Chapter 4 Are You Pregnant

Shattered champagne flutes and toppled dessert trays littered the grass, the once-perfect refreshment station now a chaotic wreck. Guests clustered in the courtyard, murmuring and craning their necks to witness the spectacle.

Lounging on the chair, Andreas barely listened to his grandmother, Ruby Wright, as she pressed him-yet again-to settle down. His attention drifted, distracted, until a surge of noise outside drew him from his reverie. With an air of idle amusement, he tipped his head to one side, narrowing his eyes as he sized up anyone bold enough to challenge the Wright family gathering.

For Andreas, petty power plays were standard fare among the privileged. He assumed this was just another desperate bid for attention and felt no urge to get involved. Instead, he stretched, then rose from his seat, determined to escape upstairs from his grandmother's nagging.

The Quinn family's drama was an open book to everyone present. Their tangled household-one biological daughter, one adopted-was notorious for its constant friction.

Rumors had swirled since the engagement fiasco-Evelina, the Quinn family's legitimate daughter, had supposedly been caught cheating on the very day of her engagement. The Dawson family was furious. To prevent their carefully arranged marriage alliance from falling apart, the Quinns' adopted daughter Tessa took Evelina's place to get engaged with Cole.

Now, the courtyard was a stage for fresh humiliation. Evelina sprawled across the grass, her dress soaked with champagne, a glaring stain blooming across the delicate neckline. Dozens of guests hovered nearby, their faces alight with anticipation, as whispers rippled through the crowd.

Erick Watson, a friend of Andreas, spoke up as he spotted Evelina on the ground through the floor-to-ceiling window, her hands flashing in frantic signs. "Hey, is she mute?"

The question snapped Andreas out of his apathy. He turned from the staircase, gaze sharp as he peered through the window. When he recognized Evelina, a storm of emotion swept over him-his jaw tightened, blood icing over as his hands curled at his sides.

Oblivious, Erick continued with a mocking snicker, "Did she get shoved by that woman next to her? Talk about misery-she can't even yell for help."

Although Erick hadn't meant any harm, his careless words yanked Andreas straight back to that morning after their passionate night.

Evelina had been seething with unspoken grievances, her hands flying as she tried again and again to pour her heart out in sign language.

Now, wincing through the sharp throb in her ankle, she forced herself upright and stared at Tessa. "Did you deliberately step on my dress to make me fall?"

"Let go of me!" Tessa hissed, wriggling to break free, her eyes burning with spite.

This time, Evelina refused to play along. With her grip tightening on Tessa's wrist, the last shred of politeness shattered, her expression stone-cold as she held her ground.

Although Harold had officially retired, his authority still loomed over the city, untouched by age or absence. The Wright family remained the pinnacle of Uclard's elite-an old-money dynasty with tendrils in every corridor of power.

Andreas' father, Millard Wright, had transformed Wright Group into Uclard's financial juggernaut. Their empire spanned everything from gleaming high-rises and tech startups to private hospitals and luxury hotels, making the Wright family untouchable and their coffers bottomless.

Despite years of being spoiled by the Quinn family, Tessa had never experienced a grand party like this one. Underneath her polished façade, she nursed a deep-rooted insecurity-something that even their constant indulgence couldn't cure.

Terrified of losing her place, Tessa had clawed her way to the Quinn family's affection, manipulating every advantage she could. She'd gone so far as to seduce Cole, desperate to keep Evelina from taking the spotlight.

Tessa always felt Evelina's shadow looming behind her, threatening to unravel everything she possessed. That was why she seized every opportunity to sabotage Evelina, hoping the woman would be despised and abandoned by her own family.

Whenever petty quarrels broke out, the Quinn family inevitably excused Tessa's cruelty toward Evelina. Still, she understood Albin better than anyone-he was calculating and ruthless, and if her antics ever threatened the family's standing, he'd cut her loose in a heartbeat.

Offending the Wright family was a risk the Quinn family couldn't take.

They had gone to great lengths to secure an invitation to Harold's birthday banquet, desperate to keep up appearances in front of the city's elite. They couldn't risk the slightest misstep, let alone a scandal.

Tessa's confidence faltered as she realized just how precarious their position was.

The moment she imagined the consequences of causing a scene, all the color drained from her face.

Still, a flicker of relief crossed her mind-at least Evelina was mute. No matter what happened, Evelina couldn't call her out or expose her tricks in front of these powerful guests.

Forcing a sweet, conciliatory tone, Tessa stepped closer. "Evelina, I know you're not fond of me, but let's not create trouble at a place like this," she murmured, her voice dripping with false concern.

She reached out as if to steady Evelina, playing the part of a caring sister. But Evelina sidestepped her hand in one sharp motion.

Evelina held herself with chilling composure, eyes glinting as she leveled a silent warning at Tessa, who fidgeted uneasily beneath her gaze.

Her designer dress, now ruined by spilled liquor and smeared caviar, clung to her uncomfortably. The overwhelming sweetness in the air turned her stomach; she pressed a trembling hand to her lips, fighting the urge to gag. The involuntary motion only deepened the suspicion swirling among the onlookers.

Pretending to care, Tessa's soft words were loud enough for everyone to hear. "Evelina, are you pregnant?"

The words sliced through the murmurs like a blade, and Evelina's heart clenched. She longed to deny it, to set the record straight, but a fresh wave of nausea rose, halting her before she could muster the strength.

The guests didn't hesitate to draw their own conclusions. After all, Evelina's public disgrace-the annulled engagement, the scandal of infidelity-was still fresh in their minds. To them, this was just the next sordid chapter.

Their stares burned into her like branding irons, heavy with contempt and barely disguised curiosity.

Evelina lowered her gaze, her shoulders stiff with humiliation. She had long grown used to the cruel whispers, the unrelenting judgment, and yet each venomous glance left her feeling more exposed, more powerless. She stood there in suffocating silence, letting their gossip tighten around her like a noose.

Andreas lingered by the towering window, his silhouette sharp against the glass. A thunderous look shadowed his face as he beckoned the butler with a flick of his wrist. "Bring her to my suite. She needs a change of clothes," he commanded flatly.

As his gaze slid over to Tessa-the root of the chaos-his eyes narrowed, cold and merciless. "Get that woman the hell out of my sight."

From the sofa across the room, Erick perked up, surprise glinting in his eyes. He sprang to his feet. "Andreas, since when did you start playing hero? Could she actually be one of your ex-girlfriends?"

He stretched his neck, angling for a clearer view of Evelina through the glass.

Ignoring Erick's theatrics, Andreas shoved his hands deep into his pockets and strode away, his expression grim, heading for the stairs without so much as a backward glance.

From his place at the window, Erick let out a low whistle. "Never thought I'd see Andreas go soft over a woman!" he exclaimed, watching as the butler led Evelina out of the fray.

Tessa, on the other hand, met a harsher fate-her bravado wilted as a group of black-suited bodyguards quietly ushered her out past the gawking guests.

Ruby, a woman of deep faith who rarely missed a Sunday at church, never ceased to worry about Andreas' future.

Among Uclard's upper crust, whispers circulated about Andreas-the Wright family's only son-claiming he was incapable of producing an heir.

Unlike other wealthy heirs who chased nightlife and splashed out on starlets, Andreas was a study in restraint, never getting involved in such frivolities. Despite his seven years with his ex, there had not been a hint of a child.

The rumor only gained traction with time, yet the Wright family neither acknowledged nor refuted it. No one dared broach the subject openly, so the truth hung in the air as tantalizing gossip.

Ruby watched Evelina being quietly led upstairs. Andreas' sudden protectiveness was deeply out of character, and it caught her attention at once.

The guests just whispered that the woman might be pregnant. Could it be that she had something to do with Andreas and was carrying his child?

The very possibility sent a rush of hope through Ruby.