My Darling, My Dearest

As soon as Marcus' father finished speaking, he picked up the chopsticks and patted his wife's hand. "Why are you still sitting there? Hurry up and bring the braised pork back to the kitchen, and then prepare something light-favored."

This time, she didn't say anything. She nodded and did what he asked.

Celia bit her lips and felt a little guilty, but the feeling didn't last long.

That night, Celia and Marcus lay flat on the bed. He put his hand gently on her belly and said in disbelief, "Celia, didn't you say that it was still early and you didn't want to have a baby so soon?" Celia's lips twitched but she said nothing.

Yes, that was exactly her thoughts before. She had thought that the two of them were still young. She had wanted to enjoy her life for a few more years, just the two of them. But now she realized that was not possible. She had gradually figured out that giving birth would be the only way for Marcus' mother to open her heart and truly accept her.

She whispered in her heart, 'Baby, I'm so sorry. I have to use you.'

Without waiting for her answer, Marcus continued, "Celia, you don't know how happy I am. I've been really envious of Jack and Henry whenever they post their babies' photos in their WeChat Moments!" "Then your dream is about to come true." Celia put her hand on the back of his and held it tightly. They intertwined their fingers.

She could feel that Marcus' hand were slightly trembling.

She asked, "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

Marcus was in deep thought for a while. He replied, "I would prefer a girl. After my parents gave birth to me, they wanted to have a daughter. Unfortunately, the policy doesn't allow them to have one more child. People who have a political position are only allowed to have one child."

"What if it's a boy? Won't you like it?"

"How can that be? Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's our treasure!" Marcus lowered his head to gently kiss Celia on the forehead. "The baby's a treasure that we four will cherish."

In the kitchen, Marcus' mother stood in front of the table. She was gently stirring the bird's nest soup with a spoon in one hand while humming a tune.

She actually didn't hate Celia. It was just that she still held a grudge against Marcus' disobedience before and she took it out on Celia.

However, she was satisfied with Celia's performance these days. Besides, Celia was pregnant now, so she was very pleased and happy.

In Marcus' father's words, the past had already been forgiven. The next thing she had to think about was how to take care of Celia's health.

Outside, the night was a little cold. It was vastly different inside where the Ji family felt warm and refreshed.

There weren't many people going about in this time of the night. It was late and only a few taxis were passing by the road.

At this time, Michael staggered out of a bar with the help of two people. He waved his hand at the door and said, "Let's continue drinking tomorrow night."

He then shook off the two people beside him, took out his car keys, and spun twice. "Don't help me. I'm not drunk. I can go back by myself."

He stumbled towards the parking lot. When he was about to open the door, he saw a woman sitting on the ground. She was sleeping while leaning against his car door.

How could he drive and leave?

Michael had to squat down to try and get the woman's attention. "Miss?"

But there was no response. He had to pat her face twice before he shouted, "Hey, wake up!"Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

There was still no response. Michael glared at her for being a nuisance. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the woman's arm with one hand, and dragged her up from the ground. He planned to throw her on an open space so he could get on his way.

The pain brought by the friction between her body and the ground finally woke the woman up. She opened her eyes and was stunned for a few seconds. She then stood up, drunkenly staggering, and tried her best to slap Michael's face. "Bastard."

Michael was confused. He pointed at his nose and said, "I'm a bastard? Lady, do you know where you were sleeping? Do you know that you blocked my way?"

"This land is not yours. It's none of your business." Then the woman returned to her seat and closed her eyes, as if she was going back to sleep.

Michael hurriedly stopped her and squatted in front of her again.

That was just how he was. He was chatty when he was sober but he was much more talkative when he had too much to drink.

His eyelids slowly closed, and he became unconscious. He didn't know how long he was knocked out but suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his face. He opened his eyes and saw a strange woman standing beside him, with her hands tightly hugging her chest. "Bastard, tell me, what did you do to me last night? Why are my clothes all ripped?"

Confused, Michael blurted out, "Miss, do I know you?"

"What? Do you want to pretend to be clueless after taking advantage of me? Last night... you... "The woman blushed. Her face was so red it looked like it would bleed out at any time.

She pointed at Michael angrily. "I will call the police. You bastard!"

'Call the police? No, she won't. If my father knew what happened, I'm done!'

He hurriedly jumped out of bed. He held her hand and stopped her. "No, how can I make it up to you? Tell me everything I should do! Just please don't call the police."

"I won't call if you let me slap you again!"

Michael wanted to say that was not

possible, but he felt a burning sensation on his cheek. He opened his eyes in shock and was about to scold her only to see that she was already running towards the parking lot's exit. She only left a piece of paper on the ground, gently falling down with the wind. He bent down and picked it up. When he saw the apology letter, he smiled and said, "No wonder you're so angry. It seems like you've been dumped."

In the house of the Du family, Michael's father was furious when the drunk Michael came in. He didn't return home last night. He heavily pounded his walking stick and said coldly, "I've arranged a blind date for you. Take a shower and go there to have a look."

"I'm not interested," Michael replied without any emotion.

His father glared at that response. "Are you going to piss me off before you start listening? Let me make it clear. If you don't go, you won't be able to walk out of that door again!"

That threat was equivalent to imprisoning Michael. Realizing that painful truth, he finally surrendered. "Okay, I'll go!"

He went upstairs, simply changed

his clothes and went to the

appointed coffee shop. He ordered a

cup of coffee after he sat down. He almost finished the coffee while waiting but the woman was nowhere to be found. He took out

some money from his wallet, put it on the table, and was about to leave.

Just in time, his mobile phone rang, and the voice of his father came. "Sit down!"

Michael turned around and saw his father sitting on a stone bench on the street. He was watching him.

Seeing that, he had no choice but to sit down again. He decided to play games on his phone when he heard a familiar voice near him. "Are you Michael?"

He raised his head and saw the woman standing in front of him. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and screamed, "It's you!"

The woman was the same one who slapped him in the parking lot this morning. Although she had changed her clothes and looked much more ladylike, Michael still recognized her with one glance. The woman's face darkened. She turned around and got ready to leave. "Since it's you, there's no need for us to continue this blind date."

"Why not?"

Before Michael could react, he had reached out to hold the woman's arm. He smiled slyly and said, "I think it's necessary. You've just been dumped by your boyfriend and I'm single. We could be a couple, right?"

"You!" The woman pointed at his nose, too angry to say another word. A few seconds passed before she finally gritted her teeth and said, "We can't be a couple, bastard!"

Michael's smile just grew wider. "Since you've said that I'm a bastard, it seems that I have to be a bastard even once. Otherwise, how can I deserve two slaps with no reason?"

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Usually, he would've just turned around and left. He would've been eager to cut ties with her. But today, he unexpectedly reached out and grabbed her.

He felt that if the woman left now, he would definitely regret it in the future.

Regret? Regret what? Michael didn't have much time to ponder that sentiment.

At the same time, his father, who was sitting on the stone bench, saw the whole scene unfold. His earlier gloomy face finally cleared. The driver beside him said timely, "It seems that Michael's fate has come. You can now rest easy."

The old man stood up and sighed, "Yes, I'll just have to wait for a grandson. My friends all have grandchildren. I'm so envious of them."

In the cafe, time stood still between Michael and the woman. The atmosphere was inexplicably heavy and serious. After a while, she gave in and said, "Let me go first. I'm going to the bathroom. I can't hold it in anymore."

Michael believed her words and let go of her. However, she instantly ran towards the cafe's exit. Before leaving, she looked back and made a face towards him.

Michael gazed at her figure slowly disappearing in the sea of people and couldn't help but smile. "Woman, do you think you can escape from me?"

Maybe the seed of destiny that belonged to Michael was starting to sprout quietly.

Author's note

&

Goose

Translator: Scarlett5555