Because I refused to terminate my pregnancy to donate bone marrow for my younger sister, Selena Malone, she left behind a suicide note and threw herself into the sea.

While my mother hated me for standing by and doing nothing, my father blamed me for being selfish and heartless.

My husband, Lucian Crowe, sent me to the hospital to abort our child, forcing me to experience the pain of losing someone I loved.

In the end, they joined forces to bind me to a sea stack, saying they wanted me to taste what it felt like for Selena to be swallowed by the ocean.

By the time they remembered me, my corpse had already begun to rot.

The agony of having my flesh torn apart and devoured by fish had finally ended. Yet instead of disappearing, I found myself trapped at the side of the one who had set everything in motion: Lucian Crowe.

The heater filled the room with a gentle warmth, so comfortable it almost made the bone-deep cold I had endured before death feel like nothing more than a distant dream.

A call came in from Damon Cross, the bodyguard assigned to watch over me.

Lucian spoke first.

"Has Iris Malone finally admitted her fault?" His voice was cold, laced with contempt. "If she had behaved this obediently from the start, she wouldn’t have suffered so much. Bring her up. Make her kneel properly in front of Selena’s grave and repent. Otherwise, she shouldn’t even think about returning to the Crowe family."

Every word dripped with scorn. In his mind, I was already the culprit who had killed Selena. If I refused to confess, then I was unforgivable, beyond redemption.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Sir… that’s not it," Damon said hesitantly. "Madam has been tied up for a whole night. The oxygen tank has already run out. I’m calling to ask if we should proceed with a rescue."

Silence fell over the room for a brief second.

Lucian, who was always so composed, suddenly grabbed the wine bottle in front of him and smashed it against the floor. The sharp crack echoed through the room, yet it still wasn’t enough to contain his fury.

"Rescue? What rescue! What is there to pity about a murderer like her? At this time of year, even if the tide comes in, that area won’t be submerged. At most, she’s just getting splashed by seawater. What danger could there possibly be?

"And where did that oxygen tank even come from? She killed Selena. How does she still have the nerve to enjoy something like that? Take it away!

"No one is allowed to save her! Isn’t she refusing to admit her mistake? Then let her experience what it felt like for Selena—helpless, suffocating, and waiting to die!"

Each icy word struck my heart like a hammer.

Enjoy?

Was he talking about being submerged in the freezing February waters for an entire day and night, right after a forced abortion?

Or enduring the tearing pain in my abdomen, watching blood flow endlessly beneath me as fish gnawed and ripped at my flesh, while I had no way to call for help?

Besides, even that so-called "enjoyment" wasn’t something he had ever allowed me.

In the end, what I thought was the last trace of affection he still held for me was nothing more than a kindness from someone else, given without his knowledge.

Grief and bitterness wrapped around me, blurring my vision.

On the other end, Damon spoke again, his voice filled with unease, "But, sir, it’s February. The seawater is freezing. Madam just underwent an abortion. Her body might not be able to handle it."

Lucian’s brows furrowed slightly.

For a fleeting moment, I thought he would finally show me a shred of mercy.

A cold laugh shattered that illusion.

"If something happens to her, she deserves it. For the sake of that useless lump of flesh, she stood by and let Selena die. The sea swallowed Selena, and we never recovered her body. She feels pain? And Selena didn’t?"

The rest of his words faded into a dull roar.

The phrase "lump of flesh" echoed over and over in my mind like a curse, eating away at my heart.

He said it was just a lump of flesh.

It wasn’t.

It wasn’t a lump of flesh.

That was my child—the child I had begged and prayed for, the child who had been with me for three months, who hadn’t even had the chance to step into this world.

Tears spilled uncontrollably from my eyes.

I still remembered kneeling outside the operating theatre, begging Lucian over and over again to let me keep the baby.

My child had curled up inside me, tiny hands and feet just beginning to take shape. In another month, it would have stretched and moved inside my womb, greeting me, telling me that I had been chosen—firmly, surely—by my baby to be its mother.

And yet, my own husband had destroyed all of it.

I couldn’t understand it.

That was his child, too.

How could he be so cruel?

Very soon, I understood.

After hanging up the phone, he seemed like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing onto the sofa.

All his rage vanished.

With a tenderness I had never received, he reached out and gently caressed the face in Selena’s memorial photograph. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Selena, if I had forced her to abort the child to save you back then, would you still have died? Why… why wasn’t it you who met me first?"

My mind roared.

After hiding it for so long, he had finally spoken his true thoughts.

All those times he had said—

"She’s just my sister.

"Your mind is dirty, so everything you see looks dirty.

"Can you stop making a scene?"

Now, they all felt like a cruel joke.

The signs had always been there. I was just a fool, choosing to believe him over and over again.

I simply didn’t want thirteen years of love to turn into a punchline, yet it took him just three days to make me believe the truth.

But what had my child and I done wrong?

After three years of marriage, I had finally gotten pregnant, despite being told I could never conceive.

My always-busy husband immediately dropped everything to stay home with me.

The very next day, Serena was diagnosed with leukemia. Right in front of the entire family, blood poured endlessly from her nose before she collapsed to the ground.

After testing, I was the only compatible donor.

However, my doctor, Dr. Roland Blake, told me clearly that my pregnancy was already a miracle. If I underwent the procedure, not only would the baby be at risk, but my own life could be in danger as well.

I repeated Dr. Blake's words exactly.

My parents’ expressions turned cold instantly.

My mother, Celeste Malone, rushed forward and slapped me across the face. "You’re already pregnant and still lying? Aren’t you afraid karma will befall the child in your womb?"

"It’s just donating bone marrow. Are you going to die from that? Other people do it just fine. You’re just being dramatic! I think you’re just jealous of Selena. You’d rather see her die, wouldn’t you?!"

I held my cheek, looking at her, my nose stinging as I fought back tears. I quickly pulled out the medical report.

"This is what the doctor said. I didn’t lie—"

Before I could finish, she snatched the report from my hands.

I thought that once they saw it, they would believe me.

They didn’t even glance at it. Instead, they tore it into pieces.

My eyes widened in shock and anger. Before I could even question them, the shredded paper was flung straight at my face. The sharp edges sliced across my cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.

"Iris, you really came prepared, didn’t you? You’d rather watch your own sister die than help her?"

My father, Garrett Malone, chimed in coldly, "Iris, to avoid donating your bone marrow, you actually colluded with a doctor to fake a report? You’ve truly disappointed me."

It felt like a hole had been torn open in my chest, cold wind howling through it.

I didn’t understand.

We were both their daughters. Why couldn’t they spare even a single word of concern for me?

The evidence was right in front of them, yet they still believed I was lying, as if molding me into a selfish, heartless villain fit their view of me better.

My defense felt weak and meaningless.

When Lucian stepped in front of me, all the grievances I had been holding back surged to the surface. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

I threw myself into his arms, wanting to ask why he had come so late.

He simply caught me, wiped my tears, and said calmly, "Saving her comes first, Iris. Let’s not keep the baby."

The embrace that once made me feel safe now felt like it was covered in thorns, stabbing into me until I could barely stand.

I shook my head, clinging to his arm, stubborn and terrified.

"No… I only have this child in my life. Lucian, this is your child, too. You can’t be this cruel. You can’t—"

My vision blurred with tears.

Lucian only looked at me calmly, as if I were a child throwing a tantrum. "Your health isn’t good. This child might not even make it. You know I’ve never cared about carrying on a bloodline. Wouldn’t it be better for us to live our lives as just the two of us?"

So what did that mean?

My body was fit enough to donate bone marrow to Selena, but not fit enough to keep my own child?

I stared at him, nearly breaking, my voice hoarse. "Lucian, do you remember why my health is like this?"

Three years ago, during our wedding photoshoot, a careless mistake by the photographer had swept us into the ocean.

He couldn’t swim.

I had put the only flotation ring on him for the shot, and the heavy wedding dress dragged me down into the water.

I was unconscious for three days before I woke up.

Back then, he had held me tightly after almost losing me, swearing he would protect me for the rest of my life, never letting me suffer again.

I tried to use that guilt to awaken what was left of his conscience.

He only lowered his head, avoiding my gaze, and repeated quietly, "Iris, even if you give birth to this child, no one will love it. Its existence is unnecessary."

In that moment, I had to grip the doorframe just to keep myself from collapsing.

It wasn’t just his judgment of the child. It was the way he tore open the deepest wound in my heart without hesitation.

From the moment I was born, I had always been the unnecessary child in this family. No one loved me except my grandmother.

My parents and everyone around me favored the lively, cheerful Selena.

Until I met him.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years to heal me.

He was the one who said I was never unnecessary and that I was the most precious treasure in the world.

After a lifetime of being ignored, scolded, and discarded, I had finally begun to make peace with myself, to forget the pain.

Yet I had forgotten that even the person closest to you can stab you the deepest.

He knew.

He had promised to protect me.

And yet he still stood with them, carving into my heart piece by piece, reopening every scar I had tried to bury, leaving me shattered, in unbearable pain.

Just as I was sinking into despair, Selena stepped in, blocking the others and appearing to defend me.

However, where they couldn’t see, she smirked and whispered, "Iris, so what if you’re pregnant? No one will love you. You didn’t know, did you? Every time Lucian said he was busy, he was with me.

"You and that whelp inside your belly are both unnecessary. See? With just a flick of my finger, I can make them abandon you and choose me."

Meeting my desperate gaze, she enunciated each word clearly. "I’m not sick at all. I just don’t want you to have a good life."

She slammed her elbow into my stomach.

I shoved her away in panic. A heavy pain dragged through my abdomen as a wave of indescribable fear swept over me.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

My baby. My baby—

Mom rushed over and slapped me again.

"You’re a monster! Your sister is still sick, and you’re hitting her? How did I give birth to something like you?!"

My face burned, cold sweat drenched my body, and the pain in my abdomen nearly made me pass out. I bit down hard on my tongue to stay conscious, grabbing Lucian’s arm.

"Save the baby… please, save the baby… Lucian, I’m begging you…"

Selena suddenly started bleeding, letting out a terrified scream.

Lucian shook off my hand and rebuked me, "If the baby’s gone, that’s your own fault. If you hadn’t been so vicious and pushed Selena, would this have happened?"

I could barely stand, yet it felt like a dull blade was carving my heart open, blood pouring endlessly.

"No… Lucian, please… save the baby. I’m begging you. Save our child. Just call a doctor—"

"No way." He didn’t even look at me. He threw out the words coldly, then scooped Selena into his arms and ran off to find a doctor.

My parents followed immediately, their worried eyes fixed entirely on her.

As if her suffering alone mattered.

As if the sky itself would collapse if something happened to her.

Now that I was a mother, I understood that kind of love. Their concern for her was instinct.

But wasn’t I their child too?

Abandoned by my husband and my parents, I curled up on the floor. It took over ten minutes for a hospital orderly to find me.

By some miracle, the baby was saved.

Lying alone in the hospital bed, I watched the young couple in the next bed laugh and chat happily, discussing what they would name their child. The hope and sweetness in their eyes pierced me, yet stirred something tender inside me as well.

I placed my hand over my stomach and whispered silently, "Even if you weren’t wanted by others, I will love you with everything I have."

Lucian, who had disappeared for an entire day, finally came to my room.

I thought that even if nothing else, he would at least ask how I was. Instead, he frowned the moment he saw me.

"Stop pretending to be sick, Iris. Selena is bleeding again. Can you really stand by and watch your sister die? Or watch your parents bury their own child?"