Caleb Lawson's childhood sweetheart, Yvette Grant, is pregnant. No one knows who the father is. Caleb decides to claim the child as his for the sake of her reputation. Meanwhile, my child turns into a bastard whose father is unknown.

"Yvie has always been obedient—getting pregnant out of wedlock is too cruel a fate for her. She won't be able to accept the criticism and mockery." His simple explanation turns our five-year relationship into a joke.

Later, my family bring me to the hospital for an abortion. Caleb stays by Yvette's side, caring for her like she's a precious treasure.

By the time he gets home, I've already aborted the baby and left him.

I had just found out I was pregnant when Yvette Grant announced she was expecting too.

The day I returned from my check-up, I barely stepped through the door when I heard her soft, saccharine voice.

"Caleb, what do you think we should name our baby? I'm scared… What if it hurts too much?"

Caleb Lawson held her shoulders with a gentle gaze that could melt candle wax. As they laughed and chatted, Caleb suddenly glanced up and saw me at the door.

I slowly walked toward him. "Caleb, what does she mean by that?"

His arm stayed firmly around Yvette as he sighed. "Go to our room, Natalie. I'll explain later."

"Explain it to me now!" I demanded.

Caleb's expression hardened. "Natalie, don't make a scene, alright?"

While suppressing my tears, I raised my hand and slapped him across the face.

"What are you doing?" Yvette, distressed over Caleb getting hit, immediately pushed me away and shielded him behind her.

She puffed out her stomach slightly and said, "I'm carrying Caleb's baby. What right do you have to hit him?"

It felt like my heart had been torn wide open in that instant. Tears streamed down my face.

Caleb frowned deeply as he watched me cry. I could see from his gaze that his patience was thinning.

"Natalie, don't listen to her. The baby isn't mine."

Before I could even process his words, Yvette let out a dramatic sob. Her big, red-rimmed eyes were filled with grievance as she looked at Caleb like he had just betrayed her.

"Caleb, you promised me you wouldn't tell anyone! How could you tell her?"

"Natalie is my wife. I have no reason to keep this from her."

Hearing his cold words, Yvette stopped crying. Instead, a cruel smirk crept onto her lips.

"Then shouldn't you also tell her the rest? That for my sake, and for the sake of my baby, hers will grow up fatherless?"

I immediately turned to Caleb. My chest tightened as if it were filled with ice while my breath came in shallow gasps.

However, Caleb didn't say a word—his silence was as good as confirmation.

Yvette, unable to hide her satisfaction, caressed her belly with pride.

"Caleb is making such a huge sacrifice for me so others won't judge me. I'm really touched. In the future, my baby will be Caleb's firstborn. As for yours, whether it becomes an adopted child or something else, we'll discuss that later."

Throughout it all, Caleb didn't refute any of Yvette's words.

Fury surged inside me, so I clenched my fists and pounded against his chest. At first, he just stood there and took it. Then, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward our bedroom.

"Let me go! Tell me what's going on!"

I couldn't understand. Was Yvette really that important? So important that our baby didn't even deserve a father?

Caleb's eyes burned with undisguised irritation as if he was displeased with my actions.

"Yvie has always had a girl-next-door image. It would ruin her reputation if word got out that she got pregnant before marriage, and she wouldn't survive the shame and mockery of it," he said.

"So you expect me to take the fall instead?" I asked.

"Of course not!" Caleb shook his head. "This is just temporary. Once she gives birth safely, I'll tell everyone the truth."

As I stared at Caleb, he suddenly felt like a stranger—someone I could no longer recognize as the man I loved.

Just then, the doorbell rang. A deliveryman stood at the door with his arms full of packages for Yvette.

She barely spared me a glance as she rushed forward to tear open one box after another.

"Caleb picked out everything himself because he's worried about me being uncomfortable during pregnancy. I swear he'd bring home the whole mall if he could. This must be a freebie. My baby won't need it—why don't you take it?"

Caleb frowned. "Yvette," he warned.

But instead of looking chastised, she only pouted and wrapped herself around his arm.

"Caleb, you know how important a pregnant woman's emotions are. If you keep scolding me like this, the baby might get scared."

It was a blatant act, but Caleb fell for it. The irritation on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a flicker of concern as he reached out to touch her stomach.

As if the barely formed fetus inside her could even feel fear!

I said nothing and walked back slowly to my room.

And at that moment, the child I had longed for—the baby I had once cherished the thought of—felt like a mistake.

Caleb followed closely and shut the door behind him. His gaze was sharp as he looked down at me.

"Natalie, you know Yvette's situation. If I don't help her, she has no one. You're my wife. You should understand that. If there was anything between me and Yvette, you and I wouldn't be married right now."

I remembered the day Yvette had found out she was pregnant. She had run straight to Caleb, shaking in his arms, looking fragile.

Caleb had softened instantly and murmured reassurances, telling her everything would be okay.

Then, her parents, Patricia Fletcher and Albert Grant, had arrived—furiously shouting shouting, ready to beat the shame out of her.

Yvette was terrified. She had buried herself deeper in Caleb's arms, trembling so violently that it had seemed like she might shatter.

The Grant family had a spotless reputation and a strict moral code. Something like this was entirely unacceptable.

So Yvette, in her fear, had pinned the responsibility for the baby on Caleb. And to protect her, he had admitted to being the baby's father.

"Natalie, all that matters is that I know the child you're carrying is mine. What other people think doesn't matter."

Something inside me cracked, but I still asked the question that had been clawing at my throat.

"Why can't she get rid of it?"

"Yvette wants to keep the baby. You and I are having a baby, too. But she's afraid people will call hers an Illegitimate child, so…"

"So now her child is legitimate, and ours is the fatherless kid. Is that it?" I wasn't crying anymore. I just stared at him with a mocking smile.

Caleb's jaw tightened. A storm brewed in his eyes.

"No matter what anyone says, this is still my child. And you are my wife—that will never change. Natalie, can't you be more understanding?

"Yvie is sweet and innocent. She shouldn't have to suffer because of rumors," Caleb said.

That was when it hit me. She was too fragile to suffer, but it was perfectly fine if I did.

That thought crept into my mind again. I blinked against the burning sting in my eyes, despair written all over my face.

"Then let's just get rid of our baby," I said.

"No way!" Caleb rejected the idea immediately. His tone even carried a hint of reprimand. "Stop being so stubborn. Yvie and her baby are innocent. Why are you being so demanding?"

"But my baby and I are innocent too! Have you even thought about what kind of life they'll face once they're born?"

"I'll take care of it. How many times do I have to say it? Natalie, you never fail to disappoint me." With that, Caleb turned and walked out after slamming the door shut.

The following day, I woke up to find a dozen bodyguards stationed around the room.

My phone and laptop were gone, completely cutting me off from the world. I wasn't even allowed to leave the house.

Caleb was afraid I would abort the baby. But the irony was, he already had a child—at least in name.

I was trapped and locked away until my belly swelled and the so-called "safe period" of three months passed.

That day, chaos erupted from downstairs. Yvette's family had arrived with a moving crew.

Patricia shot me a disdainful glare the moment she saw me. "You're carrying a bastard and still have the audacity to stay here. How shameless."

"Yvette is just too kind for her own good. Because of her, Caleb has suffered enough," Albert added. He turned his gaze toward me. It was filled with nothing but contempt.

"Enough. There's no need to waste our words on a shameless woman like her. Just help Yvette settle in."

I found it laughable. The Grant family was so righteous and strict about morals. And yet, Yvette was carrying someone's husband's baby, and suddenly, shame didn't seem to matter anymore.

Meanwhile, the movers hauled bag after bag upstairs.

Yvette lingered near me with a smug smirk. "So what if you're Caleb's wife? It's just a title. You and that baby are nothing compared to me. And soon, it'll be me, Caleb, and our baby. We'll be a real family."

Her words cut deep. My hand flew across her face with a sharp crack.

But even that wasn't enough. I grabbed her hair and yanked her violently as my palm struck her again and again.

Yvette shrieked in pain until Caleb rushed home and pulled me off her.

I wanted nothing but to kill her. After all, a person who had already lost all hope was capable of doing anything.

Yvette sobbed uncontrollably, drawing Patricia and Albert into the room.

Patricia raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. Caleb moved as if to stop her, but he pulled Yvette into his arms after seeing her tears.

"Caleb, this woman is getting out of control! She's carrying another man's baby, yet you still refuse to divorce her. And now, she's even hitting Yvie! If you don't throw her out, I'll take Yvie home with me. And then the Lawson family will have no rightful heir!"

Yvette lifted her head and shot me a triumphant smile.

However, Caleb didn't do as Patricia demanded. Instead, he released Yvette and walked over to stand beside me.

"Natalie is my wife. I won't let her leave. Yvie can stay here, too, but I don't want to hear such words again. They are both my children. They are equally important to me," he said.

Caleb didn't abandon me, but he didn't tell the truth either. Instead, he let me bear the shame and allowed them to humiliate me.

For Yvette's "peace of mind", Caleb wanted me to compromise.

And so, my bright, sunlit bedroom was taken from me. I was moved to a storage room in the basement.

"It's just a different place to sleep. Nothing else will change. You'll still get your meals on time," Caleb said.

But none of that mattered to me anymore.

To Caleb, neither I nor this baby truly mattered. I had already made my decision—I wasn't going to keep this baby. I wouldn't bring them into this world just to suffer.