Chapter 17: You’d Better Not Kill the Donkey After the Grinding is Done

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: You’d Better Not Kill the Donkey After the Grinding is Done

Evelyn Grant barely slept a wink that night.

Too much had happened during the day. As she lay in this unfamiliar room at night, a jumble of thoughts began to flood her mind.

She couldn’t make sense of it, and there were no easy answers.

For instance...

’When the day comes to give birth, will I really be able to part with the child and give it to Ryan Sterling?’

’And what if that girl Ryan Sterling likes decides to get back together with him someday? If they get married and have their own children, what will happen to my child?’

Evelyn Grant gently caressed her lower abdomen and shifted her position in bed, but she still wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

Before, everything had happened so suddenly. Her only thought was to save her own life, so she had rushed into getting pregnant without thinking things through.

"Sigh."

She turned over again, and an idea quietly began to form.

’What if I find a way to pretend I lost the baby?’

Evelyn Grant would never actually have an abortion, of course. After all, this child was the reason her life had been spared; it could be considered her little savior. She just wanted to make Ryan Sterling *believe* she’d had a miscarriage.

’That way, he won’t have a reason to stay in the country.’

’Once Ryan Sterling leaves, the child will be all mine, won’t it?’

’It’s a great plan! It’s dishonest and breaks my promise, but it would save me so much trouble down the line.’

’I really don’t want anything more to do with the Sterling Family.’

The more Evelyn Grant thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. With a rough plan in mind, she finally felt at ease enough to fall asleep.

The next morning, the fragrant scent of oatmeal wafted in from outside her room.

Drifting awake from her dreams, Evelyn Grant washed up, got dressed, and walked out of her room, only to see Ryan Sterling’s tall figure. He was wearing loungewear and carrying a tureen of oatmeal out of the kitchen!

’He cooked breakfast himself?!’

Ryan Sterling saw her and stopped. His narrow eyes lifted slightly. "Time to eat. I’ll take you to the law firm when you’re done."

Evelyn Grant walked over. "You don’t have to trouble yourself. I can—"

"Now you’re saying I don’t have to trouble myself? This isn’t like when you were begging me for help."

"..."

"I’m just ensuring my son’s safety." Ryan Sterling placed the bowl of oatmeal and a piece of toast in front of her. "This is to prevent you from skipping breakfast and starving my son."

With words like that, Evelyn Grant had no room to refuse.

As she pulled out a chair and sat down, a pang of guilt rose within her.

’It’s obvious Ryan Sterling cares a great deal about the child in my womb. But no matter how I think about it, I just can’t bear the thought of giving the child to him after it’s born!’

She lowered her head and took a sip of the plain oatmeal.

It was fragrant and slightly sweet. Even the temperature was just right.

Evelyn Grant hesitated for a moment before asking tentatively, "Ryan Sterling, you’ve been in Kyro for so long. Don’t you need to go back to Eldoria?"

Shouldn’t there be a lot of things at his company that needed the CEO’s attention?

She told herself that, even though she was probing for an answer, it was still a perfectly reasonable bit of small talk. But Ryan Sterling was so perceptive, it was as if he could read her mind. His warning came cold and sharp.

"Evelyn Grant, you’d better not cast me aside now that I’ve served my purpose."

Perhaps because he’d hit a nerve, she instinctively shot back, "And what am I supposed to do with you?"

Ryan Sterling’s hand, still holding his chopsticks, paused. A faint smile tugged at his thin lips. "If you had cast me aside, you wouldn’t have had to worry about my brother dragging you out for a death sentence that day. Instead... you should have been worried about dying in my bed." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Evelyn Grant’s cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, and even her ears seemed to burn.

"C-could you stop bringing up what happened that day?"

He let out a low chuckle, the sound seeming to rumble through his chest. "No."