Chapter 178
Stacey was stunned. She looked at Hayden, bewildered and surprised. Meanwhile, Hayden simply looked at her, waiting for her response,
Stacey was speechless. It took a while for her to process what Hayden meant. âDoes he like me? It canât be, right? Given that Iâm a divorced woman with a child, I expect it to be difficult to find someone who loves me. Wait. Hayden is also divorced and has a child. Could he really be interested in me? she pondered.
Staceyâs divorce may have subconsciously made her believe that love and marriage were no longer a part of her life. So, throughout her interactions with the Hoggard family, she never considered that possibility. Stacey began to panic, unsure if she understood what Hayden meant. âMâMr. Hoggard, I donât think weâre suitable for each other, Stacey said nervously, her voice stuttering a bit.
âIâm just kidding. Howard replied. He had anticipated her rejection. After all, she had just divorced and had probably not considered remarriage yet.
Nevertheless, from her nervousness and the slight reddening of her ears, he could tell that she didnât dislike him. If she didnât dislike him, that meant there was hope. As long as he was patient, there would be a day when she would accept him.
Seeing Stacey remain silent, Hayden sat on the couch as he said, Jeremyâs mother has returned.â
Stacey was stunned at Haydenâs words, looking at him in surprise
Hayden paused for a moment before telling how, when his grandfather was critically ill, he desperately wanted Hayden to marry before he died. As a result, Hayden was forced to go on a frantic series of blind dates in less than a month, eventually marrying a girl he barely knew and had no feelings for
âAt that time, our family was all worried about my grandfatherâs condition. The marriage happened so quickly that we didnât have time to investigate the background of the girlâs family, Hayden explained.
Stacey was taken aback when she learned the truth about Haydenâs previous marriage.
Hayden looked at her and said, âBecause we didnât have time to investigate, we didnât know that Queenie Leavey didnât want to marry me. She had a boyfriend she loved very much, but her family forced her to break up with him and marry me to climb the social ladder. When we first got married, she told me she wasnât mentally prepared, so she didnât want to have intercourse with me.â
He added, âI didnât have any feelings for Queenie either. I married her just to put my grandfather at ease, so I didnât mind her request. We agreed to live in separate rooms from the start. Later, my grandfatherâs health gradually improved, and everyone was happy.â
âOne day, Queenie suddenly told me she wanted to try for a baby via in vitro fertilization. I was quite surprised, but she was very anxious, saying her parents were pressuring her to have a child. At the time, I thought that since we were already married, having a child didnât seem like a problem, so I agreed. We went to the hospital together and had a baby by artificial means, Hayden continued.
âBut later, when she was six or seven months pregnant, she suddenly told me she couldnât take it anymore, she wanted to abort the baby, and she wanted a divorce. Thatâs when I realized something was wrong, he resumed.
Stacey was surprised and thought, âSix or seven months pregnant? By then, the baby was already about to be born. Iâve heard from somewhere that babies born at seven months have a high chance of surviving, while those born at eight months have a higher risk of not making it. At seven months pregnant, the child is already alive. Terminating the pregnancy at that point is essentially the same as killing a living baby!
Hayden carried on. âQueenie confessed everything to me, and I had someone investigate. It was then that I learned she hadnât willingly married me. But by then, the child was about to be born. There was no way I would agree to her aborting the child. It wasnât just her child. It was mine too.â
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Chapter 178
As Hayden spoke, he subtly observed Staceyâs expression. Seeing that she didnât seem repulsed, he continued, âI took some measures to prevent the hospital from allowing Queenie to have an abortion. Her family also forbade her from aborting the child. Everyone was keeping an eye on her every move.â
âBut none of us expected that Queenie would secretly take abortion pills to get rid of the baby. Fortunately, someone realized the situation soon after she took the pills, and she was rushed to the hospital where the drugs were induced out of her system, barely saving the baby,â Hayden explained.
âI promised Queenie that as long as she delivered the baby safely, I would divorce her immediately and give her family a large amount of compensation. This would allow her parents to consent to her being with her boyfriend. She agreed to this and promised to take care of herself and deliver the baby. Liter, when the child was born, I kept my promise. I gave her parents a major business project and negotiated conditions with them, allowing her to be with her boyfriend,â he added.
âAfter she gave birth, we scheduled the divorce. As soon as she finished her postpartum care, we got the divorce license. Right after that, she left with her boyfriend. Thatâs the story of my past with Queenie, Hayden said solemnly.
After saying that, Hayden took a sip of water and continued, âBut a few days ago, she came back. I had someone investigate, and the results showed that she had a bad time with her boyfriend these years. Her boyfriend turned out to be a gold digger. From the beginning, he only valued her because she was a rich heiress. He used her to provide himself with connections in the business world.â
âBut after she completely severed ties with her family, the Leavey family stopped giving her any money and refused to help her boyfriend in his career. At first, Queenieâs boyfriend treated her well, but after a year, when he realized that she was truly cut off from her family and wouldnât receive any more benefits, he gradually changed,â he stated.
but
Two years ago, her boyfriend started dating another woman from a wealthy family. Initially, she didnât know about it, after six months, she found out, and they constantly argued. After a year and a half, she finally saw her boyfriendâs true color. She broke up with him completely, returned to her family, and apologized to her parents,â Hayden said.
After listening to that, Stacey couldnât help but ask, âDid she meet with Jeremy?â
Hayden looked at Stacey and nodded. âYes.â He was silent for a moment, then said, âShe wants to remarry me. She said she was the one in the wrong and that she would live a good life from now on and take good care of Jeremy