Colin was propped up against the pillows, and his hand reached out to wipe away Thea's tears with a tenderness that didn't belong to Vivian.
Then, without hesitation, Colin leaned forward and kissed Thea, slow and intimate, his voice warm with devotion. "Silly girl," he murmured. "For you, I would definitely wake up."
"It's all my fault!" Thea said, her breath hitching as she shook her head like she was drowning in guilt. "If your meeting with Vivian that day hadn't been delayed by bringing me cake first, you wouldn't have driven so fast, which led to the car crash..." She paused just right, her eyes flicking toward the door, almost like she was checking to see if anyone was listening.
"Stop blaming yourself. It was my own carelessness." Colin's expression softened as he tried to comfort her. "That day... I was hurrying to meet Vivian because I wanted to delay the wedding. I just didn't expect..."
Delay the wedding? The words struck Vivian like a sharp slap across the face. So that was the truth. He hadn't been rushing to see her out of love or excitement. He'd been on his way to tell her to postpone the wedding.
That car crash, the one Vivian had blamed herself for until it stole her breath every time she thought about it, wasn't some tragedy triggered by her at all. It was simply the messy consequence of their affair.
Everything she had suffered through this past month, the endless pain, the humiliating IVF procedures, and even the nightmare of carrying the wrong man's child, suddenly felt like some twisted joke played at her expense.
She realized she had been the victim, the poor fool kept in the dark. The realization tore through Vivian so sharply that it felt like something inside her split open. Her stomach lurched, and her knees nearly gave out beneath her.
A worried voice broke through the moment. "Vivian? What's happening?" Katrina called as she hurried closer.
Vivian turned slowly, locking onto Katrina's anxious face. Her voice came out flat, almost freezing. "The results came back. The IVF... failed."
Thea had just stepped into the hallway, and she caught every word. A bright, uncontrollable spark of satisfaction flickered in her eyes. Now, there was nothing stopping Colin from breaking up with Vivian.
Katrina went still before reaching for Vivian's hand, squeezing it tightly as she tried to steady her. "Oh, sweetheart... it's alright. Colin is awake now. Once you're married, there will be more chances to conceive a child. Please, go inside and see him..."
Then, Katrina looked up at Thea. "Thea, how is Colin doing?" she asked softly.
Thea's face shifted instantly, smoothing into a picture of harmless sweetness. "Colin just opened his eyes, but he's still pretty weak. I was about to grab him something to eat."
She flicked Vivian a look filled with quiet triumph before turning.
"Stop right there." Vivian's voice sliced through the hallway, cold enough to stop the air itself.
Thea paused and looked back, putting on an innocent frown. "What's the matter?"
Vivian didn't bother answering. In two fast steps, she closed the distance, lifted her hand, and struck.
Crack! The slap echoed loud and brutal as it landed across Thea's cheek.
Thea staggered, her head snapping to the side. She pressed a hand to her face as the skin flushed red, tears gathering instantly. "Why did you hit me?"
"Why?" Vivian snarled. She grabbed a handful of Thea's hair, ignoring her shriek and Katrina's shocked gasp. She yanked Thea straight into Colin's room and threw her down in front of him. "Because you're just like your mother—you love stealing what belongs to others. You're a filthy slut!"
"Vivian, have you lost your mind?" Colin's face drained as anger exploded across it. He forced himself out of bed, shoved Vivian back, and pulled Thea close as if shielding something precious.
Vivian laughed, sharp and bitter. "You're this worked up because I hit your precious little darling?"
Colin's panic flared as he stared at her. "Vivian, let me explain—"
"Explain?" Vivian moved closer, her voice almost too calm, like something shattered beneath the surface. "Explain what, Colin? Explain how you planned a wedding with me while you cheated with my stepsister behind my back? Or do you want to explain how you were racing to meet me that day just so you could push our wedding aside? Was that your plan, to keep me hanging around while you entertained your sordid little affair?"
"That's not it. I..."
Crack! The sound snapped through the room before he could finish.
Vivian's palm struck his face with brutal force, and red marks immediately flared across his cheek.
Katrina froze, shock swallowing her whole. Her lips parted like she wanted to stop it, but the truth behind it all rooted her in place. She couldn't even breathe.
"This one," Vivian said, her eyes blazing and her voice trembling, "is for wasting three years of my love like it meant nothing."
Crack! Her hand flew again, even harder this time, sharper, crueler.
"And this one is for making a fool out of me. For making me drown in self-blame with the assumption that I was the trigger of your car crash. For making me in constant concern for your life. For making me lie on that table, going through hell for IVF!" Vivian snarled.
Colin held his cheek, his expression twisting between disbelief and fury. "You..."
Thea screamed as she rushed forward, "Vivian, stop it! How could you hit Colin? You couldn't hold onto his heart, and you have no right to blame us for your failure!"
Vivian whipped toward Thea, her eyes cutting like glass. "Don't say another word!"
Colin's arms tightened around Thea without thinking, and that simple instinct stabbed Vivian deeper than anything else.
Vivian's chest heaved as she lifted her hand one last time, gathering every ounce of strength she had left.
Crack! The sound exploded through the room, louder than the others, final and brutal.
"This one," Vivian hissed, her voice breaking apart, "is for ruining everything. For twisting my whole life into a ridiculous, pathetic joke! Colin, we're done. I never want to see you again. You make me feel disgusted."
The moment the words left her, she turned sharply and stormed out, slamming the door so hard that it felt like she was sealing the past behind it.
Her feet carried her down the corridor until she reached a quiet, deserted corner, and only then did her body finally give in. She pressed her back against the icy wall and slid down slowly, collapsing onto the floor.
Three years of love. A month of unbearable suffering. And the cruel irony of a child she never asked for growing inside her. It all shattered at once, dissolving into burning tears that wouldn't stop pouring.
Time blurred while Vivian sat there sobbing, but when she finally lifted her face, her eyes were raw and swollen, and one decision burned through the haze. This couldn't continue. She needed to put an end to the pregnancy and undo the nightmare her life had turned into.
That single thought became the only thing keeping her upright. She braced herself against the wall, forced her legs to move, and walked straight out, heading for another hospital as if the answer might change.
Checking in, sitting through another examination, waiting for another report, every minute felt like it was slicing deeper into her chest.
"Ms. Fowler," the doctor called out softly, sadness weighing down her voice as she read the results, "if you choose to end this pregnancy, there's a strong possibility you will never be able to conceive again."
"No... that isn't possible," Vivian murmured, shaken to her core. She refused to believe it.
The next few days turned into a frantic search for hope. She rushed from one specialist to another, crisscrossing the city, desperate for someone to say William had lied, that the previous diagnoses were wrong.
The answer never changed. Every single one gave her the same unmovable truth. Ending the pregnancy could take motherhood away from her forever.
By the time she returned home, whatever strength she had left was gone. She drifted through the doorway like a ghost.
Her foot had barely touched the stairs when voices floated from the half-open study door. Inside were Thea and her stepmother, Melinda Fowler.
"Mom, how much are the Kirbys actually paying to marry Vivian? Could you buy me that limited bag I have been eyeing? Everyone I know already has one." Thea's tone was spoiled and impatient.
"Just hold on, sweetheart." Melinda's tone was sharp with calculating excitement. "Once Vivian walks through that door and the Kirby money is finally in our hands, you won't just get a bag. You'll get a car. A new one, something better than anyone else's." She let out a cold laugh. "Your father warned that Devin has a temper with women, but he spends like a king. Vivian is nothing but an endless expense anyway. We might as well get something useful out of her. At least then raising her won't feel like such a complete waste."
Devin Kirby, the infamous man everyone whispered about. The crippled brute with a violent streak, the kind of man women feared more than strangers in dark alleyways. No one sane would ever agree to marry someone like that.
Vivian stood frozen outside the door as her blood seemed to turn to ice. Her hands began to tremble, and she couldn't stop it.
She knew Thea and Melinda would actually go through with it. For money, they would wrap her up like a package and deliver her straight into that creep Devin's hands without losing a wink of sleep.
Nausea churned in her stomach, but her thoughts spun wildly, searching for an escape, any crack in the wall closing around her.
Just then, her phone lit up. A new message flashed across the screen from a number she didn't recognize. "This is William Lewis. Have you made your choice?"
At this, a fierce certainty lit up Vivian's eyes, cutting through everything else.
With her world closing in, his name felt like the only direction left to run. It wasn't comforting, and it wasn't gentle, but it was still a way forward that didn't end in complete disaster.
At the very least, he wanted her baby. That meant she had leverage. Whatever choice she made, it had to be better than being handed over to someone like Devin.
Vivian rushed back to her room and called the number immediately.
William picked up almost at once, and a low, controlled voice filled the line. "Ms. Fowler."
"Mr. Lewis," Vivian replied, her voice worn down but strangely steady, "I'll keep the baby. But..."
She stopped, letting the silence stretch just long enough for him to understand there was a price.
Then, Vivian inhaled slowly and then spoke with absolute firmness, leaving no room for negotiation. "But if you want this baby, you're going to marry me."