During the eighth month of my pregnancy, I was pushed and fell. This caused me to have a miscarriage.

In order to keep me alive, my womb would be removed.

Just when I was experiencing excruciating pain, I accidentally overheard the conversation between my husband and the doctor.

"Mr. Lawson, Ms. White is actually in stable condition now. Are you sure you want us to remove her womb?"

"This is the only way that she will truly love my and Riley's child. Riley and I will never be together, but I'll give everything that I have to our only child. Mandy already has me, isn't that enough?"

After hearing their conversation with my own ears, I finally realized that the person that I loved so much was just a liar.

During the eighth month of my pregnancy, I was pushed and fell. This caused me to have a miscarriage.

In order to keep me alive, my womb would be removed.

Just when I was experiencing excruciating pain, I accidentally overheard the conversation between my husband and the doctor.

"Mr. Lawson, Ms. White is actually in stable condition now. Are you sure you want us to remove her womb?"

"This is the only way that she will truly love my and Riley's child. Riley and I will never be together, but I'll give everything that I have to our only child. Mandy already has me, isn't that enough?"

After hearing their conversation with my own ears, I finally realized that the person that I loved so much was just a liar.

So, I no longer wanted him.

"Keep your mouths shut. After the womb is removed, just tell her that the baby was a goner from the start. Without her own child, she will definitely grow fond of Jordan. By then, I’ll suggest that we adopt Jordan, and our family can be reunited."

The doctor glanced at me lying on the hospital bed and advised softly, "Mr. Lawson, is it really necessary to be this ruthless? Ms. White's health is poor. This miscarriage has already nearly destroyed her chances of becoming a mother. If you remove her womb completely, imagine how devastating that would be for her. Besides, Ms. Bundred and the baby are in the ward next door. How could such a coincidence exist? What if Ms. White finds out the truth about the child in the future?"

Jay Lawson tucked my blanket in for me, his movements as gentle as before, yet his voice was filled with cruelty.

"By then, she will have already formed a bond with Jordan and won’t be able to part with him. I’ve already let Riley down. I can’t give her the pure love, so I must give all my fatherly love to our child. That way, I can fulfill my promise to her and our son."

The doctor knew he couldn't change Jay’s mind. His tone carried deep guilt toward me.

"But Mr. Lawson, the child in Ms. White’s womb is also yours..."

"I’ve already promised Riley that in this lifetime, I will only acknowledge Jordan as my child. I know I owe Mandy for this, so I will spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

The doctor left to prepare for the surgery. Just as Jay was about to leave, he was stopped at the door of the ward.

"What are you doing here? Didn’t I promise you that I would arrange for your departure later?"

He turned uneasily to look at me on the hospital bed, unaware that I already woke up from the pain and my hands were clenched tightly.

"Mr. Lawson, our child only followed your orders when pushing her down the stairs. You won’t come after us for this in the future, will you?"

"Of course not. Just stick to what I told you—insist that it wasn’t intentional. I will write you a letter of understanding. After that, your whole family must move out of town and never come back."

Jay remained calm as ever, but my mind buzzed endlessly.

The man I had spent seven years with had orchestrated everything with his own hands.

And my child had become a sacrifice to prove his loyalty to his childhood sweetheart.

Just when I thought our love story was about to reach its happy ending, Jay struck me with a devastating blow.

I pretended I just woke up and wanted to drag my weakened body out of this place, but Jay held me down on the bed.

He was still as gentle as ever, but his tone left no room for argument.

"Mandy, the doctor said your body is very weak right now. Be good. After the surgery, we can still be as happy as before."

Too weak to resist, I could only feel something inside me being stripped away bit by bit.

In a daze, I seemed to hear the faint cries of a baby.

It was my fault. I failed to protect my child.

"You're awake? Mandy, do you know how worried I was about you?"

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw was Jay’s exhausted face.

He still seemed to care for me as he always had, lowering his head to press his forehead against mine.

"You had severe bleeding during the surgery, honey. You nearly scared me to death—I thought I was really going to lose you."

His voice was warm, yet all I felt was an unbearable chill in my heart.

A man who claimed to care about me had disregarded my life just to eliminate any threat to the person he truly loved.

I didn’t dare to think about all the things he had told me before—what, if anything, had ever been real?

I turned my head away, avoiding his startled gaze.

"I'm a bit tired."

Jay smiled, pressing a kiss onto my forehead.

Though he was tall and strong, he insisted on squeezing into my hospital bed, curling up beside me, loosely wrapping his arms around my body.

"I'm tired too. Honey, I was really afraid something would happen to you. It’s such a relief that you're okay."

His voice gradually faded, his breathing becoming steady.

I turned my head and saw his sleeping face.

Picking up my phone, I turned it on, and immediately, a ton of messages started flashing on the screen.

I never expected them to be from Riley Bundred.

I didn’t know when she had added me on WhatsApp, but as soon as I opened the chat, I saw her and Jay’s wedding photos.

Along with them was her pregnancy diagnosis and numerous intimate pictures of the two of them.

"Jay still chose me, Mandy. You have no idea how much he loves this child! Today, he accompanied me for a prenatal checkup. When he saw the baby’s image, he cried and promised he would make it up to me and our child. If I were you, I would have stepped aside long ago so that Jay wouldn’t have to be in such a difficult position."

I saw Jay, eyes red, resting his head on Riley’s belly, listening to the baby’s movements.

I had once imagined having a child with him.

But he had rejected the idea, saying he didn’t want me to suffer.

It turned out, he just wanted to save that experience for the woman he truly loved.

I clicked on the link Riley had sent me.

It led to Jay’s secret social media account.

Five years and six months.

Every two weeks, without fail, Jay had gone on a business trip.

I had thought he was working hard for our future, but in reality, he had been traveling across half the world to visit the woman he truly loved.

For three years, we had been in a hidden marriage. He had told me it was to protect me from unnecessary trouble.

Yet, on his secret account, he had publicly shared their wedding photos, personally announcing their relationship.

Even his friends and subordinates all addressed Riley as "Mrs. Lawson".

Jay had never once explained.

I closed my eyes, tormenting myself by replaying everything I had just seen.

In my email inbox, an invitation from my brother was still waiting.

Ever since my family moved overseas, my brother had never stopped persuading me to join them.

"Mandy, Jay is not someone you can entrust your life to. If he truly loved you, he wouldn’t insist on a hidden marriage!"

Back then, I had stubbornly believed otherwise. Now, I realized my brother had been right all along.

I accepted my brother’s invitation and asked a friend to handle all my affairs in the country.

If I was going to leave, I would leave cleanly, without any lingering ties.

I stared at Jay for a long time, but in the end, I swallowed the urge to confront him, letting my tears fall silently.

When I woke up again, the first thing I saw was Jay’s red-rimmed eyes.

"Mandy, there’s something I’ve been keeping from you. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept it. You had severe bleeding when you fell, and in order to save your life, I had no choice but to agree to the doctors removing your womb. I know how much you love children, but I promise—we can adopt one in the future. You will always be my wife, and I will take care of you for the rest of my life."

He was lying!

Everything had been part of his plan, yet he could still lie so righteously.

But none of it mattered anymore.

I pursed my lips and closed my eyes.

"I understand."

Jay hadn’t expected me to be so calm. He knelt on my bed, his hands gripping mine tightly, pressing them against his heart.

"Believe me, no matter what happens between us, I will always stay by your side. We will only adopt one child, and in the future, everything I have will be given to them. After that, I will accompany you around the world, okay?"

Beneath my hands was supposed to be his heart.

I truly wanted to see if he really had a heart.

His phone rang twice. Jay’s expression changed slightly as he carefully watched me.

"Mandy, it's a banquet hosted by one of our business partners. This time, both husband and wife are required to attend, so I... "

"I’m fine. Since our marriage is a secret and no one knows about our relationship, you can just bring another date."

Originally, he had promised to make our relationship public at this event.

But now, it no longer mattered.

Jay let out a sigh of relief, though he still didn’t seem to understand why I had agreed so easily.

"Mandy, this is only temporary. Once you recover..."

Just then, a friend sent me a document for an electronic signature.

Jay barely read the beginning before he reached out in an attempt to take my phone.

"A transfer contract? What are you selling, Mandy?"

Instinctively, I turned off the screen and pretended to be indifferent. "It’s just a small company that’s been in a deficit. You said yourself that I need to focus on my recovery."

A trace of guilt flashed across Jay’s face. He didn’t press the matter and instead let out a sigh.

"I was just too worried about you. From now on, you can stay home and be Mrs. Lawson. I will take care of you for the rest of your life."

Seizing the moment, I asked to be discharged from the hospital, but Jay immediately refused.

"Don’t be ridiculous! You need proper rest and recovery!"

But I forced my eyes to redden, gazing at him with a fragile, broken expression.

"But I don’t want to stay here anymore. Every time I open my eyes, I think of the child who never got to be born. Jay, I want to go home."

A flicker of guilt flashed in Jay’s eyes. After I kept bringing up the child, he finally agreed reluctantly.

Even so, before I was discharged, he still followed through with his original plan—bringing the child to me.

"Mandy, look! We found this little baby abandoned outside the hospital room. Maybe… maybe it’s fate, tying him to us!"

His face was filled with feigned surprise, but the way he held the baby was far too practiced.

It was obvious he had rehearsed many times before.

He called it an abandoned baby, yet the child was dressed in designer clothing and wrapped in expensive blankets.

I had also wanted to give my child the best of everything, so I recognized these brands immediately.

Perhaps convinced that I would accept the child, Jay didn’t bother hiding the tenderness on his face anymore.

But I, Mandy White, was not someone who turned a blind eye to deceit.

Not only would I refuse to accept this child— I would also abandon Jay.