Elaine Ye stared at her daughter as if Luna grew another head on her shoulder. She wasn't joking, right? Luna would never marry a man out of the blue without a valid reason. She knew Jasper and Luna were having problems, but Elaine never thought that it was because of Hero Li. Or she thought so.
"I'm serious, Mom." Luna's tone was almost apologetic to Elaine's ears. She'd never heard her daughter sound like this for a long time.
"So the baby …"
Luna nodded in confirmation. She couldn't hide it anymore. "Yes."
"He didn't force you?" Elaine inquired, her eyes widened in disbelief. She saw Luna trembled a little;nonetheless, she'd noticed it.
Luna tried to gather her thoughts and took a deep breath. She had a choice, but she'd chosen Hero over Sienna.
"He didn't. Hero didn't force me to marry him." She insisted and fidgeted. "Mom, please give us your blessings." She gave a slight bow to her mother, which caught Elaine off-guard. Did her daughter really love this man that much that she would forget Jasper and seek for her approval?
There was a sudden gleam in Hero's eyes when he heard Luna utter his name. This was the first time she called him by his name, and he was deeply pleased.
Knowing that it was too late for her to object, Elaine conceded. If this was her daughter's choice, she could respect that. Luna had been a responsible daughter since she was young and had never given her problems while growing up.
There might be no love between Luna and Hero, but she could tell that, at least, they're attracted to each other. Or maybe they hadn't realized the love they held for each other yet.
"Go home with your husband then. I'll stay here with Julian. You also need to take a rest, Luna. It's not only your own that you who should pay attention to. Now that you're pregnant, be easy on yourself, okay?"
Warmth spread through Luna as she heard her mother's acceptance. At least, she didn't have to hide it from her mother anymore, but it would be wise not to announce her marriage to Hero in public since it might start an uproar from the Jiang family. Even if Luna Jiang was disowned by her father, the Jiang Matriarch still considered Luna as part of the family.
"Mom, thank you. Really. You don't know how much this means to me." Luna held her mother's hands and shed tears in front of her.
"Silly girl," Elaine chuckled as she wiped away the tears from her daughter's cheeks. "You know I'll support you whatever you choose. If it is a mistake, then learn from it. But I trust your judgment. You can talk to me anytime if you need help." Elaine reminded her.
Luna left the hospital with Hero. Just when she was about to ask for their arrangements, Hero beat her into it.
"You will move to my place today. Just pick up your things, and we will be on our way home," he told her. He started the engine of his car and drove towards Corinne's apartment where Luna was temporarily staying.
Upon arriving at the apartment building, Hero and Amber were left in the car while Luna took the stairs to take her belongings. She was greeted by Little Mia, who was playing with her dog, Fluffy.
"Aunty Luna!" Mia yelled from the living area and ran toward Luna when she saw her taking off her shoes at the doorway.
"Hello, Little Princess. How's your day going?" Luna picked up the girl from the ground and tickled her sides.
Mia squealed on Luna's arms. "Aunty! Stop! You tickle monster!"
Luna gasped and feigned being hurt by Mia's words.
"Did you just call me a tickle monster?"
Mia put both of chubby little hands on Luna's cheeks and kissed her nose.
"I'm joking, Aunty! Of course, you're beautiful. You're a beautiful tickle monster." The little girl giggled.
Luna heard footsteps coming their way. She lifted her head only to see her friend, Corinne, smiling at them.
"Is Julian okay now? Is he awake?" Corrine asked.
Luna smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"Julian isn't in a critical condition now, but he wouldn't wake up anytime soon."
"What about your expenses? Do I need to lend you money so you can pay for his medicines?" Corinne worriedly asked. She felt that everything wasn't doing well for Luna lately. Not only Luna lost her boyfriend to another friend, but Julian being involved in an accident made it hard for her.
Embarrassment stirred within Luna. Should she also come clean to her friend about her marriage to Hero Li, their own boss?
"It's fine, Corinne. You don't have to do that anymore. We already settled his bills."
Corinne gasped. Taking the expression on Luna's face, she could tell something big happened recently.
"How? Did you seek your father's help? Julian is still his son after all."
Luna shook her head and released Little Mia from her hands. She let the little girl play with her dog while she talked to Corinne.
"Corinne, can keep this secret for me until we're ready?" Luna hesitated.
"What is it? You know you can always confide in me." Corinne assured her.
"I married President Li, and yes, the same President Li that owns the company we're working on."