Chapter 223 I Am Pregnant
He remained silent, which left Lucas a bit confused. Several times, Lucas glanced at Zachary through the rearview mirror, wanting to find a chance to chat with him, but he never found the right moment.
At Maple Estate, Cheese had gradually lowered his guard. Elise doted on him, and Quinley hadn't gone to work that day, spending the whole time playing games with him. Soon he was running around the house happily.
"Cheese, I'm hidden! Come find me!"
Quinley, Elise, and Martha were playing hide-and-seek with Cheese. He was such a small, adorable little bundle. Elise found a face mask and tied it over Cheese's eyes. The mask was a bit big, letting enough light through for him to see the floor.
"Auntie, I'm coming to catch you!"
Cheese was clever. When he wanted to catch someone, he'd talk to them. If they responded, he could quickly find them. Quinley was hiding behind the sofa. Hearing his voice, Cheese moved closer. But just then, Zachary came home.
The door opened and closed. Cheese heard the sound and turned toward the entrance. Zachary was changing his shoes in the entryway when suddenly a small, soft bundle hugged his leg.
"I caught you!"
"Cheese is amazing!"
Everyone emerged from their hiding spots, applauding enthusiastically for Cheese. He pulled off the mask, and when he saw that the person he'd caught was Zachary, he immediately let go in fright and ran toward Elise.
"Slow down, don't trip."
Elise crouched down, opened her arms to receive Cheese, and pulled him into her embrace, her heart full of affection. Cheese peeked at Zachary with his eyes. After another look at Zachary's face, he buried his head in Elise's chest.
"Cheese, what game were you playing just now? Can I play with you?"
Zachary approached, wanting to get closer to Cheese. But the child was scared and started crying.
"There, there, don't cry. How about Grandma takes you back to your room to play?"
Elise coaxed him tenderly. Cheese nodded, and Elise carried him back to the bedroom. Martha went to the kitchen and closed the door behind her.
"Did you find him? What did he say?"
Quinley asked impatiently. She didn't want to believe that Cheese's father was actually Landon, but that was the reality. Avoiding it wouldn't help; they had to face it.
"I found him, but he won't acknowledge the child."
This was beyond Quinley's expectations.
"Why?"
She blurted out.
Zachary let out a heavy sigh. "He thinks this child was a tool the Davis siblings used to manipulate him, so he absolutely refuses to accept Cheese's identity."
"Then what do we do now? Cheese is already five. He'll be starting school soon. If his father won't acknowledge him, is Cheese supposed to become an orphan?"
Quinley was indignant. Zachary took her hand and sat down with her on the sofa.
"Don't worry, listen to me."
He pulled out the paper Landon had signed from his pocket. "With this, Cheese has nothing to do with him anymore."
Quinley took the paper. It was a declaration. Landon had signed it and pressed his fingerprint—the statement had legal force.
"Then what happens to Cheese now?"
Quinley's worries hadn't lessened at all. Cheese was only five. He shouldn't have to experience such a terrible life.
"Didn't you say you wanted him to live with us? Quinny, you love kids so much. Why don't we adopt him?"
"You agree?"
Quinley was quite shocked. Zachary nodded slightly.
"I thought it through. Rather than having Cheese live with a father who doesn't love him at all, he'd be better off with us. At least we'd all genuinely care for him. When he grows up, he can decide for himself what he wants."
"Thank you."
Quinley hugged Zachary's arm, speaking with deep gratitude.
"Don't be silly. I'm not just doing this for you. Cheese is Jennings family blood, and he's my nephew. As his uncle, raising him would be my honor."
"I'll work hard at this with you."
Quinley said with a smile. Zachary happily reached over and pinched Quinley's little nose.
"We won't just work hard taking care of Cheese. We'll work hard making a bunch of our own kids too."
He'd brought up children again. This topic was sensitive now. Quinley was already carrying their child, but she hadn't figured out how to tell Zachary yet. Since she hadn't figured it out, she decided to keep quiet for now.
After dinner, Zachary went to the study while Quinley returned to the bedroom early. She downloaded several apps on her phone and started studying infant care knowledge. Maybe because she was pregnant, she'd only been reading for a short while when drowsiness found her.
When Zachary entered the bedroom, Quinley was leaning against the headboard with her eyes closed. His heart ached for her. He gently helped her settle under the covers, tucked her in, and set aside the phone that was still playing a lesson. Suddenly, Zachary noticed the video content—it was explaining pregnancy knowledge.
Seeing this made Zachary's heart leap with joy. He hadn't expected Quinley, who'd always seemed uninterested in this topic, to be secretly studying these things. He gazed lovingly at the sleeping Quinley, his heart feeling as sweet as honey.
His wife was working so hard—as her husband, he couldn't just do nothing. Recently, Quinley had been resisting his advances. He'd always respected her, so he'd never forced anything. But right now, Zachary couldn't hold back anymore.
He moved close to Quinley from behind, his strong arm wrapping around her slender waist.
"Quinny."
He gently bit her earlobe, teasing it with his tongue, his seductive voice gradually working its way into Quinley's ear. His large hands climbed to her waist, gradually reaching the peaks and valleys. He knew every secret of Quinley's body. Whenever he wanted, he could unlock every lock on her body.
In her sleep, Quinley hazily felt the heat and tingling deep in her body. The sensation was familiar. Suddenly, she realized something and her eyes flew open. At that moment, Zachary was leaning over, kissing her tender lips.
For some reason, Quinley's stomach began churning violently.
"Zach—"
Before she could get the word out, the dinner she'd just eaten threatened to come back up. In that critical moment, Quinley struggled with all her might. She pushed Zachary away forcefully, covered her mouth, jumped out of bed, and rushed to the bathroom.
For dinner, Martha had prepared crab. Claiming her stomach was upset, Quinley hadn't eaten a bite, but Zachary, being greedy, had eaten quite a bit. Just now when he'd kissed her, his mouth had been full of the fishy smell of crab. Quinley was at the stage where she was sensitive to smells. The moment she caught that scent, her pregnancy symptoms kicked in.
"Quinny, what's wrong?"
Zachary didn't understand and immediately rushed over. He stood at the bathroom door, not knowing what to do. Quinley was hugging the toilet, vomiting violently. In his panic, he called Dr. Brown.
"I'm... I'm fine."
Quinley tried to act tough, but she didn't have the strength for it right now.
"No, once Dr. Brown gets here and examines you, we're going to the hospital immediately."
Zachary was very anxious.
"No, don't let Dr. Brown come."
Quinley quickly stopped him.
"Then we're going to the hospital right now."
Zachary suggested again. Quinley shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum.
"I'm not going to the hospital either."
"Quinny, don't be stubborn, okay? I'll carry you there. You're sick now. We'll go to the hospital, get you better, and then come back."
He was worried about her, and Quinley's heart warmed. But his worrying about the wrong thing left her a bit disappointed. She hadn't expected Zachary to be this oblivious. His own wife was experiencing morning sickness and he hadn't caught on.
"I'm not sick."
"How can you not be sick? Sweetheart, stop trying to comfort me. Whatever illness it is, we'll treat it properly."
"I'm pregnant."