Jack flinched, then looked at me with a wounded expression. “I didn’t expect you to be so heartless. If that’s your condition for marriage… then maybe we were never meant to be. Let’s just break up.”
“Hayley, don’t blame Jack—he’s innocent!” Katy suddenly burst into tears. “If you want to blame someone, blame me. I just… I can’t give up this child. But if you still don’t believe us, I’ll prove our innocence right now—with my life!”
Before I could react, she suddenly rushed toward the balcony.
My heart leapt into my throat. I instinctively stepped forward, but Jack, already panicking, darted after her.
Just as we reached her, Katy crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Jack dropped to his knees and gathered her into his arms, his body trembling with fear and emotion.
After a long pause, he lifted his head. His eyes were cold as they met mine.
“Hayley,” he said icily, “your baseless accusations nearly pushed Katy to her death.”
His voice held no warmth. His gaze no longer saw me as the woman he loved—but as a stranger.
“She’s just a young girl—pregnant and fragile. You can stand there and watch, but I can’t.”
Then he stood up, still holding Katy and barked at me. “Move!”
I stood frozen, unable to speak. “I… I didn’t mean…”
“Jack… the baby… the baby’s coming…” Katy whimpered weakly before her eyes fluttered closed.
“Katy!” Jack’s face turned deathly pale. He shoved me aside and rushed out the door with her in his arms.
I fell to the floor, biting down on my trembling lips, but I couldn’t stop the cold that was seeping into my bones.
I stayed up all night, staring at the ceiling, heart numb. At dawn, my phone lit up with a message from him.
“I lost my temper last night and spoke too harshly.” “Hayley, I’m sorry.”
Tears welled in my eyes the moment I saw his name. All these years, whenever we fought, he was always the one to apologize first. And I would always forgive him.
But this time… was different. This wound couldn’t be patched up.
Before I could reply, another message came in—A photo.
In it, Jack was cradling a newborn baby gently in his arms. His gaze as he looked at the child was soft—tender, like spring rain.
“Katy gave birth early, but both mother and daughter are safe.”
“She looks just like me.”
“Katy has no family. I’ll be staying at the hospital for the next three days to care for them.”
“Let’s postpone the wedding a week. I’m too overwhelmed right now.”
Ordinary words. Yet each one stabbed straight through me.
I stood up in a daze.
One by one, I tore the wedding decorations from the walls.
Then I picked up a pair of scissors and began cutting the wedding dress into shreds.
My hands trembled uncontrollably as I packed my suitcase.
Just as I zipped it shut, Mrs. Jack walked in. Her face was glowing with excitement.
“Jack asked me to bring him a change of clothes at the hospital,” she said cheerfully. “And as his grandmother, I can’t wait to see my little granddaughter.”
Seeing my silence, she gently took my arm and smiled kindly.
“Hayley, Jack was wrong not to tell you about the sperm donation. I know it hurt your pride—but that’s not an unforgivable mistake, is it?”
“Auntie knows how deep your feelings are for each other. Are you really going to break up over something so small?”
“As for the things said in the family group yesterday… let’s not take them too seriously, alright?”
“Come on, let’s go to the hospital. Take a look at the baby. Give Jack a way out. Once this all calms down, it’ll be over.”
I followed her like a ghost, every step hollow.
When I finally came to my senses, I was already standing at the hospital room door.
Inside, Katy lay pale and weak on the bed, her face streaked with tears, clearly exhausted from the pain of giving birth.
