Chapter 492: Hawaii

[Chapter 492: Hawaii]

Virginia let Eric pull her along, unable to hold back any longer, she started to chatter, "Eric, when did you come back? I heard that the Disneyland in Europe just opened and then suddenly closed down. I hope nothing serious happened! I was planning to finish this movie and then go have fun with Joan..."

Eric didn't answer and led her to the car. He opened the door and shoved Virginia inside, then went to sit on the other side, instructing the driver, "Carter, head back to New York."

"Aren't we waiting for Mr. Hyde?" the driver asked through the rearview mirror.

Eric shook his head. Kepler had to negotiate with the director about Virginia's contract, which wasn't something that could be settled quickly, and Eric didn't have time to wait around.

Seeing Eric's expression, the driver started the car. Eric raised the partition and turned his attention to the woman beside him.

...

Virginia finally noticed Eric's serious demeanor, a sense of dread creeping into her mind. She shifted slightly, muttering, "I... I'm still working, you know."

Eric pointed to a double-decker bus visible in the distance, his voice rising as he suppressed his anger, "Is that what you should be doing right now?"

Virginia shrank back, blinking rapidly. The realization hit her, "You... you know, don't you?"

Eric grunted in reply.

"I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I meant to tell you once you finished Jurassic Park, but then you had to go off to France," Virginia whispered in a rushed explanation, then suddenly raised an eyebrow, "It must have been Joan! I should have known better than to tell her. That unreliable person!"

"Joan's in the hospital," Eric shot her a glare.

Virginia immediately stopped her blame, her expression changing to one of concern. "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

"Just like you," Eric replied.

Virginia was taken aback, her mouth opened as she struggled to articulate her thoughts. After a moment, she finally managed, "Traitor, liar! I can't believe it! I'm going to cut ties with her! This is terrible. I told her everything, and she didn't tell me she was pregnant!"

"You know how Joan is. She's the kind of person who lacks security. With something this sudden, you expect her to just tell everyone?"

"Ugh... You're biased! I'm pregnant, too, and you're defending her."

Oh, not again!

When Eric heard that, he was left feeling utterly helpless.

...

Two hours later, Eric brought Virginia back to her place in Southampton, Long Island. The private clinic in Manhattan where Joan was staying was swarming with reporters. Even with a signed confidentiality agreement, Eric didn't feel comfortable bringing a pregnant woman there. He asked Virginia a few questions, and she told him about another private clinic where she had been checked, located in Southampton.

"Mr. Williams, look, this is the fetus," the middle-aged female doctor said as she operated the equipment in the ultrasound room, pointing at the colorful screen.

Lying beside her, Virginia turned to look. Eric gazed at the tiny figure on the screen, curled up like a glass marble, and he felt a strange sensation wash over him. He was going to be a father again.

Noticing Eric's expression, the doctor thought he was one of those parents who was surprised by the ultrasound image. She smiled and explained, "Mr. Williams, this is what a fetus looks like at about nine weeks. It has just developed its basic form. Although it seems tiny now, in about thirty weeks, you'll have a very cute little baby!"

Eric smiled and nodded.

After spending over an hour on the examination, Virginia was now completely worry-free thanks to Eric's earlier demeanor. Showing off her report, she said, "I told you! The little one is very healthy."

"Well, we can't have you jumping out of the car," Eric recalled the scene he had witnessed a few hours earlier.

Virginia sheepishly stuck out her tongue, linking her arm with Eric as they walked out of the clinic. "I was using a stunt double, but the director said it didn't look good. He wanted a shot from the front. I caved into the pressure thinking it wasn't dangerous."

"That movie doesn't need to be shot anymore; I'll handle the rest."

Virginia nuzzled against Eric's shoulder, grinning, "That's fine, since you have plenty of money, haha."

...

Eric first dropped Virginia off at her place in Southampton and then went to pick up Joan from Manhattan. After thorough examination, Joan had been monitored in the clinic for twenty-four hours and hadn't shown any problems, allowing her to be discharged. To avoid the swarm of reporters, Eric had to rent a helicopter on short notice.

Even though she had sworn to cut ties with Joan, seeing her pale face filled with regret made Virginia's small flame of anger dissipate.

After a busy day settling both women, Eric finally had time to focus on work. He juggled the various messes piling up -- from Disneyland in Paris, post-production of Jurassic Park in Los Angeles, to managing Firefly Films -- doing nothing but making phone calls for two hours. Eric was even more eager for the online mail company to be set up quickly so he could conveniently deal with incoming messages through email.

Once Eric hung up the phone, Virginia immediately pulled Joan over to him. "Eric, look! Joan and I picked out the names. If it's a boy, we'll call him Kevin, and if it's a girl, Angela. What do you think?"

"Whatever, they're just names, call them whatever," Eric leaned against the sofa, taking Virginia's notepad and casually said, noticing her frown. He quickly changed his tone, "No, wait! I'm the father, I certainly have naming rights."

"Then you can pick one, especially if it's two boys or two girls!" Virginia replied cheerfully.

Eric propped his chin on his hand, thinking for a while, before finally saying one word: "Hawaii."

"What?" Virginia and Joan asked in unison, puzzled.

"Hawaii!" Eric chuckled, a hint of mischief in his tone. "Since it was conceived in Hawaii, we should name it Hawaii."

Virginia's eyes widened. After a moment, she pointed to Joan on Eric's other side, her mouth forming a devious smile as she exclaimed, "Give it to her!"

*****

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