slip and joined the queue for the gynecology department.

When she turned the corner, she spotted a familiar figure just a few meters away.

Even in the din of the hustle and bustle of a place as hectic as a public hospital, she still recognized him at first glance.

His tailored black suit, which accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, paired perfectly with the imposing manner with which he carried himself.

Jason held up the cup of coconut milk tea he had just bought and handed it to the woman next to him. As he did so, his diamond cuff links glinted in the light, making Chelsey flinch.

Her heart was hammering inside her chest, but she told herself not to look away. She wanted to see what this other woman looked like.

Just then, however, Jason suddenly turned in her direction.

Their eyes met.

Even in the distance, she could see the cold displeasure that passed over his face.

Chelsey plastered a smile on her face and nodded politely at him. She wanted to brush this unexpected meeting off as nothing more than a coincidence. But her stomach just had to act up again, and she was rushing to the nearest restroom.

As she turned away from Jason and his companion, her eyes caught sight of the sign hanging over the corridor they were in-Family Planning Office.

They must have come for pre-marital check-ups, then. She was quite surprised that Jason would take the time to attend.

Then Chelsey remembered the coconut milk tea, and her lips curled into a bitter smirk.

Of course, he would be thoughtful and considerate towards his future wife.

It was such a stark contrast to how he was with her. In the three years that Chelsey had warmed Jason's bed, she doubted he even knew what she liked to eat or drink.

No matter, she didn't have the time or the energy to dwell on these useless matters. Chelsey took a deep breath and stifled her nausea before dabbing her face with tissues. Then she opened the cubicle door and came out.

To her horror, she found Jason leaning casually against the side of the sink. He was nursing a cigarette, his brows knotted. She could tell that he didn't like the way the restroom smelled.

Was his fiancee also in here?

Chelsey immediately lowered her head and pretended not to see him.

Unfortunately, the hospital restroom was as basic as it got, and there was only one row of sinks. If she wanted to wash her hands, she had no choice but to approach Jason.

She was still deliberating on what to do when his cold voice cut through the air. "Are you pregnant?"

Chelsey whirled around, a mix of panic and pain thrashing like waves inside her.

To Jason, her reaction was as good a confirmation as any.

"Answer me!"

He strode towards her, each step he took making Chelsey tense up. He was so tall and imposing and... angry.

She knew with absolute certainty that if she was indeed pregnant, the man would drag her to the operating table himself.

There was no reality in which Jason would ever allow someone like her bear his child. Besides, a child out of wedlock would only jeopardize his precious engagement and impending marriage.

It mattered little whether he loved his fiancee or not. He would never change his mind for anything or anyone.

"No." Chelsey squared her shoulders and held her back straight. "It's just an upset stomach. I came to get some medicine."

"Oh, but the gastroenterology department is not on this floor." Jason's eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her at all.

Chelsey almost scoffed.

Just how averse was he to the idea of her getting pregnant?

"The elevator here happens to be a lot less crowded. If you doubt me so much, Mr. Martin, feel free to accompany me to the gynecology department and have them examine me."

Chelsey was confident that he wouldn't call her bluff. There was no way Jason would risk his fiancee seeing him go to the gynecology department with another woman.

Just as she expected, he just scoffed, then grabbed her chin with the same hand holding the cigarette. She froze as he brushed his thumb against her pale lower lip, lest she burned herself with the end of the cigarette that was just a breath away from her skin.

"You should know the price you'll have to pay if I find out that you're lying to me. Be a good girl and behave. And come to work tomorrow."

Jason let her go, just as abruptly as he had trapped her.

As his hand swept the air in front of her, Chelsey caught a faint whiff of perfume. It sent yet another pang of pain in her heart.

After tumbling in his sheets for three years, she was well aware of the man's pet peeves. And the one thing that Jason hated the most was the smell of women's perfume. Yet now...

Chelsey gritted her teeth. It turned out that he wasn't so rigid with his rules, after all, just with the people who were allowed to break them.

"I'm tendering my resignation," she said before she could stop herself.

Jason, who was already halfway to the door, stopped in his tracks. He turned and gave her a sardonic look. "What did you just say?"

"I want to quit my job," Chelsey repeated, sounding more composed and resolved this time.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, he looked at her-really looked at her.

Then his lips curled into a mocking smile. "Are you planning to be a housewife, then?"

Chelsea bristled, but held her ground. "There's nothing wrong with being a housewife. The important thing is that he will make me his wife."

"Do you like him?" Jason suddenly asked, his vice deep and icy.

Chelsey's chest tightened.

For a second there, she almost let herself believe that he was angry that she was going to marry someone else.

But his tone shifted to a teasing one as he continued speaking. "Do you think he'd be able to turn you on like I do?"

Chelsey felt her face grow hot.

During their passionate interludes, Jason usually dispensed with his aloof demeanor. He would be like a beast unleashed, talking dirty and not holding back. He liked biting her ear and squeezing her waist, too, and he loved it even more when she moaned and pleaded with him.

Never had he exposed his side to the public, so she was quite mortified by what he had just said.

"I know that guy, actually," Jason continued lightly. "The two of you aren't compatible. End it as soon as possible."

Chelsey watched as he stubbed his cigarette against the ashtray and flicked it into the bin. His face was blank, as though he was just assigning her yet another task that had to be dealt with immediately.

In the past, she would have complied without so much as a peep. But those days were gone. Chelsey didn't want the remaining shreds of her dignity to be trampled further and completely demolished by this man.

She summoned all her courage and imitated the same mocking tone he had used on her. She even flashed him a smirk.

"I'd like to give him a chance, though. Maybe it would feel better with him."

With that, she rinsed her hands and left without looking at Jason again.

Chelsey was shaking even as she stepped out of the hospital building. She didn't even return to the queue for her check-up, so terrified of Jason.

She had rarely defied or antagonized him, and this instance certainly took the cake. She had no idea what repercussions her actions would bring her. The one thing she did know, however, was that she needed to quit her job and be as far away from him as humanly possible.

Early the next morning, Chelsey stood in the bathroom for what felt like an eternity, hesitating whether to go to work or not. Less than two hours later, she was knocking on Jason's office door, walking into his office, and offering him her resignation letter.

"Please sign this, Mr. Martin," she said respectfully as she extended the envelope towards his desk.

Up until then, Jason never looked up from the documents he was reading. Her words finally made him pause.

He glared at her in disbelief, as if he had never imagined her to be so audacious.

They stared at each other as the seconds ticked by, and when he made no move to take the letter, Chelse calmly placed it on the desk and stood back, silent and waiting.

Half an hour passed before Jason acknowledged her. His deep, dark eyes locked onto her, causing her heart to thunder furiously in a mix of fear and anticipation.

"Have you thought about this carefully?" he asked slowly, his voice wrapping around her like a heavy, unwelcome blanket.

"Yes, I have," Chelsey replied as calmly as she could.

All of a sudden, he smirked and hooked his forefinger at her. "Come here."

Chelsey pressed her lips into a thin line and stayed put.

"Do you want me to approve your resignation or not?" Jason asked, sounding inviting and threatening at the same time.

With an inward sigh, Chelsey shuffled closer, still wary and on her guard. The scent of sandalwood enveloped her, but the suffocating feeling was still there.

Jason narrowed his eyes at her cautious expression and chuckled under his breath.

He wasn't the type of man who laughed. At most, he would smirk. So this small chuckle didn't mean that he was in a good mood. If anything, it was the harbinger of a storm that was about to come.

Chelsey's head spun as Jason sprang into action. In one fluid motion, he yanked her towards him and pinned her against the desk with his muscular frame. A pile of multibillion-dollar contracts fell to the floor, but neither paid it any mind.