The murmurs around me grew louder, and the disapproving glares of the crowd seemed to fixate on me.

When I didn't say anything, Zoey placed a hand protectively over her stomach, her eyes filled with hurt.

"We're really hungry," she said softly. "Please, let me cut in line. I'll pay double the price."

Zoey reached for her phone to pay, but I quickly stopped her and replied coldly, "You're pregnant. If anything happens, my restaurant can't bear the responsibility. Please, go eat somewhere else."

Zoey looked stunned by my bluntness, her eyes brimming with tears in an instant.

"I'm just pregnant; I haven't done anything wrong. Why won't you let me eat?"

As Zoey spoke, she swayed slightly, and the customers around her hurried to grab a chair for her to sit.

One of the customers suggested that Zoey go eat elsewhere for now, but she shook her head miserably.

"I have severe morning sickness, and I can't keep anything down. The doctor said I should eat whatever I can manage, or I'll lose the baby," she spoke while looking at me, her eyes full of accusation and pain.

"I didn't expect the owner would turn me away. I can go without eating, but my baby can't go hungry."

As Zoey's pale face turned more ashen, murmurs of outrage swept through the restaurant.

"How could you be so cruel? How could you let a pregnant woman go hungry?"

"I heard she's been engaged for two years but still hasn't married. Maybe she can't have children, and that's why she's jealous of others."

"Bah! People like her don't deserve to have kids!"

My fiancé, Laurence Ball, stood up after handing Zoey a glass of water. He turned toward me, his face filled with anger.

"So this is what you've become, being cruel to a complete stranger? Where did the person I loved go? No wonder you're still not pregnant even though we've been together for five years. If you can't have kids, you should get checked out, not make life hard for a pregnant lady!"

Laurence's words made it clear—he was accusing me of jealousy and intentionally making things difficult for Zoey.

The eyes of everyone in the room seemed to burn into me, as if trying to pierce through me.

I was shaking with rage, wanting nothing more than to slap Laurence right across his arrogant face.

I took a deep breath, forced myself to calm down, and looked at the person who had been the loudest.

"If you're so compassionate, let her share your table. If anything happens to her after she eats, you'll be fully responsible," I said.

The man's face flushed with embarrassment as he quickly backed away, retreating to the back of the crowd.

"Pregnant women are already prone to complications. If any of you are willing to take responsibility for her, I'll arrange a table right now," I said, scanning the room. When I met their eyes, they quickly looked away.

I sneered internally.

Just moments ago, they were all standing on their moral high ground. But as soon as they were asked to take responsibility, none of them dared to speak up.

Just when I thought I had managed to avoid Zoey's miscarriage in my restaurant, Laurence suddenly shoved me.

"You really have no compassion," he spat.

I didn't expect him to push me. I stumbled and fell to the ground, my keys, phone, and medical report scattering everywhere.

When Laurence saw the medical report, he quickly snatched it up.

Zoey, standing beside him, casually read the report aloud.

"Chlamydia positive, gonorrhea positive, HIV positive. Patient: Dakota Lennings."

With a loud gasp, everyone in the room took several steps back, quickly distancing themselves from me.

I was about to explain when Laurence slapped me across the face.

"You filthy woman. I can't believe you're infected with all these diseases!"

He turned to explain to the crowd, "I haven't slept with her in two years."

Instantly, the entire restaurant erupted in shocked whispers.

The crowd in the restaurant erupted into loud whispers, each person eager to voice their opinion.

"She's got all these diseases—just how much has she been messing around?"

"No wonder she can't have kids. Looks like she's been used up long ago."

The man I had called out earlier stepped forward, puffing out his chest. Without hesitation, he splashed a cup of water right across my face.

"With all these diseases, how dare you even show your face here! What if you infect us? How disgusting. I'm embarrassed for you! I feel sorry for your fiancé. He seems like a decent guy, but he ended up with someone like you."

Seeing the man's actions, others followed suit, throwing their leftover food at me and shouting for me to get out.

In less than two minutes, I was covered in a mess of drinks and food.

I turned to look at Laurence, hoping to see some sign of concern or compassion on his face.

But all I saw was disgust. His words were cold and cruel.

"What are you still doing standing here? Are you trying to infect all of us?"

Zoey, acting fragile, bit her lip and gently tugged at Laurence's sleeve.

"Don't say that. There must be some kind of misunderstanding."

She glanced at me, then quickly looked away, as if she were afraid to meet my eyes.

"We're all women here. I believe she's not like that."

Her words seemed to strike a nerve with the crowd. What had just calmed down flared up again.

Some people even pulled out their phones and started livestreaming the whole scene.

The sounds of tips and donations flooded in.

I didn't even need to look to know that the livestream was packed with viewers.

There was someone on my left livestreaming too. I caught a glimpse of the screen.

The comments were filled with praise for Zoey, calling her beautiful and kind-hearted.

Meanwhile, the insults toward me kept coming.

Zoey clutched her stomach and leaned gently against Laurence's shoulder, looking fragile.

It might appear like she was unsteady on her feet, but I knew it was all an act.

"Even though the test results say you have all these diseases, as long as you explain, I believe everyone will trust you," Zoey added.

But Laurence scoffed. "Explain what? The facts are right there in black and white. Dakota, not only did you sleep around, but you've even infected yourself with all these diseases. Good thing I haven't been with you for the past two years. If I had, I would've been infected too.

"Today, in front of everyone, I'm breaking up with you. Our engagement is over."

At those words, the entire restaurant erupted in applause.

"Good job! A filthy woman like that should've been ditched long ago. We support you!"

As the crowd cheered, Laurence stood tall, proud.

But his gaze toward me remained as sickening and full of contempt as ever.

I pulled off the engagement necklace around my neck and threw it at Laurence's face.

"I was going to break up with you anyway. With how much you're helping her make my life difficult, I would've thought you two were sleeping together."

Laurence sneered, "Dakota, stop trying to shift the blame and accuse me. There's nothing going on between Zoey and me."

I scoffed. "Just earlier, you were calling her a stranger, saying you didn't know her. Now you know her name is Zoey? And you still claim there's nothing between you two?"

Laurence instinctively glanced around the room, realizing that the way people were now looking at him and Zoey had changed. The suspicion in their eyes was unmistakable.

As I glanced at the crowd, their eyes filled with doubt, Zoey's gaze flickered briefly.

"No matter what, the fact remains that you have these diseases," she said.

With that, she snatched the test results from Laurence's hand, waved them in front of the crowd, then directly shoved them in front of a livestreaming camera.

Those who had been uncertain moments ago shifted their attention entirely to Zoey.

In an instant, the livestream and the room were flooded with voices cursing me.

The barrage of comments on the screen blurred in front of my eyes. Even without reading carefully, I could tell they were filled with harsh insults.

The more they cursed me, the more pleased Zoey seemed to become, her smile growing wider with every word.

"Who gets infected with so many STDs? I don't think I need to explain that. You're trying to shift the blame onto me just to distract everyone, aren't you?"

Zoey perfectly played the role of the victim, her expression one of such distress that both the people in the restaurant and the livestream viewers couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

[Poor girl. She's being targeted by that vile woman just because she's pregnant.]

[Yes, she’s so petty and dirty. I think she deserves to die right away.]

[Yeah! Do we have any experts here? Does anyone know this woman's info?]

Seeing the livestream viewers aggressively asking for my personal details, I knew I had to act fast.

If I didn't do something soon, in less than half an hour, I'd be exposed to the world like in my past life, and my information would be all over the internet.

I pulled out my phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at Zoey.

"You're saying I have diseases, then show the proof. If not, I'll sue you for defamation."

Zoey looked at me as if I were a fool, her smile wide as she waved the test results in the air.

"These results have your name on them. You're not going to claim it's just someone with the same name as you, right?"

I smiled thinly. "The name on the paper is mine, that's true—"

Before I could finish, Zoey interrupted, her voice rising in excitement, "You all heard that! She just admitted it! She's got all these diseases!"

The crowd eagerly nodded, taking several steps back from me.

The person who had been standing next to me filming quickly moved over to Zoey's side, scared to stay near me.

Just like that, it felt as if an invisible line had been drawn between me and everyone else.

Laurence, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious, his eyes burning with hatred.

I took a deep breath and spoke clearly, one word at a time, "The hospital mixed up our samples. These results are not mine."

Zoey scoffed. "How convenient for you. Don't try to make excuses."

Laurence chuckled darkly, joining in with a mocking tone. "Dakota, I know you can't accept this, but it's the consequence of your own actions. You brought this on yourself for fooling around. If you knew how it would end up, why didn't you think twice before?"

I stared coldly at Zoey and Laurence, listening to their cruel comments.

Even if Zoey didn't suffer a miscarriage like she did in my past life, with that test result, the public's scorn could drown me.

But what they didn't know was that the test results truly weren't mine.

"Laurence," I said, my voice unwavering, "when we went for our pre-marital check-up last week, the doctor mixed up our samples. You're the one with all these diseases."