Chapter 16 The Promised Time Has Arrived

Claire did not dare return to the Yeich house. For the time being, she dawdled at Sophia’s place until night fell. On the way back, she decided that she would take a shower, then burrow under the covers and go to sleep. Once the lights were out, Mason would probably not purposely drag her out of bed. However, Claire had not expected Mason to return early. When she entered, Mason had just finished washing up and Simon stood behind him, using a towel to dry his hair. When Mason saw that Claire had returned, he merely glanced at her before looking away. He ignored her thoroughly. ‘This is fine too,’ Claire thought to herself. She turned and walked to the corner, getting herself a change of clothes before entering the bathroom. Claire took a long time in the bathroom. She did not want to leave, for fear that she would have to face Mason once she left. Knock knock-- Claire was deep in thought when Mason’s cold voice rang out. “Is the bathroom yours? How long are you going to hog it?” Claire started and nearly fell when she heard him. Fortunately, she managed to brace herself using the wall. “I’ll be right out.” Claire turned off the shower, quickly dried herself off using the towel, and dressed hastily. She intended to continue being a coward, yet Mason would not allow that. When she emerged from the bathroom, Claire’s hair was still sopping wet, draped over her shoulders in a tangled mess. The water seeped directly into the clothes she had just changed into, dampening them. “Do… Do you want to use it? I’m done.” Claire carefully walked away from him as she finished speaking. Clap! When she walked past him, Claire was suddenly grabbed by Mason by the wrist. Claire’s beautiful eyes widened in response. Lowering her eyelids to stare at his hand, she stammered nervously, “What… what do you want?” “Hah.” Mason used his other hand to steer his wheelchair so that he faced her. “The promised time has arrived, divorcee.” His voice was calm, yet tinged with a cold harshness. His eyes were as dark as the night, as dangerous as a dormant beast. Claire had never been good at lying, so she did not dare to make eye contact with him. She averted her eyes as she said softly, “I know, I’ve already aborted the baby.” Yes. She was dumb. No good schemes came to mind. She did not know how to persuade Mason into accepting this child too. Because she did not know the origin of the child herself. However, she knew that it was a life conceived within her womb, a life that was now interconnected with hers. If she abandoned it that easily, wouldn’t that make her a murderer? “Really?” Mason laughed coldly, the tone of his voice rising slightly. Claire’s eyelashes immediately fluttered nervously. Her voice lowered even more as she said, “I… I… I… I… I have aborted it…” Her hands shook as she took a form out of her pockets and handed it to Mason. “This is a miscarriage form, take a look.” Mason did not take it. Uneasiness ran through the air. Claire’s head drooped. Droplets of water dripped onto the floor from her undried hair. “It’s real,” Claire added on, but the tone of her voice lacked confidence. Mason laughed coolly as he grabbed the piece of paper from her hand. “Who had the guts to assist you in forging a fake certificate? Did they think they could escape me, Mason Yeich?” The miscarriage form was crumpled into a ball and thrown to Claire’s feet. Claire’s head jerked upwards, her slim figure trembling. Her pale lips fluttered. “You…” The grip on her wrist tightened to the point where Claire felt it was about to be broken by him. Her delicate eyebrows wrinkled in pain, but she bit hard on her lower lip, not making a sound. “Hah. I had already guessed you would be dishonest.” Mason pulled her into his arms. Without giving her any chance to struggle, he passed her a clear plastic bag. Claire lowered her head and saw that the bag contained a white pill. Her face paled as she realized what it was. Hands shaking, she attempted to throw the pill away, but Mason tightened his grip on her. “What I, Mason Yeich, hate most in this life is women like you, so selfish but still pretending to be innocent to destroy other people’s families. Pregnant with another person’s child and filled with bad intentions, yet you still expect to be let off the hook?” He unsealed the bag himself, his smile turning evil and bloodthirsty. “Didn’t you want to stay with the Yeich family? Be good, swallow this pill, and I’ll let you stay here as the Young Madam.” Claire did not even need to think to know what the pill was. Her face paled at a rate visible to the naked eye, and her body trembled in his grip. “No, I don’t want to! Mason, believe me, the form isn’t fake, the baby has been aborted. Believe me, please believe me, alright?” Mason’s eyes were so cold, there was virtually no warmth in them. His long, slender fingers easily gripped her jaw and forced her lips open. Using his other hand, he ruthlessly shoved the pill into her mouth. Claire resisted the entire process, yet the difference in strength between the woman and the man was too stark. She could not move one bit in Mason’s grip, and could only watch as he stuffed the pill into her mouth. The pill dissolved lightly as it hit her tongue and its peculiar taste emanated from it. The bitter taste hit Claire in the heart as her stomach began hurtling again. “Let… let me go…” “Swallow it.” Mason held her down relentlessly, trying to push the pill down her mouth. His eyes and expression were similar to that of a resurrected corpse as he did this without showcasing any emotion. Unable to hold it in anymore, Claire let out a gagging sound from her throat. Mason wrinkled his eyebrows. Seeing that she was about to throw up, Mason let go. The next second, Claire was on her feet and rushing away. Mason watched the petite figure rush into the bathroom and lean against the sink while throwing up. His handsome face turned slightly green as the hostility in his eyes increased slightly. Claire leaned against the sink and threw up until she was in a daze. The bitter taste of the pill lingered in her mouth for a long time, constantly hitting her taste buds and causing her to throw up again and again. However, something good that came from this was that the pill had also been expelled from her body. She had not ingested it. Claire did not know how much time had passed before she was back to her original state. However, she was already exhausted to the point of collapsing. She barely managed to clean the bathroom before she collapsed limp onto the toilet seat. She had just taken a shower, but now her forehead and neck were coated with a layer of cold sweat. Her stomach hurt… Claire’s hands instinctively went to her stomach. She remembered that she had spit the pill out, why did her stomach still hurt? Had she unknowingly consumed some and that was taking effect? Claire’s eyes became panicked as she thought of that. Her face as white as a ghost, she stood up from the toilet and stumbled out, hands on her stomach. Mason pursed his thin lips together. “Where are you going?” Claire did not answer him as she walked out stubbornly. “Stop!” Mason hollered, and that did stop Claire. Her petite figure stood in place for a short while before she abruptly collapsed to one side.