I immediately stopped packing and snapped my head toward Henry. I felt angry and confused. "How am I vile and shameless?" I demanded.

When he chose to be with Yvette, I accepted the situation as it was and didn't even try to stop him. How dare he call me names!

"Explain yourself, Henry!"

Henry suddenly glared at me with seething hatred.

"Let me just ask you this, Natasha. Why on earth did my dad show up the night of Yvette's birthday ten years ago? If you didn't tell him, who did?"

When Henry's behavior started getting worse, I tried my hardest to talk some sense into him. Initially, he claimed that he occasionally acted out because he was bored with his high school life. As time went on, he became annoyed by my constant nagging.

He said that I was too clingy and that it made him feel disgusted. To drive me away, he kissed Yvette in public and claimed that she was his girlfriend. Then, he told me not to bother him ever again.

Heartbroken, I chose to give up on him.

Despite everything, I had never told his father what happened back then. I only discovered that Yvette had been sent out of the country the following day. I didn't know that Henry had assumed that I was the one who told on him.

Still, if he had been harboring these suspicions all this while, why did he choose to date me for many years?

"It's okay, Henry. It's been ten years, after all. There's no point in bringing everything up now," said Yvette. "Natasha probably acted out of love. You can't blame her for wanting what's best for you."

I had a powerful urge to slap Yvette across the face. It was just as I expected. She was the one who had been telling Henry all these lies about me.

She shot me a look full of hostility and provocation, her words coming out fake and insincere.

"Please don't take Henry's words to heart, Natasha. This is all my fault. I just missed him so much. If I hadn't come all the way here just to see him, the both of you would probably be married by now," she cried.

"I should never have returned. I should just go. I won't ever bother the two of you again." She shrugged off Henry's hand and turned to leave.

Shocked, Henry immediately dashed forward and grabbed onto her hand.

"You can't leave," he said. "The one that should be leaving is Natasha. She's the one that tore us apart!"

I couldn't believe it. The boy I loved since we were kids wholeheartedly trusted Yvette's claims. He actually believed that I was a terrible person.

I wasted 14 years of my time and effort on this man. Unwilling to defend myself further, I turned around and continued packing up my clothes.

"I'll go. I'm about to sell off the house anyway," I said emotionlessly.

Henry froze. He whipped his head around to look at me. He looked shocked and angry at the same time.

"What are you talking about? Is that a threat?" he snapped. "Do you think we have nowhere else to go? I'm a manager of the company, Natasha. I'm due for a promotion soon as well. I have tons of money coming my way."

He continued, "I grew sick of this shabby house long ago. If you want to break up, that's fine by me. In the future, I won't take you back even if you get on your knees and beg."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you think the company would still consider your promotion after everything you've done? Please don't be so shameless."

My words seemed to have struck a nerve. Humiliated, Henry jabbed a finger at me and started yelling furiously.

"Who are you calling shameless, Natasha?" he barked. "If you weren't such a tattletale back then, I wouldn't have had to part ways with Yvette for an entire decade. Maybe if we had stayed together, she wouldn't have developed a terminal disease. This is all your fault!"

I scoffed. Nothing I said would have mattered at that point. If he claimed that I was at fault, then so be it. After the day was over, I never wanted to see his face ever again. His business would no longer concern me at that point.

I didn't even step out the door when Yvette suddenly started retching.

Patting her back, Henry asked worriedly, "Is it the morning sickness again? Let's go sit down in the living room. I'll get you a glass of water."

Yvette was pregnant?

My mind went blank as I watched Henry and Yvette walk into the living room. The entire room went silent as I stayed rooted to the spot with my luggage in tow.

Henry used to tell me that he didn't like children. He even asked if we could lead a childless, dual-income lifestyle in the future. Since keeping each other company for the rest of our lives didn't sound too bad, I agreed to his request.

I marched toward the living room.

Henry handed Yvette a glass of water. She seemed to be feeling better after taking a few sips.

"Didn't you tell me that you disliked children? Why is she pregnant?" I approached Henry and questioned him furiously.

Henry deliberately chose to ignore me when he saw how worked up I was. Instead, he continued to rub Yvette's back and disregarded me.

Yvette set the cup down and hastily began to apologize to me. "I'm sorry, Yvette. This is all my fault. I couldn't stop myself. Please don't blame this on Henry," she pleaded.

"As a man, I should be responsible for my own actions," Henry declared. "The baby is mine. Do you have a problem with that, Natasha?"

His words made my blood run cold. I instantly froze in place.

The autumn breeze that seeped through the balcony felt cold. I was heartbroken.

I had anticipated this response. However, hearing the actual words come out of his own mouth was still gut-wrenching nonetheless.

He didn't actually dislike kids. He just didn't want to have them with me.

"Shameless!" I yelled before slapping him across the face. He didn't avoid it or even fight back. He simply stood there and allowed me to do as I pleased.

Yvette let out a startled yell before gently caressing Henry's face.

"Are you okay, Henry?" she asked, her eyes pooling with tears.

"This is all your fault!" I screamed again.

I reached out to slap Yvette, too. If it weren't for her, things wouldn't have gotten so complicated between us.

Before I could touch her, Henry grabbed me. He held onto my wrist so tightly that I thought it would break.

"You can hit me all you want, but don't you dare lay a finger on Yvette!" he barked and shoved me aside.

I fell onto the couch. His cold and steely expression felt incredibly foreign. Was this still the same boy I grew up with?

I willed myself not to cry. Then, I pointed at the door and started screaming at him.

"Pack up your belongings and get out, Henry. Get out now!"

Yvette, who was still tending to Henry's bruised cheek, had started sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Henry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten slapped," she cried.

"Don't apologize." Henry shook his head and started comforting her instead. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you. Don't cry, Yvette. I don't want this to affect your health. Don't worry. I'll take care of you and our baby no matter what."

Yvette frowned and lowered her head. After briefly hesitating, she said, "I have less than two years left to live. Will our baby be without a mother right after they're born?"

Henry lowered his head to think. A while later, he abruptly looked at me. Once he got to his feet, he started speaking to me in a more civilized manner.

"I can consider staying with you, Natasha. I can also marry you after Yvette passes away. However, I have one condition."

"After the baby is born, you mustn't neglect them. You must treat him or her as if they were your own," Henry instructed.

He continued, "I know you adore children. I can give you children after we get married. We'll have as many as you want. That should be enough to satisfy you, right?"

I scoffed at how ridiculous he sounded. I couldn't believe my ears. He thought that I was furious because I still wanted to be with him. I genuinely wanted to pry his skull open and check if his brains were still intact.

Henry's expression darkened.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked irritably. "Do you disagree with what I just said? Yvette and I are being more than generous, Natasha. We're practically offering you an extra child. What more could you want?"

He continued, "All she wants is to have a baby with me. Besides, the child can call you 'Mom', too. What more do you want? You can't possibly be so cruel!"

I pointed at the door and yelled, "Get out!"

He warned me not to regret my decision before leaving with Yvette in tow.

The next day, one of my colleagues sent me a video. Henry, dressed in a white suit, instructed some office people to put up a banner.

"Congratulations to Mr. Henry Fenton and Ms. Yvette Samson!" the banner read.

I immediately jumped out of bed. After grabbing my coat, I sped toward the happy couple's wedding venue.

I scoffed as soon as I saw the banner. The wedding was being hosted at a hotel. Upon entering the lobby, I was met with a huge crowd. Not long after, I caught sight of Henry.

He was all dressed up and looked like he was over the moon. The smile on his face stiffened when he noticed me. He then began to eye me warily.

Puzzled by his sudden change in demeanor, the guests turned to look at me curiously.

"Who is that?" one asked.

"It looks like she's the ex," replied another.

"Why is the ex at the wedding? Is she here to spoil the celebration?"

"How rude. She's clearly unwanted here."

Everyone stared at me and gradually began to talk amongst themselves. Their comments were harsh, but I couldn't have cared less about their remarks.

The wedding ceremony soon began. When it was time to exchange vows, Henry stared passionately into Yvette's eyes and took her hand.

"I've received word that my company is planning to promote me, Yvette. Now that we're married, what's mine is also yours. I'm going to give you half of my shares.

"Besides, now that you're my wife, your family is my family too. I'll make sure to provide them all with jobs within the company. Marrying you has been my lifelong dream. Will you be my partner for life, Yvette? Will you stand by me and love me no matter the circumstances?"

I had single-handedly provided Henry with everything he had. I had given him his position at the company as well as his shares. He had no right to give them away like that.

Yvette nodded with tears in her eyes. "I will. I'd do anything to make you happy! I love you, Henry."

A thunderous round of applause erupted from the crowd.

"What are you standing there for, Henry? Kiss the bride!" someone yelled.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The crowd's chants grew louder and louder. Overjoyed, Henry began to lean toward Yvette.

"That's enough! I don't care who you marry, but you have no right to use the company's name for your own personal gain. You don't have the power to give her family jobs, either. How dare you!" I yelled and marched toward the stage.

The venue instantly became silent. The crowd stared at me with quizzical looks.

Furious, Henry glared at me and barked, "I told you, Natasha. I won't get back together no matter what. As the future director of the company, I order you to get lost. If you don't obey, I'll simply fire you from your job!"

"Who are you firing?" a voice rang out.

Everyone turned to locate the person who had just spoken.

A sophisticated and elegant woman marched in as her heels clicked against the floor tiles. She was carrying a luxury handbag and had a group of high-ranking executives following closely behind her.

Everyone immediately got up from their seats. Henry, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He rushed over enthusiastically and greeted the woman, his smile warm.

"What a pleasant surprise, Ms. Scott."