Chapter 5

Her snake-like gaze made me feel physically sick.

Just as I turned to walk away—

"Slap!"

Yvonne raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face, causing a trickle of blood to escape her lip.

Before I could react, she covered her face and began to sob hysterically.

"I'm sorry, Miss Vance! I know you hate me, but you can't just hit me!"

In the next second, I was violently shoved aside.

Julian rushed in. He looked at Yvonne's swollen cheek, then turned to glare at me with boiling rage.

"Chloe! What is wrong with you?"

"Just because Yvonne is sweet and gentle doesn't mean you can abuse her! She is Leo's mother! Leo is still asleep. If he wakes up and sees this, do you know how traumatized he’ll be?"

Watching Julian shield Yvonne behind him, a sharp pain pierced my chest.

I kept my face completely blank. "I didn't touch her."

"Julian, we’ve known each other for years. If I do something, I own up to it."

Julian fell silent.

He looked at me, then at the crying Yvonne.

For a moment, he didn't know what to do.

Finally, he brushed past me with a dark face, leading Yvonne away to apply ice to her cheek.

I stood frozen in the kitchen.

After a long while, I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

I knew that no matter how much it hurt, I had to let go.

Seeing how Julian wavered whenever Yvonne and his son were involved, he would be dragged down by them forever.

I couldn't live my life under their shadow.

I went up to the study and called my parents, telling them I was moving out of the villa.

I was pregnant and couldn't handle any heavy lifting. I decided to let my parents send some movers to pack my things later.

But as I stepped out of the study, Leo came running down the hallway at full speed.

My instincts kicked in, and I tried to dodge him.

I managed to avoid colliding with him.

But the heavy toy airplane in his hand swung violently, striking me right in the abdomen.

"Ah—"

A sharp, agonizing pain exploded inside me.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the hardwood floor, clutching my stomach.

I looked up at Leo through the tears of pain.

In his other hand, he was holding...

Peanut cookies?

Isn't he severely allergic to peanuts?

I weakly raised my hand, trying to warn him. "Don't eat... allergy..."

But only a broken gasp escaped my lips. The cramping in my abdomen grew worse, like a knife twisting inside me.

Just then, Yvonne rushed around the corner.

She knocked the cookie out of Leo's hand and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Julian! Come quickly!"

"Miss Vance fed Leo peanut cookies! She's trying to kill him!"

Immediately, Julian’s panicked footsteps rushed up the stairs, followed by his roaring voice.

"What?"

"Chloe, are you insane?"

Julian bolted into the hallway.

He saw me collapsed on the floor and assumed I was guilty.

Without hesitation, seeing Leo starting to struggle for breath, Julian scooped the boy up, preparing to run.

But I managed to reach out and grab the hem of his trousers.

I wanted to beg him to save me.

I felt a warm, heavy flow of blood rushing out of me, as if my insides were being torn apart.

It hurt so bad. Our baby was slipping away.

But the pain kept me from speaking.

I could only look at him with desperate, pleading eyes.

But Julian didn't even look down. He violently ripped his pants away from my grip, shouting at me, "Let go of me!"

"Chloe, if anything happens to Leo..."

"I will sue you for attempted murder! I will make sure you rot in prison!"

With that, he and Yvonne rushed past me and disappeared.

The last thing I saw before blacking out was the triumphant smirk on Yvonne's face.

I didn't expect her to be this insane.

Triggering two severe allergic reactions in a child within such a short period of time was life-threatening and could leave permanent damage.

But I couldn't think about that anymore.

The excruciating pain drained all my strength. I couldn't even make a sound.

I collapsed into the pool of my own blood.

In the fading darkness, I heard the faint, terrified screams of my parents, followed by the blaring sirens of an ambulance.

Then, there was only silence.

Meanwhile, in the pediatric ward on the fifth floor of the hospital, Leo's condition had finally stabilized.

Julian pulled out his phone, which had been on silent.

The moment the screen lit up, a barrage of missed calls flooded in.

My father, my mother, and even his own parents.

Dozens of missed calls in bright red. It sent a chill down Julian's spine.

Before he could process it, the phone rang again. It was his father, Richard.

The moment he picked up, his father’s furious roar echoed through the speaker.

"Julian! Get your pathetic ass down to the first-floor emergency room right this instant!"

"Chloe had a miscarriage."

"She’s hemorrhaging. They're trying to save her life!"