Seeing the shock in Ethan’s eyes, I instinctively placed a hand over my still-flat stomach.

It was true.

Damian was infertile.

No one knew that better than I did.

Three years ago, when he first received the test results, he destroyed everything in his study.

The doctor had said his sperm motility was extremely low. Natural conception was almost impossible.

So when the pregnancy test showed two lines, I thought it was a miracle.

I had planned to tell him in person at the wedding.

I had also wanted to make Evelyn happy. She was the head of the Grant family, but these past few years, all she had wanted was to see a child born into the family.

But now...

I set down my cup and looked at Ethan.

“Help me leave.”

Ethan’s pupils tightened again.

“But your wedding is tomorrow.”

I lowered my eyes and told him everything, calmly and from the beginning.

The ten years I had spent living under someone else’s roof.

The obedience.

The insults I had swallowed.

The way Damian had turned me, in the end, into nothing more than a promise he resented having to keep.

“I don’t blame anyone,” I said. “I was the one who refused to see the truth.”

After a pause, my voice went hoarse.

“I also know you do business with him. If helping me puts you in a difficult position, pretend I never asked.

“Just... don’t tell him.”

Ethan was silent for a long time.

Then he said, “Tell me what you need. I’ll arrange it.”

I looked up in surprise.

When our eyes met, he smiled faintly.

“I’ll help you. If your mother, Laura Shaw, hadn’t gone back into that fire, I would have died there too.”

After Ethan and I settled the plan, we parted ways, and I went straight back to the Grant Residence.

But the moment I pushed open the front door, I stopped.

In the living room, Lily was clinging to Damian like she could barely stand, her face tipped up toward his as she drunkenly tugged at his tie.

“Damian... I like you... I like you so much...”

Damian didn’t push her away.

He lowered his eyes, one hand steady at her waist, his gaze filled with a tenderness and indulgence I had never once received from him.

Not in ten years.

When he saw me, his gaze moved past Lily’s head and landed on me.

The tenderness disappeared instantly, replaced by the familiar coldness.

“She drank too much. Get the guest room ready.”

His tone was so natural, as if he were giving instructions to a housekeeper.

“I’m not going.”

I pulled my gaze away and headed upstairs.

Damian’s brows snapped together.

After all, for the past ten years, I had done whatever he asked.

I had never once told him no.

His face darkened. His eyes settled on me with a pressure that made the air feel thin.

After carefully setting Lily down on the sofa, he stood and looked down at me.

“Are you still not done?”

Damian tugged at his tie. His tone almost sounded like compromise, but the impatience beneath it was impossible to miss.

“Is this about the tie clip? Or because I didn’t take you inside tonight? Fine. I’ll say it. I’m sorry.

“Vivian, is that enough? Can you act normal now?”

He came toward me step by step, his gaze cold enough to cut.

“The wedding is tomorrow. Evelyn has just recovered from a serious illness, and she flew back from overseas specifically to attend.

“Let me make this clear. You’d better wipe that bitter look off your face. Don’t embarrass the Grant family at the wedding and upset Evelyn.”

I looked at him, my chest rising and falling with anger.

Tears gathered in my eyes, but I forced them back.

“Are you afraid Evelyn will be upset, or are you afraid she’ll take away your inheritance?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Damian’s eyes turned completely cold.

“Vivian.”

He said my name, then delivered a sentence that sent me straight into the cold.

“Don’t forget what your mother gave up to put you here.”

Then he gave a low, mocking laugh.

In that moment, his eyes held nothing but contempt, as if he were merely stating a fact.

“Your place in this family was bought with her life.”

The last thread holding me together snapped.

So that was how he saw it.

In his eyes, my mother’s death had been nothing more than a transaction.

Crash.

Trembling all over, I grabbed the glass beside me and hurled it at him.

Damian’s expression changed. Instinctively, he turned and shielded Lily completely behind him.

The glass struck his shoulder hard, then shattered across the floor.

He let out a muffled groan and slowly turned his head.

The look he gave me was so dark it was almost murderous.

Even then, he still didn’t forget Lily.

After staring at me with hatred in his eyes, he scooped the woman pretending to be drunk into his arms and strode upstairs.

Watching them disappear, I began gasping for air.

Then the tears finally came.

A strong taste of blood rose in my throat. A dull pain stirred low in my abdomen.

Clutching my stomach, I braced myself against the wall and made my way back to my room step by step.

Then I pulled out my suitcase and opened the closet as if my body were moving on its own.

I had to leave.

I did not want to spend one more second in that disgusting place.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the white wedding dress still hanging there, quiet and flawless, like an exquisitely made joke.

I looked away.

But just as I placed my clothes into the suitcase, the bedroom door was kicked open with a bang.

A brutal force seized my wrist and yanked hard.

I lost my balance and was thrown against the cold wall.

My pregnant belly hit the surface, and pain shot through me so sharply that I sucked in a breath.

The next second, Damian rushed over and grabbed me by the throat.

His face was twisted with fury as he glared at me.

“Vivian, how long are you going to keep this up?

“I already lowered myself and apologized to you. Don’t push it.”

The veins at his temple stood out as he snarled through gritted teeth.

“Do you not understand plain English? I said I’m running out of patience. I am running out of patience.”

His eyes swept over the suitcase on the floor, and his mouth curved into a sneer full of contempt.

“Still pretending you’re leaving?

“Vivian, who do you think you are?”

His fingers tightened around my jaw as if he meant to crush the bone.

“Tell me. If you leave me, where would you even go? You don’t know how to survive on your own.”

He was choking me so hard I could barely breathe.

My vision began to blur.

But I still forced the words out, one by one, through broken breaths.

“Damian...

“I’m pregnant.”

At the same time, a deep, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen.

Bright red blood streamed down between my legs.

In an instant, the floor beneath me was soaked in crimson.

Damian’s hand froze.

He lowered his head and stared at the winding trail of blood between my legs.

In that moment, the rage on his face cracked apart piece by piece.

Shock.

Confusion.

Fear.

They cut through his expression one after another.

His fingers loosened.

I fell heavily to the floor, and the pain in my lower abdomen sharpened at once.

Damian, who had been cold to me for ten years, actually showed a flicker of panic when I groaned in pain.

“Vivian...?”

I looked up at him, and my mouth curved into a smile that tasted of blood.

“Surprised?”

“You had a child, Damian.”

As I smiled, my tears and blood mixed together and dripped onto my white dress.

“But I won’t give you this child.

“The way you looked at me just now, like you wanted me dead, made the decision for me.”

Damian’s throat worked violently.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

At last, trembling, he came toward me and reached for my stomach.

“How is that possible?”

A sharp voice suddenly burst from the doorway.

At some point, Lily had appeared by the doorframe. She was wearing Damian’s white shirt, and the shock on her face quickly shifted into wounded grievance.

“Damian, she’s lying to you. You know your own condition better than anyone. How could she possibly...”

She covered her mouth.

Her eyes reddened, and she trembled as if she had been the one betrayed.

“Vivian, there’s really nothing between Damian and me. Why would you make up a lie like this just to get his attention? Aren’t you afraid he’ll be even more hurt when he finds out the truth?”

Damian’s pupils wavered.

He turned his head to look at me.

The flicker of emotion that had just appeared in his eyes was swallowed away, bit by bit.

In its place came the familiar coldness and a crushing disappointment.

“That’s right, Vivian. I already agreed to marry you.

“What more do you want? Now you’re inventing a child to trap me?”

All the blood in my body rushed to my head.

“If you don’t believe me, take me to the hospital and check.”

Slap.

His palm struck my face.

The force sent me sideways. My back hit the wedding dress rack, and the metal frame collapsed.

The white skirt fell over me like a wave, wrapping around my bloodstained body.

Damian looked down at me from above, as if he were staring at something filthy.

“Vivian, I don’t have time to indulge your insanity.

“Get up. Clean this place. The wedding goes on as planned.”

His eyes finally moved over the pool of blood beneath me.

There was no pain in them.

No hesitation.

Only disgust.

As if he had stepped in something dirty, he frowned slightly and turned away.

The door closed.

I lay on the floor and watched the blood seep, little by little, through the white wedding dress.

Like a red flower slowly blooming.

I didn’t know how long it took before I finally got up.

I dragged my suitcase over, opened the door, and walked out step by step.

Behind me, the hallway was marked with my footprints.

One after another.

Bright red.

The road late at night was empty.

I couldn’t even get a cab.

Shivering, I took out my phone and dialed Ethan’s number.

The moment the call connected, violent pain exploded in my lower abdomen.

It wasn’t a sharp stab.

It wasn’t a cramp.

It felt like two tiny hands clawing desperately inside me, gripping with all their strength.

As if the baby in my womb knew it was leaving and was fighting one last time to stay.

The phone slipped from my fingers.

I dropped to my knees on the cold asphalt, and darkness swallowed me whole.

...

When I woke again, I was already in the hospital.

Ethan was sitting beside my bed.

He said nothing. He only handed me a report.

On it was a blurry ultrasound image.

A tiny shape curled there, no bigger than a seed that had only just begun to sprout.

“The baby is gone.”

Ethan’s voice was hoarse enough to hurt.

“By the time they brought you in, there was nothing the doctors could do. This is... the last image.”

I held that piece of paper, my fingertips shaking uncontrollably.

At that moment, my phone rang.

Evelyn’s name lit up the screen.

“Vivian, sweetheart, congratulations. Today is finally the wedding. Are you nervous? I flew back from overseas just for this...”

I opened my mouth.

All my emotions broke loose in that instant.

“Eve... Evelyn...”

A sob tore out of me, raw and soaked in blood.

But before I could finish, another call forced its way in.

Damian.

“Vivian. The wedding team is waiting for you. Where the hell are you?

“Don’t think throwing a tantrum will make me...”

I hung up.

Then I wiped my tears away with hatred and looked at Ethan.

“I’m not leaving. Take me to the wedding venue.”

Ethan shot to his feet and stared at me in disbelief.

I didn’t explain.

I looked down and sent Evelyn a message.

Then I got up and took the wedding dress, still soaked through with blood.

...

The wedding venue glittered beneath crystal chandeliers.

Damian’s friends were gathered around Lily, teasing her.

“Oh, come on. Your Damian is getting married, and you’re crying like you’re the bride.”

“She’s heartbroken, obviously. But even if he gets married, so what? It’s just an old promise his family made. It’s not like there are real feelings involved.”

Amid the laughter, Damian adjusted his cuff links without expression.

Suddenly, a staff member rushed in, his face twisted with something close to panic.

“Mr. Grant... the bride is here.”

Damian frowned, glanced at him, set down his glass, and strode out.

Then he stopped.

Because in the center of the hall, I was standing barefoot on the stage, wearing the wedding dress soaked in blood.

The red and white skirt trailed behind me like a river of blood.

When I saw Damian appear, I smiled.

Behind me, the giant screen lit up.

The first photo showed the private room at the club. Damian had his arm around Lily, red wine catching the intimacy on their faces.

The second showed the living room at home. Lily was clinging to him while he lowered his eyes to her, his expression full of tenderness.

The third was the pregnancy report.

[Embryonic arrest and miscarriage caused by physical violence.]

In an instant, the entire room erupted in gasps and shocked cries.

Guests turned one after another to look at Damian.

But I saw only one person.

In the first row, in the seat of honor, Evelyn slowly rose to her feet.

She was the head of the Grant family, the woman who controlled the board, the family trust, and every door Damian had ever walked through.

The prayer beads she had carried for years, the ones she held whenever she prayed for a child, suddenly snapped with a sharp crack.