From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 196- You’re just being stubborn

It was Ford who gently pulled the sobbing Riley out of his arms. His face and eyes were still steeped in exhaustion and despair as he asked her softly,

"So... you’re not breaking up with me anymore?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After all, Ford had spent time in the entertainment industry. He knew exactly how to control the look of desolation in his eyes. Riley was completely thrown off by it.

"No, no—we’re not breaking up," she said hurriedly. "As long as you can go on living, you can do whatever you want."

A faint spark of life seemed to return to Ford’s eyes.

"Really?" he asked. "You’d even marry me? You’d be willing to marry me?"

Riley had never been a calculating girl to begin with. And in her grief, she’d lost all ability to think rationally. Her only thought was to comfort him, to stop him from harboring any thoughts of ending his life. So she nodded vigorously.

"Yes. I’m willing."

Of course, it wasn’t only to comfort him. Riley truly loved him and was willing to marry him—whether he was paralyzed or not.

Hearing her answer, Ford was genuinely taken aback.

In her understanding, he should have been someone who was truly paralyzed. And yet she had agreed without hesitation to marry him. How could his heart not be moved?

Still, driven by a trace of selfishness, he tested her one last time.

"You’d better think this through," he said quietly. "I’m a paralyzed man now. If you marry someone like me, your life will be miserable."

Riley wiped away her tears and smiled.

"How do you know my life will be miserable?" she said. "There’s no such word as ’miserable’ in my dictionary."

Her bright, tear-streaked smile seemed to burn itself into Ford’s eyes. She was so optimistic, so open-hearted—no matter what happened, she always found a way to live brightly and joyfully.

That was exactly why he had fallen in love with her.

A girl this wonderful—what man wouldn’t love her? If it hadn’t been him, there would have been another man who recognized and cherished her beauty.

What he was grateful for was that while he loved her, she had fallen in love with him as well.

Without saying another word, he lifted a hand to the back of her head, lowered his head, and kissed her.

Cheers erupted from outside the door. It was Ford’s assistant, leading a group of people inside with flowers and balloons in their hands.

Startled, Riley quickly pushed Ford away and stood up. Her face flushed slightly—being watched while kissing was, after all, embarrassing.

Before she could even understand what was happening, Ford suddenly threw back the blanket and got out of bed. In front of everyone, he dropped to one knee on the floor. Amid the cheers, he looked at her with deep affection and said,

"Riley, will you marry me? I don’t have a ring yet—but I’ll have your best friend design one that belongs only to us."

Riley froze. Her attention wasn’t on the absence of a ring at all—it was on his legs.

"Y-you... weren’t you paralyzed?"

Ford broke into a grin.

"No," he said. "It was just a minor injury."

Riley was furious.

"You—!"

She didn’t even know whether she should be angry or happy anymore. Maybe she should be ecstatic—after all, he was perfectly fine.

"If I hadn’t staged a bit of a suffering act," Ford said lightly, "how would you ever have admitted your feelings?"

Ford explained his reasoning. After that minor accident, he’d decided to turn the situation to his advantage and stage a bit of a "suffering act" to force her feelings to the surface.

Riley stared at Ford, who was smiling smugly at her, at a complete loss for words. Just as she was about to move, her vision suddenly went dark again.

Ford—still kneeling on the floor—shot to his feet and caught her as she swayed, pulling her into his arms and asking anxiously,

"What’s wrong?"

Riley didn’t know what was happening to her. She just felt dizzy all of a sudden, her head spinning.

Fortunately, they were in a hospital. Ford’s assistant immediately called for a doctor to examine Riley. The hospital bed that had been meant for Ford’s rest was promptly occupied by Riley instead.

After several tests, the doctor finally gave his diagnosis.

"The dizziness could be caused by excessive stress," the doctor said, "but it’s also possible that it’s due to pregnancy. Early pregnancy symptoms vary from person to person. Some women have almost no reaction, while others experience severe nausea, vomiting, and dizziness."

The word pregnancy nearly scared Riley to death. Ford was equally stunned.

But then, delight quickly overtook his shock. He grabbed the doctor and asked for confirmation again and again. The doctor assured them that Riley was indeed pregnant—the results had just come back. Based on the timeline, the pregnancy likely began when they were in Sanya taking wedding photos.

Riley felt utterly hopeless, on the verge of tears.

Ford, on the other hand, was beaming as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You just said you’d marry me," he said cheerfully. "Now there’s a baby, too. You don’t even have the option of not marrying me anymore."

After listening to Riley’s story, Catherine couldn’t help laughing on her end of the line.

"Riley, I’m really happy for you."

Catherine was genuinely overjoyed. Nothing made her happier than seeing her closest friend find her place in life. Precisely because she cared so deeply about Riley, she wished more than anything for her to be happy—and Ford, by every measure, was outstanding. More importantly, his feelings for Riley were beyond doubt.

Riley, however, sounded thoroughly frustrated on the other end.

"Cici, I’m seriously losing my mind. Falling in love and getting married would’ve been one thing, but now I’m pregnant too—I—"

She fumed angrily.

"My modeling career has only just begun, and I never even thought about having kids! I feel like I’m still a kid myself!"

Riley had never been particularly calm or mature by nature. She was playful, a little childlike, and hated dwelling on worries, which made her feel perpetually young. And now, suddenly being told she was going to become a mother—the contrast was simply too much for her to process.

Catherine gently tried to comfort her.

"A child is a blessing from heaven. You and Ford truly love each other—since it’s already happened, you should accept it openly."

Unlike Riley, Catherine didn’t feel resistant toward children at all. In fact, she liked them—perhaps even longed for one. Both she and Bert had been lonely for too long; a new little life might be exactly what they needed to make their world feel warmer and more complete.

Thinking about the chaos her life had turned into, Riley felt even more irritated and snorted stubbornly, despite herself.

"True love? I don’t love him at all."

Catherine knew her temperament well and couldn’t help laughing.

"You’re just being stubborn."

She understood exactly why Riley was so upset—it was all tied to her personality.

Riley was the type who thrived on freedom, lively and untamed, someone who hated being restrained. Now, with a child suddenly tying her down—especially without any mental preparation—it was only natural for her to bristle.

Riley let out a heavy sigh and then said,

"Alright, let’s stop talking about this for now. He’s coming to my place later to visit my parents. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. If my mom finds out I’m pregnant before marriage, she’ll beat me to death."

Catherine, well aware of Mrs. Du’s fiery temper, laughed.

"Isn’t Ford there? He won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t worry."

Riley’s personality was largely inherited from her mother—wild and fiery despite being a girl, almost boyish in spirit. Ironically, Duke, despite his tall and broad build, was gentle and meticulous, completely mismatched with his rugged appearance. Many girls were intimidated by how he looked and assumed he was fierce or ill-tempered, when in fact Duke was a genuinely good man.

Not long after Riley ended the call with Catherine, the doorbell rang.

With a groan, Riley ran a hand through her messy hair, wrapped herself tighter in her loose loungewear, and left the bedroom.

Ford had said he would come today to visit her parents—it must be him.

Ever since the pregnancy was confirmed, Ford had insisted on visiting her parents immediately. Riley was on the verge of a breakdown. She hadn’t even told her parents she had a boyfriend yet, and now they were jumping straight to marriage talks...

She’d tried to stall and dodge the issue, but Ford remained firm.

"We already have a child. You’re still not letting me meet your parents?"

Then he added resolutely,

"Even if you don’t agree, I’m going anyway. I need to take responsibility—for you and for the baby."

"I want to give you a wedding as soon as possible. I want to give you and our child a proper place and name."

Strictly speaking, it was he—and his child—who urgently needed her to give them that legitimacy.

Ford’s original plan had only been to use the staged accident to force Riley to face her feelings for him. What he hadn’t expected was this unexpected bonus—her pregnancy. That gave him even more reason to propose marriage, and even less reason to fear her refusal.

With his attitude so firm, Riley had no choice but to agree on a time for him to visit her parents.

That evening at dinner, Riley announced to her parents and her brother Duke that her boyfriend would be coming over to visit.

The three of them were so shocked they nearly dropped their chopsticks, staring at her as if they’d seen a ghost.

Riley snapped irritably,

"What’s with those expressions? Am I not allowed to have a boyfriend?"

Even as she spoke, she sneered inwardly—just wait till my boyfriend shows up and stuns you all.

Mother reacted the best among them. Though surprised, he quickly regained his composure.

"What does he do for a living?"

"A model," Riley replied curtly.

She didn’t even want to mention Ford’s family background. Judging by their reactions, the fact that she had a boyfriend at all was already shocking enough. If she told them he came from such an exceptional background, they might think she’d somehow tricked him into it.

What nonsense. Was she not allowed to date—or marry—an outstanding man? Sure, her personality was a bit bold and outspoken, but did that really warrant such disbelief?

Mrs. Du and Duke finally snapped out of their shock. Duke frowned at her and asked,

"Why have we never heard you mention having a boyfriend before? And now he’s suddenly coming to visit us?"