The musty scent of dust filled my lungs, making me cough violently.

Slowly pushing myself up from the floor, I carefully ran my fingers over the belongings in my arms.

The watch still retained a trace of warmth from the fire.

Half of the diary had already been reduced to ashes, and one side of the watch face had been burned black.

Beside them were several old pieces of clothing, shriveled and twisted from the flames.

Tears slipped silently down my cheeks as the dull ache on my face left me utterly exhausted.

Alaric hadn't always been like this. In the past, he was really gentle.

If I mentioned craving pastries from a bakery on the outskirts of the city, he would drive for two hours through the rain in the middle of the night just to buy them for me.

If one of his friends mocked me, he would immediately turn against that person and even use his influence to make that friend's company suffer.

I once believed I was the happiest woman in the world.

But after Delilah appeared, everything changed.

He would leave home in the middle of the night because of a single phone call from her.

He would abandon me on my birthday.

He would leave me to attend prenatal checkups alone.

For her, he had forgotten everything about Jamie.

About the pitiful first child we had lost.

How ridiculous.

Now, he couldn't even remember who that name had belonged to.

...

For the next six days, I was almost completely cut off from the outside world.

Each day, I survived on a few slices of stale bread that the maids casually tossed to me.

Along with a small amount of water placed in a dog's water bowl.

"Young Mistress said that's all you deserve."

Now, every maid in the mansion had begun calling Delilah "Young Mistress," while I was nothing more than an unwanted outsider.

My stomach cramped relentlessly from hunger, but I had no choice except to pick up the bowl and drink.

I was pregnant.

I had to eat and drink properly.

I couldn't allow my body to deteriorate.

The more Delilah wanted to destroy me, the more determined I became to protect my baby.

On the seventh day.

As I lay weakly on the floor, the sound of a key sliding into the lock echoed through the room.

A thin beam of light spilled in from outside. The sharp click of high heels followed, accompanied by a malicious female voice.

"Oh, how pitiful, Estelle. Once a respected obstetrician, and now you're no different from a dog."

"Actually, maybe you're even worse off than a dog. At least stray dogs are free to roam the streets."

Exhausted, I slowly lifted my head.

Delilah stood against the light, a baby cradled in her arms. Step by step, she approached me, her voice bright and piercing.

"How does it feel to be abandoned, and no one cares whether you live or die?"

"In the end, I'm still the one who came to visit you. Aren't you touched?"

Looking at the smug expression on her face, I forced myself to sit up. But after days of hunger, my body had long since run out of strength.

A wave of dizziness hit me without warning. The world spun, and darkness clouded my vision.

"Get out."

"I don't want to see you."

Faced with my feeble resistance, Delilah merely let out a mocking laugh.

"I came to set you free. If you're not grateful, fine. Why are you so angry?"

"What do you want?"

I asked through gritted teeth.

I stared at Delilah warily, every nerve in my body on high alert. But she merely shrugged.

"Nothing, hmmm...."

She smacked her lips lightly.

"I was just thinking... if my son becomes Alaric's only child, then no one will be able to fight him for the inheritance in the future, right?"

A chill shot down my spine.

Instinctively, I wrapped both arms around my stomach as Delilah's gaze slowly dropped to my abdomen.

Panic surged through me as I staggered backward. My heart pounded so violently it felt as though it would burst out of my chest.

My baby.

The only thing I had left in this world.

The only relative I had left.

"You can't hurt my son."

The smile on Delilah's lips deepened. Calmly, she let out a whistle.

Two large maids stepped into the room. Their faces were unfamiliar to me, I had never seen them.

"Help me get rid of the bastard growing inside that bitch."

Delilah's voice was icy, as though it had risen straight from hell itself.

My heartbeat nearly stopped. Bracing myself against the floor, I forced myself upright and tried to flee with the last bit of strength I had left.

But one of the maids reacted faster.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked hard, as if she intended to tear my scalp off.

"Stay away from me!"

"Get the hell away from me!"

One maid swiftly pinned my arms behind my back while the other dragged me by the hair.

I was hauled out into the hallway like a slaughtered animal.

Alarm bells rang wildly inside my head. I struggled desperately, but it was useless.

In return, one of the maids slapped me twice across the face. The force was so brutal that my scalp went numb.

Pain exploded across my cheeks, making even breathing feel unbearable.

Several times, I tried to plant my feet and stop moving.

Each time, I was met with a vicious kick that nearly sent me crashing to the floor.

Step by step, I was dragged closer to the grand staircase.

My vision blurred. My body turned ice-cold.

The blood in my veins seemed to freeze.

"No..."

"I'm pregnant."

"If you do this, you're committing murder."

My voice trembled so violently that it came out hoarse and broken.

The moment I lifted my head, I met Delilah's gaze.

Holding the baby tightly in her arms, she looked down at me with undisguised amusement.

"Hurry up."

She urged them impatiently.

At that exact moment, the maids released me.

Then a tremendous force slammed into my back. My body instantly lost its balance.

I pitched forward as the world spun violently around me.

Instinctively, I wrapped both arms around my stomach. The next second, I tumbled down the staircase.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Each impact felt as though every bone in my body was being shattered and pieced back together again.

My screams echoed through the mansion, mingling with the sickening sounds of flesh and bone crashing against marble.

Blood streaked across the stairs.

A shocking, glaring red.

"Ah! Estelle, don't push me!"

Suddenly, Delilah's shrill scream rang out.

A figure appeared within my blurred vision.

The baby's cries echoed throughout the hallway, followed by a cold male voice.

“What is going on?”

The moment I saw Alaric, I immediately reached out toward him, stretching out my hand in a desperate plea for help.

“Please, save our baby..."

But he didn't even turn around.

Instead, he walked straight to Delilah and pulled her trembling body into his arms.

“Don’t cry, sweetie. I’m here. I’m always by your side.”

Gently helping Delilah, who was sitting collapsed on the floor, back to her feet, he carefully rubbed her back and asked what had happened.

The two maids from earlier had vanished without a trace.

Delilah's voice mingled with her sobs.

“I only wanted to bring our son to visit Estelle and see how she was doing. I never expected her to suddenly lose her mind, grab our son, and try to throw him down the stairs.”

“I rushed over to protect him, but Estelle suddenly fell and accused me of pushing her..."

No. That wasn't what happened.

I lifted my head, wanting to defend myself, but my strength had already been drained away. The pain made my vision blur and my head spin.

Using the last bit of strength I had left, I forced out a weak whisper.

“No... I didn't hurt Delilah's child.”

My voice was hoarse and strained, but I thought Alaric would understand.

After all these years together, he should know that I wasn't that kind of cruel person.

I was an obstetrician.

I would never harm a child.

Yet Alaric merely let out a mocking laugh, looking at me as though I were a bitter, repulsive shrew.

Holding Jamie in his arms, he gently comforted Delilah.

“It’s okay. I’ll take Jamie to the hospital for a checkup. And you too, that fall looked quite painful.”

“Alaric, wait...save me...”

“Please, save our baby...”

Sobbing through her tears, I reached desperately toward Alaric, terror consuming every part of me.

But he didn't even spare me a glance.

Carrying Jamie in his arms and holding Delilah's hand, he walked straight out.

I was left behind in a pool of blood, trapped in pain and panic.

As the sound of their footsteps gradually faded away, the last shred of hope within me died as well.

Tears streamed down my face as I lowered my gaze to the floor. I could feel my baby slipping away little by little, yet I no longer had the strength to hold on.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I couldn’t protect you...”

I whispered through broken sobs.

Because I had loved the wrong person, my son had to pay the price as well.

I didn't know how much time had passed before one of the maids who had always taken care of me discovered me and hurriedly rushed me to the hospital.

By the time I was wheeled into the emergency room, even breathing felt agonizing.

The doctor assigned to perform my surgery was Lily, a colleague at the hospital and someone I was fairly close to.

The moment she saw my condition, her voice trembled slightly.

“Estelle, you've miscarried. We need to perform a uterine evacuation procedure. Where is your husband?”

I heard myself murmur weakly.

“He's dead. Please perform the surgery.”

A husband who abandoned me in a moment of life and death was no different from a dead man.

Even then, I was still lucid enough to ask Lily to contact the maids after the surgery and have them send my belongings to the hospital.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lily's eyes, but she quickly composed herself, nodded in agreement, and began the procedure.

My consciousness gradually blurred, and before I knew it, I had slipped into darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, I found Alaric sitting beside the hospital bed.

“It was just an accident. Stop making a scene, and stop blaming Delilah.”

“You were the one who lost your mind and tried to hurt Jamie first.”

His voice was cold, colder than ice.

At that moment, my love for him died along with our baby.

I looked at him and felt only unfamiliarity.

Just as I had told Lily, the Alaric in my heart was truly dead.

The faithful man whose heart had once belonged only to me was gone.

I shouldn't keep clinging to someone who is already dead.

Not wanting to explain anything anymore, I merely nodded tiredly.

“Alright. You should go.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Alaric's face. He seemed about to say something when the door suddenly opened a crack.

Delilah poked her head inside, her voice choked with emotion.

“Alaric, I don't mean to interrupt, but Jamie won't stop crying..."

Alaric glanced at me only once before decisively rising to his feet.

“Take good care of yourself.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he was already gone, swift as the wind.

I stared up at the ceiling and let out a mocking laugh.

After losing our second child, the only thing he had to say to me was to take good care of myself.

He didn't ask if I was in pain, let alone offer a single word of comfort.

All this time, had I been loving a human being, or a heartless robot?

Wearily, I pushed myself up from the hospital bed, yanked the IV needle from the back of my hand, slipped into my slippers, and headed toward Mrs. Monroe's office.

After knocking twice, I heard her invite me in.

The moment she saw me, surprise flashed across her eyes. Then she gestured for me to sit and asked what had happened during the past few days when she had been able to reach me.

Calmly, I told her everything.

As she listened, her gaze gradually darkened with sympathy.

“I heard you just had a miscarriage. In that case, regarding The Dream program..."

She left the sentence unfinished, but I understood.

According to the original schedule, I was supposed to fly to the United States today and attend the first training session tomorrow.

I shook my head calmly and smiled faintly.

“It's alright, Mrs. Monroe. There's no need to postpone it.”

“The flight leaves in two hours. I'll still go as planned.”

Then, after a brief pause, I asked meaningfully,

“By the way, has anything arrived for me from the law office over the past few days?”

I had already sent the divorce papers to my lawyer.

Yesterday was supposed to be the day I received the divorce certificate.

However, because I had been locked inside the storage room, I had no way of contacting Lawyer Wang.

Hearing my question, Mrs. Monroe nodded and pulled a file folder from her desk drawer.

“Yes, Estelle.”

“You haven't been at the hospital these past few days, so I accepted it on your behalf.”

I thanked her quietly and accepted the folder with trembling hands.

When I opened it, two copies of the divorce certificate immediately came into view.

At long last, I let out a breath of relief. Holding onto one copy, I handed the other to Mrs. Monroe and sighed softly.

“Please help me deliver this to my ex-husband.”

“And send him my miscarriage report after I arrive in the United States.”

After a brief pause, I added,

“As for my trip to the United States, please don't tell him.”

Mrs. Monroe seemed to understand something at once. She merely nodded.

“Don't worry. You can leave it to me.”

Then she opened her desk drawer again and took out an envelope, handing it to me.

“Consider this a small token of my support. Once you're in the United States, make sure to take good care of yourself.”

I accepted it blankly and opened it in confusion.

Inside was a thick stack of cash, all one-hundred-dollar bills.

Startled, I immediately pushed the envelope back toward her.

“Mrs. Monroe, I can't accept this. It's too much.”

Panic filled my voice.

However, Mrs. Monroe simply pushed it back toward me and smiled kindly.

“Darling, take it.”

“A young woman living alone in a foreign country won't have an easy time.”

“Don't refuse, or I'll be upset.”

My eyes instantly reddened at her words.

Lowering my head, I took a deep breath to keep the tears from falling.

“Oh, darling, don't cry. Do your best, alright?”

“When you return from the program, I want to see a stronger and more outstanding version of you.”

Mrs. Monroe's gentle voice finally caused a hot tear to fall onto the back of my hand.

“Come on, darling.”

“Go pack your things and get ready.”

“Once you're in the United States, remember to take good care of yourself.”

Mrs. Monroe rose to her feet and gently pulled me into her embrace.

She waited until I had calmed down before softly reminding me to keep an eye on the time and get ready to head to the airport. Then she handed me my plane ticket.

Bowing deeply to her, I clutched the envelope and the divorce certificate tightly in my hands before returning to my room.

My belongings had already been delivered to the hospital by the maids.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my ID card, personal documents, and passport, then calmly picked up my suitcase and left the hospital.

The weather was bright, mild, and pleasant.

After hailing a taxi to the airport, I walked straight inside without looking back.

Once I had checked in and boarded the plane, I lifted my gaze toward the cabin door.

The sky outside had already turned dark. Yet my heart felt brighter than it ever had before.

As the plane slowly took off, the scenery beneath me gradually grew smaller and smaller.

And so did Alaric. Slowly, he faded from my heart as well.

Calmly, I pulled my phone from my handbag and snapped the SIM card in half.

From this moment onward, Alaric and I were nothing more than strangers.