Chapter 2

Summoning every ounce of strength left in my battered body, I shoved her back. She tumbled straight to the linoleum floor.

Julian rushed over to scoop her up, glaring at me in utter disbelief. "Chloe, since when did you become so petty and vicious? Chloe is only eighteen! She's completely innocent! You’re pushing thirty—how can you be so shameless as to bully a young girl?"

A tear tracked down my temple. Looking at his furious face, my heart shattered, but the pain soon gave way to a cold numbness. It was almost laughable.

I swept the thermos off the nightstand, sending the hot soup splashing across the floor. Chloe knelt down on all fours, picking up the pieces while sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I grew up an orphan, so I never learned proper manners. I always looked up to you and Dr. Vance like my own family... I'll leave right now, I promise I won't ever bother you two again..."

The same tired routine. Whenever things didn't go her way, she pulled the orphan card.

And Julian would instantly fall for it, shielding her without hesitation, ruthlessly hurting the woman who had loved him since college.

Just then, my phone screen lit up with an alert from TikTok.

The hashtag #MillionFollowerFoodieMiscarriage was trending at the top of the charts. Frowning, I tapped the notification. The top post was a secretly recorded video: the thumbnail was a horrific close-up of me with blood trickling from my mouth, frantically swallowing ghost pepper noodles.

The caption read: "Sacrificing Her Unborn Child Just for Views and Clout."

In the clip, my usual pretty, gentle persona was completely gone. I was sobbing uncontrollably, wiping tears while desperately choking down food.

The upload timestamp was last night.

The comment section was filled with venomous backlash, slamming me for staging sick stunts for engagement and calling me a monster who deserved to lose a child.

The account I had spent two long years building was obliterated overnight. Even worse, the internet mob was already doxxing me, leaking my personal information and phone number.

Meanwhile, the account that posted the clip was being praised as a righteous whistle-blower, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers within hours.

I stared at Chloe in pure shock. She cowered slightly against Julian’s chest.

Julian glared coldly at me. Seeing the panic in my eyes as I clutched the phone, a brief flash of hesitation crossed his face, but Chloe’s pathetic sniffling quickly pulled his attention away.

After a long pause, he actually said:

"You saw the video, didn't you? The baby is already gone anyway. You made Chloe lose her appetite, so letting her get some followers out of this is the least you can do to make it up to her."

As if taking that as a green light, Chloe stepped forward and yanked back my hospital blanket.

Underneath my bloodstained gown, the abdominal surgical drain was still leaking pinkish fluid. She raised her smartphone and snapped a photo. "Look, the commenters are asking for an update on you... Just think of it as helping me out! Once your career is ruined, I can take over as an influencer. I'll make enough money to support both of you!"

"Delete it! Stop taking pictures!" I rasped hoarsely, lunging forward, but Julian clamped down hard on my wrist.

His fingers pressed ruthlessly against my IV catheter, forcing blood to back up into the plastic tube. "Haven't you thrown enough tantrums? Do you have any idea that because of your little hospital drama, Chloe weighed in two pounds lighter this morning? She cares about you more than anyone else!"

I stared at him in disbelief, but as if struck by a sudden pang of guilt, he jerked his head away, avoiding my eyes.

Once Chloe had taken enough photos, the two of them finally left.

I lay in the sterile bed, sobbing until I could barely breathe, too terrified to look at the hateful comments pouring into my phone.