Chapter 785 Don’t Pester Me

Chapter 785 Don’t Pester Me

Suddenly, he rushed to the hospital bed in a few quick strides, dropped to his knees in front of Juniper, and grabbed her hand in a panic. "Let me explain. I know myself well. Even if alcohol makes people lose control, I..."

"Enough. You don't need to explain anything."

Juniper had no interest in listening to him talk his way out of it. She pulled her hand back and shut him down without a second thought. "From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. I'll raise my child on my own."

She knew full well that nothing she said would change Samuel's mind, so she immediately pressed the call button on the bed rail.

A nurse arrived shortly after and, the moment she stepped through the door, Juniper told her to escort Samuel out.

At the same time, Rainey lay alone in her own hospital bed, listening to the sounds of Samuel arguing with the nurse out in the hallway.

She felt a little abandoned, but not exactly broken up about it.

So what if Samuel didn't want the baby? That didn't mean Dione would turn her back on her future grandchild.

What actually worried Rainey was figuring out how to actually get pregnant with a Hall family child.

The pregnancy was a lie — she had paid off a doctor to fake it. She might be able to keep up the act for a while, but it would fall apart eventually.

Once Samuel left, she reached under her pillow for her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Dione's number.

At that moment, Dione was at home venting at the household staff — criticizing them for being careless, and complaining that her son hadn't come home in days.

Dione had never liked Juniper to begin with, so the news that she'd been hospitalized for several days in a row was more cause for celebration than concern.

At least with Juniper out of the villa, Dione didn't have to look at her. The only downside was that Samuel had also disappeared.

"They always say you raise kids so someone will look after you when you're old. What's the point? I'm lucky just to not have been driven to my grave by him."

Dione slapped the armrest of the sofa. She was in a foul mood, annoyed at everyone around her. She spotted the housekeeper failing to wipe down a cabinet properly and launched into another round of scolding.

Then her phone lit up on the coffee table.

Dione shot the housekeeper a look to be quiet, then picked up the phone, surprised to see it was Rainey calling.

"Rainey, what made you think of me? Come over sometime."

She was already looking for someone to unload on, so an invitation came naturally.

To play her part convincingly, Rainey skipped her usual sweet and gentle tone and opened with a heavy sigh.

"Auntie, I'm in the hospital. I'm afraid I won't be able to come visit you for a while."

Dione was puzzled. "What happened? Are you sick?"

"No, I just suddenly fainted today, and then the doctor ran some tests..." Rainey answered with a hint of bashfulness and just enough vagueness to let the implication hang in the air.

She never came out and said she was pregnant, but Dione had been around long enough to pick up on the signs.

She didn't press it either. After a few words of concern, she said, "Then I'll find time to come see you at the hospital. You take care of yourself, alright?"

Dione's warmth settled something in Rainey.

She thought about how, once the pregnancy news reached Dione, it would be treated as a joyous occasion for the Hall family.

That evening, Rainey lay in her hospital bed with nothing to do.

She scrolled through her phone to pass the time, her mind filled with thoughts of becoming Mrs. Hall.

Knock knock.

She was deep in her daydream when a short, quick knock came at the door.

Dione walked in carrying a bouquet of flowers and a bag of gifts.

Rainey felt a quiet rush of satisfaction but kept her expression composed and gracious.

"Auntie, it's so late — why did you come all this way..."

Before even entering the room, Dione had already asked the nurse about the patient in this ward and confirmed that she was pregnant.

So she got straight to the point the moment she walked in.

"Rainey, I already know everything. There's no need to be embarrassed."

Dione was beaming. She sat down, took Rainey's hand, and looked her over with a smile.

"Yes, I can tell! That glow is unmistakably the look of a pregnant woman."

She declared it with full confidence. Seeing Rainey looking all shy and flustered only made her more delighted.

"Auntie..."

Rainey lowered her gaze, a coy, soft look on her face that made her seem like a young bride.

"I won't lie to you — I told Samuel, but he doesn't seem ready to be a father yet."

She left out the part about how cold and firm Samuel had been, painting him instead as a young man who was simply still too carefree to have settled down yet.

Dione understood immediately. She could see the worry on Rainey's face, and she didn't hesitate.

"Don't you worry. Whatever Samuel thinks, I'm about to be a grandmother, and I'll speak for the Hall family — we will stand by you, no matter what."

Her tone was firm and resolute. She made it clear she would see to it that both Rainey and the child were given a proper place in the family.

With Dione in her corner, Rainey felt far more confident.

Samuel's attitude toward her had always been ice cold, but that didn't have to stop her from becoming Mrs. Hall.

With Dione's backing secured, Rainey decided to use this moment to stir up some public pressure and force Juniper to back off on her own.

The next morning, Rainey finished her hospital breakfast and picked up her phone right away.

She knew some journalists who covered celebrity gossip. With the economy the way it was, most of them had moved to entertainment websites, churning out tabloid stories every day.

Anything that grabbed readers' attention, they were all over it.

"Hey, Emily. I heard you changed jobs a few months back?"

She made casual small talk, then slipped in the real question: "By the way, do you know how to get something trending? I just need it to crack the top ten."

Emily used to cover celebrity gossip for an entertainment site, so this was second nature to her.

When she heard Rainey wanted to buy a trending spot, she named her price without hesitation and offered to push the story harder as a favor to an old classmate.

Rainey didn't flinch. She put up two hundred thousand dollars to lock in a top-ten trending spot for a full day.

Once they settled on the price, Rainey threw in an extra ten thousand for the cost of writing the press release.

With everything in place, she sat back and waited.

Within twenty-four hours, the news that Samuel was going to be a father would be all over the internet.

Meanwhile, Juniper had spent a day under observation at the hospital. After her tests came back clear, she packed her things and got ready to be discharged.

It was ten in the morning. Juniper had just stepped out of her room with her bag when she spotted Samuel walking toward her with purpose.

"I'm here to take you home."

He greeted her with easy energy, a warm smile on his face. "Did you sleep okay last night? Is your stomach still bothering you?"

The concern in his voice didn't soften Juniper one bit.

"I don't need you to take me anywhere. Please stop following me around."

Short, direct, no room for argument.

The news of Rainey's unexpected pregnancy was still sitting heavy in her mind from the day before.

She couldn't forgive Samuel, and she couldn't pretend none of it had happened.

Samuel had figured she'd still be angry with him. He shook his head, feeling both frustrated and helpless.

Even now he refused to believe the child was his, but he had no way to prove it.