17

Stella was terrified to go back to the Conrad’s . Rather, she spent some time at Riley’s residence and then, grudgingly, left that evening for home. She came up with a scheme to avoid speaking with Clarence  while driving.

Before he found out she was home, she was going to take a bath right away, crawl beneath the blanket, and turn out the lights. Seeing as how she was asleep, she reasoned that he wouldn't force her out of the bed.

She was surprised, though, that he arrived home earlier than normal. He  had just taken a shower when she came inside.

He was drying his hair with a towel, and Joseph stood behind him. He glanced at Stella for a brief moment before turning away. He was not paying any attention to her. That seemed like a good thing for her.

She went to a corner, got herself some clothing, and entered the bathroom, intending to take as long as possible in her bath. She continued to fear having to face him, so she spent as much time as she could in the restroom.

When a knock on the bathroom door shook her  out of her reverie and an icy voice could be heard beyond the door, she was still thinking about everything.

“Do you believe you own the bathroom? For what duration do you plan to stay in there?" When Clarence  cursed at her, she  leaped out of the tub and nearly fell. Fortunately, she managed to hang onto the wall before collapsing onto her head.

She said as she quickly dried her body with a towel and turned off the faucet, "'ll be out in a minute,"

She smoothed her clothing and threw them on. She would have preferred to back off from him, but he  would not have it. She walked out of the bathroom, her hair still wet and disheveled. Her hair was soggy and stuck to her shoulders, causing the dampness to seep into her previously dry garments.

"Are you going to go to the restroom? I'm through.”  In an effort to isolate herself from him, she  bent her head and made a sly circle around him. However, he  suddenly grabbed her wrist before she could go very far.

Stella stared at his hand, her eyes naturally widening as she sought to gather her thoughts. "What, what are you doing?"

He  scoffed as he moved approached her while slowly turning the wheelchair's wheels with his other hand. With a snarl, he looked at her. With a calm but threatening tone, he said, "Stella, your deadline time has come."

She was not good at lying. Without even looking up at him, she replied in a small voice, "I am aware of it. The child is already gone from me."

She really was that foolish. Ultimately, she was unable to devise a workable solution for her issues. Nor did she know how to persuade him to accept her child. Although she was unaware of the child's paternity, she was fully aware that she would give her life to save the life that had begun inside of her.

Would she not be a murderer if she could easily abort the child?

"Is that so?" He laughed scornfully, and his voice became a little higher in pitch.

Her eyelashes were clearly shaking from nerves. She grew even more quiet as she said, "I really have aborted the child." She said to him as she held up what appeared to be a banknote, "This is the proof that I've miscarried.”

Her hands were shaking. “Look it over."

He  did not pick up the piece of paper. There was a dark undercurrent of unease in the air. With her head hanging low, her still-wet hair occasionally leaked water onto the ground.

She said her voice quivering with anxiety, "I'm being serious,"

He took the paper out of her palm with a chilly snort. "Who is careless enough to fabricate your miscarriage certificate? Do you really believe that this piece of sh*t can trick me?” Clarence tossed the crumpled paper sheets to her feet.

She  felt a shiver go through her frail body as her head snapped up. Her lips were pale and lifeless, and she had to work hard to keep her voice steady.

"You-" The hold tightened on her wrist, and she sensed that if she didn't take action, her wrist would break shortly. She wrinkled her brows, as if in agony, but she bit her lip hard and remained silent.

"I've long guessed you'd never come clean with me." He  pushed her into his grip with even more force. He never let her the chance to escape. He put a plastic bag down her throat.

She glanced down at her palm and saw that the plastic bag held a white tablet. Her face turned pale quickly as she tried to push the plastic bag away from her as if some horrible thought had just crossed her mind.

He  was only encouraged to tighten his hold by her intentions. "Throughout my entire life, I have detested women exactly like you. You pretend to be innocent while being egotistical in order to ruin other people's families. You are definitely holding some evil intentions because you showed up at my home with an illegitimate child. Do you really believe you can avoid dealing with your issues and suffer the consequences?”

He took off the plastic bag by himself, and a savage and gory smile spread across his lips. "Don't you want to spend all of your time with the Conrad family? Come on, down this pill. I won't make you the Conrad family's lady until after that."

She knew what the tablet performed without even having to think about it. Within his hug, her face turned even paler and her entire body trembled violently.

"No, I'm not interested! Clarence , you have to trust me. That evidence is entirely authentic. Please just believe me once—I have already aborted my child. Alright?"

His eyes lacked warmth, and he easily grasped her chin and twisted her mouth open. With his other hand, he brutally pressed that tablet into her lips.

Despite her best efforts, she was unable to overcome the strength of an adult man due to her limited strength. He was forcing that tablet into her lips, and she was unable to move a muscle in her body. Her tongue made touch with a bitter medicinal flavor, but she  felt as though the bitterness attacked her heart right away. Her stomach was beginning to turn.

"Let... Let me go..."

"Swallow it." He  pressed harder and harder to ensure the tablet vanished into her lips. He appeared to be a zombie due of his expression. He was acting as though it were the most natural thing in the world, doing the deed without even blinking.

She dry heaved and gagged, finally at her breaking point. He  gave her a scowl. Feeling that she was actually about to throw up, he  relaxed his hold on her.

In the next instant, she  sprung up like a shot and raced toward the restroom. He observed her small figure go into the restroom and lean over the sink to hurl her stomach's contents. His look darkened with hatred and his visage become even more repulsive.

She persisted in regurgitating seemingly everything she had ever eaten. The distinctively bitter taste of the medication would not go away. She kept throwing up because of this repulsive feeling. But fortune was on her side. At last, she managed to get rid of that medication. After all, she hadn't eaten it.

Only after what seemed like hours did she  feel like herself again. But her body felt so weak, and she was so fatigued. She made herself clean the restroom for a short while before crashing into the toilet bowl.

She'd just taken a bath, but there were beads of cold sweat on her neck and forehead. Her abdomen ached from sharp aches... Unconsciously, she  cupped her stomach.

Why was her stomach hurting so much when she was positive she hadn't ingested the tablet? Is it possible that she may have accidentally swallowed a small amount of the medication and that it was already altering her body? Her gaze flashed about anxiously at the notion of this possibility.

She got up sluggishly from the bowl of the toilet and stumbled out of the bathroom. He made a line with his lips. "Where are you going now?"

She kept moving forward, not responding to him.

"Stop right there!" He gave a growl at her form and hesitated for a little minute as she  froze at the cold tone in his voice. She fell to the ground like a doll in the next instant, without any prior warning.