Ian's words lingered in my mind.

My husband, who had been married to me for ten years, caused a scene at the entrance of my ward—all because my attending doctor, Ian, refused to let him hold the baby.

"What's wrong with taking a look at my child?" Hector yelled. "Yara's waiting to hold the baby. I heard babies resemble the first person who holds them."

I didn't hear Ian's response.

Just then, Hector barged into my room and demanded, "Get up now and take the baby back home. Do you think we're that well off? Do you really think you can afford a VIP room?"

Indeed, we barely scraped by. But I didn't have the strength to get up.

Despite noticing my pallor, Hector continued, "Yara wants to see the baby. Let the doctor know, will you?"

I widened my eyes. It hadn't even been a day since the baby was born, and she was being tended by the nurses now. Why should I let Hector's intern handle my baby? Was Yara someone important?

Before I could ask, Hector saw the nurse enter with a few bottles of medicine—meant to maintain my health—and promptly stopped her at the door.

"Who gave her the medicine? Give me the prescription," he snarled. "With that worn-down body of hers, she doesn't need such expensive medicine. Cancel this and that."

The nurse was unyielding. "The patient needs these medications. She must receive them as soon as possible!"

Shoving her out of my ward, Hector snapped, "I'm a nutritionist. You should listen to me!"

He slammed the door shut in her face.

His phone suddenly rang at this time. Glancing at it, he immediately skulked out of my room to answer the call.

After what felt like ages—and as I was about to fall asleep—he came back.

He sighed and threw my jacket on my face. "My colleagues are going to come by later. Look at how disgusting you are. You're going to do nothing but humiliate me!"

Apparently, my appearance was barely presentable enough for others to see.

I tried to sit up and get dressed, but I hardly had the strength to.

Seeing this, Hector buried my head under the sheets. He knew I was awake; he just wanted to humiliate me.

"With your looks, it's better for you to just stay hidden," he spat. "Marrying you was a mistake."

I lay under the sheets, unmoving. Entering this marriage was a grave mistake for both of us.

The colleagues he'd mentioned were actually his students. After one of them left, the air shifted.

Through the gap between the sheets, I saw Yara Quigley wrap her arms around Hector's neck. She didn't seem to realize that I was awake.

"Babe, are they going to let me see our baby or not?" she asked. "I want to see whether she resembles me or you."

My heart skipped a beat. So, the baby that had been in my womb was their child.

My blood ran cold. As I watched the two describe their future together, I couldn't stop trembling.

Gazing at Yara, Hector crooned, "Darling, I'll take the baby with us after she's discharged. The three of us will stay in our new house—far away from this ugly pig."

He talked about me as though I was already dead, showing not even a hint of respect for me.

Yara giggled. "Oh, you know me so well! I'm still so young, after all. If my parents found out that I got pregnant before marriage, I'd be doomed."

She chanced a glance at me and continued, "Besides, childbirth does a lot of damage to the body. Look at her—she literally aged ten years after giving birth. I wouldn't want that!

"By the way, I told my parents that I'm getting engaged soon. So, you and her…"

Hector glanced back at me and replied, "Don't worry. Although it's a shame that she's still alive, I won't be with her anymore. You're the only one for me."

Entwined in each other's arms, they ambled out of my ward.

Why were they so cruel to me? I did nothing wrong!

Angry and aggrieved, I struggled up from the bed, craving an explanation. However, my head suddenly swam, and I collapsed back on the bed again. Having lost too much strength and blood, I hardly had the energy to deal with those two morons.

Hector never came back again.

Recalling their conversation earlier, I whisked out my phone and checked my bank account. The moment I saw my balance, I froze.

My savings over the years—the money Hector had claimed to save for my cancer treatment—were all gone.

As I went through the transactions, I discovered that he not only bought his mistress a house but also a car and loads of designer goods.

That was when I knew giving him my heart had been a mistake.

Being married to Hector for ten years meant enduring ten years of suffering. After graduating, we struggled to make a living, earning every penny through earnest, hard work.

It took him a long time to get through probation, and during those two years, I never bought any new clothes.

At that time, we were living in a shabby rental but were determined to buy a house together. When we finally saved enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the city, he transferred all the money to his mistress.

My lips trembled, and I felt my chest tightening.

Just as I curled up on the bed clutching my chest, Ian walked in.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why was she only given glucose?"

A young nurse came in and replied meekly, "Dr. Doyle cancelled the prescription."

Infuriated, Ian stormed out of the room. I knew he wouldn't allow Hector to hurt me, but I summoned all my strength to grab his wrist.

"Don't go, Ian." I wheezed. "I don't have any money…"

I truly had no money left to pay for any more treatment, and Hector would never spend another cent on me.

As soon as I finished speaking, my vision turned black. I lost consciousness again.

By the time I woke up again, Ian was right beside my bed.

I glanced up, noticing the expensive imported medicine hanging above my head.

Ian quickly got up and asked whether I felt any discomfort.

Realization dawned on me as I spotted the receipt peeking out of his coat.

"Ian, I don't have the money to pay you now…" I croaked.

A warm smile appeared on his face, despite his cool features.

"I'm not asking you to pay me," he said. "Don't overthink."

While he fixed the interval of my IV drip, he suddenly thought of something and glanced down at me.

"Do you want to see your baby? I'll get the nurse to bring her here."

I immediately jerked my head aside and frowned. "No."

As though he understood my situation, Ian didn't pester me. "Sure. It's up to you."

The last person I wanted to see was Hector and his mistress' child. I was just a vessel—barely considered her mother.

The past ten months had felt like a nightmare, but at least it was finally over.

"Actually, you don't have cancer," Ian said, handing me a diagnosis report. "But your health is in terrible condition. You need to take care of yourself from now on."

I wept bitterly. This result meant everything to me.

Back then, I had believed Hector when he told me I had cancer. Once I had moved past my despair, I convinced myself to bear a child for him.

I never expected him to use my guilt against me, turning me into nothing more than a tool for childbirth.

The supplements he had been giving me over the past few months had only weakened my body, making me frail and exhausted. In other words, he had been trying to kill me.

With a clear picture of everything, I finally had a goal. I would get treatment and recover.

Hector could take my child and my money, but he could never take my life.

While I was recovering in the hospital, Yara had been flaunting their relationship on social media. Her posts had been hidden from me when we first became friends online, but now that her scheme had worked, she no longer bothered to keep me in the dark.

Their audacity was beyond belief. Hector actually had the nerve to leave their child behind to go on a luxury cruise with Yara, who posted a selfie of the two of them with a suggestive caption.

"He's my mentor, my friend, and the closest person to me."

Just thinking about how Hector was blatantly splurging my money made my blood boil.

I checked my bank balance—just enough to hire a lawyer. Then, I scrolled through Yara's social media, saving every post as I went.

Every single post about Hector made my heart ache.

It turned out that they had known each other for four years. Hector had visited her college as a guest speaker, and she had been on the organizing committee.

They had grown closer over the past two years. He had given her her first Louis Vuitton handbag, picked out her first Chanel suit, and arranged her first trip to Maldoves.

Their affair had always been in plain sight—I was just too big of a fool to realize it.

I reached out to an old classmate who was now a lawyer, and he referred me to a renowned divorce attorney.

After I got in touch with Lucas Payne, I laid everything out on the table. I only had one goal in mind—to make sure Hector walked away with nothing.

Anyone who had taken from me would eventually pay the price.