Chapter 3

We left early the next morning.

Summersville was deep in the mountains, and the drive would take a full day and night.

Charles complained the entire way, but I just smiled and agreed with everything he said.

He shot me a suspicious look. "Mary, you're not tricking me, are you? You're being way too quiet."

I hummed along to the radio, and the familiar scenery outside my window lifted my spirits. "If you don't trust me, we can always turn back. I'm not the one who'll regret it."

Charles gritted his teeth and kept driving.

The village didn't appear on the GPS, so I had to give him directions.

When we finally parked, we still had a long stretch of mountain trail ahead of us.

There was a main road, but I chose the smaller path to keep Charles from making a run for it.

After years together, I knew all his tricks. But once we were in Summersville, none of those tricks would matter.

The sun was setting on the second day when we finally reached the village entrance.

Charles looked like he was about to collapse, but the moment he saw Amanda, he straightened up. "Amanda! It's me, Charles. I'm not tired at all, really. The trip was nothing."

Amanda and Luna welcomed him warmly and led him inside.

What he saw wasn't what he'd expected—Summersville stretched out before him with rows of well-built houses that looked almost like villas.

Charles stared at the furniture inside and practically drooled. "Mary, your family is loaded, huh?"

I patted his hand and smiled, "Yep. Mom said if we have a baby, you get a 2 million dollars bonus."

Charles had been complaining about having to drink that nasty medicinal brew for his health, but the second he heard that, he grabbed the cup and chugged the black liquid.

He thumped his chest proudly. "Amanda, Mary, don't worry. For Mary's sake, for the Stone family bloodline, I'll drink every drop."

Perfect. This was a special blend from the Summers family. Three days of this, and he'd be carrying my child.

Amanda looked at Charles with such warmth, as if she was already seeing her great-granddaughter through him.

On day three, Charles clutched his lower back and groaned, "Mary, I'm so tired. Something feels off. Can you handle the chores today?"

Over the past three days, Charles had taken on all the household chores and farm work to impress Amanda.

I swatted his hand away and took a sip of my coffee.

"Charles, you're a grown man and you can't handle a little work? I'm telling you right now—Mom hates useless men." I sighed and glanced around the big courtyard, "I could help you out, but then Mom might—"

I started to get up, but Charles pushed me back down. "No, I've got it."

I watched him limp away and smiled.

The seed had taken root inside him.

Half a month in, Charles started showing signs of edema and swelling. He dragged himself through each day like he could barely stay upright. His lips were pale, and he kept one hand pressed against his lower back for support.

He said, "Mary, come on, please. I really can't do this today."

I kept slicing my steak with careful precision and glanced up at him. "Everyone else can work, but you can't?"

I set down my knife and met his eyes. "Go take a walk around Summersville. Find me one husband who married into a family here who doesn't pull his weight.

"You complain every single day about how tired you are. If you don't want to work, you can go back to the Stone family anytime. But you're not taking a single penny with you."

Tears welled up in Charles' eyes, and he looked absolutely miserable. "You're my wife. Can't you help me out a little?"

"Men are supposed to work. That's just how it is. Walk around our village and show me one husband who got his wife pregnant."

I checked my watch and popped a piece of beef into my mouth. "You're running out of time. If you don't finish what my mom assigned you today, don't bother coming to dinner."

Charles stamped his foot in frustration and shuffled out, still clutching his back.

Yes, the medication was forcibly reshaping Charles' personality, but it had to be done. Everything I did was for the child growing inside him.

Think about it—how would any normal man react to finding out he's pregnant? He'd lose his mind.

But the baby wants to survive, and it'll fight with everything it has to make that happen.

Of course, we weren't worried about Charles working too hard and affecting my daughter's health.

After all, only the strong deserve to be born in Summersville.