Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Made Things Difficult
Serena, "..."
After a while, there was still no movement from the belly.
She really wanted to ask, are you sure this is a chat and not a scare tactic?
Seeing Elias Lancaster’s frowning expression, she sighed in her heart, "Uncle, the babies are asleep."
"Hmm." Elias responded, his large hand gently rubbing her belly, reluctant to let go.
Serena glanced at her phone; Nathan Sawyer was almost there.
"Uncle, Nathan is almost here. I’ll just go check out the mall next door and be right back."
Elias looked at Serena, "Have Secretary Hughes go with you."
Serena quickly waved her hand, "No need to trouble them, I’m fine, Nathan is here. Don’t worry, I’ll just take a stroll. If I get tired, I’ll come back up to find you."
He wished he could keep her by his side every day. Even though he knew it wasn’t right, he couldn’t control the urge to do so.
Serena took a couple of steps, then returned, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek, then quickly turned and ran off.
Elias watched her retreating figure, his Adam’s apple bobbing, taking a couple of deep breaths.
He reached out to touch his face, a smile tugging at his lips.
Immediately after, still not at ease, he arranged for a bodyguard to follow her from a distance.
When Serena reached downstairs, Nathan was already waiting for her.
"Serena darling, be honest, it wasn’t Devil King Lancaster... the Lancasters forcing you to get the certificate, was it?" Nathan asked in a low voice.
"No." Serena blushed thinking about what had just happened...
"Be honest, is there anything else you’re hiding from me?" Nathan squinted his eyes at Serena, looking like he was angry and hard to appease.
Serena leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I’m pregnant."
Nathan froze, giving Serena a look as if he’d seen a ghost, his voice instantly rising, "What did you say?"
Serena quickly reached out to cover his mouth, nervously looking around to make sure no one noticed, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Devil King Lancaster’s?" Nathan’s mouth twitched.
"Hmm." Serena nodded, "Let’s not talk about this anymore, let’s go shopping first."
The two walked hand in hand towards the mall, stopping occasionally along the way, peeking into the window displays of a high-end clothing store, eyeing a logo on the clothes.
Serena thought, it seemed like the clothes Elias wore had this logo, and she had never given anything to Elias before.
For months, Elias had been taking meticulous care of her.
Buying a shirt for Uncle, he might be happy, right?
Serena pulled Nathan into the store.
Except for the time Old Madam Lancaster brought her to this mall to buy clothes, she had never been to a mall before.
Looking at the store’s decor and the seemingly exorbitantly priced clothes, she felt quite nervous.
Nathan looked at her, then at the store, noting it was menswear, "Serena darling, are you buying clothes for Devil King Lancaster?"
"Don’t call him Devil King Lancaster; he’s very good to me and the babies." Serena protested softly.
"Alright, alright, your President Lancaster, fine!" Nathan teased.
They stood in the store for a while before a salesperson approached them with a smile.
"Good afternoon, ladies. Feel free to browse around. Let me know if you need any assistance."
Serena looked around and finally pointed to the display in the glass window.
"Excuse me, could I see the shirt on that mannequin?"
The saleswoman’s gaze swept over Serena and Nathan, her smile friendly.
"Miss, that shirt is one-of-a-kind and quite expensive. If you’re not sincere about purchasing it, I suggest you look at something else."
Nathan’s face darkened, "Are you saying we can’t even look at it?"
The saleswoman maintained her professional smile. "I’m sorry."
Serena wasn’t naïve; she understood the implications.
The clothes she wore after getting pregnant, apart from those bought by the old madam, were all custom-made by Elias. They weren’t expensive but were primarily made of comfortable cotton fabric.
The saleswoman had assumed they couldn’t afford to buy, which was why she spoke that way.
"What kind of service is this? Do you know who she is..." Nathan was furious.
Before he could finish, Serena pulled on his arm, looking at him.
Serena shook her head at him and whispered in his ear, "Don’t get upset."
She then looked at the saleswoman with a seemingly innocent expression.
"So the most expensive one is that shirt?"
"Yes."
"Really one-of-a-kind?"
"Of course."
"How much?"
"288,888."
Serena thought that was quite a lot, but since it was for Elias, it should be fine at that price.
And so.
She let go of Nathan’s hand and rummaged through her bag for her wallet. It was an adorable little pink rabbit wallet Elias had given her.
All the cards in the wallet were prepared by Elias.
Serena found the supplementary card Elias had given her and looked seriously at the saleswoman, "You’re sure it’s one-of-a-kind?"
The saleswoman’s face turned instantly stony, convinced the person in front of her couldn’t afford it.
"This shirt is almost 300,000, of course, it’s one-of-a-kind."
Serena nodded, handing over the supplementary card.
"Then swipe the card."
The saleswoman stared at the card in Serena’s hand. Wasn’t she supposed to be poor? How could there be money on this card?
A flash of surprise crossed her eyes as she took the card and swiped it on the machine.
The next second.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as it showed a successful payment.
She looked at Serena in shock, stunned for a moment, before regaining her composure and kindly smiling, "Please sign the receipt."
Serena looked at the receipt, thought for a moment, then signed Elias Lancaster’s name on it.
She smiled, "Can I have my card back?"
The saleswoman immediately replied respectfully, "Of course." as she returned the card to Serena with both hands, "Please wait a moment."
Then she went to have the shirt pressed and placed in a box.
"Thank you."
"Next time, keep your eyes open. Luckily my Serena is kind and won’t hold it against you." Nathan said indignantly.
"I apologize."
As the two walked away, someone emerged from the fitting room.
It was Dolae Thorne.
She walked over to the saleswoman and asked, "Did she really buy it?"
The saleswoman quickly replied, "Miss Thorne, she bought it."
When the two girls entered the store, Miss Thorne had told her that the girl couldn’t afford to buy anything and was just pretending.
She even asked her to make things difficult for them, promising a reward in return.
But unexpectedly, she had been outplayed. However, she still couldn’t confront this Miss Thorne, someone not to be trifled with, so she swallowed her pride.
Dolae picked up the receipt, looking at the signed name, which was indeed Elias Lancaster.
When those three words met her eyes, she couldn’t believe it; Elias actually gave her a supplementary card, confirmed by the lunch incident, proving it to be true.
Why could she earn Elias’s favor? The Lancaster Family should have noticed her, Dolae Thorne; how could she have the audacity to compete with her?
Everything rightfully belonged to her, Dolae Thorne.
Dolae handed some money to the saleswoman before leaving; she wanted to find out exactly who this woman was.