Chapter 108: The Pregnancy Report

Lia stood up, brushing off her pants. "Why would I keep working when I can get paid for doing nothing? I can't stand working with you another day. Pay the penalty, and that's it. See you—or rather, never see you again." Watching her storm off, Leonard closed his eyes with an exasperated expression. "What a mess"

That evening, when Bella finished work, Lia was already waiting outside the hospital. When Bella got in the car, she asked about the contract.

Lia scoffed. "Guess who the other party is?"

Bella shook her head. "How would I know?"

Through gritted teeth, Lia said, "It's Leonard! He wanted to terminate the contract because of last night—just to get back at me for insulting him! But it's okay now. He doubled the penalty fee, so I'm not losing out. Plus, I don't have to do his work anymore. The money came through this afternoon. Let's go! I'll treat you and my studio team to a great dinner to celebrate after these hard weeks!"

Bella was still trying to make sense of it all. "Wait, you're saying the other party is Leonard? How could it be him?"

Lia shrugged, dismissing it. "How should I know? Maybe he just happened to need sculptures and found out through you that I make them. What's there to figure out?"

Bella, always practical, said, "I don't think I ever mentioned you to him. Even though Leonard and I aren't super close, we know each other well enough. Anyway, now that this is behind us, you two should let it go. It's better to make friends than enemies."

Lia scoffed. "Who wants to be friends with him? Just because I don't get along with him doesn't mean it'll affect your relationship. Besides having money and being good-looking, he has nothing special. My opinion stands. Enough of that. Let's go eat!"

Bella hesitated, then warned her softly, "Lia, Leonard's not someone you should cross. To put it bluntly, he's ruthless. Not just him—the whole Sawyer family is like that. So, it's best to leave things as they are and not provoke him further."

Lia slammed on the brakes. "Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me this sooner? I wiped my tears on his suit this morning and cursed him out! Do you think it's too late to apologize?"

Bella sighed. "Forget it. I'm more worried that you two will fight again if you apologize. Just let it go."

That night, as Lia lay in bed, she still clutched her phone, feeling uneasy. "Are you sure I don't need to call Leonard and apologize? I promise I'll be sincere. I'm scared he'll come after me I'm afraid of dying."

Bella, exhausted, replied, "You're the one who's scaring me right now. I already told you it's fine. If you're worried, I'll talk to him for you. I've operated on his father before, so his family owes me some respect. I know him well enough."

Lia nodded eagerly. "Please make sure to tell him, then. Help me pass on my apology and make sure it's sincere. You should have told me earlier. What if I die because of this? How could you let that happen?"

On the verge of falling asleep, Bella muttered, "I'm not ready for you to die yet. But if you continue like this, I might just be okay with it."

Chapter 108: The Pregnancy Report (continued)

Lia finally quieted down, and peace returned.

The next day, Bella had surgery scheduled early, so she arrived at the hospital before dawn. After the surgery, she stepped out of the operating room and saw the one person she least wanted to see—Amber.

Bella had no intention of acknowledging her and walked away, expressionless. But Amber called out to her, "Ignoring me won't make you feel any better."

Bella stopped. "What do you want?"

She caught a glimpse of the document in Amber's hand. Her heart sank as she saw the words clearly: "Pregnancy Report."