Chapter 2 She Is Pregnant
"Only a slut can give birth to a bastard! Look at your good daughter, so young, yet she goes to hotel rooms with a man!"
Her mother knelt on the ground, and her grandmother threw a pile of photos at her face.
Her mother was already unsteady, obviously, she had been kneeling for a long time, her face was injured, and her forehead had obvious bruising, clearly from knocking her head repeatedly.
Her grandmother was bullying her mother again, but this time, she didn't know what it was for.
"Mom-" Shirley suddenly threw the bag in her hand to the ground, pounced forward, and knelt in front of her grandmother. "Grandma, what did my mom do wrong again? Why do you have to hit her like this?"
Grandma Wright looked at her disdainfully, suddenly picked up a photo from the table, and slapped it hard across Shirley's face.
"Do you still have the face to ask what she did wrong? Your mom can't even give birth to a child, that's her biggest mistake! Even you, the adopted bastard from outside is a bitch!" Grandma Wright swept her and her mother with disgust, her eyes revealing obvious disdain. "Today someone sent these photos directly to our house! They said you went to a hotel with a stranger! You lowly thing, you've tarnished the reputation of our Wright family!"
Upon hearing her grandmother's words, the color drained from Shirley's face. She picked up the photo on the ground, only to find a picture of herself and that man sleeping on a bed!
She flung the photo far away. What was this? How could there be these photos?!
And... how did these photos end up in her grandmother's hands?
"Grandma..." She opened her mouth, attempting to explain, but found herself unable to say anything because everything in the photo was true!
Her mother tried to explain, "Mom, Shirley is..."
Before her mother, Mrs. Wright, could finish her sentence, Grandma Wright pounded the table angrily and shouted, "Who gave you the guts to argue?! The photos came directly to our house, can they still falsely accuse your daughter? The older one can't give birth to a child, and the younger one is immoral! What sins did our Wright family commit that we ended up welcoming women like you who bring shame and corruption?"
Grandma Wright grabbed a coffee cup and slammed it hard on Mrs. Wright's forehead.
Shirley saw her grandmother about to throw something toward her mother again, so she quickly turned and hugged her mother.
"Bang!"
The cup fell directly on Shirley's back, shattering into pieces.
Shirley felt an intense heat and sharp pain on her back as if it wasn't her own body that was hurting anymore.
"Shirley..." Her mother saw that Shirley used her body to shield her from the cup, and her eyes turned red with worry. "Does it hurt?"
Shirley shook her head lightly, her eyes also turning red.
What's a little pain?!
Over the years, her mother had endured much more pain than this.
Grandma Wright snorted coldly. She couldn't stand seeing their mother and daughter display such deep affection for each other.
At that moment, the TV finally finished its long advertisement and switched to a news segment, showing a series of photos.
"This morning, heir to the Nelson Family Group, Keith, was caught in a scandal of having an affair with a woman in a hotel room. From the photos, we can see the room in chaos, clothes strewn all over the floor..."
Grandma Wright stared at Shirley's photo on the television and became instantly furious. She grabbed her cane and approached Shirley and her mother.
"What a disaster! Even having an affair makes it onto television! It's so shameful, how could our family raise such a despicable person like you? Get out, both of you! Get out!" she yelled.
Shirley never expected this incident to make it onto television. However, she had no time to think about the news right now. She held on tightly to her mother, gritting her teeth, not daring to resist or step out of the house. Because once they stepped out, they could never come back.
Just at that moment, someone rushed in through the door, shouting, "Mom..."
Upon hearing the voice, Shirley's eyes immediately filled with hope. It was her father coming back! She eagerly looked at her father, hoping he would speak up and plead for her mother.
However, Shirley's father, Mr. Wright, looked at them, extended his hand, but then pulled it back, avoiding eye contact awkwardly.
Shirley's heart slowly turned cold. If even her father couldn't protect them, how much longer could she and her mother stay in this home?
For all these years, her father had been so weak, always standing by helplessly whenever her mother was abused by Grandma, or apologizing on his knees afterward, but nothing ever changed.
Enough! They had truly had enough!
This kind of family was truly despairing.
Mr. Wright dared not speak a word for his wife and daughter; he could only beg Grandma Wright in a low voice, "Mom, if you injure her. Who will cook dinner tonight?"
Grandma Wright shouted, "I'm not dead yet! I can still cook! Let them go, far away!" After saying that, she hobbled into the kitchen, really starting to cook.
From that moment on, Shirley made up her mind. She would work hard to earn money so that she could bring her mother out, and then never come back!
Sitting on the bus returning to the city, tears couldn't help but burst again.
Suddenly, a message popped up on her phone, "Shirley, what's happened to you these past few days? Why aren't you answering my calls? I'm doing well overseas, remember to call me back when you see this message. Love you, William."
Shirley suddenly clenched her phone tightly, feeling intense pain in her chest. But those words of breaking up were so difficult to say.
It had been two years, exactly two years of emotions, how could she just let go like that? Emotions were not like balloons, they couldn't simply be forgotten with one prick.
Shirley could only seclude herself in a small corner, passively rejecting William's calls over and over again.
To avoid having her bonus deducted, Shirley took a day off to rest, and when her injuries were almost healed, she went back to work, continuing her mundane tasks.
Every morning, she was responsible for ordering milk, coffee, and juice for all her colleagues in the logistics office, and she also had to deliver newspapers to everyone's desks. There were even tasks that didn't belong to Shirley, but she would still accept them fully and then work overtime to complete them.
She was just an ordinary girl, even somewhat humble. With no famous university background, she was already content to be able to work in this super conglomerate.
******
Time passed quickly.
The busy days made her feel as if the night from a month ago, that man, and those painful things were all just a nightmare.
As usual, Shirley individually delivered the coffee and juice her office colleagues wanted in the morning, and then placed the files she had worked on late last night neatly on their desks.
At this time, the colleagues began to enter the office one after another.
"Morning!" Shirley politely greeted them, but no one responded to her.
Shirley awkwardly withdrew her hand and prepared to return to her workstation to continue working.
At this moment, the head of the logistics department rushed in hastily and greeted as soon as he entered the door, "The CEO called a board meeting suddenly, everyone needs to help, including you, Shirley!"
Shirley was startled and hurriedly followed along.
The colleagues around her had already habitually stuffed their files into Shirley's arms and then left with laughter. They had long gotten used to it, as long as Shirley was there, it was as if they suddenly didn't have hands anymore. They would delegate any task to Shirley and they would only need to inspect the results.
Shirley didn't mind, struggling to hold a large stack of files and trailing behind them. She squeezed herself into the elevator with a pile of folders almost as tall as her head, constantly apologizing to the people around her.
When the elevator door opened, Shirley stumbled along behind the others and hurried toward the huge conference room.
At that moment, someone shouted, "Mr. Keith is here!"
Then the noisy crowd suddenly quieted down, automatically making way and standing in two rows.
Shirley could also feel a strong aura permeating the air, and couldn't help but turn around to see what kind of person was bringing this powerful atmosphere.
Suddenly, her vision went black, her brain became dizzy, and the folders in her hand scattered all over the floor as she fell forward.
Everyone looked at this scene in disbelief, with only one thought in their minds: Shirley is in big trouble this time! She actually bumped into the CEO in a public setting, she should prepare to be fired!
Keith was walking briskly toward the conference room when he suddenly saw a girl stumbling out of the crowd, holding a pile of folders in her arms, with the folders falling all over the place, and then falling toward him.
He instinctively tried to dodge, but when he saw the girl's appearance, he unconsciously took a step forward and hugged her.
There was a collective gasp from the surrounding people, and everyone was stunned! Oh my, Mr. Keith hugged her?
God knows that their CEO avoids any association with women! In the past, those who tried to get close to Mr. Keith through their looks were all severely punished, without exception! No one has been able to successfully get close to Mr. Keith! Today, Mr. Keith personally reached out to hug this inconspicuous employee?
As Shirley passed out, she faintly and hazily seemed to see a breathtakingly handsome face.
How strange, why does that face look so much like the man she met a month ago...
And then she completely fainted.
Keith lowered his head and saw that the woman who crashed into his arms had already lost consciousness.
His handsome brows slightly furrowed, and just as everyone held their breath, preparing to face the CEO's wrath, Keith immediately held Shirley horizontally and turned around, handing her over to his assistant. "Since she is an employee of our company, take her to the hospital!"
The assistant quickly took over the unconscious Shirley and left.
Keith looked at the scattered files on the ground, frowning, looking like he was going to get angry. Several people immediately rushed forward to pick up the folders from the ground, clearing the way, and only then did Keith, without looking back, stride away.
After Keith left, the other employees remained in a state of astonishment with their jaws dropped.
"Mr. Keith...he's always so annoyed by female employees getting close to him, right?" a female employee couldn't help but murmur, "Why wasn't Shirley fired?"
"I think I'm a bit envious of Shirley," another female employee said infatuatedly, looking at Keith's retreating figure.
******
After a series of examinations, the doctor smiled at the assistant who brought Shirley to the hospital and said, "Congratulations, you're going to be a father!"
The assistant was stunned and took a while to react. This female employee is pregnant?
Mr. Keith suddenly handed this woman over to him. Could this child be his? So, Mr. Keith's sexual orientation is normal, and he no longer has to worry about his chastity.
While the assistant was marveling at his own safety, a burning gossip ignited within him! He couldn't waste any more time and had to quickly tell Mr. Keith the good news!