Chapter 705

They used to laugh, joke, and argue—sometimes playfully, sometimes seriously. Tanya would blink her big eyes and playfully tug at Richard's arm. When upset, she'd blush like an angry kitten, scratching or even biting him. But now, she only called him "Mr. Hampton" with a blank expression and kept her distance.

"Why have things come to this?" Richard wondered. June's earlier words echoed in his mind: Tiffany's conflict stemmed from Jennie.

At the appraisal conference, Richard had seen Jennie, the woman supposedly resembling Tiffany. But to him, she was a mere imitation, a counterfeit unworthy of comparison.

With that thought, Richard fell asleep. As soon as his eyes closed, fragmented yet familiar memories flooded his mind—pieces of a long-ago life, crashing over him like waves.

A knock jolted him awake. "Mr. Hampton, I found something!" John Ross called from outside.

"Come in," Richard replied.

John burst in, holding documents and photos. "Mr. Hampton, something's definitely wrong with Jennie! Look at this!"

He laid out an old childhood photo. "This was taken when Jennie was a child. Most of her photos were destroyed, but a servant secretly saved this one years ago."

Ten-year-old Jennie, in a school uniform, beamed confidently. But something was amiss. She looked nothing like her present self. She must have had plastic surgery; otherwise, the difference was impossible.

John's anger flared. "What's her deal? Is she so jealous of Madam's beauty that she altered her face to look like her? She must have ulterior motives!"

John looked up for agreement, but Richard stared out the window, a distant look in his eyes.

"Mr. Hampton?" John called softly.

Richard snapped out of it, his cold demeanor softening slightly as a faint smile touched his lips. Without a word, he leaped out the window.

"Mr. Hampton?" John rushed to the windowsill, but Richard was gone. "He's getting faster," John muttered, shaking his head. He suspected Richard was heading to Tiffany, who, he felt, was still angry and refusing to see him.

He was right. When Richard arrived at Luna Villa, its top-level security system—electric fences, alarms, and motion detectors—was fully active. Even Richard couldn't bypass it. Ironically, he'd designed the fortress-like security to protect Tiffany.

Standing at the gate, Richard sighed and waited.

Inside, Tiffany felt unwell. She'd just come from the bathroom, pale and exhausted. June asked the kitchen to prepare clam chowder, but the smell worsened Tiffany's condition.

"Take it away! Now!" she ordered.

June quickly removed the soup, but the lingering smell made Tiffany nauseous. Hoping for relief, she went to the window. As she opened the curtains, she saw a car and a figure beside it.

'Why is he here? It's so late,' Tiffany thought. She'd decided to end things cleanly, but her hand instinctively went to her stomach.

Tiffany was two months pregnant. She'd attributed her loss of appetite to stress, but a servant's comment, later confirmed by June, revealed the truth.

The divorce papers had already been sent. Tiffany had no intention of telling Richard about the baby.

Downstairs, Richard seemed to sense her gaze. He looked up, searching for her eyes. Panicking, Tiffany quickly shut the curtains.

As the smell dissipated, the nausea passed, and Tiffany lay back in bed.

"Miss Kelley, you should eat something," June said gently. "It's not just for you. You need to think about the baby too."

"Bring it here," Tiffany said.

June had the maids serve light vegetarian dishes. Tiffany managed to eat half before exhaustion returned.

It was nearly midnight. Before bed, she checked the window again. Richard was still there. The fog obscured his figure, but she knew he was looking at her room. Tiffany closed the curtains and went to bed, sleeping poorly.

As dawn broke, rain started. Tiffany awoke, ran to the window, and saw the car and Richard were gone. Relief washed over her. People said her heart was made of ice, but she knew better. A part of her had been hollowed out long ago.

Richard returned to Royal Bay as the sun rose. His hair and clothes were damp with dew, but his disheveled state only enhanced his striking features.

John met him at the door. "Mr. Hampton, you're back! Let me guess. Did Mrs. Hampton refuse to see you?" John sounded oddly happy.

Richard shot him a sharp look. "Get Garry for me."

"Right now?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No! I'll go right now!" John ran off.

Garry happened to be at Royal Bay. John and Garry had even bet on whether Richard would see Tiffany. John didn't waste time; he forced open Garry's bedroom door and shook him awake. "Mr. York, wake up!"

The chapter numbers and percentage indicators ("187%", "87%") seem out of place and should be removed unless they are part of a larger system of numbering within the source material. I've also corrected several minor spelling and grammatical errors. The stylistic choices (e.g., use of em dashes) were maintained where they added to the original tone.