That night, Remi didn't come back to their room. Around midnight, Ariel woke up with a violent cramp in her thigh.

She dragged herself out of bed and struggled down the hall to Ella's room, hoping to find Remi.

She raised her hand to knock. "Remi, my leg's cramping. Can you…"

Before she could finish, she heard a woman's breathless voice from inside.

"Remi…"

"Shh, Ella. Keep it down. You'll wake the baby."

Ariel froze. The cramp spread through her thigh in waves. But the pain in her chest hurt worse than anything physical.

Through the wooden door, she could hear everything. Each sound hit her like a hammer blow straight to her heart.

She stared at the ceiling. Her mind drifted back to the early stages of her pregnancy.

Her body had been weak back then. She threw up constantly during those first months and barely slept at night, always running outside to throw up.

Every time she got sick, Remi would get up immediately and follow her out. He'd rub her back gently, his eyes full of concern. "Ariel, if I'd known pregnancy would be this hard on you, I'd rather we never had children at all."

Later, in the third trimester, she started getting cramps. When she couldn't move in the middle of the night, he'd patiently massage her legs for her.

For eight months, he'd done this day and night without complaint. But now, he wasn't by her side. He was with another woman, making love to her.

"Remi, I'm so happy! I can finally marry you. Even if it's only for a month, I'm completely satisfied."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this. I promise I'll take good care of you and the baby from now on."

"Remi, I love you. I love you!"

The sounds continued. The pain in Ariel's leg gradually eased.

She slumped to the floor as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She admitted she was completely defeated. But she was also grateful she could still walk away.

In the days that followed, Remi and Ella grew bolder. At meals, Remi would serve her food. During breaks, they'd sit together in the courtyard, laughing and talking under the sun. At night, intimate sounds always drifted from Ella's room.

Ariel ignored all of it. She quietly packed her things, contacted her parents down south, and bought a train ticket to leave.

She thought she could get through this peacefully until the divorce was final. But Ella clearly wasn't satisfied with that.

One evening, Ariel sat by the pond in a small chair, knitting a sweater for the baby. She was in good spirits. Tomorrow was the day she'd get her divorce papers, so today was her last day in the Callahan residence.

Though apparently, even the last day couldn't pass in peace.

Ella suddenly appeared in front of her with the baby. "You're in such a good mood, Ms. Slater! You're about to divorce the Commander and you can still sit here looking so content?

"Actually, I knew you were outside the door that night. I wanted you to know just how good things are between me and Remi now. I love him, and he loves me! He said he wants to devour me in bed. As for you, he said you're boring and rigid. He doesn't like you at all.

"Oh, and tomorrow is my son's one-month celebration. You'll be there to congratulate us, won't you? After all, you're the child's stepmother!"

No matter how much Ella provoked her, Ariel ignored her and kept knitting.

When Ariel didn't respond, Ella lost her temper. She snatched the sweater from Ariel's hands and threw it into the pond.

"Are you deaf? Can't you hear me talking to you?"

Ariel finally snapped. She looked at the sweater floating on the water. "Get in there and pick it up for me."

"I won't. What are you going to do about it?"

"You won't? Then don't blame me for what happens next."

Ariel moved forward, backing Ella toward the edge of the pond. Just as Ella was about to shove Ariel into the water, she spotted Remi approaching in the distance.

A strange smile curved her lips. Ella grabbed something and threw it into the pond.

"Ms. Slater, no!" Ella suddenly screamed.

"That's my son's christening medal! Remi just got it for him a few days ago! He's been sick ever since you hurt him, and this medal was protecting him! How can you be so cruel?"

"What are you talking about? You're the one who…"

Ariel frowned. She knew nothing good would come from being near Ella. The woman was too good at acting.

"Ariel!" Before she could defend herself, Remi stormed over and grabbed her wrist hard.

"What did you do?"

"Remi, I really can't stay in this house anymore! Ms. Slater wants my son dead! I was just trying to say hello and told her you went to the church to get our son a christening medal for protection.

"She threw it in the pond and said my son didn't deserve to wear it, that he should be dead! She said even after you divorce her and her baby is born, my son will still just be a bastard."

"Did you really say that? Ariel, I thought you were willing to do this for Ella. Was the divorce all a lie?"

"I never said any of that!"

He gripped her wrist so hard that it hurt. Ariel shook her head. "She threw the medal in herself! It has nothing to do with me!"

"The priest said that medal can't touch water or something will happen to the child! Why would Ella use her own child's life to lie to me?"

Remi stared at her, his eyes full of disgust. "Ariel, how did you become like this? You're pregnant too. Aren't you afraid our child will be cursed for what you've done?"

A metallic taste rose in Ariel's mouth. She looked up at him in disbelief. "Remi, you'd curse our own child for the sake of Ella's baby?

"You have no idea what kind of person she is! She threw her baby from a height to frame me. What's throwing a medal compared to that?"

"Enough! Shut up!" Remi raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.

The blow caught her off guard. She lost her balance and fell into the pond. The moment her body hit the water, the moment the water rose over her ears and nose, Ariel thought she was going to die.

Remi didn't move. His voice was cold and hard. "Stop pretending, Ariel. You can swim. Since you threw the medal in, you can dive down and get it."

"Someone get over here." Remi called over one of his men, his tone sharp and cold.

"Watch her. Don't let her come up until she finds that medal. If she can't find it, she stays in there."

The man watched Ariel struggling in the water and hesitated. "But sir, she's pregnant…"

Ella put on a show of concern. "Maybe we should forget it. Ms. Slater probably didn't mean to. What if something happens to the baby?"

"Can't pregnant women swim?" Remi laughed coldly.

"She's using her pregnancy as an excuse. She thinks that because I love her and spoil her, she can ignore everything I say! Ella, let's go inside. Don't worry about her. If she loses the baby, it's her own doing."

Ariel floated in the pond, watching Remi walk away with his arm around Ella. She suddenly laughed.

Tears poured from her eyes.

She remembered the day she found out she was pregnant.

Remi had cried until his eyes were red and held her, saying over and over, "Ariel, we're finally having a baby! You'll never leave me now! I swear, I'll never let you or the baby suffer any hardship for the rest of our lives."

But what was he doing now? For the sake of a lying woman, he struck his pregnant wife and threw her into a pond, then made her dive for a medal for another woman's child.

The man watching felt bad for her but still urged, "Ma'am, you need to hurry and find it. You're nine months pregnant. You could go into labor any time. I'm worried something will happen to you."

Even a stranger worried about her, but Remi was this cruel. She didn't answer, just bit her lip, dove underwater, and searched for that medal again and again.

From daylight to dark, the pond water grew colder and colder. She shivered but still couldn't find the medal.

At nine months pregnant, her body felt impossibly heavy. Every dive to the bottom felt like it would tear her organs apart.

The men on shore couldn't bear to watch anymore.

"It's already 10:00 pm. If this keeps up, she's going to collapse."

"But we can't go against the Commander's orders!"

After four full hours, Ariel's hands and feet had turned white and swollen from the water. Just when she was about to give up, the baby started kicking her, over and over.

The force grew stronger before turning into sharp, dragging pains. Cold sweat broke out across her skin as something warm flowed out of her body.

One of the men shouted in alarm, "God, there's blood! Pull her out of the water! Call the Commander!"

They dialed quickly, but Ella's voice came through the line. "Your Commander is with my son. He's busy. He said if Ariel can't find the medal, she's not allowed to come up."

The line went dead. The men looked at Ariel's weakening form and made a decision. "Forget it. We need to get her to the clinic now, or the baby won't make it either."

As they carried her out of the estate, Ariel turned to look back at the house. Warm light glowed from the windows. Remi was probably inside with Ella and her son, enjoying their happy family.

And her? She and her child were dying.

It was past 12:00 am when they got her to the clinic. Pain racked Ariel's abdomen. Her vision went dark.

The medic rushed her toward the delivery room in a panic. "Hurry! The patient is bleeding. She's going into labor!"

"Save my baby…"

"Don't worry. We'll do everything we can."

The medic called out urgently, "Where's the family? Someone get the husband in here!"

The men didn't hesitate. They called Remi again. But no matter how many times they dialed, he didn't answer.

Finally, he rejected the call outright.

One of the men looked helpless. "The Commander is busy…"

The medic stared at them in disbelief. "She's in this condition and he's too busy? He won't answer and he's rejecting calls? What if something happens to her during delivery?"