Lisa's words made Michael's anger flare even more. He looked at me with a dark expression.

Seeing that I had no intention of changing my mind, he still kept his voice low as he said, "Sarah, I know you're upset right now, but we can't let all these people see our family become a laughingstock.

"Go back and calm down. I'll explain the situation to them, and Lisa will help complete the ceremony properly for you. Stop making a scene."

He sighed slightly, took my hand, and patted it. "Sarah, you're the woman I want to marry. We're definitely going to get married."

Lisa smoothly linked her arm through Michael's. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and there was a mocking glint in her eyes. They continued toasting and thanking the guests as if nothing had happened, as though what had just occurred was merely an insignificant little episode.

I looked around the venue, taking in the wedding scene I had carefully planned, then looked at the groom, who was supposed to join hands with me for life. I lowered my eyes, gently touched my stomach, then turned and left the hall.

My best friend Emma Hartwell spotted me in the hotel garden. Her steps halted abruptly, then she quickly walked to my side and asked, "Why are you out here? Do you need the wedding rings?"

Emma was busy running her own design studio and had a lot on her plate, so I asked her to keep our rings safe for me. She looked at me with worry written all over her face.

I shook my head. "There's no need to bring them. Just come back to my room with me."

On the way back to my room, I told her what had happened. After hearing everything, she turned red with anger and immediately wanted to storm back to the hall to give Michael a piece of her mind.

I stopped her. After all, we had been in love for five years. Even if we were breaking up, I didn't want things to get too ugly.

Emma looked at me with heartbreak in her eyes, cursing angrily, "When Michael proposed to you, he promised he would love and protect you for life and that you'd grow old together.

"But now? He's protecting someone else and letting you suffer instead. He's absolutely worthless!"

A dense, throbbing pain spread through my chest, making me feel so awful I couldn't speak. Five years ago, when my parents were still alive, Michael and I fell in love. Later, he took over the family business and became the company's leader.

He immediately proposed to me, saying, "Sarah, thank you for staying by my side during my difficult times. Will you marry me? I'll definitely give you the best life possible."

That night, I was filled with joy as we held each other tightly. But now, wearing my exquisite wedding dress with his child in my belly, I could only leave our wedding venue on our wedding day. All the while, I carried a heart full of regret.

The sweet, warm memories of our time together kept surfacing in my mind, making my heart ache terribly. But no matter what, I knew in my heart that he and I could never go back to how things used to be.

Tomorrow, I planned to go to the hospital to terminate this pregnancy.

That night, I lay quietly in bed, feeling the faint movements in my belly. I was trying to fall asleep so I could treasure this last night with my child. In my half-asleep state, my slightly swollen legs suddenly felt relieved, as if someone was massaging them.

I struggled to open my drowsy eyes. That's when I saw Michael. He smelled of alcohol, and he was kneeling beside the bed, gently massaging my legs just like he used to.

Seeing that I was awake, he stood up and moved in front of me. He brushed the stray hair from my face and leaned close to my ear to apologize. "Sarah, I'm sorry.

"It's all my fault. I didn't make sure someone watched Danny properly at our wedding today, and that caused such chaos. To prevent those wealthy guests at our wedding from seeing our family become a laughingstock, I even let Lisa complete the ceremony in your place to cover things up.

"I know what I did was wrong... I'm sorry."

Michael continued, "I also know you were really looking forward to this wedding and put so much energy and effort into making it perfect. Don't be too heartbroken. I'll make it up to you with an even grander wedding later, okay?"

I remained silent, and my face was expressionless. He seemed very panicked.

"Are you still angry about Lisa? But she's my sister-in-law after all. Before my brother died, he asked me to take care of his widow and child. As his older brother, I can't just abandon them, can I?

"Sarah, you're still pregnant. Don't get too worked up, or it might affect our child, okay?"

Whether he genuinely wanted to care for his sister-in-law for his brother's sake, or if he wanted to care for his sister-in-law and her child for his own reasons, I no longer wanted to know.

His priorities were crystal clear. What the truth was no longer mattered to me.

The corners of my mouth turned up slightly in a bitter smile. "You actually remember that we're having a child."

"Why would you say that? How could I forget about you and the baby?"

He pulled an intricately designed gemstone bracelet from his pocket and gently placed it in my palm.

"Look, I had this bracelet specially designed earlier. I rushed to pick it up right after the wedding ceremony ended. The small gemstone in the middle is for our child, and the two separate ones on the outside belong to each of us.

"This bracelet represents our family of three. Do you like it? Sarah, you and our child are what I care about most in this life."

He had always been good at cheering people up, and he was indeed very thoughtful about the child.

He specially hired a doctor to give me prenatal checkups, asked about my condition every day when he came home, and spent a lot of money hiring a chef to make nutritious meals for me. Aside from not having time to accompany me during most of my pregnancy, he did everything else perfectly.

I was aware of the care he showed me, but I could feel even more clearly that his concern for his sister-in-law far exceeded his concern for me.

I remained calm as I asked, "What do you think about the breakup?"

Michael's expression darkened immediately. "Why are you still bringing this up? I already explained everything and gave you a gift to apologize. Can't you stop being upset with me over such a small matter?"

I gave a noncommittal hum. Seeing that I wasn't swayed, his voice grew increasingly angry.

"Sarah Mitchell, I've been good enough to you. Stop testing my patience. Besides, you're pregnant right now. Who else could you marry if you break up with me?

"Even if you don't care about yourself, you should think about the child. Do you want our baby to be born without a father?"

Just as he finished speaking, urgent knocking came from outside the room.

Michael told whoever it was to come in, and the family's housekeeper hurried in, whispering in his ear, "Mr. Thompson, Ms. Jenner says Danny isn't feeling well. Could you go check on him?"

Michael immediately looked at me, knowing I had heard what the housekeeper said. He explained with some urgency in his voice, "Danny has always been frail. He got scolded harshly by Lisa today because of what happened at the wedding.

"I need to go check on him in case something's wrong. I'll let you calm down first."

After saying this, he hurriedly turned and left quickly. He did not spare me a second glance. Perhaps he was afraid I'd bring up the breakup again, or maybe he was genuinely worried about his nephew's condition.

After Michael left, I couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up to start packing my luggage. Before I could begin, I received a message.

It was from Lisa.

"Even though you're going to marry Michael, I'm still the one he cares about most, along with Danny."

"Sarah, guess who Michael will love more once your child is born? Him or Danny?"

I finished reading the message and gripped my phone tightly in my palm. After a moment of silence, I took a screenshot of this message and sent it to Michael.

The next day, I went to the hospital for an abortion. From discovering the child's existence to the child completely leaving me, it had all happened over a span of two months.

This was the child I had eagerly anticipated, yet now I was personally giving him up. My face was pale as I left the hospital with the recovery medication the doctor prescribed.

At the entrance, I happened to run into Michael and Lisa bringing Danny to the hospital for a checkup. The two of them were acting intimately, laughing and chatting, with Danny leaning into Michael's embrace. The three of them looked like a warm, happy family.

Lisa spotted me first. Her lips curved upward in a mocking smile, then she suddenly pretended to panic and pulled her hand away from Michael's arm.

"Sarah..."

Lisa had barely begun to speak when Michael jumped like he'd been frightened. He stepped back to maintain distance from Lisa.

He explained, "Danny wasn't feeling well last night, so Lisa and I are bringing him for a checkup today. Don't read too much into it."

I glanced at Danny, who had a rosy complexion and even glared at me fiercely when he noticed me looking at him. He didn't look unwell at all.

I had thought that seeing that screenshot would help Michael see Lisa's true nature, but it seemed like whether he saw it or not made no difference.

"You're so thoughtful. Not only are you accompanying your sister-in-law and nephew for their checkups, but you're personally running around to get medicine for Danny. You're more attentive to him than you would be to your own biological child. What a good uncle."

Lisa quickly pulled Danny toward me. She gripped my hand as she said, "Sarah, please don't overthink this. Michael only takes such good care of us because he pities us."

She pushed Danny in front of me. "Danny was at fault for ruining your wedding yesterday. Danny, hurry up and apologize to your Aunt Sarah!"

Danny glared at me and shouted, "I won't apologize! You're the bad woman trying to steal my daddy!"

Before I could say anything, Lisa suddenly reached out and pinched Danny's arm. He immediately fell to the ground and started wailing.

"Danny!"

Lisa cried out in alarm, quickly scooping up Danny and looking at me with tears as she said, "Sarah, I know you're angry, but Danny's just a child. How could you pinch him?"

Michael's expression also changed drastically as he roughly pushed me aside and carefully picked up Danny.

When he saw the red, swollen pinch marks on Danny's arm, he angrily demanded, "Sarah, I can overlook you taking your anger out on me, but Danny's so young. How could you lay a hand on him?"

Lisa cried pitifully, choking back sobs as she defended me, "Michael, don't be angry at Sarah. It's Danny's and my fault. We made Sarah dislike us. We're the ones in the wrong."

This wasn't an explanation at all. She was clearly adding fuel to the fire.

Hearing her words, Michael became even angrier and yelled at me, "Sarah, apologize to Lisa and Danny!"

"I didn't pinch Danny. Lisa did it."

Michael had just pushed me forcefully. I hadn't reacted in time and nearly fell to the ground.

I steadied myself, covering my aching stomach with one hand. My face was pale as I explained, "I never even went near Danny. This whole thing was part of Lisa's performance. Why should I apologize?"