Chapter 4

When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled my nose.

A doctor stood beside my bed, his face etched with sympathy.

“I’m so sorry. We did everything we could, but we couldn't save the baby.”

Even knowing Julian had betrayed me, those words felt like a thousand needles stabbing directly into my heart.

Julian and I had always wanted children.

He had promised that as soon as I got pregnant, we would go down to City Hall and register our marriage.

Ever since then, I had quietly hoped.

I had waited two long years for this baby, dreaming of building a family with the man I loved.

And now, my baby was gone.

I hadn't even known they existed before they were ripped away from me.

Tears pooled in my eyes, spilling over silently. By the time the crying stopped, my whole body was trembling from exhaustion.

The doctor kept me admitted for a few days of observation.

My body was weak from the miscarriage.

I had no appetite, and sleep wouldn't come.

All I could manage was sitting outside in the courtyard, staring blankly into the sunlight.

That was how I saw Julian and Chloe.

They didn't notice me. They were strolling under the shade of the trees, side by side, looking like a devoted married couple.

The nurse pushing my wheelchair sighed enviously. “Look at them. Such a loving couple. The girl was cleared for discharge days ago, but the boyfriend insisted she stay extra days just so the doctors could use the most expensive scar-removal treatments on her hand.”

“I wish I had a man who cared about me like that.”

I offered a bitter, silent smile.

You truly can't judge a book by its cover.

Julian was playing the doting caretaker for my sister, completely oblivious that his actual fiancée was in the very same hospital, recovering from a miscarriage.

I didn't bother correcting the nurse.

I was genuinely done. I was ready to leave them to their pathetic little affair.

The day I was discharged, the weather was sunny and clear.

I hauled my suitcases down the stairs of the house, only to run right into Julian coming through the front door.

Seeing my packed bags, he frowned deeply.

“I gave you almost a week to calm down. Are you still throwing a fit?”

Looking at his arrogant, dismissive face, a dark impulse took root in my chest.

Instead of arguing, I looked him dead in the eye and said, “Julian, I was pregnant.”

Julian’s face lit up with shock and sudden excitement. He stepped toward me, reaching for my arms.

“Really? You’re pregnant?”

“What did the doctor say? ”

In stark contrast to his euphoria, my voice was dead cold.

“He’s dead. And you’re the one who killed him.”