Chapter 580

Elissa really had no counter-argument for that.

She buried her face in her bowl, desperately trying to mask her guilt. "I just told her that I was having a girl, and she was just incredibly excited..."

It was true that the old woman had a soft spot for little girls, but Rowan still looked highly suspicious. "Just that?"

Under his intense, interrogating gaze, Elissa's guilt spiked. Just as she was about to cave and confess the truth, a sharp, sudden cramp seized her abdomen, sending a spike of pain through her.

She instinctively sucked in a sharp breath, her brow furrowing in distress. The moment Rowan saw her hand clutch her stomach, he shot out of his chair and caught her arms. "What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt?"

"Yeah..."

Even though Elissa was a doctor, this was her first time being pregnant, and a momentary flash of absolute panic gripped her heart.

Rowan bent down and scooped her straight into his arms, his voice leaving no room for argument. "We're going to the hospital."

"No, wait, hold on a second."

After practically living at the hospital all day, Elissa desperately didn't want to drag him all the way back just for a false alarm. "Put me down on the sofa first. Let me check my own pulse."

In his sheer panic, Rowan had completely forgotten that he was holding a literal medical genius. He quickly processed her words and gently, carefully lowered her onto the cushions.

He trusted her medical expertise implicitly.

Even with Jacqueline's poisoning, he knew perfectly well that if Elissa couldn't solve it, Mr. Blaine returning tomorrow would likely yield the exact same result.

The reason was simple: Aaron Blaine had poured his absolute heart and soul into teaching Elissa, hiding none of his secrets, and Elissa's sheer genius meant she had absorbed every single lesson perfectly.

Given a few more years of clinical experience, Elissa was guaranteed to surpass her own master.

Elissa checked her own pulse. She looked up at the man standing over her, his face pale and radiating sheer terror, and she let out a soft laugh. "Why are you so tense? Pregnancy lasts nine months, a few minor aches and pains are completely normal."

"I wasn't terrified for the thing in your stomach."

Rowan glared down at her. Seeing that she was relaxed enough to laugh, he knew it wasn't anything serious. He smoothly covered his tracks. "I was worried about your health."

Ever since he found out she was pregnant, Rowan had secretly interrogated Cliff about all the potential risks.

For instance, he knew that a miscarriage at this stage of the pregnancy would inflict devastating physical trauma on her body.

The cramping in her stomach had already begun to subside. Elissa tilted her head up, her clear eyes locking onto his, a playful smile dancing on her lips. "You weren't worried about the baby at all?"

Rowan avoided her gaze, awkwardly looking at the wall as he tried to sound completely indifferent. "Maybe just a little bit."

After all, it wasn't his child.

But somehow... after living together day in and day out, and watching it slowly grow inside the woman he was hopelessly in love with...

He found himself genuinely anticipating the day it would come into the world and live with them.

It was just that admitting out loud that he cared deeply about another man's kid felt slightly humiliating.

Like he was eagerly volunteering to be a stepdad.

Elissa shot him a knowing look,

completely seeing through his tough-guy facade. "The baby and l

are perfectly fine. It's probably just a physical reaction to the intense emotional stress went throug today."

Jacqueline was practically a mother to Elissa.

Watching her lie completely lifeless in a hospital bed, pumped full of a terrifying toxin with her life hanging by a thread... there was no way Elissa could just switch off her anxiety.

Rowan understood that completely.

He sat down next to her and pulled her into a tight, comforting embrace. "I promise you, Jacqueline is going to pull through. Stop terrorizing yourself with the worst- he worst-case

scenarios.

"Did Mr. Whitman find a lead?"

During dinner, Elissa had noticed his phone buzzing with incoming messages several times.

She had desperately hoped it meant a breakthrough.

Rowan dodged the question, asking one of his own instead. "You need to worry about your own body first. Do you need me to get you some medication to stabilize the pregnancy?"

"No."

Elissa shook her head.

Mrs. Gable always asked her what she wanted to eat the night before, tweaking the menu to perfectly match her cravings.

Elissa made sure Mrs. Gable added specific pregnancy-safe, stabilizing herbs to her daily soups.

As long as she kept her stress levels in check going forward, she would be completely fine.

Meanwhile, Frank arrived back at Atwater Manor and immediately demanded the

package Maya had sent over from the head butler.

Since Maya hadn't delivered it personally, it took the butler a moment to realize what he was talking about. He finally retrieved a small parcel and handed it to Frank. "Is this what you're looking for, sir?"

Carmela had been eating in the dining room. Hearing the commotion, she rushed over, her face instantly lighting up with greedy delight. "Did the third daughter of the Wilkinson family send this over?"

If Maya actually became her daughter-in-law, it would be the ultimate jackpot!

She was a million times better than that trashy, scandalous Marcia.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with you."

Frank had zero patience to entertain her delusions. He ripped open the brown paper

bag, pulled out a small black vial, and pocketed it. "I have somewhere to be. I'm leaving."