Chapter 458

The initial accusations had been aimed squarely at Elissa.

Upstairs, Elissa had just rung the doorbell when Jacqueline opened it.

"Mrs. Blaine, I'm so sorry," Elissa said, feeling guilty. "I dragged you and the professor into this..."

"Oh, you silly child." Jacqueline's heart ached seeing her looking paler than usual. Hearing her apology only made it worse. She pulled her inside. "Listen to yourself. What do you mean you dragged us into this? It's those other people who are jumping to conclusions. What does that have to do with you? If your professor heard you say that, he'd scold you for sure."

Elissa's heart warmed. "I won't say it again."

She changed into slippers and, not wanting to disturb them for too long, sat on the sofa and prepared them a cup of calming tea. "Are you comfortable here? If not, you can stay at my place."

"We're fine, perfectly comfortable," Aaron said, glancing at her. He took the tea, sipped it, then set it down and held out his hand.

Elissa knew what he wanted and said guiltily, "I'm fine, really..."

Aaron's tone sharpened. "Give it to me."

Resigned, Elissa placed her wrist in his left hand. Immediately, the fingers of his right hand rested on the inside of her wrist, taking her pulse.

The moment he felt it, Aaron's brow furrowed as if the sky were falling. He looked like he wanted to yell but forced himself to hold it in.

"What foolishness is this? Is it Frank's?"

"..." Elissa knew she couldn't hide it. "No, it's Rowan's," she said honestly.

Elissa wasn't sure if she was

imagining it, but Aaron seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He withdrew his hand, picked up a pen and paper and ckly wrote down a list of seven herbs. "You know the o dosages, right?"

Elissa took the paper and nodded. "I do." They were all calming herbs for the pregnancy.

She felt fine, but she'd always been like this—a bit careless with her own health. Aaron, however, was always there to make sure she didn't let things slide.

Jacqueline had been listening, confused. After Elissa went back to her own apartment across the hall, she finally pieced it together. "Is Elissa pregnant?" Aaron was too angry to speak, his face ashen. He had managed to control his temper while Elissa was there, not wanting to upset her.

Jacqueline understood everything. She shot him a look. "It's good news, isn't it? Why are you making that face? I know you're worried about her being alone, but she still has us, doesn't she?"

Back in her apartment, Elissa glanced toward the door across the hall. She knew Aaron was just worried about her. She sighed softly and turned on the living room lights.

She hadn't told Tanya Foster about the accident, not wanting to disrupt her work, and Tanya had been on a business trip for the past two days. lan had taken Max to Rivercross Residence. The apartment felt

unusually empty.

Elissa sat on the sofa for a while. Seeing that it was already past midnight, she

finally got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

She had just lathered her hair with shampoo when her phone, which she'd left on the sink, started ringing. At this late hour, her mind

immediately went to the drug crisis. She turned off the water, walked over, and swiped to answer without

even picking it up.

Steam obscured the caller ID, but the man's voice was one she knew all too well.

"Open the door."

Just two words, but she instantly recognized it was Rowan.

Her brain took a second to catch up. "What door?"

"I gave my apartment to your professor," the man's voice drawled casually. "If you

don't let me in, am I supposed to sleep on the street?"