After returning from abroad, my husband, who had always treated me with indifference, suddenly asked me to stay with him for three days and three nights.

A month after that, I found out I was pregnant with his child.

I stumbled in excitement, barely able to contain my joy.

However, without even running any medical tests, my husband insisted there was something wrong with the baby and said it had to be aborted.

I begged him to wait and said, "Let’s wait until the baby grows a little more before doing another checkup. This is your child, so please don’t just abort him like this."

He pushed me into the operating room without hesitation. "How can we keep an unhealthy child?" he snapped. "Do you want the baby to suffer his whole life?"

Just as the anesthetic was being injected, I heard the doctor whisper in confusion, "There’s clearly nothing wrong with the baby. Why do you want to abort it?"

"Clarissa was assaulted and discovered she was pregnant while filming overseas. The media has been watching her for a long time, just waiting for a scandal to break. She’s already on antidepressants and just yesterday, she nearly tried to jump off a building. I feel terrible for her."

"You mean... you want to pin this on your wife?"

"They look very similar and they’ve both been to the same country. It should be enough to fool everyone."

The doctor was shocked. "So you're letting your wife take the fall?"

He was silent for a long time before speaking. "I know this is unfair to her... I’ll make it up to her in the future."

I felt everything inside me crumble.

When I woke up, I immediately dialed a number. "I admit my defeat. So, I promise you, I’ll marry your son."

——

"I told you a long time ago that he was never the one who truly loved you."

"Why did you have to throw yourself into the fire and burn yourself to pieces before you believed it?"

The voice on the other end hit me like a slap. It turned out that what had always been so clear to everyone else… I was the only one who could not see it.

I had been married to him for five years. For five years, he treated me like I did not matter.

Then, one day, out of nowhere, he suddenly wanted me desperately. I thought for a brief moment that maybe he had finally accepted me.

When I found out I was pregnant a month later, I broke down in tears.

I finally had his child.

Would he love me more now?

I could not wait to tell him the news, my heart full of hope, but all I got in return was his cold, heartless reply. "Abort it."

I froze as if struck by lightning. "Why?"

"You fell a few days ago. It could’ve affected the baby."

Yes, but I only twisted my ankle. It was not serious.

However, he would not listen and insisted the baby was no longer healthy and must be aborted.

I begged him with all I had left, "Please, let's just wait a little longer. Let’s check again when the baby’s a bit older. Don’t do this now."

This was the child I had prayed for so long.

"Please…"

There was a flash of pity in his eyes, but even so, he still resolutely pushed me into the operating room for the abortion.

I wanted to resist, to struggle, but in the next moment, the anesthetic had already begun to take effect.

In a haze, half-awake, I vaguely heard the doctor say, "There’s clearly nothing wrong with the baby. Why do you want to abort it?"

"Clarissa was assaulted and discovered she was pregnant while filming overseas. The media has been watching her for a long time, just waiting for a scandal to break. She’s already on antidepressants and just yesterday, she nearly tried to jump off a building. I feel terrible for her."

"You mean... you want to pin this on your wife?"

"They look very similar and they’ve both been to the same country. It should be enough to fool everyone."

The doctor was shocked. "So you're letting your wife take the fall?"

He was silent for a long time before speaking. "I know this is unfair to her... I’ll make it up to her in the future."

The moment I heard the truth, my heart shattered completely.

So this was the reason he had wanted me so desperately that day. He was never thinking of me. It was all just part of a plan for the woman he truly loved.

After the forced abortion, even though I did not die, it felt like I had lost half of my life.

I felt lightheaded and even taking just a few steps made me feel exhausted.

The doctor encouraged me to walk more. "Only when your body recovers will you be able to get pregnant again."

I asked the doctor, "Can I still get pregnant?"

The doctor could not meet my eyes.

Although I was under anesthesia at the time, I could still clearly remember hearing the doctor calling Elias in a panic, urgently telling him that I was bleeding heavily. "The situation is critical. Come over immediately."

But Elias told the doctor that he could not leave. "Clarissa still needs me. If I leave, she’ll completely fall apart."

The doctor had no choice and told him I needed a blood transfusion.

And the only one with a matching blood type was his beloved, Clarissa Marlowe.

"Just 200cc will be enough…"

But before the doctor could finish, Elias interrupted, "She just had a miscarriage herself. Her body is too weak to handle it."

Even though he could clearly hear the monitor beeping, alerting him that my heart rate was dropping, he still hesitated for a moment and said, "Clarissa won’t be able to endure the process."

In the end, I was forced to undergo a complete hysterectomy to get my uterus removed.

From that moment on, I lost the very right to be a mother.

The doctor sighed and advised me gently to take things more lightly, "You have another checkup today. Go on, hurry up."

He led me away.

I followed him in a daze.

Just as we passed the next room, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

I turned my head abruptly and saw Elias softly feeding his precious one water and medicine.

His eyes were full of endless affection.

I think after I came out of the operating room, he never showed up, using the excuse that he was too busy. When he finally came, he just took a quick look and then left.

Yet, he had plenty of time to be by her side.

My heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand. It hurt so much I could hardly breathe.

Elias hugged her gently and said tenderly, "I’ve already handled the media. That issue will never trouble you again."

The next moment, a news alert popped up on my phone. It reported that I had been assaulted abroad, became pregnant and was now secretly getting an abortion at the hospital.

As I scrolled down, there was a photo of me being wheeled out of the operating room.

There was even a document showing the surgical details of a uterine curettage.

Everyone began to curse me and spit on me.

More extreme fans rushed into the hospital and beat me up.

They believed I was the one who destroyed the childhood sweetheart romance between Elias and Clarissa. "That’s why you got raped!"

"If you hadn’t stolen their love, they would’ve been together long ago!"

"Even God couldn’t stand it anymore, so He punished you with this disaster!"

***

I was surrounded by people who cursed and condemned me.

But I was wronged at that time.

That day, the fire alarm in the hotel went off. I rushed out, wrapped in nothing but a bath towel and happened to bump into Elias Hawke, who was sitting directly across from me.

The bath towel fell into his arms and given the angle of the hallway, the scene looked compromising.

This moment was captured by a paparazzo and quickly spread all over the internet.

Rumors ran wild.

They called me a scheming woman who offered her cheap self willingly.

There were also reports claiming Elias had betrayed his childhood sweetheart of more than ten years and had an affair with me.

People said all kinds of vile things.

As a result, the Hawke Group's stock prices took a sharp hit.

To control the damage, the Hawke family forced Elias to marry me, which finally ended the scandal.

However, Elias hated me so much that on our wedding day, he cursed me for being shameless. "You really used every trick in the book just to marry me. You’re such a disgusting woman."

"Even if you married me, I won’t let things go your way. I’ll make you feel like an unwanted widow for the rest of your life."

On the wedding day, he left me to find Clarissa Marlowe and even sent me a photo of the two of them kissing in a hotel.

Suddenly, I became the laughingstock of the whole town.

Even now, nothing has changed.

Clarissa’s fans kept harassing me.

During the scuffle, I was pushed into a corner and hit the edge of a table, bleeding profusely.

Elias clearly witnessed the entire scene. He saw my embarrassment and helplessness, but he only frowned slightly before helping Clarissa leave.

He left me behind to be overwhelmed by crazed fans.

At that moment, I was utterly heartbroken.

I called someone and said, "You’re right. I lost the bet, so it’s up to you now."

"Then marry my son."

I responded numbly, "Okay."

"All right, I’ll have that kid come over right away."

Not long after, my hospital room was filled with flowers and all kinds of supplements.

There was even an entire medical team.

And my future husband, whom I had never met even once.

When he saw the injury on my forehead, he rushed forward and carefully bandaged it for me.

He also told me not to let it touch water for the next few days. "Otherwise the wound will get inflamed."

I asked the man, "Why are you here?"

He smiled and said, "You’re my future wife. Of course it’s my duty to take care of you."

Compared to the fact that Elias never showed up, his words made me realize just how foolish I had been.

"I know you’re not in the best mood right now, so I brought this for you."

He handed me a giant stuffed animal.

I was stunned before questioning him once again, "Why are you giving me this?"

He smiled and said, "Well, if a person really wants to know, then there is so many ways to find out."

He personally inspected my room and pointed out that those flowers were not suitable for a hospital ward. "You’re allergic to pollen. Smelling them will only make you feel worse. It’s better to throw them away."

When I heard that, my nose suddenly felt sore for some reason.

Those flowers were from Elias.

I had told him a long time ago that I was allergic to pollen and could not stand the smell.

However, he still sent them anyway.

I did not think he forgot. He just simply never remembered anything I said.

"Do you think you want to… throw them away?"

I nodded and said, "I'll do it."

Just like the relationship between him and me. It was better to get rid of this completely.

So, I threw the flowers out.

Elias happened to walk in and saw the scene. He frowned unhappily and said, "Didn’t you say you were dying after the procedure? You look fine to me now. You even managed to gather so many people around you."

He looked up at my fiancé and asked, "Who’s he?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Liora Keane, is this who you are now? You think you can talk to me like this?"

He stepped forward and grabbed my hand. "When you married me, didn’t you say you’d do anything for me? Now I asked you to have an abortion and you’re acting like it cost you your life?"

Did he still think I only lost a child, nothing else?

I found out from the doctor that the reason I got pregnant with just one attempt was because he had secretly given me a large dose of ovulation-stimulating drugs in advance!

Even though the medication was harmful to the body and could make me infertile for life, he did not care at all!

"Aren’t you just fine now? I know what you’re about to say. I’ll keep the promise I made to you before."

He pulled out an agreement and told me that once I recovered, he would be willing to cooperate with me in having a baby.

"But if Clarissa gets jealous, the method will have to be artificial, IVF."

In the end, he said, "You love me so much. A few more injections for me won’t matter, right?"

Staring at the humiliating agreement, I could not hold back my tears.