PAMPERED BY MY THREE BROTHERS: THE RETURN OF THE NEGLECTED HEIRESS Chapter 1861: Extra: I

[Extra 1]

A heavy silence filled the dining room where Grace and Haines were seated. Grace kept her gaze fixed downward, while Haines watched her, his expression clouded with internal conflict.

Haines had been living at her residence for some time now. During his stay, he noticed a concerning detail: Grace wasn't taking any actual medication, only supplements. This led him to assume she was simply concealing her illness from him.

With his own surgery only five days away, Haines finally gathered the resolve to bring up her health. It was a gamble that threatened their current peace, but he felt compelled to let her know he would stand by her side regardless of the time they had left—be it a day, a month, or a year. He wanted to be her partner in this struggle.

"You... you know?" Grace looked up slowly, her eyes reflecting a mixture of shock and bewilderment. "How?"

Haines tightened his lips and let out a heavy sigh. "I saw the discarded medicine in the trash... back on the day I woke up here after Penny dropped me off."

That had happened a long time ago.

Her forehead creased as she traced the timeline of their evolving relationship. The more she processed his admission, the more a painful realization took hold.

She let out a sharp, mocking scoff. "Is that the reason... you agreed to be with me? It wasn't because you actually liked me? It was out of... pity?"

He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't lie. While it wasn't the only factor, that sympathy had been the catalyst for everything that followed.

His quietness was all the confirmation she needed.

"..." Grace leaned back, her brows arching as she broke into a self-deprecating laugh. "I feel like a complete fool."

"Gracie—"

"Haines, a gesture of pity is one thing," she snapped, her gaze turning icy. "But dating me just to fulfill a dying wish? Honestly, I’d prefer if you had just stabbed me. This feels much worse."

When Haines reached out to comfort her, she recoiled instantly. His hand froze in mid-air as he watched her stand up.

She looked down at him coldly. "Use the guest room tonight. I don't want to speak to you right now."

She walked away without another word, leaving Haines to watch her go with a face full of regret.

He had anticipated this reaction when he chose to speak up. Both Mildred and Miss Sandford had cautioned him to take this secret to his grave. However, Haines couldn't live with the guilt, especially knowing Grace was suffering through her ordeal in solitude.

Just as she reached the doorway, Grace paused.

"Do you even understand why I started chasing you?" she muttered, her back still turned to him. "It’s because not long ago, I believed my life was ending. But by some miracle, I recovered and beat what was killing me."

She bit her lip and finally turned to face him. "Treating this as a second chance at life changed my perspective. I realized how fleeting and delicate life truly is. I thought, why shouldn't I go after the man I've always wanted? After all, I nearly lost everything."

"I found the strength to be the pursuer for once, Haines," she whispered. "But I never intended to be a charity case for the man I was trying to win over. I didn't want your pity."

With those final words, she hurried away, struggling to hold back tears of frustration. She was now plagued by the doubt of whether their shared moments were born of love or merely his compassion.

The thought was unbearable.

Haines stood there, his face drained of color and etched with shock.

"She's... cured?" he whispered to the empty room. "When—"

The truth finally dawned on him, far too late. He remembered finding the medicine in the bin and assuming she had thrown it away out of hopelessness. He hadn't realized the truth.

Grace had tossed the pills because she was healthy again.

"I've... really ruined everything."

In the days that followed, Grace maintained a strict silence toward Haines. She didn't force him to leave, but she treated him like a ghost. It was a cold shoulder he knew he earned.

"We warned you," Mildred said, clicking her tongue in disapproval while Miss Sandford sighed. The two women sat together, observing the dejected Haines.

Haines was quiet, but his misery was plain to see. He had effectively sabotaged his own happiness. A bit of discretion would have prevented this entire mess.

"Then again, you never would have discovered she was cancer-free otherwise," Miss Sandford remarked, earning a nod from Mildred.

"That is true," Mildred agreed.

They both looked at their troubled friend. Today was supposed to be the day Haines introduced Grace to the Bennet Family, but instead, he was drowning in regret.

"What am I supposed to do?" Haines asked, his eyes full of desperation. "I'm at a total loss."

"Don't stop trying to reach her," Miss Sandford suggested with a gentle smile. "She's hurting right now, but her feelings for you haven't just vanished."

"If you show her how much you care, you'll win her back eventually," Mildred added. "Just be prepared to be patient; it's going to be a long road."

Taking their advice to heart, Haines threw himself into winning Grace over. He wasn't sure what else to do, so he doubled down on the things he had always done naturally when they were happy.

He brought her flowers every evening and spent his time cooking healthy, warm meals, among other small gestures of affection.

One evening, Haines was busy in the kitchen as usual. Unexpectedly, Grace arrived home earlier than planned.

"What is that smell?" Grace stopped at the kitchen entrance, her brow furrowed in annoyance.

Haines turned around from the stove. "Oh, you're back already? I'm just simmering some beef, and—" He cut himself off when she suddenly clutched her mouth and gagged.

"Grace?"

"Get that away from me—" She gagged again, bolting from the room as if the aroma was toxic. She barely made it to the bathroom before she started vomiting, overwhelmed by the scent of the cooking meat.

Grace had been feeling off all day. A persistent dizziness had forced her to leave work early.

"Grace?" A worried Haines followed her, hovering by the bathroom door. He watched with concern as she leaned over the toilet. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

He knelt beside her as she used the back of her hand to wipe her mouth.

"I'm fine," she muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I just can't stand that smell. I've been feeling nauseous and lightheaded since this morning... maybe that's why."

She paused, her eyes suddenly widening as she looked at him.

"Do we need a doctor?" he asked anxiously. "You're very pale. How do you feel?"

Grace blinked, a realization hitting her. "I think... I might be pregnant."

The moment the words were spoken, a stunned silence fell over them both, as if they had been struck by lightning.

In a state of pure panic, Haines rushed out and bought a massive box of pregnancy tests. Grace ended up using ten of them.

Every single one showed two distinct red lines. The digital ones were even clearer: Pregnant.

Two days later, at the Bennet Mansion...

"YOU WHAT?!" Charles bellowed. The entire room was staring at Haines and Grace with dropped jaws. "You—she—WHAT?!"

"You're actually... expecting?" Allison asked, her voice full of shock.

"Well, well," Jessa remarked, sipping her tea while observing the scene. She had come to see Haines' mysterious lover and was not disappointed. "This just got very interesting."

Penny, Hugo, and Slater all made faces. "We're going to have cousins?!"

Grace and Haines shared a weary sigh, sitting on the couch like two exhausted teenagers.

Ultimately, Charles gave them both a stern lecture, with Jessa gleefully stoking his frustration. Despite the scolding, they welcomed Grace into the family with open arms.

As for their relationship, Grace remained annoyed with Haines for a while, but his unwavering devotion eventually wore her down by her second trimester. Before she began to show significantly, they had a quiet civil ceremony, with plans for a lavish wedding once the baby turned one.

Mildred and Miss Sandford were right—it required immense patience, but the reward was beyond measure.

It was all worth it.

Haines' life had once felt like a quiet tragedy. He had lived for the Bennet Family, convinced that he was destined to be alone until the end. But now, he realized how wrong he had been.

He couldn't imagine a world without his wife and his children.

It had taken decades to find this happiness.

Though it came late in life, he was profoundly grateful. After years of loneliness and emotional numbness, he was blessed with a family of his own. He made a silent vow to spend the rest of his days dedicated not just to others, but to the life he was building with Grace.