Chapter 252 Belated Affection is Cheaper than Grass
Maddox sat in the car, stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he looked at himself in the rearview mirror: his hair was messy, his beard was stubbly, and even his clothes were crumpled and smelled of sweat.
He suddenly started the car and floored the gas pedal, driving out of the hospital.
Maddox first went home to take a shower, then changed into a more formal suit. He checked his bank account balance and went to the most famous jewelry store in the city center to pick out an engagement ring.
When he showed up downstairs at Erica's company, he called her phone.
"Erica, I'm downstairs at your office. Can you come down? I need to talk to you about something."
Hearing the restrained panic in Maddox's voice, Erica thought the medical bills for last night's injured worker weren't enough. She knew what Maddox was like, especially proud, too embarrassed to ask her for money. If he'd gotten to the point of borrowing money from her, it must be a big amount.
Erica made sure to bring her bank card and hurried down the stairs.
Seeing Maddox get out of his parked car holding a huge bouquet of flowers made Erica slow her steps in surprise.
"What are you doing?" Erica was caught off guard.
"Take it easy." Maddox looked her up and down, carefully supporting her arm with his hand.
Erica immediately understood and pulled her arm away. "What's this supposed to mean?"
Maddox handed her the flowers. "Erica, I need to talk to you."
Watching Maddox pull out an elegant ring box from his pocket, Erica's suppressed anger instantly flared up. "Maddox, you really look down on me. You think I'd marry you just because of a baby? I don't want this baby. Take the ring and flowers back."
Maddox grabbed her. "Erica, don't be angry. I've been too busy lately and neglected you. I'm sorry."
Erica was about to break free, but then glanced back at the lobby. Standing here, they'd become free entertainment for everyone.
"Get in the car."
Maddox quickly opened the car door and helped her in. Erica brushed his hand away in disgust. "You never helped me before. What's the point of helping me now? To prove you're a good father?"
Maddox was left speechless, scratched his head, didn't know what to say, and could only get in the car first.
Both sat in the back seat. Maddox kept clutching the ring box in his hand, with the flowers standing between them.
Maddox turned to face her. "Erica, why didn't you tell me?"
Erica let out a scoffing laugh through her nose. "I did tell you. What did you say? You told me not to overthink it. Did you forget?"
Maddox didn't know what to say for a moment, looking troubled. "I thought you were joking. How was I supposed to know you were serious? Besides, you asked if we could meet your parents after having a kid. I meant that meeting your parents has nothing to do with having kids or not. The main thing is that right now I have no career, no money, and the house is mortgaged. That's what I meant. If I had everything, I would've met your parents long ago."
Erica's eyes flickered, and her heart felt less blocked than it had a few days ago.
"Erica, whether you want this baby or not, I'm marrying you either way. I used all my savings to buy this ring. This is all I can afford right now, but when I get back on my feet, I'll get you a bigger diamond. I won't let you look shabby in front of other people."
Erica asked, "Did Caroline tell you?"
Maddox said, "Yeah."
"So if Caroline hadn't told you, you still wouldn't have noticed any changes in me, wouldn't even have time to have a proper conversation with me."
Maddox quickly apologized. "Erica, I'm sorry. I've really been too busy lately. The set construction at Solstice Mountain is about to start filming for the TV station. If I can't finish on time, not only will it delay the TV station's recording and the celebrities' schedules, but I'll also have to pay the production team a huge penalty. You know, this is a second round of construction. The original construction budget would have made me good money, but the second construction added labor and materials, and all the profit got eaten up. I'm basically working for free."
Erica was very calm, but it was precisely because she was too calm that it made Maddox uneasy.
"Tell me, since we've been together, when have I ever held you back or interfered with your decisions? Even when you chose to quit your job and start your own business, I was the first one to support you. When the new company opened, and there wasn't much business coming in, I knew running a company burns through cash, and your savings wouldn't last long."
"I started asking family, friends, and people in my professional network to hire you for design work. I even offered to lend you money to get by, but you refused, no matter what."
"Later, when you could barely make it through the next month, Leopold gave you $200,000 to tide you over. I know your personality too well， you'd rather suffer yourself than let me worry, and you won't spend my money. Because you insist on toughing it out alone, when my parents suggested you come over for dinner, you wouldn't go. You were afraid that with your business struggling, my parents would look down on you."
"I understand your thinking, but you really underestimate my parents. If they only cared about money, they never would have agreed to us being together in the first place. I told them about your situation. You know what they said?"
Each word felt like a needle prick. Maddox felt terribly guilty and shook his head. "I don't know."
Erica said, "My parents really admire you. They said it takes a lot of courage to give up a stable government job to start a business. They think you're the kind of person who dares to take risks for your dreams. They think too highly of you, but you think too poorly of them."
Maddox sighed guiltily. "It's all my fault. I'm such a jerk. I shouldn't have misunderstood them."
Erica said, "Back then, I asked you to meet my parents, and you wouldn't go. Now, because of a baby, you want to meet them. Should I thank this baby? Thanks to it, I can finally marry you, and my parents finally get a chance to meet you."
"Erica," Maddox moved the flowers aside and held Erica's hand. "That's going too far. It's not like that at all. I really have been too busy lately and overlooked your feelings. I was also too concerned about saving face, thinking I needed to build a successful career before I'd be worthy of meeting your parents. I was being narrow-minded. Don't be angry. As for the baby, I'll say it again, whether you keep it or not, I'm marrying you."
Erica remained unmoved, because all his actions now only started after learning she was pregnant. This really disappointed Erica.
As they said, love that came too late was worthless.
Erica turned her face away, her gaze cold. "Are you sure? The decision to keep the baby or not is entirely up to me."
Maddox nodded. "Yes. You decide. I'll listen to you."
Erica's eyes turned sharp. "Then I won't keep it. I'm not having it."
Maddox's body stiffened slightly. "Okay, if you don't want it, then we won't."
Erica said, "Haven't you thought about this, if I don't even want the baby, why would I want to continue with you?"
Maddox was completely stunned. He grabbed Erica in his arms. "Erica, don't do this. Our relationship has been good and stable. Don't overthink it."
Just then, Leopold's call came through.