"Adrian, it's all thanks to you that Mia was able to find a suitable bone marrow match so quickly."

In the hospital room, Sophia slipped her arm through his, her voice trembling slightly.

"Ever since Mia was diagnosed, I haven't had a moment of peace. I've been on edge day and night, terrified she might leave me… just like her father did."

Adrian freed one hand and gently wiped her tears.

"That won't happen. No matter when, I'll be there for you."

Sophia nodded, casually brushing her hair aside, exposing the graceful curve of her neck.

"Mia, be good. Starting tonight, we'll be staying here, okay? Then you won't get nosebleeds anymore."

"But I'm scared… and I don't like how it smells here." The little girl burrowed deeper into Adrian's arms, whining softly. "Mr. Foster, can you stay with me tonight? I checked earlier, there are two rooms. You can stay with Mom."

"Mia," Sophia said, her cheeks flushing faintly, "only daddy and mommy share a room. You shouldn't say that to Mr. Foster again."

"Then Mr. Foster can just be my dad. Mr. Foster, my mom is so pretty. You must like her too."

Adrian's gaze lingered on Sophia's increasingly flushed face, the air between them turning unmistakably intimate.

"Kids say whatever comes to mind. Don't take it seriously." Sophia's eyes shimmered as she spoke softly, "And after I explained earlier, your wife still didn't seem very happy. Adrian, you should go home and talk to her. If she really misunderstands us, it could reflect badly on you."

"She knows better." Adrian spoke casually, ruffling Mia's hair before staying with them until late into the night, only leaving for home after that.

The moment he stepped inside, something felt off.

At this hour, I would usually be in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for him the next day.

But now, the kitchen stood empty.

"Is Nina asleep?"

I had just stepped out of the bathroom when I saw Adrian changing in the walk-in closet.

Since Nina was born, this was the first time he had ever asked about her on his own.

When I walked straight to the vanity without answering him, he finally realized I was actually angry.

He had always thought I was easy to appease—that a few soft words would be enough.

Thinking that, Adrian walked over and lightly patted my shoulder.

"Nora, I've known Sophia for years. Her husband was my classmate. Now she's raising a sick child on her own. You should be more understanding. And Mia is just a child, just like Nina. Kids don't know better. You shouldn't take it to heart."

"Do you even know how much Nina wanted you to go to the hospital with her?"

Thinking of the disappointment on Nina's face that morning, it felt a heavy, suffocating ache in my chest.

"And Nina…"

I was about to tell him about the lost bone marrow, but Adrian cut me off, clearly annoyed.

"That's enough. She's a child, what's your excuse? I trusted you, and this is how you act? And it's your job as her mother to teach her to be independent, not cling to others all the time. If she's like this, that's your failure."

I stood there, staring at him, his words sounding utterly absurd.

A four-year-old should depend on her parents.

And Nina had been diagnosed with leukemia since she was little. She never cried during treatments or checkups, and even learned to take her medicine on her own.

To me, she was already so mature and independent it broke my heart. I never imagined her own father would label her like this because of me.

A hollow sadness settled in me as I murmured, "You're right. A child only needs her mother."

Seeing me yield, Adrian's tone softened slightly.

"Good that you understand. I give you a million dollars every month. Isn't this exactly what you're supposed to do? It's not even hard. After all, you're not like Sophia. She's capable and driven. Right after graduation, she had more job offers than she could choose from. You, on the other hand, didn't get a single offer. Being a housewife suits you."

He said it as casually as if he were commenting on the weather, while my eyes burned red and my body trembled.

"Adrian, do you remember why I don't have a job?"

I once worked in an office tower too, chasing my dreams for a whole year.

Then Adrian suddenly wanted a child. I refused, and he fought with me, even threatening divorce.

Soon after, I got pregnant unexpectedly, and the severe morning sickness landed me in the hospital.

Adrian stepped in and quit my job for me.

We had a huge fight over it, and somehow, it all led us here.

And now, looking at Sophia and her daughter, I finally understood. The only reason Adrian had insisted on having a child back then… was because he was still trying to prove something to Sophia. I had never been anything more than a sacrifice.

Seeing my expression darken, something long buried in Adrian's memory slowly resurfaced.

Back then, he had deliberately tampered with the condom. That was how Nina came to be.

He had known exactly how soft-hearted I was. Once there was a life, I would never walk away from it.

"You're this upset because of Nina, aren't you? Before, when there was no match, you were anxious all the time. Now that there is one, you're probably worried about whether the surgery will go smoothly."

His tone softened. He tapped on his phone, then held it out to me.

"I've already told my assistant. Once Nina's surgery date is confirmed, just inform her. She'll arrange my schedule. I'll go to the hospital with her. I'll personally walk her into the operating room. I won't leave during the surgery. I'll stay until she comes out."

I let out a bitter laugh. After taking a few steadying breaths, just as I was about to speak, a sharp ringtone cut through the air.

The screen lit up with the name—Sophia.

Adrian picked up immediately. After only a few words, he hurried to change his clothes.

"Mia has a sudden high fever. I need to go to the hospital. We're done talking about Nina. If anything urgent comes up, contact my assistant."

Watching his car disappear into the night, I realized just how wrong I had been.

If Adrian didn't love me, why would he ever care about my daughter?

All it took was one sentence—"Nina's bone marrow match was given to someone else"—and after an entire day, he still didn't know.

The cold wind on the balcony cut straight through me, clearing my mind completely.

I had once been afraid that divorcing Adrian would hurt Nina. But now I understood—no matter how much I endured in this marriage, she would only suffer more.

If that was the case, then this marriage had lost even its last shred of meaning.

I sat back down at the vanity and took out the jewelry I had hidden at the very bottom of my box.

The gemstones burned with brilliance, dazzling and bold—just like I used to be.

I opened my email and found the invitation again, accepting it without hesitation.

It was from the president of one of the top jewelry design companies in the industry.

I had hesitated when I first saw it yesterday. Now, there was no doubt left.

At the hospital, Sophia leaned against Adrian's shoulder, wiping her tears.

"I'm sorry, Adrian. I know I shouldn't have called you so late… but I didn't have anyone reliable by my side. I was just so scared."

Adrian pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her back.

"Don't apologize to me. The doctor said it's just a reaction to the medication. Nothing serious. I'll stay here with you tonight. Don't worry."

Sophia lifted her head, agreeing softly.

Her breath brushed against his throat, warm and teasing.

Adrian lowered his head. Her lips were right there—one step closer, and he could kiss her.

The air between them thickened, heating rapidly. Just as Sophia was about to lean in, Mia woke up.

"Mr. Foster, you came to stay with me!" Mia's voice was weak from the fever, yet still carried a soft, coaxing sweetness. "I knew it! You like me the most—and you like Mom too!"

Adrian let go of Sophia, a strange feeling creeping in.

For a split second just now, when he looked at her, Nora's face had flashed through his mind.

He shook the thought away, pushing aside the impulse, and walked over to tuck Mia in.

"You clever little thing. You're absolutely right."

Behind him, Sophia watched the scene, the brief flicker of regret from earlier already gone.

Back then, Adrian had hidden his status too well. That was why she had married someone else.

But now, he clearly cared most about her and her daughter. Being with him was only a matter of time.

At the Foster Estate.

By the time I finished packing everything, the first light of dawn had begun to break.

Once Nina woke up and I packed the rest of her things, we could finally leave this cage I had lived in for five years.

At the thought of this, my emotions tangled together. I sat there in silence, unmoving, until sunlight flooded the balcony.

"Mom, where are we going?"

Seeing me stuffing all her favorite toys into the suitcase, Nina looked confused.

"Where's Dad? I waited so long last night, but he never came back. Why isn't he here this morning either? Mom… are you and Dad unhappy because of me?"

Her string of questions left me so overwhelmed with sorrow that I didn't know how to answer.

"Nina, if from now on you live with me, and can only see your dad once in a while… would you be okay with that?"

"Mom… hasn't it always been like that? Mom, I like being with you."

She put down the toy in her hands and threw herself into my arms. My tears fell instantly.

I took her hand, pulled the suitcase along, and sent Adrian a message to inform him.

"Let's get a divorce."

Adrian stayed at the hospital, taking care of Mia the entire night. It wasn't until dawn that the child finally fell into a deep sleep.

He let out a breath of relief and calmed Sophia down.

Only when he was about to leave did he take out his phone and see my message.

"Divorce?"

Adrian repeated the word to himself, convinced I must have lost my mind.

Without him, without the title of "Mrs. Foster," who else could possibly give me such a life of luxury?

And Nina's illness—how could I possibly find a matching bone marrow within two years on my own?

At that thought, it finally dawned on Adrian—the bone marrow that had taken so long to find had been reassigned by his own decision… to Sophia's daughter, Mia.

The car quickly filled with smoke.

Adrian slowly finished two or three cigarettes before getting out and heading back into the hospital, straight to the doctor's office.

The doctor in charge of both Nina and Mia was clearly surprised to see him.

"If my wife and I start trying for a baby now, and have one within a year, would the newborn's cord blood be guaranteed to help Nina?"

A fine layer of cold sweat formed on the doctor's forehead.

He had assumed Adrian came to reconsider—perhaps to return the bone marrow to his own daughter. Instead, it was something else entirely.

After careful consideration, the doctor answered cautiously, "We can only say the chances are relatively high. There are always risks. We also need to consider both your and your wife's physical condition, as well as possible complications during pregnancy—such as miscarriage due to excessive stress. None of this can be guaranteed."

"And besides…" The doctor adjusted his glasses, hesitating before continuing, "your wife had a very difficult delivery with Nina. Having another child could very likely mean going through all that suffering again."

Adrian froze slightly, only then recalling, in a haze, what I had gone through during childbirth.

The eczema had been so unbearable that I scratched until the skin on my stomach was left in a terrible state.

During delivery, it turned from a natural birth into an emergency C-section, and an amniotic fluid embolism nearly took my life.

The postpartum depression that followed, along with dealing with stretch marks and surgical scars, drained me completely.

"I understand." Leaning back against the sofa, Adrian picked up the coffee and drained it in one go. "Don't tell her about this."

The doctor nodded solemnly and respectfully saw him out.

When he returned to his desk, he couldn't help but sigh to himself—if Adrian's wife ever found out that her husband had given away their own daughter's life-saving bone marrow to someone else, she would never let it go.

The moment Adrian parked the car at home, he headed straight for the garden.

At this hour, I would usually be in the garden with Nina, tending to the plants and getting her to move around a bit.

But today, only a few scattered servants remained in the garden.

"Where are my wife and daughter?"

"Mrs. Foster left early this morning with luggage, along with Nina."

Adrian frowned slightly and went straight inside, heading to Nina's room.

Every time he came here, Nina would call out "Dad" loudly and drop everything to run into his arms.

But now, even her favorite toys were gone from the room.

He took out his phone and made several calls in a row, but none were answered.

Irritation surged through him.

"Before she left, did she say or do anything unusual?"

The sudden question left the butler puzzled.

Wasn't Adrian the one who never cared about what his wife did at home?

Still, he replied respectfully, "The maid who was cleaning noticed Mrs. Foster threw away quite a lot of things and asked about it. Mrs. Foster said something rather strange… that things which don't belong to her are meaningless to keep."

Adrian dismissed him with a wave. When he returned to the room, he found that all my clothes were gone from the walk-in closet.

On the vanity, only a few pieces of expensive jewelry remained—the ones he had given me to keep up appearances.

A sudden tightness gripped Adrian's chest. He loosened his tie and turned to issue an order to his assistant.

"Within ten minutes, get me all the transaction records for my secondary card this month."