Dr. David just stood there, not even able to come up with a good comeback as he argued with Charlotte.

"Still, you should be careful," he told her.

He pressed his lips together and moved in close, putting himself between Charlotte and any sort of danger. If there was anything she could avoid doing, he insisted on handling it himself.

"Don't worry," Charlotte shot back, her eyebrows raised in that quietly confident way. A little smile tugged at her lips. "There's no illness I can't figure out."

David just frowned harder. His worry wasn't about money or even the test results. What really got to him was Charlotte herself. She'd already been through so much. She finally had her family back, finally got married... He couldn't bear the thought of something else happening to her.

Half an hour later, the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the lab results on the screen. Neither one said anything at first, both lost in thought. The numbers looked... off.

"Ten samples and not a single matching result," David muttered, glancing over at Charlotte. His brow was drawn tight. "No wonder the International Medical Alliance is desperate to have your help."

With results like this, blood tests would get them nowhere. The only way to figure out the cause of the illness was to see the patients in person. But that place... it was just too risky.

"Lottie, you really shouldn't..."

Charlotte cut him off, her voice quiet and scratchy. "I know. Just call the International Medical Alliance again and see if anything's changed."

He nodded. On his way out, he paused. "Three months now, right? With the babies?"

Her mind went blank for a second, and then her cheeks turned pink as she remembered what Anthony had told her their wedding night. "I think so."

"Let's run a check-up," he said.

David pulled off his protective gown and led her to the ultrasound room. First, bloodwork. Then the scan.

"The further along you get, the harder it's going to be physically," he warned, glancing at the blood test sheet with a worried look. "You're recovering way too slowly."

Charlotte just gave the paper a brief, almost careless glance. "I'm fine. I can handle it."

"Let's wait for the ultrasound results," David said, shaking his head, and went out into the hallway.

Ten minutes later, Charlotte stepped

out with the report in hand. She

looked at the picture. Two tiny forms huddled close together just starting to take shape. David's eyes softened instantly.

"The babies are developing well. But Charlotte, you have to take better care of yourself." He looked her right in the eyes. "You know it's

rundown. There are all kindel.ne

dangerous to let yourself get

now Especially with a baby

of risks

girl she's already straining your

body a lot."

"I know," she replied, glancing at the time. Her voice was low but steady. "Same as always. Let's not tell Anthony for now."

Lately, she'd been so caught up in wedding stuff that everything with The Blair Group and the X Organization had been put on hold. Anthony would be swamped too, no doubt.

David sighed and shook his head. "You're only this stubborn for Anthony, you know that?"

She smiled softly. "He's worth it."

After leaving the research center, Charlotte headed straight for Cabinda University. The second she stepped into the classroom, there was a sudden downpour of Confetti raining down from above.

"Congrats on your wedding, Charlotte!" someone yelled.

Surprised, Charlotte lifted her eyes and saw a bunch of students her classmates—

grinning at her. Each desk had shiny red boxes stacked on top.

"These are from Anthony," someone explained. "He had them sent over for us. Wedding candies!"

"Yeah, that's right!" another classmate called out, and soon everyone was talking at once.

"Wishing you and Anthony happiness! And maybe a baby soon—"

Someone suddenly trailed off, scratching his head, looking awkward. "Um... I mean, someday you'll have a baby, right?"

"Exactly!" piped up another student in a lower voice. "Charlotte's still in college. There's no way she'd be having a kid already."