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

###Chapter 32: An Uphill Battle

The manager looked astonished. "Are you seeing someone?"

"No, I’m married." Nina Wainwright didn’t want to hide it. The topic was bound to come up sooner or later anyway.

Hearing this, the manager clicked his tongue. "Why didn’t you say so sooner? If you’d told me you were married, I wouldn’t have hired you! I’ll talk to Young Mr. Yardley. If he doesn’t insist on keeping you, just finish out the week and leave. What’s a married woman doing running around trying to work? You should be at home taking care of your husband and kids!"

Nina Wainwright was furious, but she hadn’t gotten her commission for the night yet. She could only swallow her anger and apologize in a low voice, "I’m sorry."

"Get out," the manager said, his voice full of impatience.

After leaving the hotel, Nina Wainwright stood on the street, watching the traffic for a long time before she dragged her heavy feet toward the next hotel.

’This one didn’t want me, but the next one might.’

She searched late into the night, and it wasn’t until two in the morning that a hotel finally said they would consider her.

It was already three in the morning by the time Nina Wainwright got back to the hospital. Her legs were aching and swollen. She sat on a chair outside the hospital room, massaged her calves, and only took off her shoes after making sure no one was around.

’My toes felt like they were going to break after running around in high heels for hours.’

She rested for a moment. As she was about to put her shoes back on, a shadow fell over her.

She immediately looked up and saw Zachary Hawthorne staring down at her, his anger barely contained. "Where have you been?!" he demanded, his face grim.

Nina Wainwright slipped her high heels back on. "It’s none of your business. Why aren’t you resting at this hour? What are you doing here at the hospital, acting crazy?"

"I’ve been looking for you all night! What’s the point of you having a phone?!" Zachary Hawthorne asked, his voice tight with suppressed fury.

Nina Wainwright had put her phone on silent tonight. She wasn’t allowed to take calls during work, so she had no choice. Afterward, she’d been so busy looking for another job that she forgot to turn the ringer back on.

"I had to put it on silent," Nina Wainwright answered with a detached expression.

She finished putting on her shoes and was about to stand up and leave when Zachary Hawthorne grabbed her arm. "Nina Wainwright, what exactly are you trying to do? Looking for a job this late at night? What kind of job could you possibly be looking for?!"

"Is what job I look for any of your business? Even if I went to find a job at a nightclub, wouldn’t that be your fault?" Nina Wainwright retorted in a hushed voice. It was late, and she didn’t want to disturb anyone else in the hospital.

Zachary Hawthorne began dragging her away.

Her feet were already throbbing... After being forcefully pulled a few steps by Zachary Hawthorne, she stumbled and fell to her knees.

With a sharp CRACK, her knees hit the tiled floor.

The pain made her face turn pale. She violently shook off Zachary Hawthorne’s hand and clutched her knees, which were screaming in agony.

Zachary Hawthorne stood frozen for a moment, at a complete loss. He then bent down and lifted her into his arms. "I’ll pay off your debt. Is that what you want?"

"Are you pitying me, or is this charity? I don’t need you to pay my debt. Just stay away from me and stop interfering with my work." Nina Wainwright truly wanted nothing more to do with him.

’It’s been enough... Nothing good ever happens when I see him.’

’I was doing okay, but he just had to come and get me hurt again.’

"Nina, you’re doing this just to get back at me," Zachary Hawthorne said, his eyes bloodshot.

Nina Wainwright averted her gaze, not even bothering to answer him.

Zachary Hawthorne carried her to a hospital room. While the doctor was examining her, Nina Wainwright, exhausted, fell fast asleep.

"It’s not very serious, so she doesn’t need to be admitted. But the patient is exhausted. You should probably check her in for the night anyway. She can be discharged tomorrow," the doctor said, looking from the peacefully sleeping Nina Wainwright to a weary-looking Zachary Hawthorne.

"Okay."

While Nina Wainwright rested, Zachary Hawthorne sat by her side.

’Tonight, someone had told him they saw her coming out of a hotel after midnight. For a moment, he’d almost suspected she had gone to sell herself.’

’But then he thought of her pride and decided it was impossible, so he didn’t bother to investigate.’

’Nina Wainwright was serious about the divorce. She would rather sell drinks in places like hotels than ever come back and ask him for help again.’

Agitated, Zachary Hawthorne called Silas Sinclair.

Silas Sinclair, who had been woken up by his boss’s call in the middle of the night, had just answered when he heard Zachary Hawthorne ask, "Have any debt collectors been causing trouble at the hospital these past two days?"

"No, sir," Silas Sinclair replied immediately.

Zachary Hawthorne was silent for a moment before saying, "Next time someone comes to make trouble, just handle the loan. Find out how much interest they’re charging. We’ll pay the standard rate at most. If they demand any more, wipe them out."

...

Nina Wainwright slept until almost noon the next day.

When she got out of bed, she immediately clutched her rumbling stomach.

She took out her phone and saw it was almost eleven-thirty. As she was about to get out of bed, she noticed a deposit in her bank account—last night’s commission on the drinks, just a little over ten thousand.

Nina Wainwright wasn’t sure how they had calculated it, but they had already sent her a message firing her.

’She knew she wouldn’t even last a day.’

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she ran her hands through her hair, annoyed as she stared at the termination message.

’It seemed finding a job was an incredibly difficult task for her.’

Nina Wainwright even considered asking Catherine Grant if her friend’s bar could hire her immediately.

But she had decided to go there only after divorcing Zachary Hawthorne. If she went now, he would definitely force them to fire her right away.

After ordering some simple takeout, Nina Wainwright went to Raymond Wainwright’s room.

Raymond Wainwright, who had been in a coma for a long time, was now awake. The moment he saw her, he said, "Honey, did you ask Zachary Hawthorne for money? You have to get his help with this debt. You can’t let your mother live in terror anymore."

Nina Wainwright glanced at Mrs. Wainwright, who was sitting beside the bed with her head down, peeling fruit. Nina’s heart went cold.

"No, I’m looking for a job. Our family will pay it back slowly," she said, her tone and expression detached.

Raymond Wainwright immediately shot back, "Why haven’t you gone to him yet! I heard those people are coming here to cause trouble every day! Do you even care if we live or die?! If it weren’t for you, would I have worked myself into this state?!"

Nina Wainwright looked at him wearily, then at Mrs. Wainwright, before asking, enunciating every word, "Am I really your biological daughter? Why do you only ever think of yourselves and never consider my difficulties? Didn’t Mom tell you that Zachary Hawthorne called us vampires to my face?"

Upon hearing this, Raymond Wainwright said with dissatisfaction, "He’s our son-in-law. How could he say such a thing about us?"

His entitled attitude was so absurd that Nina Wainwright almost laughed in anger.

’No wonder Zachary Hawthorne despised and hated her so much.’

’Give tens of millions to a dog, and even the dog would know gratitude. What did they know?’

’It was true what they say: a small favor creates gratitude; a large one creates resentment!’

"Then go ask him for the money yourself. All I can do is work to pay off your debt," Nina Wainwright said, throwing the words at him before turning to leave.

’She had actually been happy when she first saw he was awake.’

’But who would have thought... the moment he woke up, all he could talk about was money, money, money.’

’This whole mess with the money was going to be the death of her!’

Nina Wainwright walked out of the hospital, immediately got on a bus, and continued her search for a job at another hotel.

Right now, only commission-based jobs at hotels offered a high enough salary. Other places paid five thousand a month at most.

Even though it was risky, Nina Wainwright told herself to just endure it. ’If I can just endure it, the debt can be repaid.’