"That's impossible."

With an emotionless face, Alfred picked up a rib bone firmly stating, "Could she get pregnant by herself? Unless she cuckolded me."

The information in his words was so profound that Grandma Dave took several seconds to digest before reacting, "You're talking nonsense, didn't you two last month...”

"She took contraception pills."

Every time that event was mentioned, Alfred's face turned sour. He put down his chopsticks and said in a low voice, "Also, I agreed to get married, but I didn't agree to have children. Why should two people who have no feelings for each other have children? Have you forgotten what happened to my parents..."

"Shut up!"

Old Master Dave, who had been quiet all this time, threw his wine glass and scolded, "You are not like them, you can't generalize!"

...

When Eva returned from the restroom, the dining room was in an odd atmosphere. However, luckily no one suspected her in the direction she was worried about.

Meeting the caring gaze of Grandma Dave, Eva awkwardly explained, "Recently, I caught a cold, and my stomach is a bit uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Dave felt a profound worry, "You need to take better care of yourself. As a woman, if no one pampers you, you must cherish yourself. Understand?"

With that comment, Grandma Dave managed to ridicule Alfred and brought a sour feeling to Eva's nose.

From as far as she recollected her parents were not around, and her maternal grandfather passed away early leaving her only maternal grandmother who loved her.

Now, the Dave family loved and protected her in the same way, all except...

Eva lifted her eyes to meet Alfred's sharp gaze—.

With contempt and sarcasm, as if saying: "Act, I dare you to keep acting!"

The tears gradually dissipated, and Eva suppressed her emotions and sniffled: "Grandma, I understand."

"Good girl, remember what grandma said. Go back and rest early!"

Alfred got in the car first, and Eva hesitated outside.

She wasn't sure whether Alfred would drive her home. If she shamelessly followed him in the car only to be kicked out later, it would be too humiliating.

As the car window rolled down, a cold voice came from the man: "Aren't you getting in? Waiting for grandma to come out and scold me?"

Indeed, in his eyes, all her actions were manipulative.

Eva pursed her lips and got into the car silently.

She sat up straight, leaning as far as possible against the car door, her hands neatly stacked together.

Nobody spoke inside the car, and the cramped space made it feel like the air was not circulating.

Light and shadow mottled, sweeping over Eva's delicate and fair face. She sighed softly.

This ride was truly stifling, it would have been better to pay for a taxi.

"When Grandma isn't around, you don't have to look so pitiful. I don't fall for these tricks."

The voice of Alfred was both cold and deep.

"…"

Her heart felt as though it had been slashed open by a small knife, blood trickling from the wound.

Eva took a deep breath and asked softly, "Do you really despise me that much?"

Despise her?

Even Alfred couldn't tell.

He used to merely see her as a quiet and obedient girl whenever he visited his old house and found her tolerable.

However, ever since his grandmother proposed that he should get married, he started to feel repulsed. Associating this repulsion with Eva, he naturally developed an aversion toward her.

Then, he was drugged, and his feelings towards Eva turned into contempt.

He despised being manipulated the most, yet it happened in his safest place—home.

The feeling was like being betrayed by the most trusted and close person, the more unexpected, the more profound the impact it had on him.

"What do you think? Shouldn't I despise or hate you?" Alfred retorted.

Eva lowered her gaze, her eyes landing on her flat lower abdomen. Speaking in a gentle voice, "So there's no chance for a change, is it?"

Her voice was gentle, carrying a touch of melancholy that was hard to detect.

Alfred lifted his eyelids, pondering over her words, only to see her turn her head towards the window, unilaterally terminating the conversation.

Returning home, Eva turned on the living room light with a click.

It was a large flat, completely empty, devoid of any warmth of a home.

This was the new apartment Grandma Dave prepared, located in the SmallVille community.

Before, Grandma Dave mentioned buying a villa, yet Eva insisted against a villa, stating that it was too spacious for just two people.

After several considerations, they decided on SmallVille which was nearby the school. The community had great green spaces, high cultural quality, and most importantly, it was within walking distance.

Eva was reclining on the soft couch, her hand resting on her belly, gazing at the chandelier above her head, deep in thought.

A baby...

It's so magical that there is a small life inside her belly, her own little life.

It's definitely a surprise.

However... how would Alfred react when he knows about this?

Would he ignore her out of disgust? Or ask her to abort?

Eva didn't dare to think about it. She wanted this child.

The thought of having a soft little sweetheart following her and calling her "mommy" melted her heart.

But how long could she keep this from Alfred?

One month, two months? Once her belly started to show, it's impossible to conceal.

She's caught between a rock and a hard place.

Eva sighed. It seemed like she had sighed more times today than she had in the entire month.

Her phone rang.

Eva looked and saw it was the primary doctor for her grandmother. She instantly became nervous: "Doctor He, what's happening with my grandmother?"

The low, calming voice came gently through the receiver: "Don't worry, I'm calling with good news."

Eva's heart instantly surged: "Did we find a matching heart for the transplant?"

The voice affirmed: "Yes."

Excited, Eva stayed up almost all night, heading straight to the hospital the next day.

Before she even got close, she heard joyful laughter coming from the patient's room.

Annabel and her daughter Brianna were having a chat with their grandmother. The sweet words from both of them delighted and warmed the old woman's heart.

Eva's face went dark.

Annabel was Eva's aunt. After Eva's parents passed away in a car accident years ago, Annabel was the only daughter left to their grandmother.

After she married into a family from the southern city, she seldom visited her mother, let alone took care of family affairs.

When their grandmother was diagnosed with a heart condition, it was Eva who first informed Annabel.

But when Annabel heard about the heart surgery, her first reaction wasn't to inquire about her mother's condition. Instead, her immediate response was to repeat phrases like "I have no money" and "don't come to me".

She even openly suggested that old age inevitably brings such maladies and told Eva not to demand too much.

She claimed to be thinking on Eva's behalf. Rubbish! In reality, she was just reluctant to part with her money.

Annabel's family was not extremely wealthy, but they lived comfortably. Her husband had worked for a state-owned enterprise all his life, so they had some savings.

They didn't ask her to cover all the medical expenses. As a child, contributing a few tens of thousands would have been acceptable according to one's means. But Annabel didn't say a word.

That incident disappointed Eva, but she didn't tell her grandmother. She didn't want her to be disheartened and delay the treatment.

During that time, Eva had called almost everyone to borrow money, squatted in the hospital late at night, crying countless times.

Later, the Dave family found out and proactively offered help with the medical fees.

Though Eva's grandfather had been kind to the Dave family in the past, it was a thing of the past. Eva didn't want to take advantage, wrote an IOU to pay them back when she started working after graduation.

However, grandmother Dave didn't take the IOU, tore it up on the day she and Alfred got the marriage certificate. She said - family doesn’t need to keep accounts.

Thereby, Eva deeply appreciated the Dave Family.

Later, when Annabel found out about Eva's marriage with Alfred, her attitude took a 180-degree turn. From one who never came to the hospital to see her mother, she started to frequent the hospital.

Others may not have been aware of it, but Eva was clear about it.

Like Annabel, who won't wake up early unless there is a profit to be made, must have smelled the tempting aroma of meat and wanted to take a sip of the broth.

Eva went in and called out to someone, only to find her cousin Brianna colder than her.

"Cousin."

Brianna lifted her chin arrogantly, looked at Eva with contempt.

What she didn't understand was, as a direct granddaughter of the same grandfather, why was it Eva and not her who married into the Dave family?