Reborn as Mr.CEO's Fat Wife-Chapter 913: How Did You Manage to Be So Heartless?

Chapter 913: Chapter 913: How Did You Manage to Be So Heartless?

Mary Scott’s coughing drew the attention of the two men. She quickly waved her hands, "Carry on, carry on!"

David Locke reached out and patted her back, reprimanding her in a dissatisfied tone, "Making a fuss over nothing."

Mary’s eyes widened. Fifty million dollars to buy a role, and that’s nothing? Fine, maybe she really was inexperienced.

Adam Piers saw how meticulous and gentle David was being and raised an eyebrow again. "So, what do you think?"

"Not much." David shrugged.

Adam fixed him with a sharp gaze, "From what I know, your movie’s early stage preparation cost a fortune. Are you sure you don’t want it?"

"Oh, so you’re aware of the massive costs? If you screw up this supporting male role, who am I supposed to cry to?" David’s words were full of disdain.

Adam, stung by the blatant rejection, cursed in frustration, "Didn’t you say last time that I’ve got talent? So, you were lying to me, huh?"

Mary: "..." This wasn’t the same guy she’d seen on the variety show!

"Not lying to you exactly. If you truly want it, it’s not entirely impossible." David had worked with Adam before and knew this young master’s temper well.

Adam immediately sat up straight. "Speak. What are the conditions?"

"The supporting male role in my movie is a highly talented doctor. If you can somehow transform yourself into someone who actually looks like a doctor before filming starts, then I might consider letting you have it." Although David didn’t lack the fifty million investment, among Piers’ younger generation, this particular young master was the one who cared about this movie the most. David couldn’t disregard Brandon Piers’ wishes.

"That’s it? Fine." If he was going to act, Adam certainly wouldn’t embarrass himself—especially not in front of that woman.

"Well then, good luck, Master Adam!" David said halfheartedly. He sincerely doubted that this dandy could pull it off in just two months. After all, Adam was neither an actor nor a doctor. His success in a previous role wasn’t due to talent but because he was essentially playing himself. This, however, was different.

Adam nodded but showed no intention of leaving.

David cast him a sidelong glance, already annoyed. "Anything else?"

"Has the female lead been finalized?" Adam rarely looked so uneasy.

David raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Bertha Swift?" The name made Adam even more uncomfortable as he said it.

David immediately understood. He knew a bit about the messy affairs of the Piers family, especially since the inspiration for this script had come from Brandon Piers. Bertha was chosen for the role not just because she was a medical student and stood out in appearance, but because she’d been a child star. Despite transitioning into medicine, she had an acting foundation and raw talent that impressed him during auditions.

What he hadn’t expected was that this young master now seemed set on rekindling something with Bertha. Hadn’t the engagement officially been called off?

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, yes, she’s confirmed. What—are you planning to join my production to pursue romance?" David frowned. If that were the case, he truly wouldn’t dare use him.

Adam scoffed, "As if!"

"Then what is this about...?"

"Why are you so damn annoying? I’m investing money and manpower. As long as you find me useful, that’s all that matters. I won’t tarnish your reputation as a genius director." Adam cut him off, clearly irritated and uneasy. fгeewebnovёl.com

David stroked his chin thoughtfully before nodding. "Alright then."

Without further ado, Adam got up and planted himself on a nearby couch, looking completely uninterested in dealing with David and Mary any further.

Mary, intrigued, sidled closer. "Who’s Bertha Swift?"

"If you’re so curious, look it up yourself." David wasn’t interested in gossiping about someone’s private affairs.

Mary clicked her tongue, hugged her phone, and began searching. In no time, a trove of Bertha-related information popped up, much of it tied to the Piers family and particularly this young master. When she finally came across a report about Bertha having an abortion, her eyes widened. She glanced at Adam, who was casually scrolling on his phone on the other couch, and silently cursed in her heart, "Scumbag."

"Hmm?" David suddenly turned to look at her.

Mary realized she’d accidentally spoken her thoughts out loud. She quickly looked toward Adam and, seeing him glance back, forced a smile and pointed at David. "I was talking about him."

David: "..."

Adam raised an eyebrow before returning his attention to his phone. Coincidentally, he stumbled on the same news article Mary had just read. Suddenly, he stood up and left the room without a word.

Mary frowned in confusion. "What’s with him?"

David didn’t answer.

Mary looked at him, thinking he hadn’t heard her.

"Scumbags don’t feel like talking," David drawled slowly, meeting her questioning gaze.

Mary gave him an awkward smile. Even though she’d only said it to deflect attention, was she wrong? If David wasn’t a scumbag, then what was he? His rumored girlfriends could fill a table for poker. Back when she was young and naive, she actually thought he was pure and devoted.

Unbothered by David’s condescending attitude, Mary turned her interest back to digging into Adam and Bertha’s story.

David: "..."

Initially only slightly irritated, David now felt even more annoyed.

Fuming, he didn’t say another word to Mary for the rest of the time they were together. For her part, Mary, thinking about his roster of rumored girlfriends, felt no urge to engage with him either.

The two sat in silence, their faces cold enough to chill the air around them.

...

Swallow City.

This wasn’t Bertha Swift’s first time at the hospital. Considering what happened the last time, she was much more cautious this time around. Still, she couldn’t avoid being photographed by a reporter with ulterior motives.

Thankfully, she’d been prepared and had arranged for someone disguised as her to lead the reporters away.

Now, lying on the cold surgical bed, Bertha’s expression was numb. The child was already four months along. Though her slender frame didn’t show, the baby was big enough for her to feel faint movements in recent days.

She could genuinely feel it growing within her, day by day, and yet she couldn’t allow it to continue growing—to be born like other children and live its life.

The pain in her heart was unbearable.

It had only been a few months, but somehow she felt deeply connected to the little life inside her. Last night, she’d revisited an old Korean drama she’d once cried over in her youth for its romantic tragedy, only to now be moved by its depiction of family bonds.

Particularly the moment where the male lead, shortly before his death, stood outside his mother’s home and softly thanked her for bringing him into this world.

Yet here she was, about to end the life of her own child with her own hands.

During her first hospital visit, she had been determined to terminate the pregnancy. But now, after over four months of mutual companionship, how could she possibly bring herself to do it?

Tears streamed silently down her face, making her pale, beautiful visage appear even more fragile and haggard.

The doctor looked at her with some sympathy. "Young lady, don’t be too sad. The baby has developmental issues. Even if it were born, it would only suffer more. You’re still young; you’ll have more chances to become a mother."

Bertha didn’t respond, her tears falling even faster. As a medical student, how could she not already know this logic?

But knowing didn’t make it any easier to bear.

The doctor sighed and turned to instruct the anesthesiologist to administer the drugs.

Under local anesthesia, Bertha watched the entire procedure. She saw the doctor take away the child who had been with her for seventeen weeks and five days. Her body was paralyzed, but her tears intensified.

The initial prenatal screening’s results had left her in denial, which was why she had gone out of her way to do a non-invasive test. But the conclusions were the same.

Lying on the small hospital bed, Bertha vacillated between blaming herself and hating Adam Piers. Her heart was filled with resentment until she was too exhausted to stay conscious, unsure of when she was wheeled out of the operating room.

Soon after being transferred to the hospital ward, the door burst open. Bertha barely managed to open her bleary eyes before being met with a hard slap to the face.

"Ugh..."

Having just undergone the abortion, the anesthesia hadn’t fully worn off yet, and the slap reverberated painfully throughout her entire body. Her ears buzzed, her mind went blank, and it took a long moment for her to register who was in front of her. She then lowered her head, clenched her lips, and stayed put.

Smack!

The visitor, even angrier at her silence, raised their hand and delivered another forceful slap.

Both sides of her face flushed red and swelled immediately.

Mrs. Swift looked on, hesitant. "Husband, stop hitting her. Wasn’t she left with no choice?"

"No choice? Looks like she had plenty of choices to me!" Mr. Swift’s rage was unabated. His anger boiled over, and he nearly kicked his daughter on the spot.

"Darling..."

"And you have the nerve to plead for her? If you’d kept a closer eye on her, how would she have managed to sneak out and have an abortion?" Mr. Swift directed his fury toward his wife, seeing Bertha sit silently with her head bowed.

"I...I didn’t expect..." Mrs. Swift tried feebly to defend herself.

Mr. Swift, his chest heaving with anger, snapped, "Didn’t expect it? What a convenient excuse. Then you can pack up and leave the Swift family with her! We don’t need useless trash like this!"

Bertha suddenly lifted her head. Though she had anticipated such an outcome, she hadn’t expected her father to be this cruel so soon after the surgery. Her eyes brimmed with even more tears, and her body trembled lightly. The places where she’d been struck throbbed with a searing pain.

All her life, others had assumed she was a pampered little princess loved by all. But only she knew the truth: within the Swift family, she was nothing more than a pawn. She was expected to be talented, to excel, to be polished into a valuable bargaining chip to be traded away when the time came.

Now her reputation was ruined, her engagement to the Piers family was dissolved, and what should have been her final bargaining chip—the child—was gone. Now that she was entirely devoid of value, she was simply being discarded?

Tears welled up in Bertha’s eyes. But she knew that crying wouldn’t win her father’s compassion. It would only make him think her even more useless.

"Dad, this is all my fault. It has nothing to do with Mom. You can toss me out, but don’t kick Mom out too, okay?" Bertha looked behind her father at her frail mother. She knew she could survive if expelled from the Swift family. But her mother? What would happen when the home-wrecker next showed up, with no one left to protect her?

"You dare speak? Don’t let me see either of you again!" Mr. Swift refused to entertain her plea, storming out the door in a fit of rage.

Mrs. Swift hurried after him. "Husband, please, I’m begging you, don’t kick us out..."

Bertha lay in her hospital bed, listening to her mother’s imploring voice fade into the distance. She shut her eyes tightly, her agony and exhaustion weighing her down. Her sobs felt mocking, even to herself.

Half-conscious and feverish, she was unaware of how much time had passed when the hospital room door creaked open once more. Thinking it must be her mother returning, she rasped out, "Mom..."

Her visitor didn’t respond. The room grew unnervingly quiet.

Bertha forced her eyes open and saw a tall figure standing by her bed. Instantly alarmed, she asked instinctively, "Who are you?"

Adam said nothing, his cold gaze fixed on the woman’s feverish face.

It took Bertha a while to finally recognize the familiar face. Feeling as though she’d fallen into a deep ice pit, her entire body stiffened defensively. "What are you doing here? Get out!"

Adam had driven frantically from Earlbind and had people investigate Bertha’s hospital location. But despite his haste, he still hadn’t made it in time. Seeing the woman lying on the hospital bed, cautious and on edge, his heart ached painfully. "Bertha Swift, how could you be so heartless?"

He had already negotiated with the Swift family: as long as Bertha kept the child, he would personally ensure that Swift would be favored over all competitors in their business dealings with Piers. To prove his sincerity, he had even injected thirty million dollars to fill Swift’s financial gap.

But despite all his efforts, this cruel woman had still secretly gone through with the abortion. The child was already four months along! How could she have the heart to do it?

Adam had lived his entire life carefree and unrestrained, but this was the first time he had tasted betrayal and gut-wrenching pain. His reddened eyes simmered with fury as he stared at the woman on the bed.

Bertha was already in pain, physically and emotionally. Hearing Adam’s harsh accusations only deepened her resentment towards him. He had no idea what she had been through yet dared to judge her so easily. Did he think this was easy for her? Yes, she had been cruel, but had he never considered that the child was part of her? That she, too, would feel the pain of losing it?

Pushed to the brink of sorrow, a defiant smile graced her battered face, further twisting her anguish. "Yes, Adam Piers, I’m utterly heartless. Did you know? He would have been able to kick by now. The doctor said he was a boy. I even saw him already. So what? I didn’t want him. I didn’t want him, and that’s that!"

Each word cut deeper into her own heart, but her pain demanded that she drag Adam into its abyss. Her child’s health issues were all his fault! His indulgence in excessive drinking, his reckless lifestyle—without a doubt, those were the causes!

Why should she be the only one suffering?

"You!" Adam tightened his fists, the words stabbing straight through him. He wanted to slap her, but when he saw her bruised and tear-streaked face, the red swelling on her cheeks, he froze. His clenched fists eventually eased. Gritting his teeth, he asked harshly, "What if the child had been my brother’s? Would you have kept it then?"

Because she didn’t love him—because she hated him—was that why she was unwilling to keep the child?

Adam had never felt so defeated in his life.

Bertha hadn’t expected him to ask such a question. She lowered her head, saying nothing.

Adam didn’t need her to answer; her silence said it all. A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Fine. The child is gone, and now we have nothing to do with each other. Whatever was given to Swift is just compensation for the past."

Finished, Adam didn’t linger a moment more in that suffocating room. He feared that one more glance at this heartless woman would break his remaining sense of restraint.

Bam!

He slammed the door shut with a force that echoed his rage. Bertha stared at the tightly closed door, forcing herself to lift her head so her tears wouldn’t fall.

She was already a mess. Admitting, even to herself, that she had once been moved by this man’s fleeting protectiveness would only make her feel more pathetic.

Outside the hospital room, Adam’s assistant hurried up to him. "Master Adam, I just asked the doctor. Miss Swift’s miscarriage was due to..."

"Don’t mention her name to me again. From now on, I don’t want to hear anything about her," Adam interrupted coldly.

The assistant hesitated to say more, watching Adam storm off before sighing. He assumed that Bertha had already explained herself but that Adam remained unmoved. So he kept his thoughts to himself.

Still... what a pity.

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