Chapter 3
"Miss, your body is already weakened," the doctor said, disapproval clear in his tone. "If you terminate the pregnancy, it will cause significant harm."
Evelyn's face went pale.
The doctor looked at her expression and softened his voice slightly. "I recommend you think carefully before making this decision."
Think carefully.
Evelyn nodded, feeling the bitterness in her mouth threatening to overflow. Keep Matthew's child? What right did she have...
Leaving the hospital, Evelyn requested time off, called a car, and headed straight to the nursing home on the outskirts of the city.
"Miss Arden's here?" Caregiver Gina was hanging bed sheets in the courtyard. Seeing her, her face immediately broke into a smile. "The weather's beautiful today. I just wheeled your mother out to get some sun."
Evelyn looked in the direction she pointed. On a bench in the garden sat a woman, wrapped in thick blankets, staring vacantly at the bare tree branches in the distance.
That was her mother, Linda.
Three years ago, she'd been elegant and gentle, pulling Evelyn's hand and saying "Eve, don't work too hard." Now she was frighteningly thin.
Gina sighed, lowering her voice. "Your mother's been pretty stable today. She even drank an extra half bowl of porridge this morning."
Evelyn nodded. "Thank you, Gina."
"You're always so polite, child." Gina looked at her with pity in her eyes. "If your father were still here... oh well."
Yeah. If Dad were still here.
Evelyn remembered three years ago, before her father's company went bankrupt. Her mother had been that gentle woman who loved tending flowers and would personally cook big family meals on weekends. Evelyn had grown up sheltered, never worried about money. Her biggest concern had been a bad grade on a test.
Until her father jumped from the top floor of his company building.
Creditors came knocking. Relatives scattered like they'd seen the plague. Some even tried to snatch up their last remaining property for pennies on the dollar. Her mother had a breakdown at the funeral, diagnosed with severe depression and schizophrenia.
Twenty-year-old Evelyn had to shoulder everything.
"Mom." Evelyn walked over and crouched in front of Linda, gently taking her cold hand. "I came to see you."
Linda didn't respond, her gaze still vacant.
Evelyn didn't mind. She expertly pushed the wheelchair, walking slowly along the nursing home's paths. The early autumn sunlight was warm.
"I..." she began, her voice soft, almost like talking to herself. "I'm pregnant."
"Eight weeks." Evelyn continued, her fingers unconsciously touching her abdomen. "It's already a formed baby..."
She paused, her voice catching. "I don't know what to do... Mom, what should I do?"
Wind whistled through the bare branches with a thin, mournful sound.
A long silence.
"...honey bun."
An extremely soft, hoarse call.
Evelyn's whole body trembled. Mom called her childhood nickname?
Her mother had lifted her head at some point and was looking at her. "Honey bun don't cry." Her mother reached out, cold fingers gently brushing the corner of her eye. "Mommy's here. Honey bun don't be scared, baby don't be scared either."
Just that one sentence.
Evelyn's tears spilled over without warning. She remembered being sick with fever as a child, her mother wiping her forehead with a warm cloth over and over. She remembered after Dad died, her mother forcing herself to stay strong, gripping her hand tight, murmuring repeatedly "You have to be okay"...
She held her mother's hand against her tear-wet cheek.
"Mom, I want to keep the baby," she sniffled. "I'll raise it myself, okay?"
Linda didn't respond, returning to her usual state. But Evelyn didn't feel disappointed. "You get better soon too," Evelyn said through tears, forcing her lips to curve. "Then you can teach him to recognize flowers, okay? Just like you taught me when I was little."
She finished speaking, stood up, and slowly pushed the wheelchair back. She didn't see—deep in Linda's eyes, something flickered.
Walking out of the nursing home, Evelyn was about to call a car when an unfamiliar number rang through.
"Miss Arden, Mr. Perkins has been waiting for your response. Have you made your decision?"
Evelyn froze, involuntarily gripping her phone tighter. After a long pause, just when the person on the other end thought she'd hung up, Evelyn's voice came through. "I'm considering it. I'll respond to him personally."
---
Meanwhile, at the Perkins Group.
"Eve resigned?!"
"Is that for real? Mr. Perkins always thought so highly of her..."
In the executive office, several assistants huddled together whispering, unable to hide their panic. Who didn't know Mr. Perkins had a terrible temper? These past years, if it weren't for Evelyn mediating, they would've been reduced to tears countless times by now.
Now that Evelyn was leaving...
"We're screwed." Someone groaned. "My report got sent back three times. Mr. Perkins' expression... scared me to death."
Everyone exchanged looks, seeing the same despair reflected back.
At the financial channel studio, Britney sidled up to Matthew during a commercial break. "Mr. Perkins." Her voice was soft and aggrieved. "Eve still hasn't come to brief me on the handover. There are so many projects, I can't figure them out alone..."
Matthew frowned, looking at his assistant Thomas. "Where's Evelyn?"
Thomas lowered his voice. "Evelyn requested three days off. Said she wasn't feeling well."
"Mr. Perkins, is Eve refusing to hand over the projects to me?" Britney interjected at just the right moment, her eyes slightly red. "I know I lack experience, but she can't do this... especially with Sparkle's roadshow next month. If something goes wrong..."
"You can leave." Matthew cut her off, his tone cold.
Britney froze. "Mr. Perkins?"
"The commercial break's over." Matthew glanced at the cameras lighting up again. "Don't interfere with the recording."
Britney bit her lip and stood to leave. The instant she turned around, the hurt on her face vanished, replaced by cold resentment. She wanted to see just how long that pretentious woman could last without Matthew's protection.
"What's wrong with Evelyn?" Matthew didn't care about the leave request—he only noticed that Evelyn wasn't feeling well.
"Uh, I'm not sure..." Thomas answered, seizing the opportunity to hand over the schedule. "Mr. Perkins, you have a video conference with Mr. King from Atlantis International at three. It's mainly to discuss Sparkle's funding proposal..."
Matthew took the folder, scanned it, and his frown deepened. "Where's the speech?"
"It's, it's inside..."
Matthew opened to the speech. One glance, and his brow furrowed. Wrong format. Key points weren't highlighted. Data wasn't marked.
Evelyn had always prepared his speeches before. He'd unconsciously thought "that's how it should be." Now that someone else was doing it, everything looked wrong.
"Have them redo it." He tossed the folder back at Thomas. "Twenty minutes."
Thomas' face went white. "Twenty minutes? Mr. Perkins, that's, that's impossible..."
"Then don't bother." Matthew's tone was icy.
Matthew sent Evelyn a message asking what was wrong, but got no response for a long time. His expression soured further.
During the meeting, Matthew went completely off-script, winning over the Atlantis International executives with ease. But only Thomas, who'd worked with him for years, could tell—Mr. Perkins was in an exceptionally foul mood today.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, the irritation in his eyes was nearly overflowing. He spoke faster than usual, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table—a habit when he was extremely impatient.
After the meeting ended, Thomas secretly sent Evelyn a WhatsApp message:
[Evelyn, SOS! Mr. Perkins blew up again today. When are you coming back? We seriously can't survive without you!!!]
Evelyn received the message just after getting her mother to sleep. She looked at the string of exclamation marks on the screen and stayed silent for a moment.
She'd wanted to give herself time to sort out her feelings and keep her mother company. But the Perkins Group situation was urgent too. Go back early. Finish transitioning all the work quickly. Leave the Perkins Group. Leave Matthew's sight.
As for the baby—she didn't plan to tell Matthew. Given his personality, he'd never allow a "substitute" to give birth to a Perkins baby. Either he'd force her to terminate, or he'd take the child away. She couldn't bear either option.
So the faster, the farther she left, the safer she'd be.
---
Early the next morning, Evelyn returned to the office ahead of schedule. She didn't alert anyone, quietly organizing the project files, categorizing everything, adding detailed labels and instructions.
"Evelyn!" The first assistant to arrive, Cherry, lit up when she saw her. "You're back?!"
That one exclamation alerted the entire executive office. Everyone crowded around, talking over each other:
"Evelyn, you're finally back! You don't know—yesterday without you, Mr. Perkins was absolutely..."
"He made the marketing director cry during yesterday's meeting!"
"My report got sent back five times..."
Evelyn listened, her face expressionless. Before, she would've gently reassured everyone. But now, she just nodded. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll handle the transition properly. Things with Mr. Perkins won't be a major problem."
Everyone froze. They suddenly noticed Evelyn seemed like a different person today—particularly independent and composed.
"What's everyone doing?"
A low voice came from the doorway. Matthew stood there, his gaze landing on Evelyn.
Their eyes met. Evelyn lowered her lashes, her tone calm. "Mr. Perkins, good morning."
Matthew's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Today she wore a crisp black suit, her hair pulled into a simple ponytail. She was nothing like the old Evelyn who always spoke softly with smiling eyes.
"You're here?" Matthew's tone was unreadable.
"Yes." Evelyn looked up. "To transition my work."
Matthew looked at those calm eyes, irritation surging in his chest again. He stepped aside, glancing at Britney behind him. "Come here."
Britney immediately moved to stand beside Matthew.
"Your partnership resources will mainly be handled by her going forward." Matthew looked at Evelyn, enunciating each word. "Cooperate with her fully."