known, she would''ve taken him somewhere fancy for dinner today.


    She barely nced at him before turning away. With a casual lift of her hand, she picked up the hefty gift box Manuel had left on top of the shoe cab and scanned it with her phone. The price tag was no joke. This wasn''t something a simple dinner could settle. If she''d "Did he give you this?" the man suddenly asked.


    Eliza smirked slightly, "Yeah."Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "If you need anything, just let me know. Even if you don''t want to tell me, I''ve given you my card. You can buy whatever you need. What can''t we afford that you''ve got to take his gifts?"


    Casper, being a man, had his possessiveness. He just didn''t think Eliza should be epting gifts from Manuel.


    Eliza couldn''t be bothered to exin. Hugging the gift box, she headed back to the bedroom. Just as she was about to close the door, Casper blocked it with his hand, his tone softening, "Are you really not going to talk to me?" "With your temper, Mr. Casper, how could I dare?" she replied with a slight pout, avoiding his gaze.


    "My temper?" He chuckled, genuinely amused by the usation.


    Eliza turned on her heel and walked inside, with him trailing her, "Fine, I won''t argue. If I haven''t eaten, that''s on me. You going out to eat is your choice. Who you eat with and whose gifts you ept your call. Happy now?" "Why do you have to be so sarcastic?"


    "Then how should I be?" He was clearly frustrated, but he kept his cool, staying a respectful distance away. "I just want to know, what am I to you, really?"


    She didn''t want to get into it. She


    was used to being on her own. If she


    went out to eat and forgot to tell him, it wasn''t like she was hiding it-it just happened. He''d had a long, busy day without a meal, and deep down, she did feel a bit sorry for him. But before she could voice any sympathy, his stormy expression had already smothered her concern.


    "Whatever you think you are, that''s what you are."


    "You..." She was definitely pushing his buttons.


    He took a deep breath, turned, and walked out of the bedroom, grabbing his coat on the way out. "I''m heading back to Falconridge. Robin''s surgery is set up. Don''t worry, the sanatorium will keep tabs on everything. Plus, I''m heading to Africa tomorrow. Let''s cool off and talk when I''m back."


    Africa? Why was he suddenly jetting off so far away?


    Before Eliza could ask, Casper had already shut the door behind him. She held her phone, contemting sending him a "drive safe" text. After much second-guessing, she never hit send.


    She should''ve just swallowed her pride and exined things earlier. It wasn''t that hard. She decided she''d wait until he got back from Africa to sort things out.


    Once Casper was in Africa, he barely


    sent any messages. Eliza was


    caught up with work in Oak Falls and


    spent weekends in Falconridge ying with Brock. Sometimes she missed him and thought about checking in to see how he was doing. But, after drafting a message, she''d always delete it. This went on for about a month.


    One weekend, after dropping Brock off at preschool, she went to the hospital to get checked out. Since leaving Falconridge, she''d worked hard on her health. Her stomach was better, and her cycles were regr. But recently, she''d been feeling dizzy and nauseous, and her period was over ten days date. She and Casper hadn''t been careful.


    The thought of being pregnant had crossed her mind. After her check-up, the tests confirmed it-she was pregnant, a little over a month along, likely from that camping trip. Holding the pregnancy report, it felt like a hot potato. Eliza was at a bit of a loss.