Chapter 5 Last Until The End Of The Lactation

A maid's voice called from outside the door, "Mrs. Holden, Mr. Holden has gone on a business trip and may not be back tonight. Please get some rest."

At the wedding, the groom had purposefully not appeared, letting a substitute step in instead. On their wedding night, he did not come home. Such actions would deeply humiliate any bride.

Yet, Adeline felt nothing. Whether it was a stranger or even an animal substituting for him, she had to go through with the marriage. This was her only shot at a new life.

After securing the door, Adeline surveyed the lavishly decorated bedroom.

There wasn't a single photo of Waylon around, nor any personal belongings. Despite the bed being covered in roses, the room felt cold and empty.

It was almost ironic. She was legally married to Waylon, yet she barely knew his facial features, only holding a vague outline of him in her mind...

Adeline changed out of her wedding gown into a nightgown and sat on the bed, pulling a small copper object from her pocket.

The object, shaped like a playful little dog sticking out its tongue, seemed endearingly clumsy.

Her finger, now bearing a wedding ring, gently traced over the copper dog as she reminisced about where it came from.

Over the past three days, the Holden family had placed Adeline in a sanatorium. Her room there was guarded as though it were a maximum-security prison, tightly controlled by the Holden family, not even a fly could escape.

One day, Zain stood sternly before her with a lawyer. "It seems you're prepared to marry Mr. Holden," he commented.

Adeline found their assumptions amusing. They had confined her, yet seeing her not try to flee, cry for help, shout, or seize any opportunity to call the police, they believed she was after their wealth and ready to extort money.

It wasn't that she had no desire to call for help. She had already attempted to seek help when she recognized Oliver's true nature. She had sought help everywhere, even exhausting all means to call the police. But what was the outcome?

Oliver had easily brushed it off as the temper tantrums and unreasonable behavior of a spoiled young woman struggling to adjust after her downfall. With the Simpson family's limited means and their care for their former employer's daughter, her plight seemed less credible to outsiders. Even injuries were dismissed as the usual mishaps a blind person might encounter.

Adeline had seen through it. Since she couldn't even break away from Oliver, how could she possibly escape the clutches of the powerful Holden family?

With composed defiance, Adeline retorted, "Escaping is out of the question, isn't it?"

Zain fell silent.

The lawyer presented Adeline with legal documents. "This is the prenuptial agreement, and this is a private agreement between you and Mr. Holden. According to this, your marriage will last only until the end of lactation if the child is Mr. Holden's."

The lawyer then slid a document in Braille to Adeline. "Here's a Braille version. The details of this private agreement must remain confidential. You are to publicly declare that you married under normal circumstances."

Effectively, once the lactation was over, Adeline would be ousted with nothing. The wealthier the family, the more ruthless their scheming.

"I lost my vision at fifteen and never learned Braille," Adeline said flatly.

Upon hearing this, the lawyer read the terms aloud to her. After he finished, she sat motionless, with no intent to sign the documents.

"The Holden family will provide for your basic needs. Don't expect anything extravagant."

She remained unmoved.

"Ms. Sullivan, if not for Mrs. Holden's interest in the child you carry, the Holden family would not hesitate to orchestrate an 'accident' for someone who dared manipulate Mr. Holden."

She remained still.

"If you refuse to marry Mr. Holden, the Holden family will not permit an illegitimate child to be born. Consider the dangers. A forced abortion could be deadly."

Despite their threats and pressure, Adeline refused to sign.

Zain's patience thinned, and he softened his voice as he said, "Ms. Sullivan, let's be straightforward. The best I can offer is a house in the city center, nothing more."

Just then, the sound of children playing below the window reached Adeline, their voices raised over a toy. She finally said, "I want their toy. If you get it for me, I'll sign."

"A toy?" Zain was taken aback.

"Yes."

Both Zain and the lawyer were speechless, staring at Adeline as if she had lost her mind.