Chapter 32
Marlee's face darkened as Cecilia cut her off before she could speak again.
"By the way," Cecilia pointed to a blue and white porcelain ornament in the foyer, "Edward just acquired this at auction yesterday. One million dollars. He absolutely hates when people touch his things, especially people with..." she paused meaningfully, "unclean hands."
Marlee instinctively glanced at her own fingers that had just handled the ornament, her expression crumbling.
"Don't get so smug, Cecilia!" she snapped. "Who do you think you are? Nothing but a breeding machine the Clifford family purchased! Just wait until the real deal comes back—then you'll be the one crying!"
With that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
The living room fell silent once more. Cecilia slowly finished the water in her cup, the churning nausea in her stomach finally subsiding. Marlee's words were cruel, but they served as a reminder.
A breeding machine.
Wasn't that exactly what she had become?
Watching Marlee's car disappear down the driveway, Cecilia's gaze hardened with determination. She wouldn't just escape—she would leave with enough money to start over properly. In style. Edward owed her, and she intended to collect, with interest.
---
After a week's leave, Cecilia returned to Summit Enterprises Group. The moment she stepped into the legal department, the previously lively break room fell instantly quiet. Several female colleagues exchanged glances before silently dispersing with their coffee mugs, the air thick with unspoken ostracism.
Cecilia walked straight to her desk. A thin layer of dust had settled on the surface, and the pothos plant she'd nurtured for months drooped pathetically, clearly neglected in her absence.
"Well, well, Cecilia," Cinda from the next cubicle drawled as Cecilia sat down. "You finally decided to grace us with your presence. We thought you'd married into money and couldn't be bothered with this job anymore."
Cecilia ignored her, methodically wiping down her desk with a disinfectant wipe.
"Some people have all the luck," Cinda continued. "No need to kill themselves with overtime when they can just make a phone call and have the CEO personally step in. Must be nice to treat your job like an optional hobby. Meanwhile, the rest of us lose our perfect attendance bonus if we miss a single day."
Another colleague chimed in, her voice deliberately loud enough for the entire office to hear. Cecilia finished cleaning her desk, tossed the used wipe into the trash, and powered up her computer without a word.
That afternoon, department head Maria Brown slapped a troublesome English contract onto her desk, sweating profusely.
"Everyone take a look at this!" Maria exclaimed. "What's wrong with this supplementary agreement? Risk management flagged it for major vulnerabilities, but we've been staring at it for hours and can't find anything. We have a video conference tomorrow—if we don't identify the problem, our entire department will be crucified!"
It was a supplementary agreement for an overseas acquisition, over fifty pages of intricate clauses. Everyone passed it around, expressions growing increasingly desperate.
"This looks fine to me. The opposing legal team isn't exactly amateur hour."
"Ms. Brown, maybe we should request legal support? This is beyond our expertise."
Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Cecilia spoke up: "The issue is on page 17, section C, second paragraph."
All eyes turned to her as she pointed at the screen. "Here. They've used 'indemnify' instead of 'compensate.' In legal context, the former implies unlimited liability, while the latter only covers actual damages. If any unforeseen incident occurs that we didn't directly cause, according to this clause, we could be liable for consequential damages far exceeding the project's value. It's a textual trap."
The office fell completely silent. Maria leaned in for a closer look, her expression shifting dramatically before immediately calling the opposing counsel. With each exchange, her face grew more troubled.
Hanging up, Maria looked at Cecilia with newfound respect. "Cecilia, you saved us! They tried to claim it was a typo, but I shut that down immediately. If not for you, our department would have walked right into disaster!"
The colleagues who had been gossiping earlier kept their heads down, their cheeks burning with shame.
---
Early the next morning during the department meeting, Cecilia was listening to a report when her stomach suddenly lurched. A wave of intense nausea rose to her throat. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her face instantly turning ashen.
Everyone in the conference room turned to look. Edward's executive assistant Teddy was seated at the head of the table, his sharp gaze fixing on her.
"I apologize," Cecilia forced herself to stand despite the nausea. "I might have eaten something questionable last night. Stomach bug. I need to use the restroom."
She hurried out of the conference room. Teddy watched her retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly as he drew a small question mark next to Cecilia's name in his notebook.
In the bathroom, Cecilia vomited until there was nothing left but bile. She splashed cold water on her face and stared at her bloodless reflection, panic threatening to drown her.
---
That evening, dragging her exhausted body back to the Clifford Villa, Cecilia found the living room lights on. Rachel sat elegantly on the sofa sipping herbal tea. Seeing Cecilia return, she offered a perfectly calibrated smile.
"Cece, you're home! I came to visit Mrs. Joanna Clifford and thought I'd wait for you."
"Grandma has already retired for the night," Cecilia replied flatly.
"I know." Rachel set down her teacup and scrolled through her phone. "Cece, come look. Eddie is such a handful. He's overseas on business and still causing trouble."
Cecilia didn't move, so Rachel walked over herself, holding the phone screen up. "Look, he insists on buying me a gift and sent photos of several styles to choose from. I told him not to waste money, but he won't listen. Still as domineering as ever."
The screen showed a WhatsApp conversation with a contact pinned as "Eddie." In the chat window, Edward had sent photos of luxury handbags, followed by a voice message. Rachel tapped play.
Edward's deep voice filled the space: "Still angry? Pick one. Consider it my apology."
Cecilia's gaze lingered on the words "Still angry."
"I think the white one suits you," Cecilia looked up, her tone even. "Good taste."
Rachel's smile faltered momentarily.
"I'm tired from work today. I'm going upstairs to rest." Cecilia walked past her without another glance, leaving Rachel standing there, her expression souring.
Back in her room, behind closed doors, Cecilia felt all strength leave her body. She leaned against the door, slowly sliding to the floor. Burying her face in her knees, she laughed silently.
An apology? Edward, what you owe me is worth far more than a handbag.
After Rachel left, Cecilia sat in her darkened room for a long time. It suddenly occurred to her—with Edward in Europe, couldn't she take this opportunity to get rid of the baby...?
The thought passed through her mind fleetingly before she extinguished it.
No. This was her child.
A week later, an announcement appeared on the company intranet—annual employee wellness check-ups would be arranged for the following week.