Chapter 249: You're Not Too Fond of Me

Maggie tried to look indignant, hoping he wouldn't become suspicious.

But it was only today that she truly grasped the fact that some things can't stay hidden forever. With time, more and more issues will come to light. She might get away with deceiving him once or twice, but there would always come a time when she couldn't hide anything anymore. Besides, Nathael was the kind of person who was hard to fool.

Maggie swiftly changed the topic. "What did you tell your parents? Why did they bring up marriage as soon as they saw me?" Nathael raised an eyebrow, pulling her onto his lap and whispering, "They're going to be grandparents."

"What?"

Maggie looked at him in disbelief. "Did you really tell them that?"

Nathael smirked, his voice low. "You'll find out once we're back."

They didn't stay any longer. Maggie intended to head back and focus on finishing the brooch she planned to gift Nathael. Though her days weren't always busy, she still had plenty of small tasks to attend to. She needed to get it done before his birthday, which was coming up soon.

After Nathael dropped Maggie off at home, he left. Considering the Harrises' substantial business dealings, Nathael was quite busy.

As Maggie eyed the small mountain of gifts before her, curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't resist opening them. But as she unwrapped each one, her expression soured. There were all sorts of things—bird's nests, nutritional supplements, newborn gift sets, you name it. It wasn't until she flipped open a book titled "Pregnancy Precautions" that she completely lost it.

She exclaimed, frustration evident in her voice, as she grabbed her phone and dialed his number. "You told your parents I'm pregnant!"

This almost made Maggie explode with anger. What kind of reason is this? What do you mean you didn't think she'd take it seriously? Who jokes about something like this?

It's a relief that your mother didn't see me as some seductive temptress.

Maggie took a deep breath, her expression turning cold. "So, where do you plan to produce a child nine months from now, Mr. Harris?"

Nathael raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. After a moment's thought, he replied in a serious tone, "How about I start trying my best from now on?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Maggie blurted out, her face turning red with embarrassment a few seconds later as she realized what she had said. "Don't even think about it. I don't plan on having a baby!" she snapped in frustration before abruptly ending the call.

After calming down for a moment, she couldn't help but wonder: What on earth is this all about? How could he say something like that?

Maggie rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on as she glanced at the white jade bracelet on her wrist and the agreement that Marcus had transferred to her. Her mood sank even further. Regardless of whether it was because of the mistaken assumption about the baby, the Harrises had shown her enough respect and consideration. But… she feared she was destined to disappoint them.

Maggie's mood was far from good. She sat there, feeling dazed for a while, until the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. After a few seconds of hesitation, she got up and opened the door. "Ms. Adam, here are your flowers and gifts. Please sign here," the delivery person said, handing her a bunch of pink flowers and a box, along with a form to sign.

"Did they say who it's from?" Maggie asked, her mind automatically jumping to Nathael as she scribbled her signature.

"They only left the name 'Harris' as the sender."

Maggie nodded, not dwelling on it too much.

Back in her room, she arranged the flowers and was about to call Nathael when she received a call from Timothy. Maggie hesitated for a moment, a sense of unease washing over her. Could these flowers be from Timothy?

"Did you get the flowers?" Timothy's soft voice floated through the phone, prompting Maggie to inhale deeply.

"Thanks for the flowers, but you know I already have a boyfriend," Maggie replied straightforwardly, not wanting to entertain any further entanglements with him.

Upon hearing this, Timothy fell silent for a moment. Then he said with a disappointed tone, "I just thought you might like them."

Silence fell between them, leaving an awkward atmosphere. Maggie didn't want to deny it. From the start, she couldn't say she disliked Timothy. After all, how could one dislike a frail, slender, yet harmless young man? But she trusted Nathael. His insight and perceptiveness about human nature far exceeded hers. She stayed silent, considering how to ease the tension. Then, she heard Timothy sigh softly before saying, "Looks like you're not too fond of me."

Maggie hesitated briefly before responding, "You're reading too much into it. It's not about fondness. It's just that some things don't quite fit."

Timothy remained composed. He added, "I won't bother you for now. If you need anything, you can always reach out to me or Mr. Hudson."

"Thanks," Maggie said before hanging up.

She breathed out softly, unable to pinpoint why, but talking to Timothy always left her feeling drained, despite his gentle and harmless appearance. Moreover, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about Timothy, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She couldn't help but remember the friend he had mentioned.

With that in mind, she immediately called Lucas. Shortly after, a lazy and husky voice answered the phone, clearly still half asleep. "Hello?"

"Could you do me a favor and check if there's a deceased friend of Timothy who was blind and disfigured?" Maggie asked.

"Blind and disfigured? That sounds terrible! Was it a guy or a girl?" Lucas inquired, sitting up and reaching for his computer.

"Check all genders," Maggie replied after a moment of thought.

"Do you know when they died? Or any other information?" Lucas inquired.

Maggie thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, nothing else."

"That might take some digging. Give me a bit of time," Lucas said, agreeing to the request. As he started searching, he found it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack—almost like they'd been wiped off the map entirely.

"Any updates from Flora West and the Phantom Surgeon?" Maggie asked, though she didn't expect an immediate answer.

Hearing this, Lucas let out a sigh. "Not yet. The tricky part is that we don't have much to go on about their appearances or any other details. Flora used to run a free clinic, but she always wore a veil. And now, after so many years, it's hard to discern."

Maggie wasn't exactly disappointed, but there was still a slight tinge of it. "No hurry, take your time looking into it."

After the call ended, Maggie suddenly noticed the rectangular box that came along with the flowers from Timothy. It looked like a scroll. Maggie hesitated for a moment, then slowly took out the scroll and unfolded it. It was a painting. The moment she saw it, the painting slipped from Maggie's hand, and her face turned instantly pale.

This cleaned-up version improves grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure for better flow and readability. It also corrects inconsistencies in names (Timothy vs. Timmothy) and clarifies some ambiguous phrasing.