When I heard my husband's startled cry, I lost focus and tumbled down the stairs.

By the time I woke up, not only did I lose my baby, but my leg was also wrapped in thick bandages.

Shocked, I wanted to question my husband, who was a doctor. But then I overheard him on a call with his terminally ill first love.

"Steven, why did your wife miscarry just like me?"

"I poured oil on the stairs. She inevitably slipped and fell. Lily, I'll do anything for you in this final month."

It turned out this wasn’t an accident. It was all just to make Lily happy because she was dying.

Tears fell as I silently listened to my husband, Steven Reed.

It felt like someone was mercilessly tearing my heart apart, piece by piece.

I had never imagined that the man I shared my bed with could be so cruel. He was ruthless enough to take the life of our child with his own hands.

"Steven, aren't you going too far? There's only a month left for Lily, but you and Julia still have a long life ahead of you.

"Was it worth it to personally get rid of your own child just to make Lily happy?"

I heard one of Steven's colleagues ask.

Steven was silent for a moment before firmly replying, "So what? Lily and I have missed out on so many years together. Now she has brain cancer and only one month left to live. As long as it makes her happy, anything is worth it.

"As for Julia, I'll make it up to her for the rest of my life."

I couldn't hold back my sobs any longer. My suppressed cries echoed through the hospital room.

Steven quickly walked over to my bed. He held my hand tightly.

I touched my now-flat stomach, my voice trembling. “W-Where is my baby?"

Steven's eyes filled with tears as he pulled me into his embrace with a pained expression.

"Julia, I'm sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let you take the stairs alone. Our baby is gone, but we can have another one in the future. Your health is the most important thing right now. Don't be too upset."

He gently stroked my back, as if comforting a child who had been wronged.

"The doctor said you can still conceive again. We will have another child, Julia, please stop crying, okay?"

The tears I had been holding back completely burst forth.

How could he? How could he act so calm after taking our baby's life?

His tears that dripped onto my hand didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe he was pretending to be the victim.

He said it so nonchalantly that we could have another baby, but I was the one who had to bear the pain. What about our child, the one who had just been cruelly taken from me? What did that life mean to him?

Seeing that I was too heartbroken to speak, Steven handed me a cup of water.

I took a small sip, letting the bitterness spread through my mouth. My lowered gaze hid the storm of emotions surging within me. In the end, I remained silent.

Steven held my hand tightly and reassured me, "It's going to be okay, Julia. I'm here with you. Your leg will heal, and we will have another child."

At that moment, I suddenly wanted to question him. I wanted to ask how he could be so heartless. How could he say he loved me while personally taking our child’s life?

But just as I was about to speak, his phone rang.

"Lily?" He answered, his voice full of concern. "What's wrong? What happened?"

A weak, tearful voice came from the other end of the line. "Steven, I'm scared. I dreamed that I died. I don't want to die."

Steven's face instantly turned pale. He gripped his phone tightly, his voice urgent. "Lily, don't be afraid. I'll come over right away. I'm still at the hospital. I’ll be there soon."

As he spoke, he was already getting up to leave. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed his sleeve, moving my bandaged leg slightly. Bright red blood instantly seeped through the white gauze.

"Steven, my leg–" I choked on my words, hoping he would stay.

Steven glanced down at my leg, his brows furrowing as hesitation flashed across his eyes.

But in the end, he gently pried my fingers off his sleeve and spoke with firm indifference. "Julia, Lily is in a terrible state right now. I have to go see her. You have doctors and nurses here. You’ll be fine.

"She only has one month left. Can't you show her some pity?"

After he left, my tears fell uncontrollably.

He asked me to have pity on her. But who was there to pity me?

Not long after Steven left, a nurse came to change my dressing. As she finished, I vaguely heard her talking on the phone.

"Mr. Reed, Mrs. Reed requires rest for her leg injury. It's best not to move her unnecessarily–

"Alright, I understand."

Before I could react, four nurses pushed my hospital bed and moved me out of the ward.

I didn't even have time to ask what was going on before my bed was pushed into a private ward.

The room was filled with a faint scent of lilies. Lily lay on the hospital bed, her face pale. She was sleeping peacefully.

Seeing me being wheeled in, Steven stood up, walked to my bedside, and explained gently, "Julia, Lily isn't doing well right now. I thought I'd move you to her room so I can take care of both of you more easily."

I looked at their interlocked fingers and gave a bitter smile.

I had always known that Steven had a first love, one he could never have. She had married someone abroad.

When I heard she had returned, I did feel a little shaken. But Steven had treated me well all these years.

Everyone around us knew him as the perfect husband.

Steven pushed me closer to Lily. I looked at her bald head and thought of the first time I met her. Back then, she had just been diagnosed with brain cancer, and the doctors had predicted she only had a month left to live.

She sat in a wheelchair In the hospital corridor. Her head was bare, and her face was drained of blood. She seemed fragile and pitiful.

The moment Steven saw her, his eyes filled with tears. He held her tightly and called her name with deep sorrow. "Lily."

I couldn’t quite describe what I felt at that moment. Maybe it was a little bit of jealousy. I was jealous that she had earned Steven’s pity.

But my innate kindness kept me from saying anything.

After all, in the face of life and death, it wasn’t a big deal.

Why should I resent someone who was already dying?

“Mrs. Reed." Lily's voice was as soft as a whisper. It trembled slightly. "You're so lucky. You have a healthy body, beautiful hair, and soon a child."

Her voice choked on the word ‘child,' and her eyes welled with tears.

Instinctively, I placed a hand on my stomach. I was pregnant with the child Steven and I had created together. It was the most precious gift of my life.

"I once had a child too," Lily murmured, her voice sinking into a painful memory. "But he never made it into this world."

Her voice grew weaker and weaker until it faded into silent sobs.

Watching her suffer, I felt a surge of sympathy.

But every time Steven visited her, she would bring up these same words again and again.

And every time, Steven would be tormented by them. He was nearly driven to madness.

“I feel so bad for Lily. She doesn’t have much time left. I just want to make her happy.

"So I was thinking maybe you could--"

He never finished his sentence, but I already understood.

I knew he had lost his mind for a moment, but I still rejected him directly. "Impossible!"

Steven didn’t say another word. He simply gripped the steering wheel tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

He didn’t speak to me for an entire day.

After much thought, I decided to offer Lily some comfort for the sake of the child in my belly. It was to earn him some good karma.

I shaved my head bald.

When Lily saw me again, her eyes lit up, and Steven finally smiled, feeling reassured.

What about me? Was I happy?

I supposed I should be.

Steven’s words still echoed in my ears. "She’s already dying. Why do you even bother to compete with her?"

Now, I felt like nothing more than a pathetic joke, serving only to highlight the deep love between the two of them.

After moving into the same hospital ward as Lily, it suddenly felt like I was the third wheel.

Steven took meticulous care of Lily, while I was left to be looked after by the caretaker he hired.

The night-shift nurse glanced at Steven feeding Lily and couldn’t help but whisper to another nurse.

"Can you believe this guy? His wife is right here, yet he doesn’t even care. He’s always hovering around the other woman."

"Who knows? The world is messed up these days. You see all kinds of people," the other nurse scoffed.

Steven clearly overheard them. He sat down beside me and started peeling an apple.

Lowering his voice, he explained, "Julia, it’s only a month. Bear with it. Lily doesn’t have much time left. I just feel sorry for her."

I nodded to show I understood, but I felt bitter inside.

Five years of my life with Steven, all set aside for Lily’s one remaining month.

Nearby, Lily spoke in a soft, delicate voice. "I want to open the window and get some fresh air."

The caretaker quickly stopped her. "Miss Carter, Mrs. Reed just had a miscarriage. She can’t be exposed to the breeze. If you’re feeling stuffy, I can alter the air conditioning for you instead."

Lily’s expression turned pitiful as she looked at Steven with tear-filled eyes. "Steven, I just want to feel the natural breeze."

Steven’s heart ached for her. Without hesitation, he opened the window.

At once, a gust of cold wind rushed in. I wrapped the thin blanket around me even more tightly, but the chill still seeped into my bones.

A dull pain spread through my lower abdomen, and my heart felt like it had plunged into an icy abyss.

Meanwhile, Lily closed her eyes in satisfaction, took a deep breath, and smiled contentedly. "It feels so good. I can feel nature."

The caretaker sighed and tucked a hot water bottle into my hands. But my hands and feet remained ice-cold the entire night.

I drifted in and out of sleep, my consciousness muddled, as fragments of conversation echoed in my ears.

“Steven, thank you. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart.” Lily’s voice was weak, yet there was a faint sense of triumph.

"What are you thanking me for?" Steven's voice was gentle. It was as if he was coaxing a child.

"I just casually mentioned that I wanted Julia to be like me, and you actually made it happen. She lost her child, and now she’s in a wheelchair, just like me."

"Lily, don’t say things like that. I’d do anything for you," Steven said, his voice firm and full of emotion.

Lily fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking again. "Steven, I’ve missed out on so many years with you. Actually, I want to marry you."

The hospital room fell into a long silence. My heart clenched.

“Lily." Steven's voice was filled with hesitation and struggle. "Julia just lost our child. I can’t bring myself to say it."

I let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, I found it all incredibly ridiculous.

What I didn’t expect was that Lily would ask me for a divorce herself.

Lily looked at me, her gaze complex. It was a look of pleading, apologetic, yet with a trace of undeniable satisfaction.

"Julia, I know I’ve wronged you, but this is my last wish. Can you grant it?"

I looked at her frail, pathetic figure, and whatever pity I had left for her vanished completely.

She used her weakness as a weapon. She took my child from me, had my leg broken, and now wanted to take my husband too.

My throat clenched as if something was blocking it. I couldn’t make a sound.

Steven held my hand. His hand was cold.

"Julia, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s not in her right mind."

I stared at Steven and said firmly, "I refuse."

Lily’s eyes widened in shock. She was filled with disbelief and despair.

The next second, blood gushed from her mouth, staining the pristine white bedsheets.

Steven completely panicked. He held her tightly, screaming for the doctor at the top of his lungs.

My vision blurred, and a ringing filled my ears.

Lily's condition rapidly deteriorated, and she was rushed to the emergency room.

A sharp pain tore through my lower abdomen. I clutched my stomach, and my face turned ashen.

But before I could react, my mother-in-law stormed into the room and ripped my blanket away.

“Julia, how could you be so heartless? Lily is on the verge of death, and you still refused to grant her final wish! Now look, she’s throwing up blood because of you! Are you satisfied now?"