I Once Married You (Harper and Benjamin) novel Chapter 1

"Congratulations! You're pregnant. Your baby is perfectly fine."

Hearing the doctor’s words, Harper clutched the report in her hand, looking stunned.

She was both shocked and thrilled, hardly believing her ears.

"You'll need to come here for regular check-ups. Where's the baby's father? I need to talk him through some precautions."

After snapping back to reality, Harper replied with an awkward smile, "My husband couldn't make it today."

"Sorry to hear that. But no matter how busy he is, he should be here for you and your baby."

By the time Harper stepped out of the hospital, it was already drizzling outside.

Harper gently touched her belly, marveling that a life was growing inside her.

It was her and Benjamin's baby...

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen; it was a message from her husband, Benjamin.

"It's raining. Bring me an umbrella."

There was an address for a club attached to it.

Harper couldn't help but wonder what kind of place it was, especially since Benjamin said he had a meeting today.

But Harper didn't hesitate much. She told the driver to take her to the club.

Once they reached the club entrance, she said to the driver, "You can head back now."

"Ma'am, you don't need me to wait for you?" the driver asked.

Harper thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll go home with my husband later."

Since she was there for Benjamin, she might as well wait and go home with him.

As she requested, the driver quickly drove away.

What started as a light drizzle had turned into a full-blown downpour at that time.

Harper walked up to the club entrance with an umbrella in hand.

It was a billiards club, and the place looked pretty upscale.

As she walked, Harper couldn't stop thinking about the pregnancy report.

She was torn between telling Benjamin about the pregnancy right away or waiting to surprise him on his birthday.

Before long, Harper reached the door of room 203, but just as she was about to knock, she froze.

The voices coming from inside the room drained her face of its color.

"No way, Benjamin! You really think your so-called wife will bring you an umbrella? Does she seriously think you'll get wet?"

"She must be head over heels for you. She can't even think straight!"

"That's nonsense."

A lazy, deep voice came from the corner of the room.

The man was tall with long legs and a strikingly handsome face. His deep-set eyes were particularly captivating. Dressed in a tailored gray suit, he crossed his legs casually.

A few seconds later, he raised his hand slightly, revealing an exquisite, luxurious watch on his wrist.

"Give it back," He demanded.

His friend, who had just been messing around, reluctantly handed the phone back to him.

"Geez, why do you want your phone back so soon?"

"Cut it out! If it weren't for Lauren being here, you wouldn't even have had a chance to grab his phone."

Outside the door, Harper's face turned ghostly pale.

She hadn't heard the name Lauren in ages, so long that she almost forgot that she existed.

In the private room, everyone was joking around, glancing at the girl in the white dress sitting next to Benjamin. She was pretty and had a gentle demeanor.

Hearing this, she smiled softly and said, "Come on, guys. It's not cool to prank with Benjamin's phone, and now you're teasing me too."

But her friend next to her wasn't about to let it go, chiming in, "Everyone knows Lauren is the most important person to Benjamin."

"Exactly! Even if you ask Benjamin, he'd say the same, right Benjamin?"

Lauren couldn't help but look at Benjamin after hearing that.

Benjamin just smirked and didn't deny it.

The crowd saw he didn't deny it, and their teasing got even louder.

"Told ya, no one means more to Benjamin than Lauren!"

Amidst the crowd's jeers, Benjamin quickly shot a message back to Harper, his eyes downcast.

The message read, "I don't need the umbrella. You should go back."

By the time Harper got the message, she had already turned away. She didn't have the courage to knock on that door.

Stepping out of the club, she pulled the pregnancy report out of her pocket.

The rain had washed over the report, smudging the words beyond recognition.

Harper had planned to surprise him with the news, but now that seemed pointless.

Turned out, he just wanted her to bring the umbrella so she could be the butt of the joke.

Harper stared at the report for a long moment, then let out a bitter laugh and slowly tore it to pieces.

When she got back to the Harvey Mansion, the butler opened the door and was startled to see her drenched.

"Mrs. Harvey! What happened? Come in, quickly."

Harper's limbs were numb from the cold. As soon as she stepped inside, a servant wrapped a big towel around her and another started drying her hair.

A whole group of them fussed over her.

"Quick, run a hot bath for Mrs. Harvey!"