Ever since we got married, Adriana never touched a camera again.
Once, I asked if she could take a photo of me, but she brushed it off, saying her camera had been lost. Then she recommended a famous photographer instead.
Turns out it wasn’t lost at all—she just didn’t want to use that lens unless it was for someone she truly loved.
My eyes were too dry to cry anymore. I quietly placed the photo album back where I found it.
On my phone, I booked a plane ticket and drafted a divorce agreement.
If she loved Khalil so much, then I’d set her free.
—
The next morning, my eyes were swollen like walnuts.
Adriana looked genuinely distressed. She personally made me a nutritious breakfast and even boiled eggs to reduce the swelling around my eyes. She peeled them with care and pressed them gently to my eyelids.
Her tenderness and concern made me doubt everything—was last night just a bad dream?
Seeing that I hadn’t touched a single bite, she sighed.
“Allen, we lost our baby. I know you’re heartbroken—I am too. But you still need to take care of yourself. Please eat something, don’t make me worry, okay?”
“Where’s the baby’s body? I want to see him.”
Three months in—my child should’ve been fully formed by now.
But he’d never have the chance to come into this world.
And just like seven times before, her answer was the same.
“I already arranged for the baby to be buried properly. You’re too emotional right now—I didn’t want you to see it and feel worse.”
“Mom and Dad are also devastated. Let’s go to the old house tonight for dinner and spend some time with them.”
...
As soon as we arrived at the old family estate, I saw Khalil holding onto Adriana’s mother’s arm, acting playful and affectionate.
When he spotted me, he raised his eyebrows with a smug grin.
“Allen, you’re here? Long time no see. Come, sit down. I heard your ‘tadpoles’ didn’t pass the quality check again—poor Adriana had another miscarriage. You must’ve cried all night, huh? Try not to wear yourself out.”
Since the wedding incident, things had fallen apart between me, Melissa, and Khalil. I usually avoided coming here when they were around.
But today, luck clearly wasn’t on my side.
I thought of the photo he’d posted—Melissa’s six-month baby bump. I thought of the truth: that child was Adriana’s. My heart twisted painfully.
Adriana had never let my child survive past the third month.
When her mother—my mother-in-law—saw me, her expression immediately soured.
“Useless piece of trash. How many times has this happened now? And you still have the nerve to look tired? How did my daughter end up with someone like you?”
She was Adriana’s biological mother, but only Melissa’s step-grandmother. At fifty, she was still ambitious, and watching the CEO position—originally meant for Adriana—fall into Melissa’s hands, filled her with bitterness.
In the past, Adriana might have spoken up for me.
But now, her eyes were fixed on Khalil, filled with longing and devotion. It was like she couldn’t hear anything else being said in the room.
“Grandma, don’t be angry,” Khalil said with false concern. “It’s not Allen’s fault he wasn’t born to be a father. It’s not like he meant to lose that many babies.”
My mother-in-law scoffed coldly.
“He’s a walking curse. All he does is drag my daughter down.”
Then, Khalil put on a pitiful act and started to stand—but suddenly stumbled, pretending to twist his ankle.
Even though he quickly regained balance, Adriana rushed to his side, shoving me aside without hesitation.
Right in front of her parents, she touched his face and asked anxiously, “Khalil, are you okay?”
He looked over at me with a mocking smile, then said in a pitiful tone.
“Adriana, I think I twisted my ankle... It really hurts~”
Without a second thought, Adriana wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him upstairs—straight into the second-floor bedroom without even sparing me a glance.
My mother-in-law looked at me meaningfully, her words sharp as knives. “You’ve got weak seed and can’t even hold onto your wife. If Melissa hadn’t married Khalil first, you think my daughter would’ve looked twice at you? You still have the gall to sit here and eat? Get upstairs! Just looking at you kills my appetite.”
