Chapter 79
William curled his lips, as if he'd never had any expectations of her in the first place.
"Don't be nervous. If your grades are bad, worst case scenario, you'll just go back to how things were before—staying home and doing nothing."
Ava thought to herself, I'm not nervous at all. Did he think she was dying to work at his company?
"I'm going on a business trip tomorrow, to Harmony City. I'll be back in about a week."
He was informing her of his schedule again.
Ava made a sound of acknowledgment, feeling a bit unaccustomed to this version of him. She recalled the time he went to Lumaria on business—he was gone for a week too, and had vanished without even giving her a heads up.
She'd called him countless times, nearly filing a missing person report. In the end, she found out from James that he'd gone to Lumaria. Because of that, Ava had decided she'd never ask about his business trips again.
Now he was voluntarily giving her all the details, which left her feeling dazed, as if she were dreaming.
William snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"That's all the reaction I get?"
"What do you mean?"
William finished his bowl of porridge in a few gulps. "I'm going on a business trip, gone for a week. Mrs. Ava Morgan, aren't you going to help me pack?"
"Oh, okay."
Hearing that he was going on a business trip, Ava was actually happy about it. After all, she'd been claiming she was on her period for several days now, and the lie was clearly unsustainable. His being gone for a while would give her time to think about how to tell him about the pregnancy.
She needed to come up with a foolproof plan—if he didn't want these two babies, what would she do?
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
William noticed her somewhat pleased expression and felt a pang in his chest. "You're that happy about me going on a business trip?"
"No, I'm not happy."
Ava had this problem—whenever she lied, her face would turn red, and she'd feel so guilty she couldn't look the other person in the eye.
William was so annoyed that he wanted to teach her a lesson, but remembering she was on her period, he let it go.
"Go pack my things first."
Ava stood up and headed toward the stairs, with William following behind.
She pulled out a suitcase and laid it open on the floor, taking clothes from the closet one by one, folding them neatly, and placing them inside. William leaned casually against the doorway, watching her pack.
"While I'm in Harmony City this time, I'll help you look into Joseph."
Ava's hand paused as she reached for a piece of clothing. She looked up at him, disbelief in her eyes.
"You don't mind about Joseph anymore?"
William laughed dismissively. "A person I've only heard the name of isn't enough to pose any threat to me. Never mind that he's just someone who exists in a will—even if he were standing right in front of me, I don't believe you could leave me for him."
His confidence was innate, born to be a king that others looked up to.
He was genuinely curious about what kind of man frequently appeared in his wife's dreams. He was even more eager than she was to drag that person out into the open.
Ava fell silent for a moment. "Well, thank you."
"Between husband and wife, don't say those empty words of thanks. You know what kind of thanks I want."
Ava's ears turned red, knowing he was about to start teasing her again.
"Are you taking that gray suit?"
She quickly changed the subject.
"Whatever."
William smiled, his expression looking anything but proper.
The next day, William left early in the morning to catch his flight.
After he left, Ava felt like even the air was freer. She requested a day off in the company system—today was the day for her prenatal checkup. She got herself ready simply, ate breakfast, and drove to the hospital where Olivia worked.
Ava lay on the examination bed, listening to the babies' strong heartbeats, her heart filled with excitement. She didn't know if the two little ones were boys or girls, whether they'd look like their dad or mom. She was so full of anticipation now, even wishing for the delivery day to come sooner so she could meet the babies.
"Ava, your babies are very healthy."
Olivia put away the equipment and looked through her lab results one by one.
"You're a bit anemic. I'll prescribe some iron supplements for you. Make sure to eat more lean meat, liver, and things like that. Eat more vegetables and fruits too. Overall, everything looks great. Your weight is well-controlled—you're a good little pregnant patient."
As an OB-GYN, she'd seen far too many pregnant women who couldn't control their eating, gaining twenty pounds in the first three months, and facing a pile of problems later on. Except for being slightly anemic, all of Ava's other indicators were standard—practically an ideal case.
Ava straightened her clothes and sat across from her, listening carefully to the medical advice.
"Olivia, is there any prenatal education I should be doing?"
Olivia raised an eyebrow and put down her pen.
"The best prenatal education is the father's companionship and care."
At this, she sighed helplessly. "About that divorce lawsuit you mentioned last time—I asked Leo about it. He's free this Friday. You can meet with him face-to-face. If the timing works for you, I'll set up the appointment."
Leo Robinson was Olivia's boyfriend, a lawyer who specialized in divorce cases and had made quite a name for himself in Emerald City. Without Olivia's connection, Ava wouldn't have been able to get an appointment with him at all.
Ava hesitated. "Olivia, I want to think about it some more."
Olivia smiled. "I won't try to persuade you either way. Think clearly about what you want. When it comes to marriage, only the people involved really know what's going on. Whatever decision you make, I'll support you. If you need anything, just call me anytime, and I'll set up a meeting with Leo for you."
Ava was touched. She didn't have many friends in Emerald City—Lucas and Olivia were the closest. It was rare too that Olivia didn't try to persuade her to either leave William or stay with him, but simply hoped for her well-being.
"Olivia, thank you."
Olivia laughed. "Why so formal? We don't need to be so polite with each other."
Ava wasn't being polite—she was genuinely grateful to Olivia for extending a helping hand when she was at the lowest point in her life. It had brought considerable warmth to her desolate world.
After her mother and grandmother passed away, her personality had become withdrawn, rarely opening up to others. There weren't many people in this city who had shown her warmth, but she remembered every single one of them.
Leaving the hospital, Ava received a call from Jack.
"Ava, I've found some information recently. Before your mother's accident, she had her car serviced at an auto repair shop."
Ava felt a chill run through her. Just as she'd suspected, her mother's car accident wasn't an accident at all, but a deliberate murder by someone with intent.
As for whether Steven was among those who wanted her mother dead, she really couldn't be sure. After all, Steven was ruthless enough to abandon even his own daughter and his own mother. An ex-wife he didn't love would only be an obstacle preventing him from bringing his mistress and her daughter into the family.
The car her mother was driving must have been tampered with at that repair shop, causing the brake failure.
"Did you find that mechanic?"
"I found out that after he left Emerald City, he went back to his hometown and stayed there for three years. Probably thinking things had blown over and no one had come looking for him, he returned to Emerald City. He's now running his own repair shop in the suburbs—became a boss."
An auto mechanic without much education or connections, relying on his wages to become a business owner in Emerald City—Ava couldn't believe he had that kind of ability. In Emerald City, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, his wages wouldn't even cover the rent for an auto repair shop, unless someone was backing him or had given him the capital to open the business.
"Send me the address of that shop."
"Ava, I'll go with you. Maybe we can find some other clues."
Jack was an employee at a private detective agency, quick-witted and nimble. Ava had entrusted him with investigating her mother's car accident, and they'd been working together for several years now.
Since the accident had happened so long ago, even the police records were hard to find, let alone any surveillance footage. The investigation had been completely in the dark from the start, and Jack was the only one at the entire detective agency willing to take on the case. Ava trusted him completely.
After hanging up, Ava received the address Jack sent via Facebook. Her eyes searched around, and she spotted that black Volkswagen in an inconspicuous location, feeling much more at ease.
She called Sam and told them to stay close, then started her car and drove toward the address Jack had sent.