Before leaving, I visited the orphanage to see the director, Ellen Norris, and the children there.

I only mentioned that I was leaving, without saying a word about Jake.

Yet, Ellen saw right through my facade and asked with concern, "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Her words caught me off guard, and I almost burst into tears.

In fact, I wanted to make a scene, but I was timid, as I grew up in an environment without support.

Moreover, if I fell out with Jake, he could withdraw his investment in the orphanage at any time.

I couldn't say anything.

Ellen gently patted the back of my hand and said, "Take care of yourself. If anything happens, you can come back as you want."

As soon as she finished, she looked behind me, and her smile vanished instantly. "What are you doing here?"

Freda entered in high heels. Her red lips were perfectly made up, and she was dressed head-to-toe in designer labels.

She said with disdain, "I just wanted to see how miserable you are."

I clenched my fists and stood up. "Get out. You're not welcome here."

"Molly, you haven't changed at all over these years. You are still a coward." She raised her eyebrows and continued, "I took your husband from you, and you don't even say anything."

"I've already given you my bone marrow. What more do you want?"

"So you do know the truth." She feigned surprise and tossed a document from her handbag. "But what can you do? My bone marrow is perfectly fine."

I was stunned as I picked up the medical report.

The results were clear that everything was fine.

"I told a casual lie, and Jake set up a trap for you for ten years. What do you have to compete with me?" She chuckled softly.

A chill ran through me, and my fingers turned pale from clenching them. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Freda's smile was venomous. "Because I hate you. Why did you meddle and save me back then? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to suffer so much here."

Her words reminded me of what had happened twenty years ago.

Freda's original family was a nightmare. Her mother worked at nightclubs and was seldom home. Her father was buried in debt and addicted to gambling. She grew up going hungry and getting beaten.

That day, she had been beaten so badly that she dragged her bleeding leg and fainted at the orphanage gate.

When I found her while cleaning the yard, I was scared and called Ellen. The latter brought her in.

Ellen took her to various doctors and managed to save her life.

I thought I had helped her, but I hadn't realized that I had pulled her into another hell.

Being fragile and marked by past trauma, she was soon ostracized by other children in the orphanage.

In fact, even in an orphanage, there would be bullying.

Although I tried my best to protect her, there were always times I couldn't.

Other children spat in her food, poured filth on her while she bathed, cut up her few clothes, framed her for theft, and even cornered her to break her hands...

She was taken away as an adult later, and I hadn't seen her since.

I never imagined that my act of kindness back then would lead to a decade-long revenge.

"I originally planned to let you die on the operating table, but you have such a tough life." Freda admired her freshly done nails and said, "Since you're not dead, hurry up and leave. Stop bothering me and Jake."

She stepped closer and threatened me. "Otherwise, I'll have him pull the funding, and everyone here will be out on the street."

My eyes widened sharply, and I grabbed her collar. "Are you insane? You grew up here, too. Those who bullied you were sent to juvenile detention by Ellen long ago. These kids now are innocent."

She shoved me away, and her eyes were red with rage. "So what? Does that erase the pain I suffered? It's all your fault for being kind and saving me."

She pointed at Ellen and said in a sharp voice, "And you are an old fool. You couldn't even get justice for me. What's the point of your living? You might as well be dead."

I slapped Freda hard across the face.

Just then, Jake opened the door and walked in.

Seeing the red mark on Freda's face, Jake abruptly pushed me away. "Have you lost your mind?"

He immediately shielded her in his arms.

As my hipbone wound crashed heavily against the table corner, a wave of agony sent shivers down my spine, leaving me pale.

Yet Jake was solely focused on checking Freda's condition. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he coldly turn to me. "Do you have any idea that she's pregnant? If anything happens, can you bear the responsibility?" Molly, I never thought you'd be so unreasonable."

Even though my heart had long since shattered, I still received a heavy blow to my chest when I saw Freda's swollen belly and Jake publicly humiliating me for her sake. That scene suffocated me with pain.

Jake and I once had a baby, too.

Back then, he found the best doctors for me and canceled her work plans to accompany me to prenatal check-ups. He had handled everything personally.

On the day of delivery, I was in the passenger seat, barely conscious from the pain, while he repeatedly turned back to comfort me. "Just bear it a little longer. We're nearly arriving at the hospital..."

I felt so much pain and couldn't bear it any longer. When I reached for the painkillers in the glove compartment, I found a few unopened boxes of condoms.

Jake had always shunned having sex. We had done it so rarely that even having a child was just an accidental result of his drunkenness.

His voice was strained at the time. "They're not mine... A colleague borrowed the car a few days ago."

In that moment, I couldn't even feel the excruciating contractions.

Later, when I was wheeled into the operating room, I remained numb.

The baby seemed to have sensed my despair, too. It wrapped the umbilical cord around its neck and died on the operating table.

Afterwards, he brought the colleague who had borrowed the car to me and apologized repeatedly.

But my heart was soft after I saw his diagnosis of terminal bone cancer.

I wasn't wrong. Those condoms belonged to him and Freda.

Regret and heartbreak surged up and choked me.

I should have left him long ago.

The wound on my hipbone tore open, and I collapsed to the floor in pain.

Jake instinctively wanted to rush over, but Freda stopped him. "Jake, she pushed me just now, and my stomach hurts... Will the baby be okay?"

He paused and then ran out carrying Freda. He only said hurriedly before leaving, "Ellen, take her to the hospital. I'll be there later."

I grabbed Ellen, who wanted to call him back, and shook my head.

After a brief treatment in the clinic at the orphanage, I grabbed my luggage and headed straight for the airport without hesitation.

On the other side, after confirming Freda was fine, Jake finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried downstairs. He asked the nurse, "Could you tell me which room Molly Jensen is in? I couldn't find any record of her room."

The nurse checked the files and looked up, saying, "She was discharged two days ago."

Jake stood frozen and was momentarily unable to process the nurse's words. "What did you say?"

Was Molly discharged two days earlier?

That was the day she had just undergone the bone marrow donation operation.

He suddenly felt a wave of unease surging through him.

Could it be that Molly had figured out he was deceiving her all along?

But he quickly dispelled the thought.

That couldn't be.

If she had known it, why would she have willingly donated her marrow?

"Did she not come to the hospital to treat her wounds just now?" Jake asked the nurse again.

The nurse checked the records and shook her head.

Jake furrowed his eyebrows tightly.

Was Molly sulking?

Thinking about the harsh words he had said to Molly earlier and the look of disappointment in her eyes before she left, Jake felt guilt.

"Forget it. A little sweet-talking will do the trick," he thought.

He ordered a necklace Molly had mentioned before.

Every time he upset her in the past, he would buy her a gift. And she had never really held it against him.

After completing the purchase, he sent a screenshot of the order and expected Molly to respond with a cheerful voice message as usual.

But he got nothing this time.

He waited a full three minutes, yet the chat window remained silent.

She used to reply to his message instantly.

An inexplicable irritation rose within him. He dialed her number directly.

The automated voice on the other end came through. "The number you dialed is unavailable."

His heart sank.

He redialed it repeatedly, but the result was always the same.

He remembered Molly's recent distance and coldness, along with her unusual behavior of packing her belongings. Then Jake's heartbeat quickened.

With trembling fingers, he called Ellen. She must know where Molly was.

But Ellen didn't answer his call. He couldn't hold back any longer.

Without hesitation, he intended to head back to the orphanage.

Just then, his phone rang. Jake looked at the screen with hopeful anticipation. But his eyes, which had lit up just now, instantly dimmed when he saw it was Freda calling.

He paused but eventually answered it.

Freda was sobbing on the other end of the line. "Jake, it is our first baby. What if I lose it? It's all Molly's fault. If she hadn't pushed me..."

Jake didn't play along as usual and interrupted Freda. He said while frowning, "Didn't the doctor say everything was fine with the baby?"

After a few seconds of silence, Freda's evasive excuses came through.

He remembered Molly's wound and said, "She probably meant it. Let's just let it go this time, Freda. After all... we've already let her lose so much."

Freda sensed the protection in his words, and her tone was suddenly sharp. "What do you mean? Jake, are you regretting it? She intruded between us. She's just a tool. Have you really fallen for her?"

Jake was stunned.

His marriage to Molly was a setup to obtain her marrow.

But why... did he feel a hollow ache inside?

He sensed something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Jake, let's go and try on wedding dresses. Didn't you say you had a surprise for me?" Freda softened her voice.

"Okay," Jake replied absentmindedly, "You go ahead. I'll be there later."

After hanging up, he rushed to the orphanage.

Even if Molly was merely a tool he used, she had been his wife for ten years.

He needed to ensure she was alright at least.

After he arrived at the orphanage, he saw Ellen helping the children with their homework. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He stepped forward quietly and asked, "Ellen, where is Molly? Is she okay? I'd like to see her."

Ellen kept her eyes on the table as she replied flatly, "She's gone."