This was what Cynthia met upon her entering the villa.
Cynthia bit her lip, said nothing, and headed upstairs.
"Stop!" Eason ordered in a deep voice, and he said indifferently, "Get out of here! Youre making the place dirty."
Cynthias heart jolted; subconsciously, she covered her underbelly with her hand, and she wondered whether hed to some extent think better of her if he knew she had his child in her belly.
But she soon concluded that the baby would only make him more disgusted with her, and hed loathe its existence too.
She took a deep breath and managed a faint smile as she said, "Im your legal wife, and the hostess of the home, so why cant I stay here?"
Eason froze for a moment. It seemed he didnt expect shed say such words.
A few moments later, he felt repulsion and resentment flooding over him. "Humph! Indeed youre feigning vulnerability. See, thats who youre—greedy and unscrupulous."
Cynthia felt a sharp pain in her heart, which, however, didnt show on her face. "I assure you, Ill find myself a least wanted room in the house and wouldnt get out of it unless necessary, and…"
She wanted to say, "…and I wont stay here long."
But somehow, she refrained from the urge and directly went upstairs.
Looking at her thin figure with his brow furrowed, Eason felt a strange feeling.
He wondered why she seemed like a different person. Was it another trick of hers?
The contest was only half a month away, and Cynthia was rather anxious about it. It was her last hope.
She worked at the Chinn Corp. during the day and worked on the design draft during the night.
For half a month, she barely had any sleep, and when her heart felt painful, she only took a few tablets.
The tablets she took were not too harmful to her baby, but it took much time for them to work, and she had to endure the pain until they worked.
But it was the only way she could think of to make both she and her baby alive.
On the day of the contest, Eason got up early, and noticed the door of Cynthias room open.
For a queer reason, he walked over.
Entering the room, he found the girl lying asleep on the table, on which was a design draft.
He picked it up and took a look, and was instantly stunned.
It was so sublime that he doubted if it was really the work of this woman of deceit and unscrupulousness.
"Give it to me!" Cynthia woke up and found Eason holding her draft, and her first reaction was to snatch it back.
After all, it was her only chance, and her life saver. It meant everything to her.
Seeing her haggard look, Eason was startled, and then he sneered, "Didnt you say you have heart disease? Why work so hard? Is money really that important to you?"
A flicker of annoyance and anger crossed his mind as he said it.
He figured the woman must love the toyboy so much that she would even sacrifice her life for him.
Indeed, Cynthia was risking her life for the draft, and she silently wished God would have some mercy on her, but he didnt. Instead, a blow still more bitter followed.
In the grand contest, before all the reporters, she was exposed as plagiarizing Malvinas work.
In fact, Malvina was too an employee of Shinn Corp.—a designer. And the contest being of great significance, the scandal caused a sensation.
Malvina graduated from a highly prestigious school, had the experience of advanced studies abroad, and was the chief designer of Chinn Corp. Cynthia, on the contrary, didnt even go to college, and she was merely a designer assistant. Therefore, everybody presumed Cynthia was the plagiarizer when they saw the likeness between the two works.
As the reporters were bombarding her and the industry insiders criticizing her, Eason never for a moment defended her, but instead defended Malvina.
To her, his attitude was much chillier than the ice and snow in the winter.
Eventually, Malvina won the first prize, and Chinn Corp. shared her glory. Little did anyone know their glory was at the expense of Cynthias life and reputation.
Filled with grievance and indignation, she swore, "Never will I let it go, not even after I die!"