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

###Chapter 7: The Man by Her Side

Sandra Walsh was startled. She looked toward the door, annoyed, but upon seeing it was Zachary Hawthorne, her displeasure subsided somewhat. "Mr. Hawthorne, you certainly know how to make an entrance. You gave an old woman like me quite a scare."

When Nina Wainwright saw Zachary Hawthorne’s face, she instinctively clutched the menu in her hands.

Zachary wore an apologetic expression. "I was in a hurry to find someone and disturbed you two. My apologies. As a gesture of goodwill, please put your entire meal tonight on my tab."

Ruby Hughes glanced at Nina in surprise. "Were you looking for her?"

The business and dance circles often overlapped, so it wasn’t surprising that Sandra Walsh and Ruby Hughes knew Zachary.

"Yes," Zachary replied coolly before turning to Nina. "It’s late. Aren’t you coming home with me?"

Nina opened her mouth to refuse, but then he continued, "I hear Ms. Hughes is planning to groom a new lead dancer for the troupe. I wonder, would you be satisfied with Zoe Stratton?"

Zoe Stratton was a well-known young dancer in the industry who had won numerous awards, and her online popularity surpassed that of many celebrities... His reason for suddenly recommending such a formidable lead dancer to Ruby was obvious.

Nina stared at him, her hand gripping the menu so tightly that the veins on her skin bulged.

Even though she was furious, she didn’t make a scene at the table.

Ruby Hughes gave a dry laugh. "Anyone Mr. Hawthorne recommends must be excellent. Could you give me her contact information later?"

Hearing this, Nina understood.

’My job is gone.’

Sandra Walsh secretly patted her hand, giving her a look that said, ’Stay calm.’

With his objective achieved, Zachary stood by the door, looking down at Nina, and reiterated, "Coming home?"

In that moment, Nina felt as if he had broken her spine.

If Sandra Walsh hadn’t been holding her hand tightly, she might have exploded on the spot.

"Nina, why don’t you go back with him for now?" Having been offered a favor by Zachary, Ruby Hughes was naturally on his side.

"I’m sorry to have troubled you both today." Not wanting to make the scene uglier in front of others, Nina had no choice but to leave with Zachary.

She gave Sandra an apologetic smile, then stood up and walked toward Zachary.

The two of them walked out of the hotel, one after the other.

Zachary, walking behind her, said in a cold tone, "Nina, I doubt you’d even make twenty thousand a month at the dance troupe."

Filled with pent-up frustration, Nina stopped abruptly and spun around. Her eyes blazed with anger as she glared at him. "I might not make that much, but at least I don’t have to feel like I’m selling myself."

"Do you have any idea what you’re saying?" Zachary’s expression instantly darkened.

Tears welled up in Nina’s eyes. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing? What gives you the right to stop me from working!"

"If you really need money, you should focus on being a good Mrs. Hawthorne. A job like that won’t be enough to support the leeches in your family." Zachary’s tone was laced with contempt.

Nina was so enraged by his words that her whole body trembled. Tears streamed from her eyes as she said in a shaky voice, "Divorce!"

She suddenly raised her voice, causing passersby to turn and stare at them.

Deep displeasure crossed Zachary’s face. "You think I don’t know you’re using these tactics to force me to give you money?"

’After three years of marriage, this is what he thinks of me?’

Nina laughed and slowly backed away. "If you’re so afraid of my family eyeing your money, then you should be even more eager to divorce me. Once we’re divorced, you won’t have to run off to Luna Sterling in the middle of... things."

Zachary cut her off impatiently. "This is about us! What does she have to do with anything?!"

"What’s wrong with me bringing her up?!" Nina was seething. "If you don’t want me to mention her, then divorce me!"

With that, she spun around and walked away.

Zachary clicked his tongue in annoyance, immediately chasing after her and grabbing her wrist. "Come back with me!"

Nina forcefully shook him off. "I’m going to my own home! Let go of me!"

"Can you stop making a scene?" Zachary’s voice was heavy, suppressing his anger. His tone was incredibly grim.

But Nina was done indulging his temper.

Her face was cold as she enunciated each word, "I said, I am going to my own home!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"If you don’t come back this time, don’t ever come looking for me again," Zachary said, releasing her hand.

Nina couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. "I couldn’t ask for more. I just hope you hurry up with the divorce so we can part on good terms!"

Turning, she ran to the hotel entrance without a second glance, hailed a cab, and got in.

Sitting in the car, she wiped her tears and told the driver, "Oakhaven Community on Meridian Street, Building A."

By the time she got home, the sky was completely dark.

Nina took a shower, then called Catherine Grant.

Catherine answered quickly. "How’s your dad? If you’re short on money, you have to tell me without any hesitation."

"I’m not short for now. I just wanted to ask if you could recommend any higher-paying jobs." Having been married for three years, Nina had no work experience and was no longer a recent graduate. It would be impossible for her to find a good job on such short notice.

Besides, she knew that if Zachary became displeased, he would surely find a way to get rid of her job again.

’If I find something through Catherine, her friends might be more considerate of her and not give in to Zachary so easily.’

"If you start working, will Zachary agree to it?" Catherine asked softly.

"I’m about to divorce him, who cares if he agrees or not?" Nina replied, feigning indifference.

Catherine immediately agreed. "Right, who cares about that jerk! But there aren’t many jobs that would suit you... though I do know someone who owns a bar. Maybe you could check it out."

’If I can’t work at a dance troupe, I’ll just find another way. No matter what, I won’t bow my head this time.’

Nina made a silent resolve.

She and Catherine arranged to go to the bar for an interview the next evening.

Nina rested for the night. The next morning, she went to the hospital to relieve Mrs. Wainwright so she could go home and rest for a day.

Mr. Wainwright had already been moved to a general ward.

Sitting in the hospital room, Nina watched the doctor give her father an injection.

She hadn’t slept well last night. Her face was a little pale, and she occasionally yawned.

"Nina, dear... what about your father’s creditors? Have you contacted your son-in-law? What did he say?" Mrs. Wainwright asked from the side, looking dazed.

The moment Zachary was mentioned, Nina felt agitated.

"Dad borrowed the money himself, not him. Stop thinking you can run to him for every little thing." Sometimes, Nina felt she couldn’t even face Zachary.

’He already sees the entire Wainwright family as leeches, and here I was, still thinking of asking him to fill this financial hole.’

"But he’s our son-in-law," Mrs. Wainwright said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Nina’s irritation peaked at that moment. If the doctor hadn’t been there, she would have lost her temper.

"He won’t be, soon," she said coldly, then urged, "I told you to go home and rest, so just go. I have something to do tonight, so you can come and take over for me then."

Mrs. Wainwright didn’t dare say more. Just as she was about to leave the room, there was a knock on the door. Nina turned her head and saw the cool and composed Adrian Pemberton standing by the entrance.

Seeing her look at him, he curved his lips into a gentle smile. "I hope I’m not interrupting?"

Nina immediately shook her head. "No."

He walked into the room carrying breakfast and asked the doctor who was examining Mr. Wainwright, "How is his condition?"

"His vitals have stabilized, but there was trauma to the brain. We’ll have to wait until he wakes up to ask him how he feels," the doctor replied.

Adrian Pemberton walked over to Mrs. Wainwright and offered her the breakfast. "You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I brought something for you."

"She’s eaten," Nina answered immediately.

Mrs. Wainwright smiled but didn’t take it. "Thank you, doctor."

After speaking, she walked around Adrian and left the room.

The morning light spilled through the window, dappling the marble floor tiles.

The man walked past the window, and the warm light illuminated him, enveloping him in a faint golden halo.

Silas Sinclair followed Zachary Hawthorne, his tone respectful. "Miss Sterling is doing much better today. The doctor suggested..."

Before he could finish, he noticed Zachary had stopped walking.

He instinctively followed Zachary’s gaze and saw Nina Wainwright standing at the entrance of a hospital room with a male doctor.

Nina’s eyes were half-lowered, and she had a shy and bashful expression.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Zachary’s lips.

’When I heard she was at the hospital, I thought something had happened... Turns out she was having a secret rendezvous with another man.’

Recalling how determined she was to divorce him, an inexplicable fire of rage flared up inside Zachary.

’Does she think I’m that much of a pushover? That she can just fall for someone else, demand an immediate divorce, and run into another man’s arms?’

Zachary spun on his heel and walked away.

Silas hesitated for a moment, then decided not to follow. Instead, he planned to give Nina a heads-up.

As he drew closer, he heard Nina say, "Back then, when I found out your family had moved away, I was truly devastated."

Silas stopped, standing in the doorway of a hospital room with an open door, intending to listen further.

"I originally wanted to tell you, but we left in such a hurry... It was hard adjusting right after I went abroad. It was incredibly tough, but when I thought of you, it didn’t seem so hard anymore."

Adrian Pemberton’s voice carried a hint of nostalgia for the past.*****