Tessa gaped at her, anxiety creeping into her eyes.

"You are still young. You can have children later."

"Nothing will happen to me," Tessa snapped, losing her composure momentarily. "I am perfectly fine."

Catherine’s eyes widened dramatically. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying your heart is fine?"

Tessa froze in her place. She looked at her as though Catherine had just spoken a language she didn’t understand. Then she shook her head quickly.

"I-I mean..." She forced herself to calm down. "Noah has already arranged specialists for me. I can continue the pregnancy safely."

She cast a pleading look at her. "Please... Let me keep this baby."

Catherine’s head started to hurt. "Fine... You can keep that baby."

A grin broke through Tessa’s face. "Thank you. Thank you, Catherine."

"But I have a condition."

As soon as those words came out of Catherine’s mouth, Tessa’s smile vanished.

"W-What condition?" she asked shakily.

Catherine didn’t even hesitate. "The child belongs to the Sinclair family. Once the baby is born, I’ll take it away. You have no claim over the child."

Tessa’s expression stiffened.

"You will leave this place immediately after giving birth. In return, the Sinclair family will cover all the expenses related to your heart surgery."

Tessa gritted her teeth silently. She was Noah’s legal wife. The child she carried should be the heir to the Sinclair family. How could she give up her position?

’I didn’t come just to leave again,’ she muttered in her head.

She had faked her illness to get close to Noah. Now that she had finally managed to get pregnant, there was no way she would walk away.

"I know you will never accept me because of my background," she said pitifully, concealing her fury carefully. "But I am grateful that you are willing to accept the child. All I want is for my baby to receive everything he deserves."

She wiped her tears away. "I’ll leave once I give birth to the baby. I promise."

Catherine cast her a long, suspicious look. Something about Tessa’s words didn’t sit right with her. Still, she said nothing.

"Rest well." With that, she turned and left.

Tessa’s expression twisted the moment the door closed behind Catherine. She clasped the sheet beneath her.

"You want me to leave? That’s not happening. My baby will inherit the Sinclair family’s fortune. And I’ll become the true mistress of this family and control everything."

A vicious smile spread across her face. "Noah will soon come crawling back to me. And you, Catherine—you and your husband will end up in a nursing home."

She took her phone and dialed a number.

"What is it, Tessa?" a deep voice came from the other side. "You told me not to contact you. But you took the initiative to call me."

His tone turned teasing. "Are you missing me?"

Tessa’s voice was calm, yet cold. "I need your help."

"What do you want this time?"

"To win Noah back."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Then the man burst out laughing. "What happened? Is it because of the news online?"

Tessa said nothing.

"Alright, I get it. What do you want from me?"

"Noah is furious with me," she said slowly. "I need to do something significant to regain his trust."

"I am listening."

Tessa thought for a while. "The Sinclair Group has been trying desperately to secure a partnership with Novacrest Global. I need you to pull every string you can and arrange a meeting with Ryan Brook."

The man remained silent on the other end.

"If I secure the meeting for him, he will definitely be pleased with me."

"What do I get in return?"

"Don’t be cocky." Her voice turned colder. "Once the child is born, it will inherit the Sinclair family’s fortune. Our child will be the heir to this multibillionaire empire. You and I will finally have the life we’ve always wanted."

"What about Noah?"

"Noah?" Tessa let out a mocking laugh. "We will deal with him later. And his old parents... They can spend the rest of their pathetic lives in a nursing home."

The man started laughing loudly. "It sounds tempting. But..." The next moment, his tone turned serious. "I hate seeing you with that man."

"Relax," Tessa said calmly. "I’m doing this for us. Once our future is secure, we’ll get rid of him."

The man chuckled. "Okay, sweetheart. I’ll help you. My friend’s uncle is the general manager at Novacrest Global. I can talk to him and arrange a meeting for you."

Tessa’s face lit up with a smile. ’Once I secure this meeting, Noah can no longer ignore me. I’ll win his trust back.’

Later that day...

The car stopped in front of the towering residential building. The moment Elena stepped out, Noah rushed over.

"Noah? What are you doing here?"

Noah stood before her. His appearance was haggard. His usually immaculate suit was wrinkled.

"Elena." His voice was hoarse. "We need to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about."

She turned to leave.

Before Elena could take a step, he grabbed her hands. "I-I now know everything. I was wrong. Tessa deceived me. She manipulated me."

Elena tried to get her hands out of his grip, but he only held her tighter.

"I’ll send her away. I’ll sever ties with her. Please come back. I swear I’ll treat you well."

"Get your hands off my wife," Elias roared.

He came over with lightning speed and shoved Noah away. He stood tall beside her and looked at the man in front of him with undisguised disgust.

"Don’t cause a scene here. Leave."

Noah’s gaze sharpened dangerously. The air around him seemed to grow colder.

"I am here to talk to Elena. Stay away."

"Elena is my wife." Elias wrapped an arm around her waist. "She has nothing to do with you. Leave. Or I’ll call the guards."

Noah looked at Elena, his gaze pleading. "Elena. Let me explain. Give me five minutes."

Elena watched him silently for a moment, then turned to Elias. "You go in first."

Elias hesitated. He didn’t trust Noah at all. He was worried Elena would be hurt.

Sensing his hesitation, Elena squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you," he said earnestly. "But I am worried."

Noah’s jaw set like stone as he watched them holding hands and talking so intimately.

’Elena is my woman. While I am still alive, she doesn’t need anyone to be concerned about her.’

His hands clenched as possessiveness surged through him.

Elena brushed her thumb over Elias’s knuckles. "Just five minutes, and I’ll be right beside you."

Elias finally relented. "Alright. I’ll wait."

He stepped back, shooting Noah a cold glare before storming into the apartment building.

Elena looked back at Noah once Elias disappeared from the line of her sight. "You have five minutes." She checked her wristwatch. "Your time starts now."

Her features settled into a cold mask as she stared back at him.

Noah couldn’t find words for a moment.

She used to look at him with love and care. She always thought about his pleasure and well-being. But now, there was no emotion in her eyes, as if she had already stopped loving him.

His heart bled.

"I know I’ve hurt you. I know I’ve made mistakes." His throat burned. "No... mistakes aren’t enough to describe what I’ve done."

His eyes reddened. "I betrayed your trust. I neglected you. I chose Tessa over you again and again. But I’m here now. I’ll make things right."

His voice trembled. "I am not asking you to forgive me. I just want you to come back to me."