Your First Love is Pregnant? I'm Done Being Mrs. Hawthorne!

### Chapter 23: Forced Into a Corner

Even the mere mention of Luna Sterling made Zachary Hawthorne look like he was ready to kill.

"That’s true. You should focus on your debts first," Adrian Pemberton said, pulling a card from his pocket.

Nina Wainwright froze for a second before immediately refusing. "No. I want to, but if I use this, I’ll really drag you into my mess. You don’t understand Zachary Hawthorne."

Adrian Pemberton pressed the card into her hand. "Only use it if you have absolutely no other choice. For now, if you can stall, then stall."

Unable to refuse, Nina Wainwright took the card.

"Actually, my family has become quite well-off since we moved. My salary is just a drop in the ocean compared to Zachary Hawthorne’s, but my family doesn’t put any restrictions on my spending. So you really don’t have to worry about getting me into trouble," Adrian Pemberton said gently.

Clutching the card, Nina Wainwright said with immense gratitude, "Thank you. I’ll keep trying my best to find a job."

"I’m asking around for you, too. Trying to find somewhere beyond Zachary Hawthorne’s reach," Adrian Pemberton said.

"If worse comes to worst, I’ll just get a normal job. Food delivery pays well these days. Even if you don’t sign with a platform, you can still make good money." Nina Wainwright believed that as long as she was willing to work harder than anyone else, she could earn a living.

Hearing her words, Adrian Pemberton’s heart simply ached for her.

She was such a talented dancer. She could walk into any dance studio and easily earn two or three hundred thousand a month, yet Zachary Hawthorne had her so completely suppressed that she was now reduced to delivering food to make ends meet.

It wasn’t that he looked down on delivery work; he just felt that Nina Wainwright should never have been forced into this position.

By the time they finished breakfast, the sun was already high in the sky.

On the way back to the hospital, Nina Wainwright couldn’t help but ask, "About the director of the inpatient department... I might have to trouble you to speak to him for me again. I suspect those women will be back today."

"I told him about your predicament last night. He said he would increase security patrols today," Adrian Pemberton said. "Still, I suggest you upgrade to a more expensive room upstairs. It’ll only be for a few days. Once your father wakes up, you can go home and lay low for a while."

Nina Wainwright hesitated, looking troubled.

She only had a few thousand on her card. Apart from daily necessities, she didn’t dare spend a single extra cent.

"I’ll front you the money," Adrian Pemberton said, patting her shoulder.

"Isn’t there another way? Something more affordable?" Nina Wainwright knew how much a room upgrade cost—nearly ten thousand a day. Given her family’s situation, how could she possibly agree to that?

"We could hire a few guys who are looking for odd jobs. Two hundred a day per person. Have them guard your dad’s room, and if anyone shows up, they toss them out immediately! Fight magic with magic," Adrian Pemberton suggested.

Nina Wainwright couldn’t help but crack a smile at his description. "I never thought someone as serious as you could be so playful."

’Even Adrian Pemberton himself was surprised.’

’I guess your tongue loosens up when you’re in front of the girl you like. You stop being so clumsy with words.’

"This method could work," he proposed.

"It could, but where would I find people like that?" Nina Wainwright had almost no network. Having spent the last three years out of the public eye, she was practically cut off from the world.

"I’ll find them for you. Don’t you need to look for a job? You have some time today, so you should go. I’ll hold down the fort here at the hospital. You don’t have to worry," Adrian Pemberton said, his voice exceptionally gentle.

"Thank you," Nina Wainwright said.

She did, in fact, plan on looking for a job that day.

After saying goodbye to Adrian Pemberton, Nina Wainwright took a bus into the city, still focusing primarily on dance studios.

She spent the entire morning searching but came up empty-handed. She’d eaten early, and now her stomach was growling loudly.

She went into a small fast-food joint and ordered a cheap plate of shredded pork with garlic scapes over rice. Just as she was about to sit down to eat, her phone rang.

She pulled it out. Seeing it was a call from Adrian Pemberton, she felt a pang of worry.

"What’s wrong?" she asked, scooping a bite of rice into her mouth with a plastic spoon.

"I know you’re probably eating, but I need you to come to the hospital. The debt collectors managed to get in, and they’ve injured the guys I hired," Adrian Pemberton said, his voice frantic.

Nina Wainwright had no choice but to pay her bill and rush back to the hospital.

She ran all the way back, arriving at the hospital exhausted and starving, only to hear shouting coming from the hospital room.

Adrian Pemberton was grappling with someone, refusing to let them go. Even the hospital security guards had gotten involved.

As Nina Wainwright got closer, she saw that Adrian Pemberton’s forehead was cut and bleeding.

"What exactly happened?" Nina Wainwright asked, stepping in front of Adrian Pemberton to shield him.

It was the same women from the day before, though only four or five of them had shown up this time.

The moment she saw Nina Wainwright, the woman in the lead shouted, "So you have money to hire guards, but no money to pay your debts, is that it! I told you, if this hospital insists on treating her father, then don’t blame us for causing a scene! I’m putting my life on the line for this money! If you people at the hospital insist on getting involved, then you’ll have to deal with the consequences!"

Nina Wainwright looked at her. "Ma’am, this is my problem. Please don’t get physical with them..."

Before she could finish, the woman slapped her hard across the face.

Nina Wainwright stumbled back against the wall. Her vision went black, and she slid to the floor, dazed.

The area in front of the hospital room was a complete mess. It was obvious the group had gone so far as to eat in the hospital corridor, and had then used their food bowls as weapons.

Adrian Pemberton rushed to Nina Wainwright’s side and helped her up.

He saw a bright red handprint instantly bloom on Nina’s face, a testament to the force of the woman’s blow.

"This hospital has security cameras. You lay another hand on her, and you can explain it to the police when they get here! You’ll be spending the night in a cell!" Adrian Pemberton glared at the woman, his voice glacial with fury.

The woman had pegged him as a mild-mannered scholar, and for a moment, his glare actually frightened her.

But her fear quickly turned back to fury. "Who’s afraid of who? I’ve got nothing to lose!"

’He’d never met someone so unreasonable.’

He ignored the irrational woman and turned back to Nina Wainwright. "Are you okay?"

She had a large lump on her head, her cheek was bright red, and the corner of her lip was split.

Hearing Adrian Pemberton’s question, she shook her head. "I’m fine."

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a wave of dizziness.

Seeing this, the woman suddenly dropped to the floor, grabbed a shard of broken porcelain, and pressed it against her own wrist. "Are you going to pay me back or not! If you don’t, I’ll die right here in front of this room!"

Nina was terrified. "Ma’am, I really don’t have any money! I only have a few thousand... If you want it, it’s yours!"

"I don’t want a few thousand!" the woman shrieked. "Sell your house! Take out a loan! I don’t care how, but you are going to pay me back today!"

Before Nina could say anything else, the woman dragged the shard across her own wrist. Blood began to gush from the wound.

Adrian Pemberton immediately lunged forward, squatting down to press his hand firmly against her wrist. "Get something to stop the bleeding!" he yelled to the people nearby. "And gauze!"

"Leave me alone!" the woman cried, though she had stopped cursing at Adrian. "I just want my money! That’s my family’s life savings! If I can’t get it back, I might as well be dead!"

’She was actually a little moved that he had rushed over to help her.’

’But none of that was as important as the money.’

Nina Wainwright stumbled over to the woman. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees. Grasping the woman’s hand, she began to sob in despair. "I really don’t have any money... Even if you beat me to death, I still won’t have it..."