Chapter 4

The next day at noon, Alexis went out to pick up my medicine.

Then the lock clicked.

Bianca punched in the passcode like she'd done it a hundred times and let herself in.

She saw me and gave me a taunting little wink.

"Pearl, looking like that, no wonder Lucas cheated."

"You know what? He's told me more than once. Being with you does nothing for him."

"Oh, and Lucas spent all last night with me. His shirt got wine on it, so he sent me back for a change of clothes."

So it wasn't just his car she'd been in.

She even knew the passcode to our home.

Bianca walked straight into the master bedroom and pulled open Lucas's wardrobe like she knew exactly where everything was.

She took out the shirt he wore most, then lifted the tie I'd given him last year.

As familiar as if she were the real woman of the house.

Bianca stroked the necklace at her throat, her eyes full of smugness.

"Last night Lucas told you, didn't he, that once you have the baby he'll come back to the family."

"But he couldn't even bear to miss my birthday."

"Pearl, take a guess. Once the baby's born, do you really think he'll be able to leave me?"

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Bianca's eyes flickered. She grabbed my hand, then slapped herself hard across the face.

Then she staggered back and knocked over the vase behind her.

When Lucas pushed the door open, what he saw was her sitting in the shards, one hand over her cheek.

"Bianca!"

He rushed over and caught her, then shoved me away.

The small of my back hit the edge of the coffee table, and pain shot through my lower belly.

"Pearl, are you done losing your mind?"

He looked at me with nothing left in his eyes but disgust.

"Bianca never asked me for a divorce. She never tried to take your place."

"She's given ground this far, and you still have to bully her?"

"It wasn't me…"

Bianca's eyes reddened at once as she pulled at him.

"Lucas, don't blame her."

"Pearl only knows you were with me last night, and it upset her."

"It's my fault for coming."

Her words made peace while her body sank softly into his arms.

Lucas's face went cold through and through.

"She kindly comes to get me a change of clothes, and you can't even stand that."

"Pearl, when did you turn this vicious?"

The pain in my belly grew sharper.

I grabbed his sleeve.

"Lucas, my stomach hurts…"

He glanced down, then shook my hand off, irritated.

"Enough."

"Stop using the baby every time to fight for attention."

"When you've learned to stay calm, I'll come back."

He picked Bianca up and left without a backward glance.

The moment the door shut, something warm ran down my legs.

Blood quickly soaked the hem of my dress.

I looked down at that glaring red, and suddenly remembered Lucas saying, stop using the baby to fight for attention.

But this baby, right up until it was gone, never earned its father even one look back.

By the time Alexis came back, I had already collapsed on the floor.

When I woke again, the doctor told me, with regret:

"The abdomen took an impact. The baby couldn't be saved."

I had given myself forty-eight hours to say a proper goodbye to this child.

Lucas didn't leave him even that last little bit of time.

There was only one message on my phone.

【Bianca's badly shaken. Once she's stable, come and apologize.】

I looked at it for a long time, then replied to the overseas posting the company had sent three months earlier.

【I accept.】

Two days later, the follow-up confirmed the bleeding had stabilized, and I checked out.

I left the divorce papers and the miscarriage report on the dining table.

Then I dragged my luggage onto a flight to London.

At that same hour, Lucas finally came home.

In the empty living room, only two documents were left.

One was the divorce papers, already signed with my name.

The other read:

【Ten weeks pregnant. Miscarriage due to external impact to the abdomen.】

Lucas stared at that line, the color draining from his face bit by bit.