But my hands moved faster than my brain—I shoved all five kittens into the trash can.
The moment I finished, Jonathan pushed open the door.
His gaze swept over the unconscious doctor on the floor, then to my empty birthing bed.
His brow furrowed. "What happened?"
"Where's the baby you gave birth to?"
Under Jonathan's piercing stare, I knew if I didn't come up with a believable explanation, I'd be buried alive in the next second.
My heart was about to leap out of my throat. My mind raced.
In a flash of desperation, I took a deep breath, swung my legs off the bed, and bowed deeply to Jonathan.
"Mr. Farley!"
"I—I'm so sorry!"
Jonathan's expression darkened instantly.
"Why don't you tell me exactly what you're sorry for?"
As he spoke, the bodyguard behind him was already reaching for the dagger at his waist.
I clutched my stomach, forcing a look of utter mortification onto my face, my voice trembling.
"Mr. Farley, what I just pushed out with all my might wasn't a baby!"
"It was a massive, absolutely foul, years-old case of constipation!"
"That's what knocked out the doctor!"
Dead silence filled the room.
The doctor and bodyguard stared at me in shock.
Jonathan's mouth twitched.
He eyed my belly with suspicion. "Who performed your prenatal exams?"
"Dr. James," I said quickly.
"Mr. Farley, Victoria and I have been at odds since I arrived, and Dr. James is her lover. I suspect he deliberately misdiagnosed me to make me offend you!"
"It's my own fault for being stupid enough to believe his lies. I've been eating like a pig these past few months, which is why my belly got so big. That agony just now wasn't labor—it was the world's worst bowel movement!"
Dr. James had already been dealt with anyway. Dead men tell no tales. This was his mess to take the fall for.
Jonathan stared at me, his face like thunder.
"So I've been waiting out there all this time... for you to take a shit?"
Humiliating as it was, I forced myself to nod.
"I had no idea things would turn out this ridiculous."
"I'm truly sorry for wasting your time!"
Jonathan gave me a long, unreadable look, then turned to the doctor behind him.
"Dr. Finch, examine her. See if she's telling the truth."
It's over.
Dear God.
You're really not leaving me with a shred of dignity OR my life, are you?
Under Jonathan's watchful gaze, I extended my arm with the resignation of someone walking to the gallows. I could practically hear the Grim Reaper calling my name.
Dr. Victor Finch examined me thoroughly, then pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Mr. Farley, Miss Henson's physical condition is... rather unusual."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Unusual how?"
Dr. Finch's tone was clinical.
"Her heartbeat is strong, and her circulation is robust. She shows none of the typical signs of someone who's just given birth."
"Based on this, she genuinely doesn't appear to be postpartum."
I gazed at Dr. Finch like he was my personal savior.
I could have kowtowed to him right then and there.
Ordinary women lose half their strength giving birth.
But I wasn't ordinary.
Those five little kittens together weighed less than a few ounces. Delivering them was no different from... well, exactly what I'd claimed.
If Jonathan weren't standing right there, I could've sprinted a hundred meters without breaking a sweat.
Jonathan's face grew even darker after hearing the report.
He was probably picturing himself mobilizing his entire household, waiting solemnly outside the door—only to be rewarded with this. A vein pulsed at his temple.
His cold gaze fixed on me, and his voice dropped to a dangerous register.
"What an idiot."
"Starting today, you're moving to the storage room in the back courtyard. You're not to leave without my permission."
The storage room?
I nodded eagerly.
"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Farley!"
