But now, the unbearable scene in front of me mercilessly shattered all my beautiful illusions.

How could he do this to the child growing inside of me?

"Ms. Renwick? Why aren't you going in?" a colleague greeted me.

I smiled and responded, "I was doing rounds, but my leg cramped up just now, so I got delayed."

"That's no good. You're on your feet all day. You should get some rest."

At that moment, the room suddenly fell silent.

A moment later, Carter yanked the door open, looking disheveled. "Kaia? You're doing rounds today? I was changing the dressing for Clara just now."

He glanced at me with guilt written all over his face. He even tried to position himself in the doorway to block my view of the mess inside.

However, I had already seen everything.

A hint of panic flashed across Carter's face when he met my reddened and tear-stained eyes. "Kaia…"

"It's nothing. I twisted my ankle, that's all." I turned and wiped away my tears. "I guess there's no need for me to be here since you've already taken care of Ms. Whitmore's dressing.

"I'm returning to the nurse station." I instinctively reached down and touched my belly as I walked away.

I felt deeply sorry for my baby, but I couldn't tolerate that Carter's heart belonged to someone else.

I sent a message to my father. "Dad, I've had enough of Halden City. I want to come home."

He replied quickly with a simple response and said he would pick me up in three days.

That would be enough time to wrap things up before I leave.

Carter hurried after me when he observed my silence. He sweetly called my name as he followed closely behind, "Kaia, are you mad at me? Clara pressed the call button. I had no choice but to go over. There's truly nothing going on between us…"

I gave him a bitter smile and shook my head.

I had decided to go home. A simple divorce agreement was all it took to handle whatever was going on between him and Clara.

Carter let out a sigh of relief after seeing my calm expression. He beamed as he scooped me up and gently sat me down on a bench.

Then, he glanced around to make sure no one was around before carefully taking off my shoes and massaging my feet. "Darling, is our little one causing trouble in there and causing your leg to cramp? Let's go home so that you can focus on your pregnancy after Clara's discharged this week.

"What do you say?"

His words sounded sweet and thoughtful, yet Clara's name was woven into every sentence.

I might have been fooled by him again if I hadn't witnessed the truth with my own eyes.

Maybe he had looked after me so well when I first arrived in Halden City that I came to rely on him. But upon thinking back now, his heart had long since drifted elsewhere.

He had shown up exhausted yet triumphant on my birthday, proudly telling me that he had waited in line forever to get me a mango cake.

He still seemed to have no idea I was allergic to mangoes after all our years together.

He also clearly had no idea that Clara had posted on her social media, saying that she couldn't eat the cake her man had bought, so she told him to take it home and feed it to the dog.

I thought it was just a coincidence back then. But I realized that the cracks were everywhere when I looked back now.

He told me it was just a multi-car pileup, even when Clara was hospitalized after a car accident. Yet, his leg was somehow mysteriously injured that same day. His clothes were torn and ragged as well.

There was no news of any multi-car accidents, but there was a story about a couple crashing into the car ahead of them because they were getting flirty in theirs.

I let out a bitter laugh and glanced down at the man who was now massaging my feet so attentively.

It turned out that it was possible to love two women at once.

Just then, Carter's phone rang.

He looked confused and picked it up without realizing he had accidentally hit the speaker.

A sweet and delicate voice came through, "Hubby, what should I do? I'm bleeding…"

Carter scrambled to end the call and instinctively gauged my reaction.

Upon seeing that I was unfazed, he cautiously explained, "She's a psychiatric patient. She keeps mistaking me for her husband. Let me go and check on her."

I gave him a silent nod of approval. Then, Carter stood up, intending to kiss my cheek when he saw how considerate I was being.

But I turned away.

He frowned slightly.

I felt disgusted and casually explained, "There are surveillance cameras here. Didn't you say you didn't want people to know about us?"

In response, Carter simply smiled and gave me an understanding nod before leaving.

However, he hadn't been gone for long before I received a flurry of messages on my phone.

They were from Clara.

One suggestive photo after another was sent straight to my phone.

I flipped through them with a numb heart until I reached the last one—it was a pregnancy report.

It turned out that Clara had already been pregnant for four weeks.

But it didn't matter.

She could keep her baby. I was leaving anyway.

I handed my resignation letter to the matron while Carter was with Clara.

The matron was the only one who knew about my relationship with Carter. She was slightly puzzled and asked, "Does Dr. Vance know?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."

She looked a little conflicted but still approved my resignation. "You're quite far along. It's best if you go home and rest."

I simply thanked her and left without another word.

I had scheduled an abortion at another hospital and would be leaving the city the day after tomorrow.

Until then, I only wanted to focus on finishing my work and handling the handover. Nothing else mattered.

Just as I thought I had everything in order, Carter started frantically calling out for me from the emergency room

I rushed over only to see Clara bleeding from the nose.

Another woman beside her was also bleeding.

"Kaia, hurry up and help stop the bleeding. And while you're at it, draw blood from both of them for testing."

I was confused. Why was Clara suddenly bleeding?

Suddenly, Clara stood up and shoved me hard just as I grabbed the syringe and reached for her hand.

Caught off guard, I fell to the ground.

Carter rushed toward me and intended to take my hand. However, he was distracted by Clara's scream.

Thankfully, I managed to protect my belly in time, and it was only my hand that had gotten slightly scraped.

"It's fine. You draw the blood from the other one. I'll handle Clara," Carter said.

I silently nodded without taking it personally and quietly drew the other woman's blood.

…

Later that afternoon, Carter burst into the room with a pale face. He then dropped to his knees before me, saying, "Darling, it's my fault. It's all my fault."

I heard his following words before I could even process what he was doing. "The patient you drew blood from this morning tested positive for HIV."

My ears buzzed for a moment.

Just then, Clara came in sobbing and sniffling. "I'm sorry, Kaia. I didn't know you and Carter were married. I was just too scared when I suddenly started bleeding. I was too nervous, and I accidentally pushed you."

Her loud sobs drew the attention of the onlookers nearby.

Carter was embarrassed as he hurried to his feet in panic. "It's not your fault. It was just a medical accident. Go back to your ward."

"It was my fault. It was all my fault. I'm sorry, Kaia. I remember you scraped your hand and were in contact with the patient's blood. You should take PEP right away…"

Carter ushered Clara out of the nurse station and looked back at me in concern.

My eyes were reddened.

I had clearly seen Clara's smug little smile before she'd walked out the door. She knew that the patient was HIV positive. She had planned all of this.

"Kaia, don't be scared. It's only been a few hours. The chances of successful prevention are still high if we take PEP on time."

"There's nothing else we can do now, is there?" I simply said.

Tears welled up in Carter's eyes as he knelt to the ground, swearing that he would give up years of his life if it meant keeping me and the baby safe.

I sneered. He seemed to have lost his mind.

Could I even get to keep the baby after taking the medication?

Carter clung to me like a shadow from that moment on. He never left my side as we waited for the test results.

Clara had come by a few times, but Carter chased her out every time.

I looked at his earnest face.

I thought I wouldn't feel the pain anymore once I made up my mind to leave. However, my heart still ached involuntarily when I saw him like this.

Unfortunately, the man who had once loved me was long gone. The person before me right now was simply putting on an act.

It didn't take long for the test results to come out.

Carter held me tightly and was overjoyed when he announced that I had successfully tested negative.

A wave of relief and excitement washed over me—I could finally leave soon.

Suddenly, Carter pulled me out in front of everyone on my last night before leaving. He was acting all mysterious too.

I was confused.

Then, he knelt on one knee, wanting to declare our relationship publicly.

At that moment, the woman who had a nosebleed a few days ago stormed up to us just as he pulled out a ring. She said, "It was you! You were the nurse! My HIV status got exposed because of you. People are now talking behind my back and avoiding me like the plague!"

A commotion instantly broke out around us.

I saw Carter rush toward me without hesitation, wanting to confront the woman when she'd charged at me with a knife.

However, out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Clara falling to the ground.

Immediately, he rushed over to her without a second thought and left me behind.

With that, the woman's cold blade stabbed into my lower abdomen over and over again, and I could taste the blood in my mouth.

I saw Carter hold Clara anxiously in his arms before I lost consciousness. He was asking if she was hurt and if the baby was okay.

It turned out that he never cared about the baby inside me at all.

Well, now I didn't have to sneak off to another hospital to have the abortion behind his back anymore.

Heaven spared me, and I was glad that I survived.

…

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see Clara sitting by my side. Meanwhile, behind her stood a man I didn't recognize.

"What a miracle. I can't believe you're still alive after all that." Her face no longer held its usual sweetness and innocence. Instead, it was darkened by cruelty and malice.

I glanced at the clock.

Dad should be arriving to pick me up soon. I should probably remind him to bring a stretcher.

"You don't seriously think Carter still loves you, do you? You're an orphan. What right do you have to stay by his side? Besides, you've lost your only leverage—your child," she smugly said before waving her hand to gesture for the strange man to come forward.

I was startled. "What are you trying to do?" I instinctively tried to sit up and press the call button, but the sudden movement sent a sharp and searing pain through my body.

"Don't tell me you're still thinking of calling Carter. He's off getting my pregnancy report. He won't be back anytime soon," Clara said.

The man slowly approached me as I struggled with all my strength, but Clara stepped forward to pin me down. "You shameless woman, stealing what's mine. I'm going to ruin you for good today!"

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Carter rushed back breathlessly as soon as he heard that I had woken up.

He stared in shock at the scene before him.

Clara then threw herself to the ground and tore at her clothes at the sight of him while the strange man leapt out of the window.

"Carter, Kaia… I tried to stop the man, but he turned to me instead…" She cried uncontrollably.

Carter looked over at me in disbelief.

I turned my head away without explaining. It was nearly impossible to change someone's mind once they believed their version of the truth anyway.

He shoved Clara aside. Then, he grabbed my face and shouted, "Tell me if this is true. Are you that desperate? You still called for another man even in this state?"

I slapped him hard across his face.

Carter stared at me in disbelief, his expression twisting in fury as he raised his hand.

Suddenly, a commanding voice rang out just as the slap was about to land, "Let me see who dares lay a hand on her!"