Ethan was humiliated when he found out that Joanna had discovered him. He started cursing irritably, "Sh*t! How the f*ck did you find out?! I tried to be as covert as humanly possible—I even held my breath!'
Joanna folded her arms and looked Ethan up and down, then gave him a look that suggested he was a complete moron before explaining, "It's broad daylight, and you're wearing all black. You've also been following me too closely, not to mention how you chose such a stupid and obvious hiding place, and you ask me how I found out?"
Ethan realized that Joanna's analysis was flawlessly logical, so he scratched his nose in embarrassment and grumbled, "Didn't they say pregnant women are absent-minded? Your mind seems pretty sharp to me! You reacted pretty quickly."
It was then Joanna's turn to panic.
"Who's pregnant?" she hastily asked, acting dumb. "Was it you? Ha! I didn't know you were that crazy!"
Ethan rolled his eyes. In normal circumstances, he would have exploded in rage, but he reminded himself of the reason why he followed Joanna and considered the fact that Joanna was pregnant, so he kept his temper under control.
"Stop pretending," he told her. "I've been following you since you came to the hospital and went into the obstetrics department. I know you're pregnant…'
"You!"
Joanna did not know what else to say. Her breathing quickened, and she started to get anxious. Now that Ethan had found out she was pregnant, he might inform his best friend Ace, and then it would all be an ugly mess!
"Don't worry," Ethan assured her in a firm voice. "I'm no tattletale. I won't tell Ace about your pregnancy."
This took Joanna by surprise. As far as she knew, Ethan was obviously prone to prattling. How did he turn into such a reasonable person all of a sudden? Something very fishy must be going on here!
"After all," Ethan continued, "Ace just got a divorce from you not too long ago, and you've already gone on and got pregnant with that Blackwood dude's child. This will be a huge blow to my friend's ego, and I don't want to see him suffer like that."
This concern of his was borne out of the series of events that happened after Ace got his heart broken many years ago. Back then, after Cecilia dumped him, not only did Ace torment himself, he even dragged his best friend Ethan along to suffer with him.
And now that Ace had fallen for his ex-wife Joanna, Ethan could not imagine what would happen if Ace found out she was pregnant with another man's child, so quickly after their divorce! It would surely be catastrophic! That was precisely why he did not need Joanna to ask him not to reveal this- because Ethan himself would take this secret to his grave!
"I see!" Joanna could not help but smile. It was clear what Ethan thought of her. Immediately after finding out that she was pregnant, he took it for granted that the babies in her belly were another man's, not Ace's.
But that was fine with her since she could rest easy now. She wondered what Ace would do when he learned the truth about their children one day. Would he thank this best friend of his for keeping the secret?
She cleared her throat and said, "I wanted to keep my pregnancy with Liam Blackwood's child a secret all along because I'm planning to leave this place, with my baby and Liam in tow, and live elsewhere. After all, I was Ace Moran's wife for three years. If I start building a perfect family with a house full of children while he is still single and lonely, then it would really hurt his feelings, wouldn't it?"
"Damn right it would!" yelled Ethan. He then sternly warned Joanna, "If you're smart, you'd do well not to reveal your pregnancy before my friend finds a new woman! Otherwise, I'll never leave you in peace!"
Joanna stifled a smile and maintained a serious expression on her face as she nodded and assured Ethan, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone know about it. Boasting is not my habit anyway."
She started to realize that although this idiot tended to have a potty mouth, he was actually quite an earnest guy and a loyal friend, which Joanna found adorable. Still… Why was this guy following her around like a weirdo?
"Tell me the truth," she began to ask bluntly. "Why did you follow me like that? If you don't give me a reason, I'll make sure to start a habit of boasting around your friend Ace!"
"Umm…"
Ethan briefly touched his nose in awkwardness. He was not so insolent now, and he acted rather uneasily and awkwardly.
Humph! After all, he had a favor to ask, and he had to beg the woman he looked down the most. Of course, he felt like he had lost face.
"Are you free now? I'll buy you coffee."
Ethan hesitated for a long while before he asked her that.
Joanna smiled and said, "Mr. Stuart, am I not your friend? Do you want to poison my coffee?"
She was well aware of Ethan's attitude toward her. He never regarded her seriously, and he always found her an eyesore.
However, he offered a symbol of peace by taking the initiative to invite her for coffee. That was indeed strange.
Consequently, Ethan's handsome face soon fell, and he said angrily, "Am I such a mean and vulgar man to you?"
Joanna raised her brows and asked, "Aren't you?"
"Why, you!"
Ethan was greatly infuriated, and he flew into a rage. He exclaimed violently, "I'm a righteous man. I'm not despicable enough to use such dirty tricks. I've long regarded you as an eyesore, and I hope you'll
leave Ace. But at most, I just curse you quietly. I'll never use such a mean trick as to drug you!"
He was very angry but tried his best to suppress his wrath and explain it to her seriously. Hence, Joanna was rather amused.
She decided to stop teasing him and said generously, "Well, sure. I'll force myself to give you a chance."
They decided to go to Starfee next door.
"Miss Joan!"
Nancy frowned and became vigilant as she glared at Ethan.
Smiling, Joanna assured her. "Nancy, just go home. He's my friend. It's okay."
Friend?
That word sounded casual, but it felt like a great surprise to Ethan. Powerful emotions engulfed him in that instant.
He stole a glance at her with his slender and pretty eyes. When he noticed her gaze, he quickly averted his gaze as if he was caught red-handed. His heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Joanna… addressed him as her friend.
He was so rude to her, and he always raised sarcastic remarks. However, she did not hold a grudge against him and treated him as her friend.
For a moment, he felt very embarrassed about himself.
"You've got to be careful even if he's your friend!"
Nancy stared at Ethan with hostility. She stated, "People always frame their friends nowadays. What's more, this person looks like a frivolous man. I'm sure he's not some kind of good person."
Ethan's handsome face was distorted out of fury, but he could not vent his anger on an elder. Hence, he clenched his fists and hurriedly defended himself. "Madam, that's not very nice. Why aren't I a good man? Check out the charity donation lists these years. I'm always at the top of the list. I even helped old ladies to cross the road, saved the kids who were drowned, and helped stray cats find their homes. Of course. I'm a good guy."
"Umm…"
For a moment, Nancy did not know how to react to that.
She never saw anyone who was so serious like that. She wondered why he behaved like a child.
Joanna noticed him rolling up his sleeves to try and convince Nancy. She immediately held his arm and said, "Let's go. I know that you're a good guy!"
He was struck speechless.
He was rambling, but even that soon stopped.
He looked at Joanna's fair and slim hand on his arm. He was lost in a daze, and he was rooted to the ground