Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

Feeling too weak to even hop on one leg to change clothes, Charlotte Miller wrapped her shawl tightly around herself, drew back her already swollen foot, adjusting to a relatively more comfortable position, and waited for Ethan Baird to take her to the hospital.

Atlas Hallow suddenly returning to the Hallow Family definitely meant something urgent. If the checkup showed no issues, she could call him later, sparing herself from calling now when she didn’t even know what was wrong, which might make him worry unnecessarily.

Ethan Baird quickly arrived at Charlotte’s apartment. It was several minutes after he rang the doorbell before the door opened, and he saw Charlotte’s foot, swollen and red like a small bun.

”Ethan, can you get me a coat from the cloakroom...” Charlotte’s face was slightly pale, this time she must be seriously hurt. Even walking to the door to open it almost took her life away.

”Sweetheart, let’s hurry and get to the hospital. It looks quite serious.” Ethan took off his black coat to bundle Charlotte up, then carried her horizontally into the elevator.

Not knowing how badly the bone was injured, Ethan didn’t dare let Charlotte walk even a single step more than necessary. He quickly drove her to the nearest top-tier hospital for consultation, planning to have an X-ray first, and if the condition was too severe, he would seek someone he knew at a private hospital, where the hospitalization environment would be better.

All the registration procedures went smoothly. He carried Charlotte toward the orthopedics department.

”Ethan, you’re quite strong, huh.” Despite Charlotte’s small face being pale and her complexion unchanging even wrapped in a very warm coat, she still managed to joke with Ethan.

”At this point, sweetheart, you really know how to worry someone.” Ethan smiled helplessly. ”You say it’s quite strong, what about the other one? Atlas Hallow?” He kept chatting with Charlotte while carrying her into the examination room, then was called out by the doctor to wait outside.

The nurse looked at the patient’s pair of small feet, which were so beautiful that even her feet were shockingly pretty except one had swollen up and appeared somewhat alarming.

Registered with the specialist, the doctor checked very carefully, then asked Charlotte how this happened. She truthfully explained that the crystal vase was really heavy and had hit right on the weakest part of the ankle bone. The doctor stretched out his hand to feel her injured foot, asking about her sensations, carefully inquiring if she felt pain at each touched spot.

Of course, it hurt a lot. Fine beads of sweat began to form on Charlotte’s forehead, and even her lips paled to the color of water.

”There might be damage to the bone, and these swollen skin and soft tissue seem severely bruised,” the doctor solemnly informed Charlotte of his initial diagnosis.

”Here’s what we’ll do. Please get a CT scan for me for more accurate imaging.” Due to rising medical disputes, doctors nowadays proceed cautiously with everything, even with years of experience enabling him to tactilely detect bone damage, he wouldn’t confidently declare this without proper imaging to the patient.

”Okay, so where should I go for it? Please write the order for me first.” Concerned about her foot’s condition, Charlotte thought a scan would also help facilitate telling Atlas about her current state after the phone call.

The doctor opened her medical card on the computer, noticed it marked ’married,’ and then asked, ”Are you pregnant, by any chance, at the moment?”

Being suddenly asked this question, Charlotte found herself a bit taken aback and, after a short pause, quietly replied, ”Uh... I don’t think so...”

”How can you say ’I think not’ about such a matter? Either you are, or you aren’t; if you are pregnant, we can’t do the scan.” This is basic knowledge, every time a young woman comes to orthopedics he asks if they’re pregnant, because if she’s unaware and the scan causes an issue it’d be a huge deal.

”We must be certain; such matters can’t be joked about.” The doctor put down his pen and asked with a serious face.

Charlotte’s mind started to whirl, recalling when last month’s period was. Since they’d decided to have a baby, she’d let Atlas indulge with abandon, so if both her and Atlas’s bodies were in normal condition, pregnancy wouldn’t be surprising.

”I can’t quite remember.” Her period sometimes wasn’t regular, she couldn’t precisely recall last month’s dates, talking about it made Charlotte lower her head shyly, she truly had a poor memory for certain things.

”Let’s just check it while we’re at it, and if you’re pregnant, the treatment plan would be different.” Given the condition of Charlotte’s foot, the doctor directly instructed the nurse to draw blood to check for pregnancy.

Today, with advancing medical technology, a simple blood test can easily and quickly confirm pregnancy.

When the nurse handed the result to the doctor, he visibly relaxed. As expected, asking a few more questions wasn’t wrong; this gorgeous Miss Miller with the injured foot was indeed pregnant.

He’d gotten accustomed to informing young women in orthopedics about their pregnancies, each woman reacted differently, some joyfully squealing, while others broke into tears. However, with this beautiful Miss Miller married, it should be a joyous occasion, right?

”Congratulations, ma’am, you’re pregnant.” For an orthopedic doctor to say something typically said by a gynecologist was indeed odd. After speaking, he swiftly adjusted Charlotte’s treatment plan, ensuring the topical medication would not be irritant, as extra care is required during early pregnancy.

Preg...nant...

This word stirred wavering ripples in the air, repeatedly clashing within her, manifesting an exceedingly peculiar feeling.

It wasn’t until she returned to the apartment that she could hardly accept this fact.

Ethan wanted to stay with her, worriedly. Charlotte insisted that Atlas was coming back soon and forced him out. Actually, she wanted to be alone for some peace to sort through her tangled thoughts.

That indescribable blend of anxiety and joy seemed hard to articulate; what exactly is life? Life often leaves one at a loss.

She pondered why at first Atlas had taken precautions, showing he hadn’t planned on having a child. Yet suddenly, his attitude had changed—this was the most puzzling to her.

But since it’s already here, it should be welcomed, right?

Welcome to this world, little Hallow...

The adorable, sweet name ’little Hallow’ made her heart race. All those pent-up feelings—nervousness, shyness, joy, chaos—burst into blossoming sky-like flowers, saturating her entire world.

Before returning to the country, she never imagined becoming a mother so soon. Abroad, she didn’t even have time to get a boyfriend, and she hadn’t even been married to Atlas for a year! But a new life was on the way. It felt so fast, like someone pressed the fast-forward button on life.

He wanted a child, and she just happened to have one quickly. How would Atlas react upon finding out?

Should she call him now, or wait until he came back to share the news?

What should the first words be? Directly tell him, or let him guess?

A sweet smile spread across Charlotte’s lips, making even her foot pain feel forgotten.

Hugging the pillow on the sofa, she half-laid on it, still contemplating how to break the news to Atlas. Nevertheless, after zoning out a bit, sleepiness crept in, and she dozed off once more.

In the Hallow Family’s hall, the housekeeper prepared afternoon tea to serve while planning to ask the eldest young master what he wants for dinner, but Atlas’s phone rang.

Picking it up, to his surprise, it was Ethan. Though they now had business dealings, with Charlotte being the special link, everything could go through her, effectively bypassing Ethan’s involvement. Receiving his call was a bit unexpected.

”Atlas Hallow, have you returned yet? Charlotte’s medicine is still in my car. I tried calling her, but she didn’t pick up...” After saying a few sentences, Ethan mentioned something about her medicine, leaving Atlas puzzled. Her medicine?

What happened? Her medicine? What’s wrong with Charlotte?

”Haven’t you returned yet? You don’t know Charlotte’s foot has been injured?” Ethan inquired incredulously. Charlotte and the doctor seemed to talk quite a bit in the clinic earlier, but she hadn’t told him how severe her injury was, not even having the CT scan, making him suspect the doctor treated it casually: ”I suspect the doctor didn’t thoroughly examine her...”

Her foot was injured? Why wasn’t he informed?

Atlas stood up abruptly, striding quickly outside. Is the injury serious?

Why didn’t she tell him? An avalanche of questions poured over him, making Atlas Hallow wish he could immediately fly into her presence, ask her what on earth was going on.