Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 260: Trading for Wealth and Honor

Chapter 260: Trading for Wealth and Honor

A kindly smiling female doctor advised, "Miss Emma should really avoid overexerting herself recently, as her due date is approaching fast." Emma Hart placed her hand over her lips, signaling the doctor to lower her voice so that Damien Sterling, who had just walked behind the curtain, wouldn’t overhear. Emma didn’t want to be confined at home every day; moreover, she hadn’t noticed the office having any significant impact on her.

Unbeknownst to her, Damien Sterling had quietly moved up right behind her. The female doctor, seeing Emma gesturing for quiet and then glancing at the stern-faced Damien behind her, wore an expression of awkward embarrassment. This odd and uneasy atmosphere, compounded by the doctor’s complicated look, made Emma feel as if a chill breeze had swept through; turning around, she found Damien unexpectedly close behind her. He must have heard what the doctor said.

Reluctantly, Emma stood up, followed by a commanding Damien, who asked, "Did you hear what the doctor just said?" The words reached Emma’s ears—she was not deaf, after all. Could she possibly have not heard? Yet, Emma preferred to act as if she hadn’t.

As she walked away, swinging her arms, she responded nonchalantly to Damien’s question from behind her, "I didn’t hear!" Her reply was clearly deliberate and obviously meant to irk Damien.

"Wait a moment!" Damien called out to Emma as she moved ahead. She paused momentarily then continued walking.

The tone of the man behind her grew even colder and more sinister, and Emma could distinctly hear his footsteps halt—an alternative expression of his fury, "Emma Hart, do I need to repeat myself?"

With a resigned roll of her eyes, Emma thought about how she had managed to survive this long next to a devil like Damien Sterling—it was all due to her enduring patience.

"You are not allowed to go to work anymore!"

Emma turned to face Damien, genuinely baffled as to why he would so frequently insist on her not going to work.

"Mr. Sterling, you just heard all the test results yourself—everything is normal. And what does ’normal’ mean? It means that working hasn’t affected the development of the child in my womb in the slightest. This clearly indicates that whether or not I work has no bearing on our child’s growth," Emma Hart reasoned logically, though she knew well that such arguments were unlikely to sway Damien Sterling.

Damien, paying little heed to Emma’s lengthy explanation, felt a surge of irritation at her words. "Are you waiting for something to go wrong?" he retorted sharply.

Emma glared at Damien, feigning composure. Damien always twisted her words; his assumptions were baseless.

With a shrug, Emma responded, "If that’s what you think, Mr. Sterling, there’s nothing I can do!"

"I want you to properly protect the child you’re carrying!"

"I am protecting him!" Emma nearly gritted her teeth as she argued back. She was taking good care of herself; how could she not know her own body?

"Is that your idea of taking good care?" Damien questioned her.

Emma looked at him, astonished by his exaggeration, as if she was neglecting their child by partying, drinking, and smoking daily. Wasn’t every nanny and maid in the household providing round-the-clock care with meals and supplements? Hadn’t she attended every prenatal class for comprehensive protection? What more could she possibly do?

As for Damien—was he truly invested in their child’s well-being beyond just financially? What else had he actually provided?

"Mr. Sterling, what about you?" Emma stared down Damien, her expression tinged with accusation and reproach.

Damien was clearly taken aback by her question. The blame apparent in Emma’s eyes left him momentarily flustered. He believed he had done a lot, but was it really enough? His efforts seemed not to meet her expectations.

Damien remained silent, while Emma’s lips curled into a cold smile. "Mr. Sterling, I wonder how you plan to reveal his identity to the world when I give birth. How will you tell everyone who his mother is?"

It turned out his reservation always lay there—he had never made her identity public. But that was not for her to influence. There had been times when he considered going against his grandfather’s wishes to announce it to everyone, yet it never came to that.

Damien Sterling was indeed a man with plans; he was not one to make decisions impulsively. He admitted to himself that he tended to over-plan even in matters of the heart, but the situation had not escalated to the point where revealing her identity was necessary. Why not opt for another solution if one was available?

To Damien, there seemed no need to explain this to Emma Hart standing before him. "I will grant you the same riches and honors as if you had the status," he stated calmly.

Emma felt belittled by his detached tone. What did he see her as? Was she merely negotiating terms with him? Did she really desire wealth and status? If so, wouldn’t it be simpler to just appease him every day? Why then argue here about going to work, why raise her voice in defiance?

A mocking smile suddenly curled on Emma’s pale face—not directed at anyone else but herself. It seemed all her heartfelt beliefs were nothing but illusions. She had been part of the play, yet others were merely spectators.

"Just that," Emma scoffed. "Thank you, Mr. Sterling. It seems my child indeed has great value."

Desolation spread across her cheeks. When a child’s worth is measured in money, when a child becomes a bargaining chip to secure luxury and status for their mother, Emma didn’t know whether to feel enlightened or sorrowful.

Turning away in despair, Emma realized that everything about her had a set value in Damien’s eyes. He would weigh and decide, never trading something unless the return was of equal worth.

Ah, the businessman in him always calculating, always shrewd.

Just as he would not trade the reputation of his company and family in public to uphold her dignity, just as he used their child as a pawn to secure for her a life of opulence—did he truly love this child?