Chapter 9 Stay Away From Me

• Katherine was chewing on a pickle as she slowly ascended the stairs.
• She had just raised her head when she saw Daniel coming out of the study.
• He was walking in her direction, and he looked gloomy and unwelcome. It startled her so much that she swallowed the pickle before she could chew it sufficiently.
• In the end, because of the gagging, it induced morning sickness in her, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth as she retched.
• The man who happened to be passing by in front of her stopped.
• Nervous, Katherine explained subconsciously, "Uh, I retched because I suddenly felt nauseous. I'm not retching because I saw you—"
• The man's handsome face darkened.
• "No, what I mean is, nausea and vomiting is a very common occurrence during early pregnancy. I always feel like throwing up, and it's just part of the pregnancy package. It's not that I'd feel like throwing up whenever I see someone I don't like—"
• When she realized that explaining only made things worse, Katherine wisely ended this weird topic. She awkwardly shoved at him the jar of pickles in her hand, asking timidly, "Do you want some?"
• Daniel lowered his head and looked at the jar in front of him. He snorted. "You want money for that, right? How much do you want? One million? No, with your appetite, one million isn't nearly enough. What about 10 million?"
• The man's cruel sarcasm was like a sharp blade that swung and sliced at her face.
• Katherine's expression froze, and she silently retracted her hand mid-air.
• He didn't hide the disgust in his eyes as he said, "You can stop trying to please me, and don't think I'll treat you any better just because you're pregnant. My old man believes in this stuff, but I don't. In my entire life, the one thing I hate the most is someone else plotting and taking advantage of me! As such, stay away from me."
• Katherine's eyelashes quivered slightly. "Okay."
• Daniel passed by her, going down the stairs without even looking back.
• A bitterness began rising in her throat, so she took another pickle and popped it in her mouth.
• The intense taste invaded her taste buds, and true enough, she could no longer taste anything else.
• She tugged at the corner of her lips to make a smile.
• Yes, I'll be fine, she told herself.
• Just like he asked, she would stay away from him. After all, she wasn't a masochist. If she stayed anywhere near him, she might even freeze to death!
• "Mrs. Fowler, what are you eating?" Joyce, who was mainly in charge of looking after her, saw the jar in her hands and instantly began shouting.
• Startled by Joyce's loud voice, Katherine hastily explained, "It's the pickles I bought. It's a little sour, but it works. Whenever I feel nauseous, I only have to eat one of these, and I won't feel like throwing up anymore."
• "You're pregnant with the precious children of the Fowler Family, so how can you carelessly consume food from outside? The food available outside is dirty and contaminated, and they always have a messy concoction of additives and preservatives. If you eat them, it would have a bad effect on the children!"
• Joyce snatched the jar in her hands and tossed it in the garbage bin. "You are a pregnant woman, so you should watch what you're eating. Don't just think of yourself all the time! Don't touch any of the junk food outside anymore. You won't be able to compensate if it affects the children in your tummy!"
• Katherine glanced at the jar of pickles in the garbage bin. She parted her lips, but in the end, she still didn't say anything.
• Back in her room, Katherine had just sat down on the bed when Joyce came in with a bowl.
• When she came in, she frowned and began nagging again. "Why did you turn on the air conditioner? It's not good for the children. You should turn it off."
• Even though she sounded like she was open to negotiation, she didn't even wait for Katherine to reply before turning off the air conditioner.
• Katherine pouted, and she couldn't help but grumble, "It's too warm for me."
• "Open the windows, then!"
• Joyce drew the curtains and opened the windows. "Look, the wind is now blowing in, isn't it?"
• Katherine couldn't feel the wind she spoke of. On the contrary, once the windows were opened, the summer heat waves began crashing continuously into her face.
• The hot and bothered feeling inside her became even more difficult to endure.
• Joyce didn't seem to notice her annoyance as she presented to Katherine the bowl she was carrying just now. "This is today's nourishment soup. Drink it while it's hot."
• Katherine frowned. "I don't want to."
• She truly didn't like the taste of this soup. It was fishy and sticky, and it reminded her of snot. It was truly a challenge to swallow.
• Every time she finished drinking it, she would feel like throwing up.
• When Joyce heard that, her expression turned cold. "Mrs. Fowler, you now have another life in your body. Can you not be picky based on your own preferences? Also, this soup isn't just for you; it's to provide nourishment for the baby in your tummy as well!"
• She shoved the bowl in front of Katherine. Katherine knew she couldn't avoid it anymore, so she had no choice but to take the bowl, pick up the spoon, then slowly drink it.
• "Hurry up! Can you stop acting so spoiled? If people see you like this, they might think I'm forcing you to drink poison!"
• Pissed with Katherine's slow movements, Joyce grew irritated. "This is top grade soup, and not anyone from any luxurious family gets to drink it so easily. However, look at you! You're putting on acts and despising everything! Just as expected, you've never seen quality food before, so it's no wonder you'd treat cheap junk food like treasure!"
• Katherine tightened her grip on the spoon.
• She slightly raised her head to look at Joyce's mocking and nagging face.
• Noticing her gaze, Joyce paused. "Why? Do you think I'm wrong?"
• Katherine was silent for a few seconds. In the end, she didn't say anything as she picked up the bowl and downed the whole soup in one go.
• "That's more like it." Satisfied, Joyce took the empty bowl and left.
• Katherine hit her chest. The disgusting smell invaded her cavities, and she couldn't help but retch a few times.
• She downed two glasses of water in succession, finally managing to suppress that taste a little.
• However, it didn't manage to suppress the terrible heat in her body.
• The weather was too hot, so much so that she could barely take it anymore!
• However, the remote control for the air conditioner had disappeared from its recent spot on the table, and she couldn't find it no matter where she looked.
• Did Joyce take it out with her when she left the room?
• Katherine got off the bed and put on her shoes.
• The Fowlers' servants lived on the basement floor. She asked other servants for directions and began walking toward Joyce's room.
• She hadn't even neared the door when she heard voices speaking from within.
• "You've reaped quite a lot, haven't you, Joyce? All these top grade ingredients for soup can fetch you a pretty penny even if you sell it on a secondhand website, right? You're quite bold to think of swapping the top grade ingredients with low grade ones on the market. Aren't you afraid that Mrs. Fowler might notice anything?"
• Joyce snorted. "What's there to be afraid of? She comes from an unknown family, so she hasn't seen much of this world. It'd be a miracle if she could tell the difference in quality of the soup ingredients! Moreover, only her tummy is worth something right now, so who in the entire Fowler Residence is truly nice to her? Haven't you noticed that Mr. Daniel looks at her like she's a disgrace? For people like her, it's already fortunate enough for her to drink this sort of soup at all!"
• "Hahaha, you have a point! Women like her who only rise to power because of their children won't be around for long. In fact, Mr. Daniel might divorce her as soon as she gives birth to the baby!"
• "That's right, so you don't have to treat her too well either. She's not our boss, after all."
• Katherine leaned with her back against the wall, her nails digging deep into her palms.
• She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, suppressing the raging fire in her chest.
• Never mind. Nothing good comes out of acting on impulse. I've learned my lesson once, so I won't ever be impulsive again!
• Calm down, calm down…
• She would endure it!
• She thought her continuous tolerance could bring some short-lived peace, but instead, all it brought was people asking for a mile after getting an inch!
• This morning, Katherine had just fetched Mimi from the vet.
• In the afternoon, she came back after her usual walk in the garden just to see Joyce grabbing Mimi by the neck and taking it outside.
• By the looks of it, Joyce was planning to abandon it somewhere in secret.
• Hearing Mimi's pitiful cries, she could not endure it anymore!