Suzy let out a startled cry. Her bra strap slipped loose, and she was instantly exposed. My question was drowned beneath a chorus of whistles and laughter.

"Suzy's naked."

"I thought we were buddies. Why does Ted always get the perks?"

"Exactly. Don't hide. Let the rest of us enjoy the view!"

Ted's expression darkened, and he quickly hugged Suzy. Then, he pointed at the rest of them and sneered, "How dare you take advantage of Suzy?"

Suzy trembled slightly in his arms, but she lifted her brows at me. Her expression was revolting and made my stomach twist.

She tried to struggle and pull away from Ted. "Your jealous wife is watching. Aren't you afraid she'll make you kneel and beg for forgiveness when you get back?

"Besides, what's wrong with letting the guys see my body? You can't be the only one who gets to look, right?"

Ted tightened his arms around Suzy. I was so angry I nearly lost my balance. My stomach clenched painfully, too.

However, instead of caring about me, Ted said impatiently, "Nina, I brought you out to meet my friends and have fun. What are you doing? You shouldn't be causing a scene now!"

I turned and looked at Ted in surprise. I was carrying his child, so I poured juice on them when I witnessed his shameful act with another woman. Was that called causing a scene?

I stepped forward and slapped him hard. "Ted Cohen, you disgust me. I'm still alive, and you're already planning your next romance?"

He hadn't expected me to publicly slap and confront him. His expression darkened with anger and embarrassment. "I already made Suzy apologize to you. What more do you want, Nina? Will you only be satisfied if I lose all my childhood friends?"

My chest tightened as I stared at Ted. We had been married for two years. I had used my family connections to help him progress from an unknown sales assistant to the CEO.

Even after the doctor warned me about my poor health, I was determined to bear him a child. How dare he treat me like this?

I pressed my palm firmly against my belly and forced Ted to answer me. "Either you come home with me right now, or you can stay here with your close friend. What's your choice?"

He could continue to be the Moore family's son-in-law. How hard was it to choose?

Just as Ted reluctantly moved toward me, Suzy deliberately pressed her chest closer against him. Then, she pulled his ear and rolled her eyes. "My goodness. Why do you always go for these jealous women?

"If I really wanted to be with you back then, do you think that baby in her belly would even exist? I'm giving you five minutes to sort this out. If you don't, we're done as friends."

The others looked at me with contempt and hissed, "This is why we don't allow random strangers to join our gang."

"Honestly, I wouldn't blame Ted if there really is something going on between him and Suzy."

"Yeah. If Suzy didn't hate being tied down by marriage, this woman wouldn't even stand a chance."

"So what if she's pregnant? Does she think she's the queen and gets to control who Ted is friends with?"

"She has no idea how hard it's been for Ted while she's pregnant. Luckily, Suzy has been helping him lose some steam."

I stared at them, feeling like a complete idiot. All of them knew what was going on between Suzy and Ted; only I, his wife, was kept in the dark.

Before they could continue, Ted said, "Enough. Nina is my wife. I'll be punished if I betray her."

With that, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Suzy. Then, he took my hand and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to go home? Let's head back now, okay?"

Suzy glared at him and hissed, "I knew it. You'd ditch your friends for a woman. Fine! Don't come looking for me again!"

Ted didn't spare her a second glance. Instead, he accompanied me into the car. I thought he'd finally come to his senses. After all, a close female friend was nothing compared to my fortune.

However, the moment I stepped into the room, he slammed the door shut and locked me in from the outside.

My heart sank. "Ted Cohen! What the hell are you up to?"

Ted stood outside the door and scoffed. "I shouldn't have relented and brought you to meet my friends. You were so eager to come home, right? Enjoy staying at home."

Suddenly, a stabbing pain shot through my belly. Warm fluid gushed down my legs and pooled on the floor.

Feeling terrified, I pounded on the door and screamed, "Ted! Let me out! I think I'm going into labor."

Ted burst out laughing and sneered, "Stop using the baby as an excuse. You're only seven months pregnant. There's no way the baby is out so soon.

"I promised Suzy to drink with her all night. It's just for a night. Go to sleep, and it'll be over soon."

With that, Ted slammed the door and left.

Seeing the amniotic fluid spreading across the floor, I hurriedly called my mother, who was overseas. She moved fast.

Ten minutes later, the Moore family's bodyguards arrived, forced the door open with their tools, and rushed me to the hospital.

At the hospital, Ted's older sister, Larissa Cohen, looked at me in disbelief. She immediately arranged for a medical examination. "What happened, Nina? I-It looks like the baby is in distress. Hang on. We are going to rescue—"

I caught her hand and interrupted, "Larissa, the baby's gone, right? I can feel it."

The baby had stopped moving when Ted left.

Holding back her tears, Larissa nodded and explained, "The baby's already fully formed. Although you still have to deliver him. It'll be okay. You and Ted will have more children in the future."

I stayed silent. Did Ted deserve that?

By the next morning, the baby was born. When they placed him in my arms, I finally broke and cried aloud.

Unable to hold back her fury, Larissa called Ted. He said in annoyance, "Did you speak to Nina? Just ignore her. She's faking it."

Larissa fought to keep her temper in check. "Faking it? Do you know she's in the hospital right now?"

Just then, Suzy's slurry drunken voice drifted through the line. "Brat, get this bra off me now! I'm burning!"

Muffled, intimate sounds filtered through the line. When Ted finally spoke again, his breathing was heavy and ragged.

"She's just worried I'll forget what day it is tomorrow, right? Fine. I'll be at the hotel tomorrow. Tell her to stop bothering me."

With that, the line went dead.

After I tucked my baby, my gaze turned cold as I spoke to the bodyguards standing behind me. "I want to hold a proper, dignified funeral for my child tomorrow."

Tomorrow was supposed to be Ted and my wedding anniversary.

I logged into Instagram at night and saw Suzy's latest post. "Fifteen years of close friendship. How could anyone else steal him away?"

The photo showed her lying on the bed with a man pressed against her. Their fingers were entwined, their faces flushed.

After I blacklisted their contacts, I went ahead and filed for divorce.

Since Suzy and Ted were so deeply in love, I decided to give them a huge gift tomorrow.

The next morning, I carried my child's ashes with me. I had just reached the hotel's private dining room when I ran into Ted.

He pushed the bouquet of roses he was holding into my hands and said, "Don't be angry. I already taught that troublemaker a lesson for you last night. See? I still remember our anniversary."

Suzy suddenly jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're the troublemaker. Who was the one being punished last night? I'm gonna beat you up!"

I saw the red marks on his neck and laughed. "Looks like the session was very intense. Were your fingers long enough to go all the way inside her?"

Ted was stunned by my question. "Why does everything that comes out of your mouth have to be so disgusting?

"Suzy was so worried about upsetting you, so she made a point to come to our anniversary celebration. Why are you being so rude to her?"

When Ted saw the urn in my arms, his brow furrowed. "What are you holding?

I pulled the urn closer, shielding it beneath my coat, and glared at him. "You're the least qualified person to ask that."

Suzy scoffed and said, "Cut the act. Are you playing hard-to-get with the little brat?"

Then, she lunged forward and snatched the urn from my arms. "Let me see what it is."

Suzy moved so fast that I didn't even have time to react. By the time I came back to my senses, my child's ashes were scattered all over the floor.

"No!" I sprawled onto the floor and tried to sweep the ashes back into the urn. However, Suzy swung her foot, kicking and smearing the ashes across the floor.

"Damn it, brat. Is she going to extort me? I don't care. You're going to pay for this."

I couldn't tolerate it any longer, so I slapped Suzy hard across the face. "Do you have a death wish?"

I hit her with all my strength, and the corner of her mouth swelled instantly.

Before I could slap her again, Ted grabbed my arm and snapped, "That's enough. Are you crazy? Isn't it just flour? I could—"

He looked at my flat stomach and paused. "N-Nina, what happened to your stomach?"

Just then, my mother, Florence Hales, arrived. She pushed Ted aside and bellowed, "Go away! Get out of here!"

Ted ignored her and asked me in a trembling voice, "Where is our child, Nina?"

I looked at him with a stoic expression and replied, "All that's left of the child is these ashes. Why can't you just let him go in peace?"

He widened his eyes and looked at our surroundings. There was no mistaking that this was a funeral.

Ted held my shoulders and said angrily, "I merely spent the night out with my friends and failed to come home. Why do you have to hide our child and lie to me?"

Suzy glanced at the ashes on the floor, looking disgusted, and grabbed Ted by the arm. "I told you not to underestimate a woman's jealousy. You didn't believe me, right? Today, she hides the child from you, and tomorrow she will threaten you with divorce."

Seeing his lack of response, Suzy tugged his arm impatiently and continued, "Hey, brat! You promised to go bungee jumping with me after attending this pathetic anniversary celebration.

"Hurry up! The tickets are already paid for. Don't let this woman change your mind!"

Bungee jumping? I remembered I had begged Ted to go with me. However, he always refused because of his fear of heights. And yet, he agreed to go bungee jumping with another woman on our wedding anniversary.

I stared at him and said, "Ted, let's get a divorce."

He froze for a moment, then shook his head in disbelief. "Divorce? You've given birth to my child. Why are you asking for a divorce?

"Suzy was right. You used divorce as a threat against me."

Ted took out his phone and continued, "I get it. You're upset I didn't send you money on time to prove my love, right? I'll do it now."

When he saw the failed notification, his face darkened. "You blocked me?"

It was hilarious. A night had passed, and now only did he notice. He knew my stomach was unwell before he left, and still, he hadn't checked on me even once.

Never mind. I didn't care anymore.

I turned away from Ted, knelt down, and scooped the ashes back into the urn.

Seeing how pitiful I was, Florence could no longer hold back. "Ted Cohen, you're such a disappointment. The baby stopped breathing when Nina was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

"You were out drinking with your mistress. Are you even human?"

Ted shoved Florence and retorted, "What do you mean? Suzy and I are friends. She's not my mistress."

He turned to Larissa and continued, "Quit fooling around. You're a doctor. Where's my child?"

Larissa threw the child's death certificate at his face and hissed, "Have a good look at this!"

Suzy snatched the report and tore it to pieces. "Hey, brat. Maybe Nina was so jealous that she went for an abortion. She and Larissa are so close. They could be lying to you! You're too kind and easily deceived."

Ted didn't dare to see the report and tried to calm himself down. "That's right. This is all a lie. Nina, I told you that Suzy and I are just friends.

"Why won't you believe me? Why is there a lack of trust between us? It's our wedding anniversary today. Why do you have to ruin the day over something so trivial?"

I scoffed and replied, "I prepared a divorce gift for you since you were going to show up."

Suddenly, the video of him applying sunscreen for Suzy played on the large screen.