For Nina's sake, I rented an apartment near the hospital.

Over the years, even though caring for a sick child left me with little time, I still made delicate jewelry pieces and sold them online.

Over time, I built up a group of loyal customers and managed to save a decent amount—enough to support basic living expenses.

As for Nina's future medical expenses, I would naturally ask Adrian for them.

As her father, that was his responsibility.

"Mom, I kind of miss Dad. He never used to stay away this long without coming to see me." At the dining table, Nina looked down, her voice low. "Does Dad not like me anymore? Is he really going to be someone else's dad?"

It had been a week since we moved. Aside from the call he missed on the first day, Adrian hadn't contacted us at all.

"No, that's not it. Dad's just been busy trying to find ways to treat your illness. Next week, I'll take you to see him, okay?"

I didn't want to see her upset.

Besides, once I finalized the details of the collaboration, it would be time to meet Adrian and move forward with the divorce procedures.

At the same time, Adrian had just left the hospital.

Mia's surgery had gone smoothly. Only then did he feel at ease enough to come look for me.

While waiting at a red light, Adrian lit a cigarette out of habit. As he rolled down the window, his pupils suddenly tightened.

In a café not far away, I was discussing plans to establish my own jewelry brand with a business partner, completely unaware of Adrian's call.

When I got home, Adrian was already standing at the door.

"I brought your favorite seafood salad. Let's talk inside."

Thinking of Nina, I silently took it and let him in.

In truth, I hadn't been able to eat seafood for a long time. After giving birth, I developed a severe allergy to it.

Even the cleaning staff at the Foster Estate knew that.

"You came at the right time. Let's settle the divorce today. I know you've always loved Sophia. I'm willing to step aside for her. I only have two conditions—Nina's custody must go to me, and three hundred million dollars in cash. I'll spend every cent of that on Nina. No matter what, you're still her father. She cares about you a lot, so I hope you'll come see her when you have time."

"Nora, when did I ever say I wanted a divorce?" Adrian dropped his usual impatience, his voice turning gentle. "If you leave me, what will you rely on to survive? The outside world isn't what it used to be."

He glanced around the 150-square-meter apartment before continuing, "How much money can those little things you make even bring in? It'd be hard just to cover the rent for this place. Nora, I just neglected you for a while. You've made your point. Come back home with me."

Adrian raised his hand to touch my head, but I stepped back and avoided him.

"It wasn't neglect. Adrian, you never cared about me at all."

But what about Nina?" I demanded, my eyes red. "She's your biological daughter! Do you even know her life-saving bone marrow is gone?"

The words that had been choking me finally burst out. My emotions broke loose completely, and I sobbed uncontrollably.

"I know. I know." A flicker of guilt passed through Adrian's eyes as he pulled me into his arms. "Nora, didn't you say before… that if it came to it, we could have another child? That way, we can definitely save Nina."

My heart wavered.

I had mentioned it before. But Adrian also knew that after giving birth to Nina, my body was no longer the same. Another pregnancy might be more than I could endure.

But now that he brought it up himself, it probably meant there were no other options left.

"Dad! You're here!"

Nina ran out, still half-asleep. After the initial excitement, she puffed up her cheeks and turned her face away.

Adrian knew exactly why she was upset. He had already prepared her favorite doll.

"Nina, I bought this just for you. Forgive me, okay? And I've decided—over the next three days, I'll take you and Mom to a hot spring resort. I'll stay with you the whole time. I won't leave at all!"

Nina's eyes lit up. Adrian lifted her into his arms and shot me a glance.

I was still hesitating when Nina looked at me eagerly, "Mom! Mom! I want to go!"

Nina hadn't been this happy in days. I didn't want to disappoint her, so I nodded in agreement.

The car wound its way along the mountain road, surrounded by lush greenery, and I couldn't help but relax.

In front of the luxurious mansion, staff were already waiting at the entrance.

"Long time no see, Julian."

Not long after getting out of the car, Adrian called out to the man approaching from a distance.

I followed his gaze.

The man had a sharp, composed face, his dark eyes deep and unreadable. Even in casual sportswear, he carried an unmistakable air of quiet luxury.

Julian Lane was Adrian's childhood friend—and the owner of this hot spring resort. He had gone abroad for further studies in his youth and had only recently returned.

So this was, in fact, my first time meeting him.

"Must've been ten years. Adrian, you finally brought your family here. Make yourselves at home."

Julian stepped forward. After a brief exchange with Adrian, he gave me a polite nod.

As he lifted his gaze, he gave me a brief once-over, a trace of amusement flickering in his eyes.

Even though he had been abroad all these years, there was little about home that he didn't know.

Julian had often heard that his best friend's wife was nothing remarkable. Seeing me now, he seemed to think I was, at best, an "eye candy."

I led Nina into the mansion, and she was instantly captivated by the room filled with plush toys.

"Nina, do you like it? I had people set this up just for you. That giant one over there? It's a limited edition."

Adrian was good at this—at coaxing children. Nina spent the entire day happily playing under his attention.

When I grew tired from working on design drafts, I glanced out the window and saw Nina smiling—and I couldn't help but waver.

If he could always treat her like this… maybe continuing like this wouldn't be impossible.

That night, after putting Nina to sleep, Adrian ran into me as I stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe.

The moment our eyes met, desire darkened his gaze.

I tried to pull away, but Adrian had already pinned me against the dining table, his kiss coming down hard and urgent.

"Nora." His voice was low and rough. "It's your ovulation period today, isn't it? Let's not waste the chance."

Ever since I saw his feelings for what they truly were, I no longer wanted anything intimate with him.

As for a second child, I wanted to tell him we could consider IVF instead—but I couldn't break free.

Sophia's ringtone rang out. On the third time, Adrian finally answered.

"Adrian, Mia is having a severe rejection reaction after the surgery. They're trying to save her now… I'm so scared." Her voice trembled with sobs as she continued, "Do you think Mia just isn't meant to survive? You went through so much to arrange that bone marrow, and now she still might…"

Adrian hung up and turned to leave immediately.

As he passed Nina's room, he paused for a moment and glanced at me.

After a brief hesitation, he left anyway.

I stood frozen in place, suddenly realizing just how utterly foolish I had been.

So the so-called "priority" of bone marrow allocation had all along been based on how much Adrian cared.

Outside, the rain began to fall harder—just like the collapse inside my chest.

"Mom, my nose is bleeding… it won't stop."

Nina ran over, clutching her nose, her cool little hand wrapping tightly around my fingers.

My heart lurched. I scooped her up at once, trying every way I knew to stop the bleeding—but nothing worked.

Bright red blood kept dripping down from beneath her nose onto the floor, her little face turning ashen.

"Mom… am I going to die?"

"No, you won't. You're going to stay with me, always." I wiped the blood from her cheeks while frantically calling the doctor.

The heavy rain had disrupted the network. The signal was terrible.

After several attempts, I finally got through to Adrian.

But the call lasted only a second before it was coldly cut off.

"Where did Dad go? Why is he gone again? Did I do something wrong today… something he didn't like?"

Her voice trembled with tears. I pulled her close. "Be good, Nina. Go wait in Mommy's room. I'm going to find a car—I'll be right back. We're going to the hospital!"

I didn't care about anything else. After settling her down, I grabbed an umbrella and ran out.

The wind flipped my umbrella inside out, drenching me in seconds.

There were barely any cars on the road, and not a single one stopped for me. I couldn't even tell anymore whether the wetness on my face was rain or tears.

At last, an SUV burst through the storm and came to a stop in front of me.

The window rolled down—it was Julian.

I rushed forward, gripping the window, forcing my trembling voice steady despite the cold.

"Julian, my daughter's leukemia has flared up—she won't stop bleeding. Can you take her to the hospital? I'm begging you."

Julian immediately understood—Adrian had abandoned them again.

Even he found his friend's behavior irresponsible. How had this woman endured a marriage like that?

Julian glanced at me, said nothing, and got out of the car, heading straight toward the mansion.

Gratitude filled me, my attention fixed entirely on Nina. I didn't notice that when Julian picked her up, his eyes briefly fell on the design drafts on the table—surprise and admiration flashing through his gaze.

Only after watching my daughter being rushed into the emergency room did the tight knot in my chest loosen, just a little.

A figure approached from beside me, and a coat was draped over my shoulders.

I looked up in surprise at Julian. He averted his gaze and said quietly, "Don't catch a cold."

Only then did I realize how my soaked clothes clung tightly to my body, outlining every curve. My face flushed as I quickly pulled the coat closer and murmured my thanks.

"What are you doing?"

A low voice sounded from behind us.

Julian and I turned at the same time, only to meet the eyes of Sophia and Adrian standing not far away.

Faced with Adrian's questioning, Julian remained composed. Without drawing attention to it, he stepped slightly in front of me, shielding me as he explained calmly.

"Nina's leukemia flared up. She couldn't stop bleeding. Nora couldn't reach you, so she had no choice but to ask me to bring them here."

Hearing the reproach in his friend's tone, Adrian finally noticed the glaring words above the emergency room—In Surgery.

Being called out for failing as a husband in front of others made him feel a flicker of shame. For a moment, he even forgot the irritation he had felt seeing his wife standing beside his friend.

"I was just here with Sophia to check on Mia. I was about to head back soon." Adrian added, a hint of unease in his voice, "Nora just panics when she's worried. It was nothing serious—sorry you had to make the trip."

"Nothing serious? Adrian, do you even have a heart?!"

That careless remark shattered everything I had been suppressing—grief, despair, anger. Thinking of my daughter still fighting for her life, I lost control completely and rushed forward, slapping Adrian hard across the face.

Adrian's head snapped to the side, shock written all over his face.

He had never imagined that his obedient wife would lay a hand on him in public.

"Nora, have you lost your mind?"

"I have lost my mind! I should've gone crazy a long time ago!"

I met Adrian's disbelieving gaze, tears spilling over.

"Do you even realize this? Our daughter almost died! When she asked me where her father was—where were you? I was wondering—how did a perfectly scheduled bone marrow suddenly get taken by an emergency case? So it was you—you took your own daughter's life-saving bone marrow and gave it to someone else's child!"

I stared at him, every word deliberate. "Adrian, you knew Nina didn't have time—and you still did this. You also knew my body couldn't handle another pregnancy—it could be dangerous. And yet, you still chose Sophia! For the past week, while you were taking care of that child after her surgery… you probably didn't spare even a single second to think about our daughter."

Adrian froze, turning his head away to hide his guilt.

Sophia stepped forward, gently inspecting the red mark on his face.

"Mrs. Foster, no matter what, you can't just hit him! Adrian, he—"

"This is between me and my husband. Since when does a mistress get to speak?"

My gaze swept over her, cold and sharp.

Sophia shifted uncomfortably, finally stepping away instead of clinging to Adrian.

"Calm down." Julian stepped forward, gently patting my shoulder. "Your child needs you."

Those simple words snapped me back to my senses.

Nina… my poor girl.

If I had found the courage sooner—if I hadn't held onto even the slightest hope for Adrian—would she have been spared all this?

My whole body trembled uncontrollably. I could barely catch my breath.

I was furious at myself, furious at Adrian—and terrified of losing my daughter.

At that moment, the emergency room doors opened.

The doctor stepped out, exhaustion written all over his face.

I was so panicked I could barely stand. Someone steadied me, and I staggered forward, trembling as I rushed to the doctor to ask about my daughter.

"The child is out of danger. It's fortunate she was brought in on time. If you had arrived any later, the consequences could have been devastating."

Hearing that Nina was out of danger, I finally let out a breath. Wiping away my tears, I walked over to her bedside.

Adrian's expression grew complicated. Just as he was about to follow me to Nina's room, Sophia grabbed his arm.

"Adrian, Mia is still in the emergency room. She barely made it through the surgery. What if the rejection causes the transplant to fail? What am I supposed to do?"

Sophia broke down in tears, her face streaked with them. Adrian couldn't bring himself to leave her.

He comforted Sophia in a gentle voice, yet his eyes followed the retreating figures of Nina and me, caught in hesitation.

At that moment, he caught sight of Julian still standing nearby and had no choice but to ask him for help.

"Julian, I can't leave Sophia alone. I'll have to trouble you to look after Nora and Nina tonight."

Even he felt a flicker of embarrassment after saying that.

Julian frowned, his gaze passing over the two of them before he finally turned and walked toward Nina's room.

"Mr. Lane, you've already done so much today. You should go back and rest. I can handle the rest on my own."

I had already expected that Adrian wouldn't follow.

That last trace of hope I once held dissolved completely into the storm outside.

"No rush. I don't have anything pressing today. I'll leave once Nina is stable."

I said nothing more, my mind focused entirely on Nina.

In the room, once Nina was settled, I stayed by her side, not daring to step away for even a moment.

"You should go change your clothes first. I noted everything the nurse said just now. I'll watch over her for you."

Julian handed me a bag. Seeing my surprise, he added, "I had my assistant pick this up based on your size. It should fit. You'll catch a cold staying in wet clothes."

Only then did I realize I was still wearing his coat. I didn't refuse this time.

After changing into dry clothes, Julian brought me a bowl of hot porridge.

"I got you some porridge to warm you up. Eat it while it's hot."

After everything that had happened that night, I was starving. I didn't bother being polite anymore.

After finishing the bowl, I felt a little more like myself again.