“What?!”

Beatrice visibly panicked. She looked at Nathan in shock. “Didn’t you two get intimate the last time she visited you?”

“Harriet never came to meet me!” Nathan pointed at my belly and said, “That’s an illegitimate child!”

Beatrice burst into tears. “Oh, my God! What’s happening?”

She trembled as she approached me. “You witch! You piece of trash!

“Nathan treated you so well. I even took care of you in every possible way when I found out you were pregnant. How dare you carry someone else’s baby?!”

Beatrice pointed at me and shouted, “I always knew you weren’t good enough for him, you witch! Nathan graduated from a top university. I didn’t agree with him when he said he wanted to marry you, but he was determined. Even with your parents dead, he still wanted to marry you.

“He treated you so well. How could you do this to him?!”

She eventually collapsed and began sobbing loudly. “Oh God, how could my family get such a daughter-in-law?!”

The crowd around us slowly began to distance themselves from me.

“How could someone do this? She cheated, got pregnant by another man, and even made her mother-in-law take care of her!”

“Cheaters deserve to die!”

“That poor old lady! She was fooled by that loose woman!”

Nathan tried to pull Beatrice up, but she only cried louder. “Nathan, I deserve to die. It’s my fault that I didn’t keep an eye on her.

“I was foolish enough to care for her throughout her pregnancy.”

“Who’s the father of the baby?” Nathan demanded as he glared at me.

I watched Beatrice’s act as if it were a show. But when Nathan asked me that question, I felt a little irritated. “Who are you calling a cheater?”

Nathan slapped me across the face again. Then, he grabbed my hair and gripped my neck with another hand.

I struggled to breathe. I clung to his hand and tried to pry it off. But because I was pregnant, I was not strong enough to get him off me.

I tried to kick him, but Beatrice held my legs tightly.

The pain and the suffocation made me close my eyes. I could feel pain in my belly.

“Who’s the father? If you don’t tell me, I’ll get rid of that illegitimate child in your belly right now!”

I opened my mouth to speak but could not utter a word. Nathan let go of me, and I stumbled a few steps back. I bumped into someone, but they quickly stepped away with a disgusted look.

I covered my belly with both hands and said weakly, “Nathan, are you out of your mind?

“I’m eight months pregnant. If you hit me now, you’ll kill me! If you kill me, you’ll pay with your own life. Is that what you want?”

I knew Nathan too well. He was too spineless to do anything like that.

“Harriet, you’re the one who cheated, and now, you dare to threaten me?!”

“This woman has no shame! She cheated on him and still acts like she’s in the right.”

“She’s an orphan, right? I guess no one taught her how to behave. The baby she’s carrying won’t turn out any better.”

I gritted my teeth and said, “Nathan, what are you talking about? We were never married. We’re not even engaged.

“So, how can you accuse me of cheating?

“It’s my choice whose baby I carry and who I give birth to!” I blurted out.

The noise around me slowly subsided.

Beatrice stood up and stomped her feet as she angrily said, “You shameless woman! Everyone knows you two are married. How is this not cheating?”

I said coldly, “You’re the one who said the marriage license doesn’t cost much, but you didn’t want to go through with it.”

I looked coldly at the stunned Beatrice. “I also said if you gave me a wedding worth one hundred thousand dollars, I’d go get the marriage license. But you said you wouldn’t give me that!”

Beatrice gritted her teeth and said, “You spendthrift woman! Who needs to spend one hundred thousand to marry someone? You’re the one clinging to Nathan. If you want a wedding, you should be the one paying for it.

“You run a company! I’m sure you can afford one hundred thousand. You’re asking me for money as if you want my life itself!”

As Beatrice raged, she suddenly groaned in pain. She clutched her chest and dramatically collapsed onto the floor.

“Mom! Mom, are you okay?” Nathan shouted. But instead of checking on her, he walked straight toward me.

The moment he got closer, my stomach started to hurt.

He grabbed my hair. “You witch! I left to make money and marry you! But you couldn’t wait to find another man and cheat on me! You betrayed my mom’s trust. Are you trying to kill her?”

I gritted my teeth. “So, you mean to say that you expected me to remain loyal to you like a widow while you were gone for three years without any contact?

“Until you get rich, should I remain single forever? How absurd!”

The crowd stopped cursing at me, but no one dared to step forward to stop him. A few murmurs spread through the crowd.

“This guy’s family is terrible too.”

Nathan slapped me across the face. My already swollen face throbbed with pain. My belly felt worse, and I could not shake the feeling that my water was about to break.

“Harriet, you look down on me!

“It’s true that my pay for the confidential mission at Westbrook doesn’t earn as much as what you make with your company. But what I do is for the country!”

“So, her partner is a government researcher at Westbrook!”

“Oh, my goodness! How could she treat someone in government research like that? They contribute a lot to the country!”

“If you ask me, she probably betrayed the family in more ways than just having an affair. She should be locked up and should spend her life in prison!”

I sneered and turned to Nathan. “What kind of contribution can an idiot like you make to the country?!”

Before Nathan could respond, the bystanders began voicing their outrage.

“I can’t stand this anymore! This woman has no sense of decency. Can someone just beat her to death already?”

“Unbelievable! She’s slandering a government researcher. She should take a look at herself in the mirror.”

“She’s clearly had it too easy in life!”

Beatrice, who had been silent, wiped her tears. “Harriet, I know you’ve always looked down on Nathan’s job because you earn more money than he does.

“But what more do you want? What will it take for you to live a good life with Nathan? He has always accommodated your needs. Just this once, he chose to serve the country. Do you really have to push him this far?”

The crowd grew angrier. Some people even shoved me.

“This woman is a total disgrace!”

“When he becomes an academician, you won’t even be worthy of standing next to him!”

“If you ask me, he should just dump her. Even being near her feels like bad luck!”

By then, Nathan had calmed down. “Harriet, it’s over between us.”

Cheers erupted around us. Some people even clapped for what they saw as Nathan’s wise decision.

Encouraged by their support, Nathan shouted angrily, “My mom took care of you throughout your pregnancy. Not only did you cheat, but you also destroyed our relationship!

“My mom deserves better. You’ve caused me immense pain. I’m not letting this slide.

“Compensate with 2 million dollars, and we’ll have nothing to do with each other.”

I laughed in exasperation. In the end, all he wanted was my money.

“You own a company. 2 million dollars isn’t much for you. Let’s part ways peacefully.”

“You’re still trying to extort money from me? Nathan, I’d rather give that money to a beggar than to you!”

Beatrice got mad. She charged at me and slammed her head into my belly. I was thrown to the ground. My belly spasmed in pain, and blood flowed from between my legs.

I bit down on my lip and trembled all over. In my weak state, I tried to grab someone nearby and hoped they would help me call a doctor.

Instead, the crowd shamed me even more.

“This shameless woman only cares about money. How dare she insult someone in government research? She deserves to die!”

“Exactly! All he asked for was 2 million dollars. It’s not like he was asking for her life.”

“Even if she dies from this, it’s her own fault.”

Nathan crouched down and looked at me with a smile. Then, he kicked me hard.

Pain shot through my body and left me trembling. My face turned pale as I bit down on my lip even harder.

“Harriet, if you dare say another word, I’ll kick you right in your belly! I’m serving my country. How dare you insult me?”

I scoffed. “What exactly have you been doing? Other people might not know, but why are you lying to yourself?”

Nathan’s face darkened instantly. “What are you talking about?”

“Nathan, do you really think I don’t know what you’ve been up to?”

The noisy crowd around us gradually calmed down. I burst out laughing. “You never went to Westbrook! Your mistress got pregnant, and you were taking care of her!”