He put his arm around Laney s shoulder and declared his possessiveness, “If you can take good care of my wife and child, of course, I will thank you generously.”
Ian responded with a smile and said nothing. Laney enjoyed watching Garrett jealous, but she held back her laughter and said, “Alright, that’s enough. All that matters is that he takes good care of me and the baby. Why are you getting so upset?”
Garrett remained silent, snorting coldly in response.
Ian, eager not to intrude on the couple’s intimate moment, sought an opportune excuse to sl*p away from the ward and attended to other matters.
Once Ian had departed, Garrett wasted no time in shedding his calm and collected facade. Gripping Laney’s hand, he grumbled irritably, “I can’t fathom why Natalie thought it wise to employ a male assistant for a pregnant woman’s care.”
Laney, preferring to avoid conflict, deftly steered the conversation in another direction. “Today, Kailee had Lola bring a peace offering as an apology to me.”
“What?” Garrett’s brow furrowed, his striking visage clouding over. “I explicitly warned her to leave you be, and yet she persists. And that Lola — she takes liberties without permission. Does she have any desire to keep her job?”
Laney hesitated, biting her l*p, unsure if she should reveal Leo’s involvement.
Recognizing her reluctance, Garrett pieced it together immediately.
Without his father’s consent, how could Lola possibly have known about Kailee or dared to deliver a gift on her behalf?
Recalling his mother’s blatant favoritism toward Kailee at home, Garrett’s guilt intensified.
Clasping Laney’s hand, his eyes brimmed with regret and anguish. “Darling, I apologize for bringing you such strife.”
Laney exhaled softly, continuing, “The health tonics Kailee asked Lola to deliver isn’t fit for my consumption. Some ingredients would trigger an allergic reaction. Luckily, Ian discovered this in time and had Lola return the items.”
Fear coursed through Garrett’s heart at the thought of what might have happened had
Laney ingested the allergens. His opinion of Ian improved somewhat. “I understand. We must exp**ss our gratitude to Ian. If necessary, you can enlist Ian’s aid and exploit his unique strength as a male assistant. Just let Ian kick her out.”
Laney’s concerns lingered. Garrett tightened his grip on her hand and declared resolutely, “I will handle everything. Trust in me and focus on your needs. Your safety and that of our child are paramount.”
“Thank you, Garrett.” Laney, deeply moved, nestled into his embrace. “I promise to care for myself and our baby.”
A glint of menace danced in Garrett’s eyes. “As for Lola, it isn’t the opportune moment to let her go. If we do, my father might dispatch another unfamiliar assistant, which could prove even more treacherous. Once our baby is born, I will manage everything.”
Stepping out of the ward, Lola couldn’t help but stew over Laney s ruthless treatment of her.
After all, she had been hired by Leo himself. Laney was merely a disfavored daughter-in-law. What right did she have to act so haughtily? Fuming, Lola resolved to call Leo and recount the ordeal.
As she angrily bit her l*p and prepared to dial Leo’s number, her phone rang. It was Kailee. “Hello, Lola. How did the gift delivery go?” Kailee eagerly inquired. “Has Laney accepted my apology?”
Lola’s fists clenched, her voice thick with resentment. “Miss Gibson, Laney not only refused your apology but also expelled me and demanded I return the gifts to you.”
A fl**ker of disappointment crossed Kailee’s eyes. As a hospital administrator, she had access to detailed information on expectant mothers. Discovering Laney’s allergies, she had deliberately sent tonics containing those ingredients. But she hadn’t anticipated Laney’s refusal.
Feigning a sigh, Kailee adopted a tone of dejection. “It’s all right. It’s only natural Laney wouldn’t forgive me.”
She added, “You’ve been of great assistance today. You may keep the money I offered you.”
“Really?” Lola said in surprise.
The money Kailee gave to her was not an insignificant amount, otherwise she wouldn’t have been so resentful just because Laney refused to take the gift.
In fact, Lola thought Kailee was going to ask for the money back. After all, she didn’t expect such generosity from Kailee.
Lola’s imp**ssion of Kailee became better and better after this. Not only did she think that Kailee had a better family background, but she also thought that Kailee’s personality was much more appealing than Laney’s. As such, Kailee was much worthier of marrying into the Harding family.
More importantly, if Kailee were to marry into the Harding family, she would gain access to a lot of wealth and resources.
Lola’s attitude toward Kailee had been more obsequious as a result of this thought. To Kailee, people like Lola, who were materialistic and vain, were easy to manipulate as she could use money to persuade them to work for her.
You may not have done it successfully, but you still put in the effort. You deserve this money,” said Kailee.
She let out a long sigh before adding, “Laney is not in a good mood right now and she’s being hostile toward me. She doesn’t want to accept my apology, and I can understand that. But I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, so I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
As Lola responded with a confused stare, Kailee continued, “The hospital recently acquired a new set of essential oils that help pregnant women relax. Since Laney hasn’t been in a good mood lately. I think this set of oils would help her feel belter. Could I trouble you to leave these in Laney’s room for me, please?”
“Well…” Lola hesitated.
While she favored Kailee, Lola couldn’t help feeling panicked when she discovered that the health tonics Kailee asked her to deliver contained components to which Laney was allergic. After all, she was only an assistant and didn’t want to be held accountable if something went wrong.
Sensing Lola’s hesitation, Kailee quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, these oils have been tested and approved by the hospital. It’s been used by every VIP pregnant woman here. Besides, all you need to do is put it in Laney’s room. I’ll pay you for your troubles.”
As soon as Lola heard that there was money to be earned, she was immediately interested and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get it done.” Malice filled Kailee’s eyes as she hung up the phone and a venomous smile appeared on her face. In her delusional mind, the position of the Harding family’s future matriarch belonged to her and her alone.
Kailee arched her brow and glared arrogantly at the attending physician in front of her. “When is Laney due to deliver her baby?” she inquired.
“There are still two more months left,” the attending physician stated truthfully. 1
Kailee rolled her eyes and let out a cold sneer. “Can the essential oils that the hospital recently acquired help induce labor for pregnant women?” she asked.
As it turned out, the oils Kailee had asked Lola to put in Laney’s ward were not relaxing essential oils, but medicinal oil with the purpose of inducing labor.
The attending physician broke out in a cold sweat after hearing Kailee’s words. But, inducing labor might be harmful for Mrs. Harding,” the physician said.
“Just do as I say. I’ll accept full responsibility for any repercussions,” Kailee snarled at the doctor.
Kailee didn’t care about the risks at this point. She was determined to make sure that Garrett wasn’t around when Laney gave birth so that she could carry out her plan more easily.
If something bad were to happen to Laney, Kailee would swoop in and take the opportunity to become Garrett’s wife. By that time, the Gibson family’s esteem would also improve with the power and wealth of the Harding family.
Also, make sure to tell Garrett and Laney about their original due date,” Kailee instructed with concern. “We can’t let them find out that the essential oil has labor-inducing effects. Do you understand me?”
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.
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