Chapter 431

When Shermaine came back from the restroom, she found Joshua on the stairwell just below the rooftop, a cigarette between his fingers.

It was the top floor of the hospital, with nothing above but the rooftop terrace. No one usually wandered up there, but smoking was still strictly prohibited.

He’d lit a cigarette anyway, though he hadn’t taken more than a couple of drags. The moment he heard her call his name, he put it out without hesitation.

She walked up the steps and slipped her arms around his waist from behind. “I’m pregnant. Aren’t you even a little happy?”

“Lam.”

He was thirty-three. Most of his friends and former classmates already had kids in grade school.

His, by contrast, was still only a faint presence growing inside her.

“Then show me. Smile.”

But he couldn’t. Every time he imagined her in labor, her body racked with pain just to bring his child into the world, his heart clenched. “Sheary, I want to smile, but I can’t.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m afraid it’ll hurt,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “The thought of you suffering… I don’t know how to be happy with that hanging over me.”

There was a time when Shermaine would’ve laughed at the idea of having a child for any man, let alone doing it willingly. But now, with him… “If it’s for you,” she said quietly, “then a little pain is nothing.”

After leaving the hospital, they returned to Riverswood Villa.

The white cat had been left at the house, and it hadn’t stopped meowing since they got back. It clearly wasn’t comfortable in its new environment.

Shermaine couldn’t be around cats while pregnant, not that it mattered anymore.

This wasn’t the same gentle cat it used to be.

Joshua turned to Martha. “Send it back to the next door.”

Martha nodded and took the cat outside.

Joshua and Shermaine went upstairs.

She was feeling sleepy. After taking off her coat, she headed into the bathroom to wash her face and feet before lying down for a nap.

Joshua followed her in. He took the towel from her hands and carefully dried her face, then knelt to rinse and dry her feet himself.

Her feet were small and delicate, just the right size to rest in his palm. As he cradled them, he asked, “Do you want to tell Grandpa and Grandma?”

“Not yet,” she replied. “There’s no need to worry them.”

“Sheary, if it’s too much, we can move the experiment here to Basterel.”

“There’s really no need,” she said lightly, feeling no need to make a fuss over her pregnancy, especially since the baby was still small. “It’ll be settled soon, and I’ll come right back. You don’t have to worry so much.”

Okay.

She was flying back to Horington the next day to continue her research. The auction was Friday, so she’d be back soon.

There would be time to tell the family once things were in order.

If they told them now, while she was out of town, it would only make them anxious.

That night, when she slipped into bed, Joshua lay beside her, his hand resting gently on her stomach.

Their child was growing inside her now.

In ten months, that tiny life would enter the world.

Shermaine gave him a sleepy smile and reached up to pinch his cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“It does.”

“You’re not dreaming.”

He let out a quiet laugh, leaned down, and kissed her. When he pulled back, his voice was soft and sincere. “Thank you, Sheary.”

Martha had just dropped off the white cat at the neighbor’s place.

The moment they saw it, they reacted like long-lost family had finally been reunited, emotional, overjoyed, and borderline tearful. They even tried to hand her money as thanks.

Martha politely declined and made her way home without delay.

The cat, meanwhile, hadn’t even had a chance to curl up in its old spot or beg for a head scratch before it felt it, control slipping, awareness fading. Once again, its body stopped responding.

‘Well, that’s it,’ it thought bitterly, ‘I’m definitely busted this time.’

Joshua and Shermaine were too smart not to notice.

If they hadn’t already figured things out, it wouldn’t have ended up back in this house.

Frustrated, the creature decided it was pointless to stay in the cat’s body any longer.

With a shimmer of pale blue light, it slipped out and drifted up into the night sky, soft and glowing like a firefly.

It floated across the rooftops and gently descended back into Riverswood Villa’s backyard.

Inside, Joshua and Shermaine were both working in the study.

She was on a video call with Danielle, while he was going over reports.

The whole scene was warm and ordinary, touched by quiet domesticity.

From its perch in a nearby tree, the creature watched for a while. But after a few minutes, hunger got the better of it. It hesitated, then slipped quietly into the house in search of food.

The kitchen was dark. A faint blue glow hovered near the refrigerator, rummaging inside like a particularly curious ghost.

Martha, having just finished tidying up the living room, heard the noise and went to check it out.

Assuming it was a rat, she pushed open the kitchen door, only to freeze at the sight. Her scream barely had time to escape before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the floor.

Upstairs, Joshua and Shermaine heard the crash and immediately hurried down.

By the time they reached the kitchen, a flash of blue darted across the room and dove straight into Martha’s unconscious body.

Moments later, her eyes snapped open. She blinked, dazed, just as Joshua and Shermaine appeared in the doorway.

“What happened?” Joshua asked calmly.

“N–nothing,” she stammered. “Just a big black rat ran through–here. Gave me a scare. That’s all.”

She stood quickly, brushing herself off, but the way she avoided their eyes said it all.

Shermaine narrowed her gaze. “So the rat also decided to rummage through the fridge?”

“Y–yes. Exactly.”

Shermaine let out a soft laugh. “You’re really bad at lying.” Then, without preamble, she said, “Come out. I know you’re not Martha.”

The thing inside Martha hesitated. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Joshua joined in, his voice cool but direct. “You can come out on your own, or we’ll drag you out. Your choice.”

Still, it played dumb.

Shermaine tilted her head, casually dropping the bait. “Weren’t you looking for food? Come out and I’ll treat you to fried chicken.”

That short-circuited any remaining resistance.

Driven purely by hunger, the glowing blue blob slipped out of Martha’s body without thinking.

The moment it realized what it had done, it froze in midair, visibly panicked.

From Joshua and Shermaine’s perspective, it looked almost cute, like a floating ball of cotton candy, faintly glowing under the kitchen light.

Then, realizing it had no way to hide now, it tried anyway, frantically bobbing in circles, looking for an exit.

‘Stupid fried chicken!’ it muttered internally. ‘Lured in with food. How low can they go?’

But since it had already exposed itself, there was no point pretending anymore.

“Fried chicken!” it chirped, voice light and sugar-sweet.

Shermaine blinked, amused. “I’ll order some.”

Right in front of it, she pulled out her phone and placed an order for fried chicken and a Coke.

Ten minutes later, the delivery arrived.

The moment the aroma hit the air, the blue puff darted forward, diving headfirst into the food like it hadn’t eaten in days.

Shermaine watched, intrigued. “So… what are you exactly? Do you have a name?”

The creature paused, licking its nonexistent lips.

Its real name had been long forgotten, far too complicated to remember after years of drifting between hosts.

But recently, while messing around in Stephen’s body and playing video games, it had given itself a new one.

“You can call me Dave.”

“Nice to meet you, Dave,” Shermaine said smoothly. “Where are you from?”

“I come from…” Dave puffed up indignantly. “Nice try, Shermaine. I’m not telling you anything. Give it up.”

Shermaine didn’t flinch. She smiled instead. “What if I offered you ten more rounds of fried chicken?”

Dave froze mid-bite, visibly conflicted.