Chapter 144 Armando a Few Days Ago
"Elizabeth seems to be pregnant."
"I saw Armando taking her to the hospital a few days ago."
When Mindy said the first sentence, Beatrix didn't have much of a reaction.
Elizabeth wasn't part of the Johnson family anymore, so her pregnancy had nothing to do with them.
But Mindy's next sentence made it relevant.
"Mindy, what did you just say?"
Beatrix couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She put down her teacup.
"I saw Armando taking Elizabeth to the hospital a few days ago, so I had someone look into it. I just found out today that Elizabeth is pregnant."
Mindy's face was grim. That Elizabeth just wouldn't go away.
"What are you talking about?" Beatrix's expression darkened too, her tone stern. "You can't go around saying things like that."
Mindy pouted. "Mom, I'm only telling you. Don't worry, I won't spread this around. Do you want to call Armando and ask?"
Beatrix rolled her eyes at Mindy and poked her forehead with a finger. "You think Armando would tell me something like that?"
Beatrix actually had a lot of regrets. When Armando was little, she'd left him with nannies and ignored him. Now she was paying the price.
"Fine," Mindy checked the time. "Mom, I have things to do. I need to go."
She'd heard Yosef was going to the racetrack to watch a competition today. She had to go.
The more Beatrix thought about what Mindy had said, the more uneasy she felt. She decided to call her mother Cecilia to ask what to do about this.
Cecilia was picking out a dress for tonight's charity gala when her daughter Beatrix called.
Cecilia thought she'd gained a bit around the waist lately and needed to exercise more.
"Mom, Mindy just told me that Armando's ex-wife is pregnant, and he took that Elizabeth to the hospital a few days ago."
When Beatrix was young, she thought romance was the only important thing in life. She fell for Armando's playboy father Garry Johnson, and after they married, they fought almost every day until Garry died. Only then did Beatrix finally settle down.
Sometimes when Cecilia thought about how Beatrix, who cared so much about romance, was actually her daughter, she felt helpless.
"Beatrix, why are you panicking?" Cecilia's voice had a gentle tone. "If someone wants to rush to have Armando's baby, let her."
"But it really bothers me." Beatrix cared a lot about reputation.
After Armando divorced Elizabeth, he got engaged to Sherry, then broke off that engagement soon after.
Before, only people in their circle knew about these things, but now because Sherry was a celebrity, internet users all knew about her son Armando.
If everyone found out Armando had a child with his ex-wife Elizabeth again, that would really look bad.
Cecilia loved her grandson Armando too. Her expression turned stern. "I told you before to take good care of your child, not to spend all day fighting with Garry. You didn't listen. Now you want to control Armando? That's wishful thinking. Don't interfere in this."
"The Johnson family can afford to raise a child. If it's born, just raise it. Armando isn't useless. Let him handle it himself."
Cecilia worried that Beatrix would interfere carelessly and end up driving a wedge between herself and Armando.
Beatrix heard the sternness in Cecilia's words and could only nod. "I understand. By the way, Mindy likes Emma's cousin Yosef, but the Sutter family doesn't want to form a marriage alliance with the Johnson family."
"The Sutter family's background is decent enough."
Cecilia thought of Emma, a woman who seemed very lively and handled things quite skillfully.
"I'll ask Emma about this. Remember not to interfere with Armando's business, you hear me?"
As Cecilia was about to hang up, she warned Beatrix again. Cecilia only had one daughter in this life. If she didn't care for Beatrix, who would she care for?
"Don't worry, I got it."
"This charity gala is hosted by the Collins family."
Cecilia, sitting in the living room, gave Emma a brief introduction to several families in Border Ridge City.
In Border Ridge City, the Robinson family, the Sherman family, the Collins family, and the Nightingale family were all old established families.
"The current chairman of the Collins family is Mira. Timothy once saved Mira, so for Timothy's sake, she'll help you when appropriate. If you run into anyone from the Sherman family alone, just be careful."
Cecilia was just giving a few pointers, doing a small favor, but she didn't need to work herself to exhaustion helping Emma.
Emma wasn't stupid. She appreciated Cecilia's kindness and thanked her.
Emma's status was a bit awkward because she and Timothy hadn't gotten a marriage certificate, but at least she was a socialite from the Sutter family of Silverlight City, so she had some family background.
Mabel sat in the living room hugging a pillow and watching TV, while Cecilia and the others waited for it to be time to go to the charity gala.
Cecilia thought of Mindy and asked Emma, "Does your cousin Yosef have a girlfriend?"
"No, neither of my cousins has a girlfriend." Emma was curious why Cecilia would ask this.
"My granddaughter Mindy is at the age to get married. I'm trying to look around for her first."
Just looking around - Cecilia didn't spell it out completely.
Emma suddenly understood. So it was for Mindy.
Someone like Mindy? Yosef definitely wouldn't be interested. But Emma wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud.
Emma smiled faintly. "I'll ask Yosef when I have time."
Hearing Yosef's name, Mabel stared at the TV, her eyes slightly unfocused.
"Mrs. Johnson, let's go into this store. I want to buy something for my granddaughter." The prosperous-looking Thora smiled at Beatrix. "Your granddaughter Sloane is about the same age as my granddaughter."
Beatrix smiled. "I'll go in and buy something for Sloane too."
Elizabeth wore a face mask. In one hand she held a child's cotton shirt, in the other a small hat.
She'd gone to the hospital for a follow-up today and stopped by to buy clothes for the baby. She had to prepare these things slowly.
Elizabeth had no experience. Most of her information came from online searches.
Elizabeth looked up and saw Beatrix and Thora walking in.
Beatrix didn't expect to run into Elizabeth. When she saw the baby clothes in Elizabeth's hands, she paused.
Elizabeth took the clothes to check out, paid, and left.
After Elizabeth left, Thora quietly asked Beatrix, "Those were baby clothes Elizabeth just bought, right? Is she buying them for someone else or for herself?"
Thora and Beatrix had a good relationship, so she felt comfortable asking so casually.
Beatrix smiled faintly, her hand unconsciously tightening on her purse. "I don't know. Either way, it has nothing to do with the Johnson family anymore."
"You're right." Just as Thora finished speaking, she looked toward the entrance and saw Tom getting out of his car.
Thora lightly nudged Beatrix with her elbow. "Look at the entrance."
Tom was Armando's secretary.
Beatrix was holding a small piece of clothing. She turned to look at the door.
Tom was talking to Elizabeth.
Soon after, the back window rolled down.
Beatrix saw Armando sitting in the back seat. She frowned.
Could it be that because Timothy was dead and Emma now had the third-generation heir of the Robinson family, Elizabeth wanted to go back and latch onto Armando again?
Armando, sitting in the car, turned to look at Elizabeth talking to Tom. His narrow eyes deepened slightly.
She was wearing a mask. He could only judge from her voice that her mental state seemed much better than a few days ago.
"Remember it's next Friday." Tom finished talking to Elizabeth and opened the car door to get in. "Just come. Don't bring a gift."
"Okay."
Tom's girlfriend Claire Murphy was having a birthday. Every year she just invited a few people for a simple dinner at home. Elizabeth and Tom used to be colleagues, and she was invited every year.
Over time, Elizabeth and Claire had developed a decent relationship.
Tom invited Elizabeth to give her something to do instead of staying home alone feeling down.
Tom drove the car away.
Elizabeth also got in her car and drove off.
Beatrix thoughtfully withdrew her gaze.
While Thora was picking out clothes, Beatrix took out her phone and sent Mindy a message.
[Mindy, who did you contact to find out about Elizabeth's pregnancy?]