Chapter 77 Nancy, Can You Not Be Anxious?
Rachel's heart sank.
There was no need to guess.
Nancy had reeled Steven in for a reason.
It had been days since Steven and Nancy had broken up and then patched things up, but Nancy still hadn't seen him.
So, how could Nancy not be anxious?
And now that Rachel was "pregnant" and Steven hadn't had sex for a long time.
What kind of night would they have?
Rachel clenched her fists, her tense back slowly relaxing as she took a deep breath and let out a low chuckle.
Maybe it was disdain, or maybe sarcasm.
She scrolled through her contacts and found the private investigator she had worked with before, letting him know that Steven would be heading to Scenic Bay Estates soon.
The private investigator knew the drill.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
She walked over and opened it to find Steven standing there with a cup of hot milk, his eyes behind the glasses still looking tender and affectionate.
Steven smiled, "Hey babe, I gotta head to the office for a bit. The milk's ready. Wash up and get to bed early. I'll make you a sandwich for breakfast tomorrow."
Rachel took the cup, feeling a sharp pain at the sight of the warmth in his eyes.
But she didn't look away. She took a gentle breath and asked with a worried expression, "Is it that email issue again? Everything okay?"
"I need to go check it out. Don't worry, I'll handle it."
"Okay."
As she watched her disappear down the stairs, a coldness crept into Rachel's eyes. She closed the door and turned away.
Scenic Bay Estates.
Nancy had been standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, anxiously watching the villa's entrance since she got Steven's call.
Steven didn't come to Scenic Bay Estates often, and he rarely stayed overnight.
So, whenever he did come, he parked outside the community. Luckily, Nancy's villa was close to the entrance.
She calculated the time. It was about a 35-minute drive from Steven's place, and since it wasn't rush hour, it shouldn't take more than 40 minutes.
But after waiting anxiously for an hour, but Steven still hadn't shown up.
Just as she was about to call him again, she saw a familiar figure walking into the yard.
Her heart leaped with joy, and she hurried downstairs.
As Steven entered the house, she called out, "Hey babe," and jumped into his arms, wrapping her slender arms around his neck.
Steven instinctively held her by the waist, the fresh scent of roses filling his senses.
He was momentarily stunned, but Nancy stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, saying sweetly, "I thought you weren't coming. You made me wait so long."
Steven looked into her clear, beautiful eyes, feeling a stirring in his heart. He held her tighter, his voice becoming husky, "Did you test it?"
"I did. It's upstairs, but I'm too scared to look at the result."
Steven led her upstairs.
Nancy had taken three pregnancy tests, and seeing all of them negative, he couldn't tell if he felt relieved or something else.
When she mentioned that her period hadn't come this month, he was both surprised and a bit melancholic.
If Nancy were pregnant, what would he do?
Have her get an abortion, or let her keep the baby?
He had considered every possible outcome, but even at Scenic Bay Estates, he couldn't come to a decision.
Nancy watched his face, trying to read his emotions, feeling nervous herself. If she were pregnant, would he accept it?
She bit her lip, determined. Whether he accepted it or not, she had to get pregnant.
Thinking this, she hugged Steven from behind and whispered, "It's a good thing I'm not pregnant. I've been so anxious lately, it's probably just messed up my cycle. Babe, I'm really scared you'll leave me."
Steven turned to face Nancy's delicate figure, her pitiful expression making his throat tighten.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
While things were heating up at Scenic Bay Estates, Rachel had finished her shower and was drying her hair when she received over a dozen photos from the private investigator.
The first few showed Steven getting out of his car and entering Scenic Bay Estates, along with a short three or four-second video.
But as she looked through the rest, she noticed the background had changed to inside the community.
That video was not very clear, but enough to see two people passionately kissing and closing the curtains.
The lighting inside the house was bright, and even though it was a bit blurry, pausing and zooming in revealed their outlines.
As expected.
Rachel smirked, knowing what would happen when he went there, but her heart still ached, followed by a wave of nausea.
She rushed to the bathroom and vomited everything she had forced herself to eat that night.
She washed her face with cold water and looked at her haggard reflection in the mirror.
After a while, she suppressed her emotions, dried her face with a towel, and lay down on the bed, trying to erase the nauseating, heart-wrenching video from her mind.
For her, it would be another sleepless night.
Around 2:30 AM, she vaguely heard the sound of an engine downstairs.
Steven was back.
A moment later, the bedroom door quietly opened, and a sliver of light from the hallway crept into the room. Though she didn't hear footsteps, she felt someone standing by the bed.
She didn't open her eyes, but the scent of rose-scented body wash filled her nose.
Her stomach churned again, but she held it back, naturally turning over.
Steven hadn't entered the master bedroom for days, even when bringing her hot milk, he stayed at the door.
He paused, watching her sleep as his guilt faded, then quietly left.
Rachel wasn't sure how she fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already 9:30 AM.
It was unusual for Steven to still be home at this time. When he saw her come down, he quickly had Quinn bring out the warmed breakfast.
"Didn't sleep well last night? You look so tired," Steven asked, concerned.
"I had a bad dream," she said, looking at him intently, hoping to see some sign of guilt or panic on his face.
She added calmly, "I dreamt you cheated on me with Nancy."
But Steven's composure was better than she expected. His hand paused for just a moment before he laughed and sighed, "Me? Cheat with Nancy?"
"It's often said pregnant women overthink and imagine things. It's really true."
He placed breakfast in front of her and gently tapped her nose, "Look at how you're stressing yourself out. If you don't care, I do."