Chapter 6

Charlotte's POV

My eyes fell on her stomach. My hands, hanging at my sides, instantly clenched into fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

"Oh, right." Chloe acted as if she couldn't see how pale I had turned, continuing to twist the knife in my heart.

"Julian told me yesterday that once the baby is born, he wants you to name them. After all... to the public, you're still his nominal 'wife,' so you could count as the baby's 'adoptive mother.'"

So much for not fighting for a status!

So much for just coming to visit occasionally!

I stared coldly at the pure, harmless-looking, yet utterly malicious face in front of me. That familiar wave of nausea welled up in my stomach once again.

But I didn't lose my temper. I merely looked at her as if she were a corpse, turned around, and stepped into the elevator that had just arrived.

Watching the elevator doors slowly slide shut, Chloe scoffed, "Who are you trying to impress with that high-and-mighty act? You barren hen."

That night, Julian didn't return to the villa until late.

The main lights in the living room were turned off. I lay curled up on the sofa, my face even paler than it had been during the day, my forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

I felt a subtle, dragging pain in my lower abdomen, but I assumed it was just a side effect of the sterilization drugs.

"Honey, I'm back." Julian walked over, but just as he was about to kiss me, his phone suddenly rang urgently in his pocket.

He glanced at the caller ID. His expression changed slightly, and he answered it immediately.

Chloe's tearful voice came through the line. Although it wasn't on speaker, I could hear her loud and clear in the silent night: "Julian, my stomach feels bad, it hurts so much... Can you come and see me?"

Julian's brow instantly furrowed into a tight knot. He glanced at me on the sofa, seeing my poor complexion, but stood up without hesitation. "Honey, something urgent came up at the studio. A few investors are causing trouble, and I have to go deal with it right away. Go to bed early."

With that, he didn't even wait for my reply. He grabbed his car keys and hurried out the door.

I didn't try to stop him. I just stood silently by the French windows, watching Julian's sports car shoot out of the garage like an arrow from a bow, vanishing into the night.

For another woman's womb, he wouldn't even spare me a second glance.

2:00 AM.

The pain in my lower abdomen suddenly intensified, as if a meat grinder were viciously churning inside my stomach.

Spasming from the excruciating pain, I rolled off the bed onto the carpet.

I struggled to drag myself up, wanting to go downstairs to get a glass of warm water and take some painkillers.

The stairs of the villa were long and made of hard marble.

Holding onto the banister, I nudged my way down step by step.

Just then, a maid who had gotten up in the middle of the night walked out from around the corner holding a glass of water, her head lowered as she looked at her phone.

"Ah!"

Not looking where she was going at all, the maid crashed straight into me.

Already weak and powerless from the pain, the violent impact made my foot slip. I tumbled down more than a dozen marble steps.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The dull sounds of my body slamming against the marble echoed through the empty villa.

I crashed heavily onto the first-floor floor, the intense agony instantly swallowing my consciousness.

Before slipping into absolute darkness, I felt a warm stream of liquid gushing uncontrollably from between my legs.