Want My Womb? I'll Make You Childless novel Chapter 44

< Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Ethan saw Clara sitting there, frozen, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to explain his relationship with Olivia.

Mens

He could only sit down on the edge of the bed staring at her for a long time before, as if finally making up his mind he said. There’s really nothing between Olivia and me.”

“The reason I didn’t deny she was my girlfriend publicy? Part of it was our agreement, and the other part was… I was pissed at you for drugging me back then.”

“Right, I know now you weren’t the one who dragged me. And that she’s your half-sister. So I laid it all out for her.”

Ethan looked at Clara. No reaction. His words sped up

“When it happened. I had it investigated. Too much time passed though. Lots of leads went cold. But there’ll be answers. Don’t worry. I’ll make things right for you.”

The ward was silent. Only the IV drip

Clara was still dazed. His words slowly brought her back. “You sent Olivia back to Boston, right? So you’ll still help me get my mom’s necklace back from Mason?

Ethan’s chest tightened. A punch to the gut.

He’d just said so much. Not a single word registered with her. All she cared about was the necklace.

Yeah

Ethan’s “Yeah’ came out bitter. Then it hit him: how cold he’d been to her for years, all because of a misunderstanding.

He’d even spread some of the rumors against her himself. He just figured Clara’s reaction was normal.

Thinking about the baby she’d lost and everything she’d gone through back then. Ethan took a deep breath.

After all he owed her a hell of a lot.

Il get your necklace back”

Clara thanked him then lay down and dosed her eyes.

Sunlight hit her pale profile, making the fine hairs glow golden but she still looked so cold.

Ethan watched her outline, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the seam of his pants. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair, but forced himself not to.

Outside, Robert and Patricia had seen Olivia get dragged away by David Feeling unsettled they’d decided to head back to the room. They exchanged a glance, then quietly walked toward the elevator.

Only once they were inside the elevator did Patricia finally let out a shaky breath, dutching her chest and gasping. That scared the hell out of me!” she whispered. ‘I can’t believe Ethan suddenly wants to dig into what happened back then.”

Robert shot her a glare, trying to act cool What’s there to be scared of? We covered all our tracks back then.” “Besides, it’s been seven years. Even if Ethan has all the connections in the world, there’s no way he’ll find anything.” Back then, Robert had brought Clara, who was barely twenty, to Ethan’s birthday party.

He was the one who bribed a waiter to slip something into Ethan’s drink, then coaxed Clara into making a toast to him.

Once the drug started hitting Ethan hard, forcing him to step out, Patricia, pretending she needed her own meds, sent Clara. She tricked Clara right into Ethan’s suite.

Afterward, they had someone leak the info, making sure James found out, which forced Ethan to marry Clara.

“Yeah.”

Patricia took a deep breath. “We were so careful back then. Even Clara herself had no clue about any of it.

Clara, knowing she hadn’t miscarried, just wanted to get out as soon as she felt a bit better. But Ethan used the necklace to blackmail her into staying a full week.

Clara, stressed about holding up the Blade project, called Benjamin every single day for updates. Finally, on the fifth day, Benjamin, totally fed up, just showed up at the hospital himself.

“Don’t sweat the company stuff,” he said “Lila’s at school, and Ryan practically lives in the R&D lab, so progress isn’t slowing down.” Clara leaned against the headboard, bored out of her mind’I’m just antsy from doing nothing.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’re stuck here.”

Benjamin, dearly afraid she’d try to monopolize him, stood up to leave. “If you don’t recover properly and pass out again at Nova Al. Ethan will

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< Chapter 44

seriously gut the R&D team.”

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Just thinking about that day, rushing to the hospital and seeing Ethan’s face, blacker than the bottom of a burned pot, Benjamin still got a shiver. of pure fear.

If anything really happened to Clara on his watch, forget Ethan. Commander Evans and Professor Lewis would tear him apart. “Alright, alright, that’s enough. Get back to bed.”

Clara saw Benjamin off at the elevator. She watched the doors slide shut, then turned to head back.

But then she saw Ethan and David hurrying toward the VIP room at the other end of the hall.

They were moving fast. David leaned in, whispering into Ethan’s ear, “Grandpa found out you grounded the kid. He thought something was off, so he sent people to investigate.”

“When he found out about Mrs. Carter’s miscarriage, Grandpa almost choked right there.”

Ethan raised a hand, signaling David to stop talking, then pushed open the hospital room door.

James lay in bed, his once robust body hunched and shrunken, as withered and frail as a leaf about to drop.

Ethan stood by the bed, his usually composed eyes now clouded with pain, his shoulders slumping visibly.

Margaret sat on the bed’s edge, a handkerchief pressed to her mouth, softly sobbing. She looked up as he entered, then stood and moved aside. “Go talk to your grandpa.”

Ethan knelt by the bed, taking James’s hand.

Grandpa slowly opened his eyes, his hazy gaze finding Ethan. His voice, surprisingly, was still pretty clear.

“Eth, find your brother. Bring him home.”

Ethan froze.

“Don’t you blame him.”

The old man coughed twice. “Blame your damn father,” he snapped. “If it weren’t for him, the Carter family wouldn’t be tangled up in this whole scandal.”

“And don’t you dare blame me for this. I could tell Clara was a good girl. That’s why I forced you to marry her, to break you and…”

“Grandpa.”

Ethan cut him off.”I don’t blame you. Clara… she’s a good woman.”

The old man stared for a moment, then a relieved smile touched his lips.”That’s good. Remember, find your brother and bring him back into the family.”

“I got it.”

Ethan nodded, his fingertips tracing his grandpa’s frail hand.

‘Go on, James said. Let me rest.”

James closed his eyes.

Ethan and Margaret slipped out quietly.

Once they hit the hallway, the sorrow on Margaret’s face faded. Her brows furrowed, her voice laced with suppressed anger. Grandpa’s really lost his mind.”

“That woman seduced your dad back then, had that bastard kid. It was already a stain on the Carter family. Now he wants to bring him back to split the inheritance?”

Ethan frowned.”Mom, I know you’re hurting, but this is Grandpa’s wish. We have to find him.”

He knew this was a deep wound for Margaret, something she’d carried for years. His father’s affair back then had almost ruined half her life.

Margaret scoffed and turned her head, clearly still fuming.

Ethan offered a few more words of comfort, then told David to take her back to the old estate. He turned and headed towards Clara’s room.

He pushed the door open. Clara was asleep in the hospital bed.

Ethan walked over silently, tucking the blanket around her. His fingertips accidentally brushed her cheek. The cool, soft touch made his heart jump, and he instinctively snatched his hand back.

He stood by the bed for a moment, his eyes drifting from her pale lips to her slender wrist.

He thought to himself: Once she’s out, he’d take her home, spoil her rotten. Get her back to that soft, almost dewy look she had when they first

met.

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< Chapter 44

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Ethan stepped out of the room and answered.

Then Diane’s voice, tight with urgency, cut in from his end.”Lu, you can’t send Olivia back to Boston! Her dad still has no idea about-”

“Ms. Bennett.”

Ethan cut her off.”Olivia killed my baby. I haven’t laid a hand on her, and that’s only because of the Bennett family.”

“What do you think Mr. Bennett would say if he knew everything she’s done?”

Diane choked on her words, utterly speechless. Finally, she just slammed the phone down in a huff.

Richard must never find out Clara is in Chicago, let alone married to Ethan!

A moment later, Diane’s anger drained away. A sly smirk played on her lips as she dialed a number, a new idea clearly brewing. Ethan hung up and walked back into the room. Clara was already awake, propped against the headboard, a tablet in her hands. The screen showed an interview from a few days ago, featuring Ethan and Natalie Parker, the Apex U.S. head.

He was angled slightly away from the camera, a faint smile on his lips. His gaze toward Natalie was perfectly gentle, almost too perfect.

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