However, my cries didn't bring Lawrence back. Before his figure completely disappeared from my view, I shakily dialed his number.

Yet, he merely stopped in his tracks for a heartbeat. After noticing my name flashing on the phone screen, he decisively declined it.

Once he was gone, all I received was a cold text message. "I'm taking Eloise shopping. When you've reflected on your behavior, apologize to her."

Clutching my phone in despair, an excruciating pain tore through my abdomen, and I cried out helplessly, "Help! Please, save my baby…"

Warm liquid trickled down my thighs, and the strong metallic smell of blood filled me with horror. This was the baby I had longed for…

I couldn't lose it!

"Ma'am, you're bleeding heavily. I'll call an ambulance right now!" A kind waiter helped me into the ambulance, yet my condition was far from good.

After the examination, the doctor looked at me with a grim expression. "You've lost too much blood. I'm afraid we won't be able to save your baby. Please be prepared for the worst, ma'am."

My head was spinning, but I forced myself to stay conscious as I burst into tears and pleaded, "My baby's already three months old. Please, I'm begging you, save him!"

The doctor pondered for a moment before hesitantly responding, "If Dr. Clayton is here, he might be able to save your baby. He's the most renowned obstetrician. But he's difficult to reach unless you know someone influential who can introduce you."

A sliver of hope rose in my chest. "My husband is Don Ardent. Would he be able to?"

The doctor's face lit up with a smile. "Don Ardent? Of course! He's an old acquaintance of our hospital director. So long as he says the word, there's a good chance we can save your baby!"

With trembling hands, I picked up my phone and called Lawrence again. It rang a few times before he finally answered. "Sylvie, have you thought things through? Apologize to Eloise, and we'll forget this ever happened. Eloise even said you don't need to pay for her gown."

I didn't have time to argue with him. I immediately cut to the chase. "Lawrence, something's happened to our baby. Can you come to the hospital? Also, do you know Dr. Clayton? Can you—"

Before I could finish, he cut me off sharply. "That's enough, Sylvie! You'd go as far as cursing your own child just to avoid taking responsibility? What kind of mother does that?"

I explained weakly, "I'm not lying. I'm at the hospital right now. If you don't believe me, come see for yourself—"

"You were perfectly fine a little while ago, and now you're saying you're in the hospital? At least come up with a better excuse. You've genuinely let me down, Sylvie!" Lawrence said coldly before hanging up on me.

Tears cascaded down my cheeks as I called him repeatedly. Ultimately, I took a picture of my blood-stained clothes and sent it to him. "I'm having a miscarriage. The doctor said our baby won't make it without Dr. Clayton's help. Please, just help me contact him!"

However, my message went unanswered.

Soon, the ambulance arrived at the hospital. The doctor hesitantly asked, "Have you been able to reach Don Ardent? Dr. Clayton just finished a surgery. If you can get in touch with him, he can operate on you right away."

I held the doctor's hand tightly. "My husband isn't here yet. Could you help me contact Dr. Clayton first? My husband will be here any minute now!"

The kind doctor contacted Dr. Clayton and explained my situation. After hearing what happened, Dr. Clayton agreed to take a look at my condition.

I had just let out a breath of relief when Lawrence's call came through.

Eloise's smug voice came through the line.

"Sylvie, your lie is pretty convincing. I can't believe you even got a doctor to play along with you. The pictures came out great, too.

"Lawrie's out shopping for clothes for me right now, and his phone is with me. I've already deleted those pictures. Did you really think you could use your baby as leverage to make him cave in?

"I won't let you have what you want!"

My heart sank. Suppressing the unease rising within me, I explained, "I'm not lying, and I don't want to compete with you. If you want Lawrence, you can have him. I simply want to protect my baby…"

Eloise huffed. "Don't you want to use that baby to keep Lawrie by your side? I won't let you have your way. Today, I'll show you who matters more to him—me or that baby in your belly!"

I asked, "Hold on. What are you trying to do? Hello?"

Eloise had hung up the phone and blocked me.

A terrible sense of dread crept over me. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Sure enough, moments later, Dr. Clayton called the doctor. "Who is this imposter pretending to be Don Ardent's wife? I just spoke with him. He said his wife is perfectly fine. Whoever contacted me earlier was an impostor!"

He sounded livid. "I was going to make an exception and perform the surgery to save her baby. However, for a patient this deceitful, I wouldn't help her even if she was dying!"

The color drained from my face as I lunged forward and snatched the doctor's phone. "I didn't lie, Dr. Clayton! I have the Ardent family's token with me. If you'd just come and take a look—"

Yet, Dr. Clayton didn't listen to a single word I said and hung up on me.

Left with no other option, I turned to the doctor beside me, who looked just as helpless.

He said, "Ma'am, you need to go into surgery immediately. I may not be able to save your baby, but I'll do my best to save your uterus!"

"No! My baby…" I cried out in despair.

Refusing to give up, I tried calling Lawrence again. However, the automated message saying the call couldn't go through felt like a blade twisting through my heart.

Overwhelming fear and pain swallowed me whole, and everything went black.

…

When I came to, the air reeked of disinfectant. I could clearly feel it—my three-month-old baby was gone.

The doctor stood by my hospital bed and lamented, "I'm sorry, but we couldn't save your baby. The good news is that there was no damage to your uterus. You're still young. You'll be able to have children again in the future."

I stared blankly at the ceiling, resting my hand on my now-flat abdomen. Tears slid down from the corners of my eyes, soaking into the pillow.

We'd been married for three years, and only I knew how hard it had been to conceive this child. Alas, the baby I had waited three years for was gone.

"Where's the father of your baby? Shall I call him to look after you?" the doctor inquired gently.

With a lot of effort, I pulled out my phone, only to see a clean screen—no calls, and not even a single message. I had been unconscious for an entire day and night, and Lawrence hadn't reached out once.

Blinking back tears, I responded hoarsely, "It's alright. Thank you for the offer. My baby doesn't have a father anymore."

Right there and then, I was done with Lawrence once and for all. Our baby was gone, as was my love for him.

The doctor's eyes were full of sympathy. He didn't press for details and handed me the hospital admission form. "If your family isn't here, you'll have to handle the payment on your own."

I took it and responded quietly, "Please help me with the discharge procedures."

He was caught off guard. "You just had a miscarriage. I suggest you stay for a couple more days."

"It's fine. I want to leave."

I insisted on being discharged and dragged my weak body home.

The villa was pitch dark, and all of our housekeepers had already gone home for the day. Our bedroom looked exactly the same as the day I left, indicating that Lawrence hadn't been home the past few days.

In the past, I would have called him right away, asked where he was, and even made him something gentle on the stomach. Now, I no longer cared about his whereabouts.

Quietly, I started packing my belongings. After placing everything that belonged to me into a suitcase, I called my friend, who was a lawyer.

"Niall, I need you to draft a divorce agreement for me and hand it to Lawrence."

Niall Hampton was also a friend of Lawrence. He sounded surprised when he heard my request. "You're divorcing Lawrence, Sylvie?"

There was a trace of excitement in his voice. "Well, it makes sense. Eloise is back. Lawrence would've divorced you sooner or later. Since you're bringing it up first, he might feel guilty and let you walk away with more."

Bitterness welled up inside me. I thought, after all these years, Niall and I were friends. Clearly, he'd already decided Eloise was the one who should be Lawrence's wife.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you get the most out of this divorce. We've known each other for years. I won't let you walk away empty-handed."

I didn't respond. I didn't care about the money. All I wanted was to be free from Lawrence as soon as possible and move on.

After arranging everything, I dragged my suitcase to the airport and left without a backward glance.

…

Lawrence had been a little restless for the past two days. It had been a long time since I last called him—something that had never happened before.

In the past, whenever he was away for more than two hours, I would call or text him. If he had a late night out drinking, I'd have a hangover remedy, a warm towel, and clean clothes ready for him. My whole world revolved around him to the point that I'd neglected my own social life and friends.

He'd gotten used to me fussing over him, so he kept glancing in the direction of his phone until Eloise took it away from him.

"Sylvie is acting up because she knows you can't leave her. Why else hasn't she reached out first? She knows you're waiting for her call."

Looking at his dark expression, Eloise deliberately let out a long sigh. "It's all my fault. I'm the reason you two argued. I'll apologize to Sylvie. Maybe once she cools off, she'll stop ignoring you."

With that, Eloise wiped away her tears pitifully and turned to leave.

Lawrence grasped her arm and said stiffly, "Sylvie is the one in the wrong this time. She made a mistake, so she should be the one to apologize. Don't worry. I won't go back until she apologizes to you. Let's see how long she can keep this up."

Eloise's eyes lit up with delight for a brief moment, though she hastily replaced it with a concerned look. "Sylvie is pregnant. Aren't you worried something might happen to her?"

He shrugged. "What could possibly happen to her? She's three months along. She won't miscarry that easily. Does she think I'm stupid?

"I can't believe she's using our baby to threaten me and avoid taking responsibility. I'll make sure she learns her lesson!"

As soon as Lawrence's words fell, his phone rang. He took a look at it and answered casually, "Niall, are you calling to ask me out for a drink? I'm free tonight. Just say when."

Niall said, "Nope. I'm calling on Sylvie's behalf. I'm bringing you the divorce agreement. Aren't you glad? Sylvie has agreed to divorce you. You're free to be with Eloise now!"