Chapter 130: Chapter 130

Elena's eyes snapped open as if someone had shaken her awake. She pushed him so harshly that his elbow collided with the door. Quickly, she got down and hurried into the building, disappearing from Jacob's sight before he could react.

Jacob winced in pain as he rubbed his elbow, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "Geez! What's wrong with her?" He shook his head and drove off, still smiling foolishly.

Elena rummaged through her bag for her keys, her fingers trembling as she unlocked the door and double-checked it was secure. She buried her face in her hair, overwhelmed by the events downstairs. Goodness gracious!

As she threw her bag onto the couch, she touched her lips, her mind racing with questions. Why did Jacob kiss her? What was wrong with him?

She grabbed her phone and began searching for answers online. But as she scrolled through the search results, her darkening eyes only added to her frustration.

After a quick shower, Elena emerged from the bathroom to find a series of unanswered calls from Jacob on her phone. She hissed in annoyance and decided to ignore him from now on. Leaving her phone on the nightstand, she collapsed onto the bed and drifted off to sleep.

........

Sean set the spoon beside Andrea's lips, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he said, "Open up." She smiled gently, her eyes never leaving his as she took the spoon from him.

As he fed her soup, Sean's hands moved with love and care, his brow furrowed in concentration. Occasionally, he would pause to clean her lips with the edge of the spoon, his serious expression softening into a gentle smile.

Andrea felt her heart swell with emotion as she gazed up at him. She was grateful for these small moments of tenderness, stolen from the chaos of their lives.

"I'm full," she said finally, pushing the bowl away. "You should get going to work. It's late, and you're not even dressed yet."

Sean hesitated, his eyes locked on hers. "I'm not going to work today," he said finally. "I want to stay by your side and take care of you."

Andrea's cheeks flushed as she looked away, but Sean's gentle touch on her cheek brought her gaze back around.

As they sat together in comfortable silence, Sean's thoughts turned to their future. He knew that nothing was certain, but he was determined to protect their family.

'' You get some rest while I pass out an information to Drew, quickly"

Andrea nodded and carefully laid down and dragged the duvet to her chest.

Sean made sure he was alone in the study after conducting a thorough search; he knew how sneaky the twins could be, and they might be hiding under his table, playing hide and seek with each other. He pulled out his phone and called Drew. "Tell me," he said, "I just found out that Ms. Wallner came here for a court case, which will take place the following week."

Just as Sean was about to hang up, a thought occurred to him: "But the Wallners sold their home before relocating abroad. Just in case, tell me the hotel she's staying at ASAP." Drew replied, "Ms. Wallner isn't currently at the hotel; she's staying at her uncle's house here in New York."

"Ah, Carmen has an uncle in New York?" Sean's tone was incredulous. "Since when?" Drew explained, "They moved to New York with his wife and their only daughter, the Trevors – Franklin Trevor, Mirabel Trevor, and their daughter Megan Trevor."

Sean was stunned by this revelation. He didn't know the bitches were related. This didn't bode well for him or his family. He couldn't shake off the feeling that this might be part of one of their dubious schemes to attack him or Andrea. As he hung up, Sean decided to be extra vigilant about protecting his family.

He didn't know what they might want to do to harm them – Andrea was pregnant and ill, and he couldn't afford anything to happen to her or their unborn baby as well. After hanging up, Sean returned to the room and found Andrea fast asleep; he sat down on the couch with his laptop and decided to work for a while.

He began planning to hire additional security at the house to protect it whenever he wasn't around. Nothing must happen to Andrea – the Jones wouldn't fail to snatch this opportunity to harm him.

As Sean gazed down at his wife with a tender expression, she looked peaceful in her sleep. All he wanted was for her to remain this way and have nothing to worry about.

Just then, Pearl burst into the room, calling out "Mommy, mommy! Come play with us!" Sean placed a finger on his lips, whispering "Shhh." "Your mom is sleeping. Come here." Pearl pouted her lips, and Sean smiled as he scooped her up onto his thigh.

"Why are you so adorable?" he asked, hugging her close. "Angel, why that look?"

Pearl's response was immediate: "Why isn't momma playing with us?"

Sean explained gently, "Do you remember what I told you the other day? Your mom is planning on giving you a baby sister, and if she doesn't get enough rest, you won't get a little sister to play with anymore."

If momma rests," Pearl asked hopefully, "Ruby and I will get a little sister to play with?"

"Yes, princess," Sean reassured her. "Go play with Ruby before your mom gives you a sister too. I'm sure she must be waiting for you." Pearl nodded her head and scampered off to find Ruby.

********

As the days turned into week, Sean devoted himself to caring for Andrea at home. She had tried to persuade him to return to work, but he was adamant about staying by her side.

"Baby, I'm not complaining, am I?" Sean said, smiling. "I love spending quality time with you at home and wanting to be all you think about all day and nothing else."

Andrea's head rested on Sean's thigh as she lay down. "I know, but still...you're the CEO of a huge company, and even though you've left a trusted person in charge, remember, no one does it better than the CEO himself."

Sean caressed her hair and his hand went to her stomach. Her bump had started to show, making him incredibly happy that they were expecting another little one soon.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Drew. "Hey, boss, Carmen is at the company and insists on seeing you," he said.

Sean glanced at his watch and realized it was almost time to pick up the kids from their piano lessons. "Baby, I have some important documents I need to fetch quickly from the company. I'll be back soon," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Andrea nodded. "You go. When you get back, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

After Sean left for the company, he met Carmen sitting on the couch in his office. Her head was lowered, but when she noticed his presence, she raised it and their eyes met after two years.

Sean found her drastically different from how she looked years ago. Her waist-length hair was now styled in a bob, and she wasn't wearing heavy makeup like she used to. Simple-looking clothes were not her specialty, but she was wearing them today.

"Why are you here?" Sean asked immediately, realizing that how Carmen looked was no longer his concern.

Carmen smiled calmly. "Sean, long time no see! Wow, you haven't changed a bit."

"That doesn't answer my question," Sean said sternly. "I don't have all day to chat with you."

Carmen chuckled bitterly. "Oh, it's nothing really. I just wanted to see you and apologize for troubling you in the past. In the past few years, I regretted every action of mine and now that I'm here in New York, I decided to use this opportunity to ask for your forgiveness so I can move forward with my life."

"Well...you shouldn't really be apologizing to just me but most importantly my wife," Sean said. "You've done her wrong countless times and made my mother's hatred for her stronger in the past. If that's all, please kindly take your leave."

Carmen's eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Does it mean you've forgiven me? I'm so ashamed to even show my face to you and it took me a lot of courage...I know this is stupid of me to ask but Sean, I was really hoping we could still be friends for old times' sake."

Sean shook his head firmly. " I have been polite enough with you. Please leave my office."

Carmen reluctantly got up and quietly left the office, finally allowing Sean to relax. He picked up some important documents and headed out of the company to pick up the kids from their lesson.

........

Andrea was tired of resting in bed and decided to take a walk in the garden. As soon as she got up, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, causing her to wince and scrunch up her face. "You're such a naughty baby, aren't you?" she said, rubbing her bump with a joyous smile.

She took a couple of steps towards the door, but another piercing pain struck her, causing her to fall to the ground. The pain continued and intensified, making her cry out in distress. She felt a warm liquid sliding down her thighs. As she raised her dress, she found herself covered in blood.

Luckily, the twins nanny was nearby and heard the strange noise coming from the room. She rushed in to find Andrea lying on the floor, groaning in pain. "Ma'am! Ma'am, are you alright?" she asked, panicked, and hurriedly knelt down beside her.

Andrea shook her head, struggling to speak up. She could only point at her phone, and Agnes knew exactly what to do. She quickly called Sean's number, but his phone remained silent by the nightstand. It wasn't until then that Agnes realized he must have forgotten his phone.

Jacob was informed, and Andrea was taken back to the hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Jones waited anxiously outside while Andrea was examined. Shortly after, the doctor finally emerged from the room.

"Where is the patient's husband?" the doctor demanded.

"He should be here soon," mrs Jones replied, "but I'm her mother, this is her father, and elder brother. You can tell us about her condition."

"What Andrea just experienced was one of the effects of placenta previa" the doctor explained.

"How is she now? Is she still in pain or—?" Mrs. Jones' eyes began to water as she asked.

"She's doing fine now, but she's asleep," the doctor advised. "I suggest you get her something rich in protein to eat when she wakes up and also make sure her husband is here when she wakes up. She kept calling his name when she was brought here."