Chapter 83 Zachary's Ex-Girlfriend
"Quinny, come out here with me for a second."
Marlee's expression darkened. Without finishing her meal, she found an excuse to call Quinley outside.
"Quinny, tell me the truth—are you pregnant?"
Marlee's face was dead serious.
"Mom, I just ate something that upset my stomach. How could I possibly be pregnant?" Quinley denied it outright. She'd never gone public with any relationship, and her thing with Zachary had always been underground.
Marlee had never caught her with any boyfriend, though she did know about David pursuing Quinley.
"Whether you're pregnant or not, you need to get checked. I know you're grown up now and don't tell me everything, but Quinny, getting pregnant before marriage—your in-laws would look down on you."
Marlee started lecturing, and Quinley quickly cut her off. "Fine, I'll go get checked right now. Don't worry—I'm definitely not pregnant."
Marlee wasn't convinced and insisted on coming along to the OB-GYN department. After the blood draw, they had to wait fifteen minutes for results.
Quinley leaned back in a waiting room chair while Marlee sat beside her, fidgeting anxiously. "The baby's Dr. Brown's, isn't it? Does he know? Quinny, has Dr. Brown said anything about when you two will get married?"
The barrage of questions gave Quinley a splitting headache. "Mom, please stop asking. I'm not pregnant."
She'd only been with Zachary, and they'd always been careful about protection. Even during those few times things got heated, Quinley had taken emergency contraception afterward. Getting pregnant shouldn't have been that easy.
Fifteen minutes later, Quinley's test results came back. Unfortunately, she'd hit the jackpot. Her HCG levels were through the roof.
"Quinny, what are you going to do now?" Marlee instantly went into panic mode.
"Mom, I know how to handle this. Don't panic, okay?" But Marlee couldn't help panicking. She was a woman bound by traditional thinking—if people found out her daughter was pregnant out of wedlock, she'd become a laughingstock.
"Quinny, you need to get married right away. Tell Dr. Brown that I don't want any dowry—I don't want anything." Marlee assumed the baby was David's and pulled out her phone to call him.
"I'll talk to Dr. Brown. This can't be delayed."
Quinley quickly stopped Marlee. "Mom, let me handle this myself, okay? Go back to Dad's room and don't tell him anything. And don't say a word to Dr. Brown either."
Quinley pushed Marlee toward the ward. Marlee kept looking back, her eyes full of worry.
The news hit so suddenly that Quinley wasn't mentally prepared. She clutched the test results and found a quiet corner where she sat for a long, long time.
She and Zachary were having a baby—this should have been such joyful news. But Quinley couldn't feel even a trace of happiness. Both of them were drowning in their own troubles right now, trapped by circumstances beyond their control. This baby was coming at the worst possible time. Quinley couldn't bear the thought of this little life having to shoulder the burdens that fate would force upon it.
But she also couldn't bring herself to take away this child's right to live. She was caught between impossible choices.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Detective Wilson.
Quinley quickly composed herself and answered the call.
"Ms. Elikin, I have news about the person you asked me to investigate. Let's meet in person." Detective Wilson's voice was low. He spoke briefly, then hung up and sent the meeting time and location to Quinley's phone.
2 PM. The convenience store next to Rosewood City train station.
Quinley arrived at the convenience store at the appointed time but didn't see Detective Wilson anywhere.
"Miss, want some cigarettes?" As Quinley was looking around for Detective Wilson, a middle-aged woman in oversized women's clothing approached her.
Quinley waved her off, but the woman didn't leave. Instead, she whispered in Quinley's ear, "I put the stuff behind the third aisle shelf."
The voice was Detective Wilson's.
Quinley was startled—she hadn't expected Detective Wilson to disguise himself as a woman. He casually walked out of the convenience store as if he and Quinley were complete strangers.
Following his instructions, Quinley found the envelope behind the third aisle shelf, stuffed it into her purse, and quickly left the store.
Detective Wilson headed toward the plaza, with Quinley following. He found a bench to sit on and pulled out a mirror from his bag to touch up his makeup. Quinley crouched behind the bench, pretending to tie her shoelaces.
"That woman's name is Susan Hartwell. She arrived in Rosewood City just two months ago. Take a good look at those photos I gave you. But here's what I discovered—she seems to know Mr. Jennings already. To be precise, she's probably his ex-girlfriend."
Quinley froze. She'd never heard of Zachary having any ex-girlfriend.
Carefully, she pulled out the photos from the envelope. One glance was all it took to convince her.
In the photo, the woman who looked exactly like her was nestled in Zachary's arms, smiling with crinkled eyes. And Zachary—known for his cold demeanor—was smiling brilliantly too.
She'd never seen him smile like that before. His face and eyes were glowing with warmth. But that warmth transformed into daggers, each one piercing straight through Quinley's heart.
"Did you find out anything else?" Quinley shoved the photos back into the envelope, using surface calm to mask the storm raging inside her.
"Nothing else for now. I'll contact you when I do." Detective Wilson finished speaking, put away his compact mirror, stood up to smooth his skirt, and sashayed away.
Quinley stayed crouched there until her legs went numb.
There was no sun that day—the sky was overcast. Quinley felt like a stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Susan was Zachary's ex-girlfriend, and she had the exact same face as Susan. This wasn't a coincidence.
Quinley remembered what Sylvia had said when she found her three years ago: "Quinley, don't waste that face of yours."
Back then, Quinley had been naive. She thought Sylvia was just complimenting her looks. To get close to Zachary and become his woman, she'd need a beautiful face to catch his eye, right?
So for three years, she'd never thought twice about it.
But in this moment, Quinley suddenly understood. She wasn't just Sylvia's pawn—she was Susan's replacement.
She'd won Zachary over in just one month, not because of her charm, but because she was such a perfect substitute for the original.
Quinley remembered Zachary's words: "Give me some time. Now isn't the right moment." He clearly had the power to fight back against the Davis Group, but he'd done nothing. It wasn't that he couldn't—he simply wouldn't. After all, what was a substitute for if not to take the hits and absorb the damage?
Quinley pulled the photo out of the envelope again. Under the gloomy sky, the handsome man and beautiful woman in the picture smiled with exceptional joy—as if they knew the future and were mocking her for being such a fool.