“The company has an emergency. I need to go on a business trip for a few days. Take care of yourself until I get back.”
A stabbing pain shot through my chest, those words piercing me like poison-tipped arrows.
So that’s all I was—a placeholder to fill the role of a wife.
Even our marriage… was just something Chloe Miller had passed over.
I numbly walked out of the room and took down the wedding photo from the wall.
Staring at Ethan Brooks’s smiling face in the picture, I remembered what Chloe had said that day during the shoot.
“Ethan really chose this gown? I was only joking when I suggested it.”
“Don’t worry, Lily. My brother pays such attention to detail. I once said I wanted to take wedding photos by the beach—girls all love something romantic—and of course he remembered and made it happen. I’m so jealous of you.”
Sweet memories replayed before my eyes.
But the betrayal and deception—they had been there all along, waiting for me to notice.
I dialed David Harris’s number.
“Please prepare a divorce agreement for me. Husband’s infidelity—he’s at fault.”
At dawn, I took a cab to the hospital for an abortion.
This child, I had longed for two years.
And just when he finally came, it wasn’t the right time.
After paying the bill, I gently touched my barely noticeable belly.
“Baby, don’t blame Mommy.”
Nearby, I overheard nurses whispering in awe.
“Room 203—are we sure she’s only pregnant? Why is her husband so frantic?”
“He even asked if we had some kind of labor simulator, said he wanted to experience his wife’s pain firsthand, to feel what she felt!”
“In ten years of working here, I’ve never met a man like that. Maybe it’s true—there are happy marriages. It’s just that we haven’t had the luck. If I met someone like that, I’d never let go!”
As if guided by fate, I found myself standing outside Room 203.
Through the small window, I saw Ethan’s anxious profile.
Emily Johnson had just entered to change Chloe’s medication when Ethan rushed to grab her.
“What’s that medicine? Are you sure it’s safe for a pregnant woman?”
“Chloe’s pregnant—you can’t give her the wrong thing!”
Emily could only smile helplessly.
“Sir, is this your first time being a father? I’ve seen worried husbands, but never one this panicked.”
“Relax. This is the maternity ward. I know what I’m doing.”
Chloe winked playfully.
“Ethan, did you hear what she said?”
“Sweetheart~~”
Ethan blushed like an inexperienced boy.
“I-I heard.”
“Don’t move around.”
It felt like someone dug out my dead heart just to shred it again.
I even forgot to breathe.
Just before entering the operating room, I made one last call to Ethan.
I wanted to ask him where he was.
Pathetically, I thought, if he just told me the truth—even just one sentence—I might still consider raising Chloe’s child as if it were my own.
But the ringtone went unanswered.
Inside Room 203, Ethan’s frown deepened.
“Why won’t the calls stop? Didn’t I say I was on a business trip?”
Chloe murmured softly,
“Is it Lily? Maybe you should answer, so she doesn’t worry.”
Ethan snapped, annoyed.
“No need. If I pick up, she’ll just go on and on. Asking what I ate, if I slept well—it’s exhausting.”
“Since the wedding she checks up on me every day. Anyone would think I married my mother, not my wife.”
“Even my mom isn’t that nagging.”
On the tenth call, Ethan simply shut his phone off.
