Chapter 4

I stood up. "What do you mean? I'm causing trouble because I asked for proof? Ian, your family tries to buy my babies with a contract, and that's somehow considered reasonable, huh? You guys really have a twisted sense of right and wrong."

Kayla pointed at me. "Cut the sarcasm. Without the Lawrence family, you'd probably still be stuck in some rundown apartment."

I looked at Ian.

He said quietly, "Mom, stop."

Kayla said, "Am I wrong? She's an orphan. Meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to her. And now she's forgotten her place."

My phone was still in Ian's pocket.

I reached out. "Give me my phone."

Ian frowned. "What are you going to do?"

"Call the cops," I said.

Megan looked up right away. "For what?"

I said, "I've been pressured into signing away my babies and have been living under a fake marriage for six years. I'd like to hear what the police have to say about that."

Kayla laughed. "Go ahead. Let's see who the police believe."

Ian pulled out my phone but didn't hand it over. "Eleanor, calling the cops will only make things harder for everyone."

I stared at the phone in his hand. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I don't want people to gossip about you."

"Or are you worried people will find out Megan's certificate isn't real?"

Megan couldn't hide her frustration anymore. "It's real. What exactly are you going to check?"

I walked toward the door.

Ian blocked my way. "You're not going anywhere."

"Move."

"You're in the late weeks of your pregnancy. What if you get hurt?"

"If anything happens, you won't have to deal with it."

Ian's expression turned cold. "Eleanor, don't push me."

I got the message.

From this moment on, he was going to keep me here.

Marilyn stood by the door with a glass of water, the rag slipping from her wrist and falling to the floor. She whispered, "Mr. Lawrence, Mrs. Lawrence can't handle any more stress."

Kayla glared at her. "No one asked for your opinion."

Marilyn didn't back down. "She's almost eight months along. If anything happens, both babies could be in danger."

Kayla's expression hardened.

Megan bit her lips.

Ian finally dropped his hand. "Eleanor, get some rest. I'll have the doctor come over."

"I'm not seeing your doctor."

"Then who do you want to see?"

I replied, "Jason Howard."

The living room went quiet for a few seconds, and Ian's gaze grew serious. "Why do you want to see him?"

"He's a lawyer."

Kayla snapped, "When did you get to know a lawyer?"

Megan shot Ian a look, her voice dripping with malice. "Ian, is she cheating on you?"

I looked at her. "You've been trying to steal my babies. What's wrong with me needing a lawyer?"

Ian gripped the phone tightly. "Jason is not an option. Choose another lawyer."

"Why?"

"He's always wanted more than friendship."

I scoffed. "At least he didn't trick me into having his babies."

Ian slipped the phone back into his pocket. "I'll find you another lawyer."

"I only want him."

Kayla slammed her hand on the table. "Eleanor, don't take our kindness for granted."

I pressed a hand against my belly as pain spread upward from deep inside.

Ian reached out to steady me.

I pulled away. "Don't touch me."

Marilyn rushed over to steady me. "Mrs. Lawrence is in pain."

Ian's face went pale as he grabbed his car keys. "We're going to the hospital."

Megan got up as well. "I'm coming with you."

Ian glared at her. "You stay here."

Megan protested, "I'm worried about the babies."

Leaning on Marilyn, I slowly made my way toward the door. "Which one?"

Megan was left speechless.

Kayla stood protectively in front of her. "Eleanor, if you dare hurt the Lawrence family's heirs, you won't get a single cent."

The elevator doors slid open. I walked in, looking back at Ian. "Is your mom talking about my babies or Megan's?"

Ian didn't answer.

Before the elevator doors closed, Megan rubbed her belly and flashed me a smug grin.

*****

Ian went straight to Shirley, the head of obstetrics and gynecology, whom he knew well.

Shirley was polite to me, but more so to Ian. "Mr. Lawrence, don't worry. Ms. Lloyd's vital signs have been good. Let's get her checked out first."

Being called Ms. Lloyd didn't stir anything in me.

In their eyes, I wasn't worthy of being called Mrs. Lawrence.

Ian was about to follow me into the treat room.

I blocked him. "I can do it myself."

Shirley glanced at him. "Mr. Lawrence, she needs to stay calm. Please wait outside."

Ian stayed where he was and didn't press the issue.

Once inside, Shirley closed the door and lowered her voice. "Ms. Lloyd, do you need any help?"

I looked at her.

She slipped the test results into my file without looking at me. "You mentioned wanting to see Mr. Howard, right? I know him."

The knot in my chest finally loosened a little. "Can you get in touch with him?"

Shirley nodded. "I can, but Mr. Lawrence is right outside. I need a proper reason."

I said, "Tell him my condition isn't stable, and I need to stay for further checkups."

She replied quickly, "Three days, tops."

"Not enough."

"Seven days. If I keep you any longer, he'll get suspicious."

I looked at her. "Shirley, why are you helping me?"

She pulled off her gloves and tossed them into the medical waste bin. "I work for my patients, not for anyone's family."

There was a knock at the door. Ian called out, "Is the checkup done?"

Shirley opened the door, her tone back to normal. "She's having frequent contractions. It's best she stays in the hospital for a while."

Ian immediately looked at me. "Is it bad?"

"We can't take chances this late in the pregnancy, especially with twins."

Ian nodded. "Okay."

I said, "I want a private room."

"Sure," he said.

"Marilyn will stay with me," I said.

Ian hesitated. "I'll stay."

"You've got work to do, and Megan needs you."

His face darkened. "Eleanor, don't do this."

Shirley handed the paperwork to the nurse. "The last thing she needs right now is unnecessary stress. Mr. Lawrence, if you truly care about her, give her some space."

Ian finally shut up.

Once the paperwork was done, Marilyn rushed in. She brought me some clean clothes and slipped my old phone into a towel, hiding it from view.

She whispered, "Mrs. Lawrence, there was nothing I could do about the phone Mr. Lawrence took, but this one works."

I took the phone. "Thanks."

Marilyn pressed her lips. "I shouldn't have kept this from you. Ms. Dawson came by a few times. I was afraid I'd lose my job, so I kept quiet."

"When?"

"The first time was about six months ago. Mr. Lawrence wasn't home, and she came with Mrs. Kayla Lawrence. Mrs. Lawrence showed her the children's room and said the sunny room would be hers someday."

"Did Ian know?"

"He did. That night, Mr. Lawrence came home, put a lock on the children's room, and said no one gets in without his permission."

Did that mean anything? I didn't know.