With hurried steps and a furrowed brow, Greyson entered the mansion, ignoring the workers who greeted his arrival. He went straight to the bedroom and found Clara sitting leisurely, reading a magazine.
"What's this?" he asked loudly, instantly making his wife look up at him. "Jenna said you weren't okay! But you..."
He shook his head while his wife stood up.
"You're perfectly fine!" he said loudly, stopping in front of her. "Do you have any idea how fast I rushed here? You scared me half to death!"
"Really?" Clara smiled instead.
Greyson frowned.
"You were worried about me?" Clara stroked Greyson's chest, gazing deeply into his eyes. "That means you care about me."
"Yeah... I guess it's been like that for a while... I do care about you," Greyson admitted coldly. "But that doesn't mean you can play with me... I mean, don't make me worry just to test if I care."
She just smiled, unfazed.
"I'd rather have you be okay... There's no need to make yourself look sick just to get my attention..."
"You know what..." She stroked her husband's jaw. "You're the one who makes me feel better, you help me get through these hard times. And I realized... Only you understand me, love me sincerely... You're the best man after my father..."
Greyson frowned.
"I won't let you down... Greyson." She whispered, then bowed her head, taking her husband's right hand and placing it on her stomach. "You already promised to be the father of this baby... But that's not the only thing you'll get."
"What?"
"Seeing your patience and sincerity toward me, I now realize that you're not just worthy to be the father of my child, but also... to be my husband forever," Clara explained, making Greyson drop his jaw. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll love you... I promise."
Greyson swallowed hard, then looked away from Clara and quickly pushed her arms off his neck.
"Clara... I..." he slowly stepped back.
She froze, realizing the confusion on her husband's face.
"I thought you were in a really bad condition... That's why I rushed home," Greyson said nervously. "But now you're perfectly fine... I think I should go..." He quickly turned and walked toward the door.
"Greyson!"
He kept walking, leaving the room and Clara behind, who stood frozen, unable to chase after him.
"What's wrong with him? Why does it seem like he didn't like what I said?" Clara muttered, frowning, then sat on the edge of the bed, her mind replaying the last few moments. "Has he given up on our relationship? Does he want a divorce like before... Or..." She immediately covered her mouth as the memory of her encounter with Alexis surfaced.
"She's the only girl who has a chance with Greyson. Where is she now?" Asking herself, Clara quickly grabbed her phone from the table near the sofa and called someone.
"Lucas... I want you to find out who has been in contact with Greyson in the past two months," she said.
"Ok, Ma'am, I'll take care of it."
Clara ended the call and exhaled roughly while staring into the distance.
"He's mine... He's used to loving me... He's the best and the only one left. I can't let another woman take him," she said, frowning.
...
Greyson drove his car at high speed while trying to call Alexis.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up!"
He exhaled harshly when there was no answer from Alexis, and her number suddenly became unreachable.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird?"
Frustrated, Greyson kept driving until he arrived at the apartment building where Alexis lived. But to his surprise, a group of reporters approached him.
"Mr. Whitemore. Can you confirm the recent post made by your wife's cousin?" asked one of the female reporters, holding up a recorder.
"What?" Greyson frowned.
"Is it true that your wife is pregnant? Why haven't you or she made any official announcements on social media or held a press conference?"
"Pregnant?"
"Yes... Don't tell me that you didn't know?"
"Oh... God..." Greyson became increasingly uncomfortable with the questions, especially with the cameras pointing at his face.
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Please, I can't answer everything right now... I have to go!" he said firmly, then hurried into the building and asked security to stop the reporters from following him inside.
He rushed into the elevator, pressed the number 15 and the close button. Then he took his phone from his pants pocket and tried calling Clara.
"Greyson, you finally called me. I'm really sorry for my behavior this morning... I made you worry..."
"I don't want to talk about that," Greyson cut Clara off. "I just want to know why the news about your pregnancy is already out? Didn't you promise to keep it a secret... just between our families?" he asked coldly.
"Greyson... What are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend you don't know!"
"Hey..."
"I promised to take care of you and that baby, I've been kind this whole time, but that doesn't mean you can make big decisions without my consent—especially something this major!"
"Oh my God..." Clara sounded frustrated, while Greyson ended the call just as the elevator door opened.
He quickly stepped out, walking with cold eyes until he reached one of the apartment unit doors and pressed the bell until it opened. He walked in, scanning the quiet surroundings, then moved through the rooms but couldn't find Alexis.
"Alexis! Alexis... Where are you!"
"Did you leave me?"
He opened the closet and froze, heart pounding, when he saw that Alexis's clothes were gone.
"You really left me," he whispered weakly, slowly walking toward the sofa.
Lost in thought, his mind filled with sweet memories of his time with his mistress, Greyson couldn't hold back his tears.
'Why did you leave just when we were going to have a baby? How could you?' he stared out the window, remembering how he first met Alexis. 'She can't have gone far... She could never be away from her father. Maybe she's with him now!'
His eyes widened, and Greyson quickly pulled out his phone and called someone.
"Dr. Dree. Did Alexis visit her father this morning?" he asked while standing up.
"Yes... She came very early and took her father away, saying he was well enough to go..."
"Took her father away?" Greyson's eyes widened.
"Yes, sir..."
"Damn!" Greyson cursed and immediately ended the call. His breathing grew heavier as he started pacing, then decided to call Barron.
"Barron, I need your help!"
"This must be about Alexis," Barron said over the phone. "I followed her this morning, so I know she left the hospital with her father with a suitcase."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Greyson asked angrily. "Why didn't you try to stop her?"
"Sir... Seeing her leave quietly like that, it would've been pointless to stop her or force her to come back to you... She would've only gotten more upset and harder to find."
Greyson fell silent, realizing what Barron said made sense.
"I think there's a misunderstanding here..."
"What?"
"From what one of our spies at her workplace reported, she's having problems there. Her boss and a coworker found out about her pregnancy, and her boss got angry and even wanted to fire her. But then William Robinson, your wife's cousin, didn't let that happen. William gave her extra attention..."
"William?"
"And I think she and William have been communicating a lot, maybe even outside of work. Then William made a post with Clara..."
"A post?" Greyson suddenly remembered the reporters' questions and Alexis's change in attitude. "Oh God... Do you think she think I got Clara pregnant?" he asked in a panic.
"Yeah... That makes sense..."