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?"

Michael was instantly furious. "So you're saying she hurt her own child to frame you? You're a mother too. Would you do something like that?"

I looked at him, hurling harsh words at me because of another woman, and remained silent for a long time before speaking.

"I already brought up breaking up last night. What right do you have to boss me around?"

Michael frowned, the anger in his eyes burning even fiercer than before.

"Sarah Mitchell! You're in the wrong here. I didn't do anything wrong, so why should we break up? You're going to handle everything for Lisa and Danny at the hospital today!

"If you don't handle it well... I remember your friend Emma runs a studio, right? I'm sure you wouldn't want to see all her hard work go to waste."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you threatening me?"

His voice was low as he replied, "Sarah, it's come to this because you forced my hand. Besides, after your parents died, I've been the one taking care of you.

"I've invested so much time and energy into you. As long as I don't agree to break up, you can forget about leaving!"

My heart felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer. It was shattered into pieces. Back then, he was the one who worried it wasn't safe for me to live alone and persuaded me to move in with him.

Now, just because he had taken care of me for three years, I no longer even had the right to break up with him. Not only that, but I was expected to swallow my pride and take care of his precious sister-in-law and nephew.

This was complete and utter humiliation.

I clenched my fists, letting my nails dig into my palms. Under Michael's watchful gaze, I forced a mocking smile and said, "Fine."

Lisa shot me a smug glance, then put on a fragile act as she said, "Sarah is still pregnant and needs to rest and recover. Having her handle all these things for us might be too exhausting for her."

Michael chimed in, "It's fine. The baby in her belly is healthy. A little hard work won't hurt."

Not only did Danny need checkups, but Lisa needed a physical exam too, and various medications were prescribed. Michael dumped all of these tasks on me.

Having just had a procedure done this morning, my body was already weak, and now with all this constant walking around, my stomach ached with a heavy, sinking feeling. Sharp pain spread throughout my entire body.

By evening, I had finally finished handling everything. I shoved the prescribed medications into Michael's arms and leaned against the hospital room door. My face was deathly pale.

Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm, "Oh my God! Look, she's bleeding!"

Everyone present immediately turned to look at me. I felt confused, only sensing a warm stream between my thighs. When I looked down, I saw blood streaming down my legs onto the floor.

It was post-abortion hemorrhaging!

Before I could react, intense pain swept through my entire body, followed by dizziness. I collapsed.

James Langford, the doctor who had performed my surgery earlier, was called over. Seeing my condition, he angrily accused, "Are you her husband? Do you realize the patient just had an abortion procedure this morning? Her body is still very weak and absolutely cannot handle physical strain!"