Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 17: Does It Hurt?

Cecilia Nathan stood motionless, her eyelids lifting slightly. "Damian Hawthorne, I’m not your personal property."

To be summoned at his whim, and dismissed just as easily.

’What does he take me for?’

Seeing her stubborn and unyielding expression, Damian felt a surge of turmoil.

He grabbed Cecilia’s hand and started pulling her out.

"Damian Hawthorne, let go of me!" His grip on her wrist hurt, and Cecilia struggled fiercely.

But Damian was resolute, refusing to loosen his hold.

Seeing she couldn’t break free, Cecilia’s face crumpled. She opened her mouth and bit down hard on his arm.

Damian stopped walking. His expression didn’t change as his deep brown eyes fell heavily upon her.

Cecilia’s reddened eyes glared at him. "Damian Hawthorne, what exactly are you trying to do?"

’She used to do whatever he said without question. But now, was he going to control even her most basic freedom?’

He told her to apologize to Serena Hughes, so she came bearing fruit.

Now he was just dragging her out. Had he even once considered her feelings?

Her heart was made of flesh and blood.

’It could still feel pain...’

Seeing her eyes redden, Damian loosened his grip slightly. He glanced at his own arm, where her bite had almost drawn blood.

’She really bit down hard.’

Damian closed the door, completely shutting them off from Serena Hughes inside the hospital room.

Watching Damian pull Cecilia away, Serena Hughes clenched her jaw.

Now, seeing Damian close the door, she knew he probably didn’t want her to hear what he was about to say to Cecilia.

But she couldn’t resist, and quietly tiptoed a few steps closer to the door.

"You’re pregnant."

It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

Damian’s words sent a shock through Cecilia.

"And you want to get rid of it?" Seeing her reaction, Damian knew that what Hugo Grant had told him wasn’t a lie.

Cecilia was pregnant, but she didn’t want the child.

Cecilia’s lips trembled, and she gave a bitter smile. "It was an accident. Even the morning-after pill didn’t stop it."

"This child came at a bad time." Damian took out a cigarette case, squinting as he selected one. "Is this why you wanted me to marry you?"

Cecilia said nothing.

Her silence was answer enough.

"You should know that even with a child, I won’t get married." Damian stared at her, his tone cold. "What do you plan to do about it?"

’What to do about it...’

A pang of pain shot through Cecilia’s heart.

She knew she was nothing in Damian’s eyes.

Even pregnant with his child, she was just a plaything to him.

"There’s no need to ’do’ anything about it." Cecilia’s voice choked up. "It knew it shouldn’t have come, so it took care of itself."

Damian’s hand, which had been lighting his cigarette, paused. His eyes snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"It was a chemical pregnancy." Cecilia lowered her gaze, her words concise. "The baby’s gone."

Damian’s lips pressed into a thin line.

The hand holding the cigarette suddenly froze.

"When did it happen...?"

Damian realized his own voice sounded faint and unsteady.

In a single day, he’d been forced to ride an emotional rollercoaster.

What made him feel even worse was Cecilia’s nonchalant demeanor, as if she were talking about someone else’s story, someone else’s child.

"Did it hurt?" Damian asked.

"What?"

"I’m asking if you were in pain when it happened." Damian seemed to have lost all his patience.

Cecilia closed her eyes, a tightness in her chest making it hard to breathe.

"It didn’t hurt."

’But no pain she felt could compare to the pain that tiny life had endured.’

"You lost it... because of the morning-after pill?" Damian’s voice grew lower, his brown eyes as dark and impenetrable as the night.

His voice was like a hook, dredging up Cecilia’s painful memories.

"It was for a number of reasons."

Cecilia clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening into fists as she desperately held back the tears welling in her eyes.

She didn’t want to cry, especially not in front of Damian.

"I’m sorry." Damian’s voice was low and husky, thick with emotion. "You won’t have to take that stuff ever again."

Cecilia gave a faint laugh.

’If he’s not with me, if we’re not sleeping together, then of course I won’t have to take it.’

Cecilia knew he would end up with Serena Hughes sooner or later.

And she was just a passerby in his life.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

The fruit had been delivered, and nothing else had anything to do with her.

"I’ll take you," Damian said.

"Don’t bother." Cecilia started to refuse, but saw Damian walking beside her, looking just as resolute.

In the end, she still got into Damian’s car.

Damian was driving his Cayenne today.

He had bought this car during the first year they were together. Before she came into the picture, he used to drive a Porsche sports car.

She had even helped pick out the interior, done in her favorite color.

And now...

She deliberately sat in the back seat, her eyes landing on the backpack in the front passenger seat.

It was Serena Hughes’s bag.

It sat there securely, as if declaring its owner’s status.

Cecilia was surprised when Damian drove straight to a shopping mall.

This mall was Korsyth’s largest luxury shopping center, home to every high-end brand imaginable. Whenever Damian was in a good mood, or a bad one, he would bring her here to shop.

Cecilia watched as Damian skillfully parked, got out, and opened the door for her.

Aside from his emotional unavailability, Damian was actually quite good in many respects.

He was cynical and flippant, yet also thoughtful, and especially generous with his money.

No wonder Serena Hughes couldn’t resist him.

Few women could.

It was the same this time. Damian wanted to take her shopping, partly as a way to compensate her.

Cecilia didn’t refuse.

This was Damian’s compensation for that little life.

She would take it. Not only that, she planned to make him pay dearly.

The first store was Hermès. The Hawthorne Family were all VVVIPS at "H," so they were greeted by the store manager the moment they walked in.

"Miss Nathan, you’ve come at the perfect time. We just received some new arrivals today."

Damian sat on the sofa, his eyes brooding, lost in thought.

He toyed with a black card in his hand before passing it to the manager. "Buy whatever she likes."

The manager shot Cecilia an envious glance.

Even though Cecilia was officially just the one pursuing Damian, he had bought her plenty of luxury goods over the years. Consequently, all the staff here knew her.

"Did that house bag I mentioned last time come in?" Cecilia went straight for the most expensive items.

The manager hesitated. "It did, but another young lady has it. She’s in the next room..."

The words were barely out of her mouth when Cecilia heard a familiar voice. "Wrap all of these up for me." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Damian’s eyelids lifted, and he looked toward the doorway.

As if on cue, Frances Bennett also started walking in their direction.