What was going on? How could Michael have heard Ava as well?

I was extremely nervous, but I immediately remembered it was because I had not fallen for Ava's tricks, so she had no choice but to turn her target on Michael.

I had to immediately calm myself down.

I furrowed my brow and looked at Michael in concern and confusion, "What? I didn't hear anything. Michael, have you been working too hard recently? Maybe you're hearing things."

I reached out for his hand hanging in mid-air and pressed it on my face, continuing, "Do you want to go and rest? The children are doing well. They're not causing me any trouble."

Michael looked at me with suspicion and shock. He opened his mouth as if about to say something to me, but nothing came out.

Under my concerned gaze, in the end, Michael shook his head and forced a smile.

"Y-You're right. Maybe I've been quite stressed out at work."

I led him to rest before turning to touch my belly and thinking of ways to stop Ava.

Unfortunately, things did not go my way. While I was deep asleep that night, Ava started her act.

"Daddy, help me! Bella's trying to have Mommy all to herself. She's stopping me from giving birth. Why can't Mommy hear me? Daddy, only you can protect me."

I was woken up by her voice, only to see Michael turn around and grunt.

I knew he had fallen for Ava's tricks.

The next morning, Michael stared at my belly with a complex gaze. I touched it, looking at him with worry.

"Michael, why are you looking at me like that? Did something happen to our children?"

Michael was caught off guard, and then he stuttered, "I-It's n-nothing."

"No! Bella has already tried to absorb my hands and legs! Mommy, Daddy, I'm afraid!" Ava screamed, continuing to try to accuse Bella.

I rubbed my belly and looked at Michael. "Michael, you think I don't know you well enough? I know you're feeling uneasy. Why don't we go to the hospital to get a proper check-up? That way, you can be assured as well."

That was the first step of my plan. With proper medical reports as proof, no matter what Ava said, it would be a lie.

Michael was still spooked by that eerie voice, so when he heard my suggestion, he immediately agreed to it without any hesitation.

He looked at me rather sheepishly.

"Wendy, please don't blame me. I'm a first-time father. My mind is just a mess."

At the hospital, Michael accompanied me to undergo the most detailed checkup.

The doctor looked at the ultrasound scan and said to me with a smile, "Please be assured that both babies are growing well. Their hearts are beating strongly."

The two fetuses could be seen hugging each other on the screen.

Michael stared at the screen, pressing on, "Doctor, a-are their limbs all in order? A-Are there any developmental abnormalities?"

Before the doctor could reply, I frowned and questioned, "Michael, what's your point? Are you suspecting me of having a deformed child?"

Michael immediately softened his tone to coax me. "No, Wendy, I'm just worried…"

The doctor chimed in, "Don't worry. Your children are healthy."

I secretly sneered, but I still hugged Michael's arm and said, "See, I told you you were overthinking."

When we returned home, before I could take a breather, Ava had noticed that the check-up was not great for her.

"Daddy, I'm starving. Bella's taking all the nutrients for herself. Could you get Mommy to eat more?"

Michael was stunned, but he still believed her. He got the housekeeper to make a feast for dinner.

He placed an especially fatty piece of pork on my plate.

"Wendy, eat more. For the children. You're too skinny."

I looked at the piece of pork, and my stomach started to churn nauseatingly. In my previous life, I was forced to overeat, which caused me to have trouble in labor.

However, I did not refuse. I smiled movingly at Michael, then I took a bite.

Surely enough, after a few bites, I started to retch. I ran to the bathroom and puked everything out.

Tears streamed down my face.

Michael saw how pale I was. He patted me on the back.

"Michael, I really can't eat such fatty foods. Didn't you hear the doctor? The children are healthy."

Seeing what a mess I was in, that was the first time I noticed conflict in Michael's gaze.

At night, my back was facing Michael. I felt Ava throwing a tantrum.

Her voice was no longer calm and gentle. Instead, it had become shrill and angry.

"Mommy! Why aren't you listening to me? Why didn't you eat? Are you trying to starve me to death?!"

After a brief pause, she asked, "Can… Can you actually hear me?"

I was frightened by what Ava said, but I pretended to adjust my position out of discomfort before falling asleep to her rambles.

After that, I had not heard any movements from her for a long time. I thought she had given up on her evil plans.

However, when it was close to the due date, I suddenly started to feel a little uneasy.

Michael had always been with me, encouraging and comforting me. I initially thought that I would be able to give birth to my children in peace, but Ava was not having it.

One day, when Michael came home from work, she started rambling again.

"Daddy! Mommy was hugging another man today! I saw it!"

Michael was just about to hug me when he suddenly took a step back. He pointed at me angrily, and the veins on his forehead popped up.

"W-What did you do today? Did you see a man?"

My heart sank. Ava was trying to drive us apart. She wanted to destroy my reputation and marriage, forcing me into desperation.

I was wrong from the beginning. Ava did not want luck. She just wanted Michael for herself.

"Michael, I spent the whole day watching TV on the couch, then I took a nap. Why?"

"Mommy's lying! I heard her talking to Mr. Walton next door! She said that the children in her were his! Daddy, I only want you as my Daddy!"

Ava's screams and sobs pierced through my mind. I was sure that Michael had heard her as well.

How could she accuse me like that?

I was so frightened by what she said that my face lost all its color, yet to Michael, it was an admission to my affair.

"Wendy, you're a monster! How could you let me raise someone else's children?! You shameless woman!"

"Michael, I didn't do…"

Before I could say anything, Michael shoved me angrily. I fell to the ground.

I instantly felt something hot trickling down my leg. Then, I clutched my belly.

"The children! My children…"

Michael glared at me, but when he saw the pool of red below me, he instantly froze. Then, he panicked and frantically called for the ambulance.

While waiting for the ambulance, Ava still continued with her pleas.

"Daddy, don't abandon me. I'm your daughter. I'll be good. Mommy only likes Bella. She doesn't like me."

I could see that with every sentence that Ava said, Michael's gaze turned icier by the moment.

I shut my eyes. Tears and sweat mixed on my face. I no longer wanted to explain myself.

I knew that I needed to be calm in labor. I was going to bring the two children into this world.

Especially that evil monster. I wanted to see her leave my body, then only could I begin my revenge.

The ambulance arrived and took me to the hospital, sending me straight to the delivery room.

Michael's push had made me go into labor.

I screamed with all my might in labor. The doctor kept encouraging me to push. It was so painful that my vision had gone blurry.

Right at that moment, Ava's voice pierced through my mind once more. She exclaimed with contempt, "Push, you idiot! Use your remaining worth to give birth to me! Once I'm together with Daddy, your good days are over!"

I was furious. It instantly gave me the strength to push once more. With the cheering of the doctor, I finally gave birth to the monster.

I continued adjusting my breathing, and soon after, Bella was born as well.

"Your daughters are healthy."

The nurses cleaned the babies up and brought them to me.

At that very moment, I lay exhausted on the delivery bed, while Michael, who had just rushed to the doorway of the delivery room, his face filled with the joy and complicated emotions of a new father, saw it too.

Ava flashed a fleeting, sinister smile.

I looked shocked, staring at her.

Michael seemed to have been struck by thunder. He took a step back, pointing at Ava with a trembling hand. His face was as pale as a sheet.

"S-She just smiled…"