Chapter 261

　　Tabitha's POV 　　I quickly put my finger to my lips to stop the Omega from talking. And She shut up at once. 　　"What's your name?" I asked. 　　"Joanna Foster. I go by Joanna," she answered obediently. 　　"What do you do?" 　　She replied, "I majored in horticulture. I've been here taking care of the rose garden ever since I graduated from college." 　　The look in her eyes was very pure, and after these days, I already had a pretty good picture of the personalities of those servants in the rose garden. 　　While others were gossiping, Joanna focused on her job dutifully, never joining in on the chatter. 　　Thus, I figured she could be trusted. 　　"Can you do me a favor?" 　　"Ms. Hartley, you don't have to be so formal. You are the employer, so you can tell me whatever you want me to do. I'm just glad I can be of help." 　　I then leaned in closer and whispered something in her ear. Then I added, "Keep it to yourself. You think you can manage that?" 　　"Sure, but... May I know why? Seems Alpha Derek is so nice to you. Isn't it a good thing that you're pregnant?" 　　I murmured, "You do know that he's getting married, right? Do you want my pup to be condemned like I am forever?" 　　Joanna gave me a sympathetic glance. "I see, Ms. Hartley. Wait here. I'll go get it for you right away." 　　I knew I picked the right person. Currently, my priority was to confirm whether I was pregnant or not. 　　At dinner, I was totally zoning out, and I had no appetite at all. 　　However, I had to try my best to hide my nausea so that Derek wouldn't notice anything off. 　　Good thing that during my first pregnancy, Derek had started giving me the cold shoulder. So he didn't see me experiencing morning sickness and throwing up non-stop at all. 　　So, when I retched last night, he probably just thought it was because I hated him. 　　Dad, on the other hand, noticed something wrong. "Tabitha, you haven't had much of an appetite these past few days. You hardly eat anything." 　　Hearing that, Derek glanced at my plate, which was piled high with food, barely touched. 　　Then he frowned and said, "Tabitha, your health beats everything. If you don't like the food, just tell me what you wanna eat." 　　"Don't overthink it. I'm just not hungry. That's all. Guess it's because I had a lot of snacks in the afternoon. You guys enjoy," I replied. 　　While I was speaking, I spotted Joanna walking into the crowd, so I quickly came up with an excuse and left the dining hall. 　　She secretly handed me the pregnancy test kits in the corridor, saying, "Ms. Hartley, I'm worried they might be inaccurate, so I bought several different brands for you." 　　"Thanks. I'll give you the money later." 　　"No need, Ms. Hartley. It's nothing." 　　Instead of insisting, I hurried to my bathroom, locking the door behind me. 　　The last time I used a pregnancy test, I was so thrilled. At that time, I desperately wanted to give Derek as well as the Black Thorn Pack an heir. 　　So, whenever I was late on my period, I'd take a pregnancy test. 　　But now, as I held the test stick in my hand, I felt heavy and conflicted. 　　No one cared about the baby more than me. Given my determined fate, I thought I'd die alone. 　　Yet now, there was a baby inside me. Unfortunately, its appearance was so untimely. 　　I was totally scared and anxious. 　　I wanted to keep it, but at the same time, I didn't dare to. 　　The minutes dragged as I closed my eyes, waiting, feeling torn. 　　A part of me wondered what if I was pregnant. Another part of me dismissed the idea, saying it was impossible. 　　Given my condition, pregnancy was practically out of the picture, not to mention that Derek and I only had sex once. And I was pregnant? How could it be? 　　Besides, I hadn't accepted Derek as my mate, nor did I allow him to mark me. 　　I kept questioning myself and then denying my assumptions. 　　Suddenly, the set alarm went off, snapping me out of it. I hastily turned it off. 　　Then I slowly turned my gaze toward the test stick.