"Elara hurt you, and she’s learned her lesson. I’ll have someone handle your resignation; you don't need to come to the office anymore."

Chloe looked at him in disbelief, her face unable to accept it:

"Mr. Julian, you don't want me anymore?"

She hurriedly scrambled off the hospital bed, lunging toward Julian.

Julian took a step back with a cold face, looking at her with slight disgust.

Stung by his gaze, Chloe cried:

"Mr. Julian, why? Did Mrs. Julian say something that made you do this? Tell me what I did wrong, and I’ll definitely change. Please don't drive me away."

Julian’s eyes were deep and somber, his tone carrying a warning:

"Chloe, be too greedy, and you might end up with nothing."

Chapter 11

After Julian finished speaking, he paid Chloe no more mind and walked straight out of the hospital room, heading directly toward Elara’s room.

Inside the hospital room, Chloe’s face became incredibly distorted.

After Julian left, she could no longer hold it in, screaming as she threw everything within reach onto the floor.

On that face, there was no longer a shred of sweetness, only twisted unwillingness.

Having schemed for so long, how could she be content with being kicked aside just like that?

She wanted to be the lady of the Fu family; did he really think he could dismiss her with just one apartment? Impossible!

After Julian had made up his mind, his steps toward Elara’s room grew faster and faster.

It was as if, if he were even a second late, the most important thing in his life would be lost from him forever.

However, when he rushed into the room, what he saw was a nurse tidying up the hospital room.

The bed was completely empty; the figure he wanted to see most was nowhere to be found.

Julian’s expression changed, and he stepped forward urgently:

"Where is the person who was in this room? Did she go for an examination?"

Recognizing who he was, the nurse spoke politely:

"Mr. Julian, Ms. Elara has already been discharged."

Julian’s heart tightened inexplicably: "Discharged? How could she be discharged without telling me… Is she still angry?"

An inexplicable unease settled in his heart.

As he turned around, he happened to see Elara’s attending physician.

He frowned: "Elara lost too much blood; didn't I tell you to arrange for her to stay for a few more days to recuperate? Why did you let her be discharged?"

The doctor looked conflicted: "Mr. Julian, Ms. Elara just went through two surgeries, and her body is still too weak. I did advise Ms. Elara to stay for a few more days of rest. But she insisted, and we couldn't stop her."

Julian was stunned: "Two surgeries? Wasn't there only one? The time I sent her to the hospital after her injury—what other surgery?"

The doctor paused, then sighed:

"Mr. Julian, the day Ms. Elara had just woken up, I went into the hospital room with her files to tell you both the news that Ms. Elara was pregnant."

Julian’s pupils constricted instantly, and he looked at the doctor with almost ecstatic joy, his voice trembling with excessive excitement: "Elara is pregnant?!"

The doctor nodded subconsciously: "Yes, but she said she didn't want..."

Before he could finish, Julian had already turned around and was rushing out as fast as he could.

She’s pregnant!

Elara is pregnant!

They were going to have their own baby!

For all these years, the two of them had been wanting a child, but due to bad luck, they just hadn't conceived.

They had undergone many check-ups, and there were no issues; eventually, they just let nature take its course. Who would have thought… who would have thought that Elara would actually be pregnant.

Julian raised a hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

Elara was pregnant, and he had actually been quarreling with her and acting out, even hurting her with his own hands.

He deserved to die!

This time, no matter how angry Elara was, he had to properly beg for her forgiveness.

He ran incredibly fast, never hearing the second half of what the doctor had said.

The doctor stared blankly at his retreating back, murmuring the full sentence:

"She didn't want it, she already had an abortion..."

The nurse and the doctor looked at each other, speechless.

Julian strode out of the room, heading straight for the exit.

However, just as he reached the hospital entrance, he bumped into his mother, whose face was livid, rushing into the hospital.

Julian’s steps came to a sudden halt, and he looked at her in astonishment:

"Mom? Why are you at the hospital?"

His mother’s expression was incredibly grim as she walked toward him step by step.

In the next moment, she raised her hand and slapped Julian hard across the face.

Chapter 12

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the hospital lobby.

Passing doctors and patients looked toward them in astonishment.

Julian’s face was turned to the side from the blow, and he looked at her in disbelief:

"Mom, have you gone mad?!"

His mother looked at him with incomparable disappointment:

"Julian, the year you were five, your father and I divorced. I never hid the reason for the divorce from you—it was because your father cheated with his secretary!"

"That woman provoked me repeatedly, and your father defended her time and time again. He even abandoned you for her sake."

"For all these years, I raised you on my own. Since you were a child, I taught you to be loyal in love and even more steadfast in marriage."

"You and Elara grew up together. I thought your feelings for her were sincere, and I was very relieved. But I never expected… you might be bad at everything else, but you learned to cheat from your father!"

Julian’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he soon began to explain somewhat sheepishly:

"Mom… there’s nothing between Chloe and me. The person I’ve loved from beginning to end has always been Elara."

"I’ve already let Chloe go, and I’m on my way to find Elara now. I will apologize to her properly and beg for her forgiveness."

His mother watched him coldly, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

Over the past six months, she had vaguely heard some things about Julian’s secretary.

She just didn't want to interfere too much in the lives of Julian and Elara, a young couple, and she trusted that since Julian cared about Elara so much, he would certainly handle these matters well.

Yet, she never expected it would end up like this.

With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, she glanced at Julian: "No one will stand in the same place and wait for you forever."

Her pointed remark made Julian’s heart skip a beat with fear.

In the next moment, his mother waved her hand, signaling the bodyguards:

"Take him with us."

With that, she headed straight upstairs.

Bodyguards took him by either arm, intending to restrain Julian, and followed behind his mother.

Julian frowned, shaking them off: "Get lost."

After saying that, he followed directly behind.

His mother headed straight for Chloe’s hospital room.

Although Julian didn't understand why, he didn't stop her, only saying:

"Mom, my business with Elara has nothing to do with Chloe. She’s just a little secretary, please don't make things difficult for her."

His mother gave him a look that was half-smile, half-sneer, and remarked sarcastically: "Is that so?"

The two arrived outside Chloe’s room.

Just as they were about to push the door open, they suddenly heard the sound of Chloe talking on the phone inside.

His mother immediately raised a hand, stopping the bodyguards from pushing the door, and they stood still at the entrance.

In Chloe’s voice on the phone, there was a sense of utter exasperation:

"Now Julian doesn't want me anymore, and he wants to dismiss me with just one lousy apartment. What am I supposed to do now?"

"You promised! You said as long as I helped you steal the Fu Corporation's partnership documents, you’d help me get into the position to be Mrs. Fu!"

"If you don't help me, who will? I’m carrying your child in my belly! If I could marry Julian, this child would be the heir to the Fu Corporation in the future. Wouldn't the Fu Corporation be yours?"

Chloe’s voice was full of schemes. Julian, standing at the door, heard her words, and his face instantly turned incredibly dark and ugly.

Chloe had always been playful and cute, with a lively personality that resembled Elara’s teenage self very much.

Therefore, he couldn't help but feel soft-hearted toward her, granting her a bit more tolerance.

But he never expected that Chloe had intended to get close to him from the very beginning!

Her admiration, her kindness, her innocent fragility—all of it was fake!

She was helping others steal his partnership documents, and she even wanted to pass someone else’s seed off as his own!