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

### Chapter 9: An Unsuspected Scheme

Nina Wainwright stood rooted to the spot, the warmth in her gaze fading bit by bit.

When the hotel room door closed, she pulled her lips into a self-deprecating smile.

’So he was only gentle with me when he wanted something.’

As she left the hotel, she received a notification for a transfer of one hundred thousand.

’He hadn’t even touched me, and the payment had already jumped from twenty thousand to one hundred thousand.’

Nina Wainwright felt like a complete failure as a wife.

’Only by sleeping with her husband would she get a payout.’

’Was he humiliating her like this because Luna Sterling was back? Was this his way of proving something to his old flame?’

’By constantly embarrassing me, by breaking my heart over and over again?’

’And then, when the time was right, he would abandon me completely.’

The ringing of her phone pulled Nina Wainwright from her dark thoughts and back to reality.

She raised a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Pressing the answer button, she said in a hoarse voice, "Cathy, I’m so sorry, but I can’t come for a while. Zachary Hawthorne is keeping a close watch on me, and I’m afraid he’ll ruin this for me."

Catherine Grant quickly soothed her. "It’s okay, I’ll always have a spot saved for you. Nina, you have to take care of yourself. If you run into any trouble, or if you’re just not feeling right, you have to tell me, okay?"

She was a firecracker by nature, but with Nina Wainwright, she showed a rare tenderness and care.

"Okay, thank you, Cathy." Nina Wainwright felt her shattered heart mend, just a little.

After hanging up, she hailed a taxi home.

When she arrived at Oakhaven Community, she heard a commotion coming from upstairs.

"If you want money, go find them yourselves! What do you think you’re doing, scrawling graffiti all over the complex?! If you do this again, I’m calling the police!"

It was the property manager’s voice.

"Listen, old woman, paying back debts is the law of the land. If you want to stick your nose in, fine, but get that family out here! Once we get our money, we’ll stop scribbling on their walls."

The debt collector’s tone was utterly vile.

Nina Wainwright guessed the loan sharks had come knocking.

She decided to wait for them to leave before heading up.

But as she turned, a neighbor from across the hall spotted her and yelled out.

"Nina Wainwright! What is going on with your family? The debt collectors have been here several times already. Their banging on the door is so loud it woke my elderly parents from their nap!"

The commotion upstairs stopped for a moment.

The property manager, an older woman in slippers, came running down. Seeing Nina Wainwright standing awkwardly on the staircase, she shouted, "Where are your parents?! These collectors are disturbing the whole building! Your family needs to deal with this!"

A man who had followed her down the stairs looked down at Nina Wainwright, his eyes full of malice. "So this is Raymond Wainwright’s daughter?"

"That’s right, she’s the one you should be talking to. Stop vandalizing the property. Debt collection can’t be this aggressive nowadays; what you’re doing is illegal.

I haven’t called the police because you’re all young and I don’t want to see you get a criminal record." With that, the property manager turned to leave.

But as she passed Nina Wainwright, she gave her a long look up and down before leaving with an expression of pure disgust.

Nina Wainwright was mortified.

The neighbor also left, grumbling, "What rotten luck. Having neighbors who don’t pay their debts is so infuriating!"

The debt collector stepped in front of Nina Wainwright, his voice dripping with scorn. "Well, now. Looks like there is a way to pay the debt after all. If Raymond Wainwright has no money, he can always sell you."

"This is a society governed by law. You’ll go to jail for this."

Nina Wainwright’s words were tough, but she couldn’t help but back away.

"Let me tell you, I’ve got a quota to meet today. Your parents are hiding, so I’ll just have to take you to settle the debt." As he spoke, the man grabbed her by the collar and began dragging her downstairs.

Nina Wainwright, terrified they would actually sell her, struggled and pleaded, "My father’s in the hospital because of you people! His life is in danger! He’s not avoiding you on purpose, and my mother is busy taking care of him. Please, just give us a few more days, please?"

"Your whole family are a bunch of liars. I’m not falling for it again. I think you’d be a perfect fit as a hostess at my boss’s karaoke bar!" The man said, dragging Nina Wainwright out of the building.

Nina Wainwright fumbled in her bag for her phone to call the police, but just then, someone blocked their path.

"Let her go!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Nina Wainwright snapped her head up.