"Janey, I’ll get started on your visa right away. As soon as work over there is finalized, we’ll be ready to leave!”

After I hung up with him, I called the hospital and made an appointment for an abortion for the next week.

If I was going to leave for good, then this child could only become another weapon for Simon to hurt me with and keep me tied to him. I couldn’t let that happen.

The next second, I received a notification from the hospital.

They informed me that my mother’s condition had taken a sudden turn for the worse. The doctor said she was in critical condition and urgently needed a family member’s consent for surgery.

My heart clenched. Without even thinking, I grabbed my bag and raced out the door, flagging down the first taxi I could find.

Thankfully, the surgery went well. My mother was stable. Only then did I feel a sliver of relief pierce through the fog of anxiety clouding my mind.

As I sat in a hospital chair, my phone lit up again. It was Simon calling me.

“Baby, where are you right now?” His voice was sweet as he coaxed me. “I’ve already scheduled a home visit tomorrow with the city’s top OB-GYN for you. Be good and stay home, okay? Don’t run around like that again.”

His gentle tone sounded exactly like the man I had once trusted with my heart. However, to me now, it was just a well-rehearsed performance.

I didn’t answer him with anything more than a cold, flat “Mm” before ending the call.

As soon as the call disconnected, a message notification popped up in the group chat.

[Simon, why are you going through all this trouble for Jane? You even scheduled prenatal checkups for her? Aren’t you scared Kelly will find out and get mad?]

[Seriously, Simon. I just don’t get it. Why do you even want to keep that baby?]

Simon’s reply came immediately. [Kelly always wants a child. However, as a model, her career comes first. Plus, I injured her body because she jumped into that freezing river to save me, so she couldn’t get pregnant easily anymore. Once Jane has the baby, we’ll just let it call Kelly ‘Mom.’]

Praise began to flood the chat from his friends.

[Simon, you're a genius! You’re so brave and full of ideas. Jane would never guess she’s a surrogate mother for someone else and will have to give up her baby after nine months. If I were her, I would’ve been furious.]

[Now it makes sense! Originally, I was worried you were actually falling for her, Simon.]

Simon’s final message popped up on the screen. [As if I would be willing to fall for a gold-digging wench who ruined my dream. What a joke.]

A joke. That one word shattered what little was left of my heart.

Simon, you’re really something. You’re so cruel and calculative!

The fingers clenched around my phone tightened even more until my knuckles turned white. Without hesitation, I rescheduled my miscarriage from next week to today.

“Miss Luxton, are you here for the abortion procedure?” a nurse asked.

I nodded silently. Just as I was about to follow the nurse into the operating room, a familiar voice called out behind me, "Janey? Why are you here? Wait … Did I just hear you’re here for an miscarriage? Are you … are you planning to get rid of our baby?”

I turned and saw Simon.

Standing beside him was none other than Kelly Waldorf.

Before the nurse could speak, I jumped in. “You heard it wrong. I’m just here for a prenatal checkup.”

When he heard this, Simon sighed in relief. He stepped forward and tenderly brushed my messy bangs away from my forehead. “You scared me. I really thought ... Well, anyway, didn’t I tell you the doctor would come to see you tomorrow at home? Why the rush to come all the way here?”

I tilted my head to avoid his warm palm and faintly said, “I have something to do tomorrow, so I came today.”

Just then, Kelly stepped forward and looped her arm possessively through Simon’s. He held her hand. Kelly said, “Simon, Wanda is still waiting for me. Let’s talk to her later, okay?”

Without missing a beat, Simon turned back to me and smiled reassuringly. “Janey, I was just here with Kelly to visit a friend. Don’t overthink it, okay? She's your friend too, remember?”

I forced myself to smile. “Of course. ”

As they turned and walked away, I caught the smug, victorious smirk Kelly shot at me just before disappearing down the hallway with Simon. I just walked firmly into the procedure room with a face devoid of expression.

“Miss Luxton, are you sure about this? Are you certain you don’t want to keep the child?” the nurse asked.

“I’m sure,” I answered clearly. “Absolutely sure.”

I had already endured enough suffering these past few years trying to repay debts. I had no desire to make my life any harder.

As I felt the warmth flooding out from my body, one thought echoing in my mind: Let this be the end.

With tens of thousands in debt still hanging over my head, I didn’t have the luxury to rest. Less than a day after my surgery, I had to get back to my feet and work hard again.

When I arrived at the runway venue, my steps faltered. Kelly was standing near the prep area and to make things worse, we were standing side by side on the catwalk.

When Kelly saw me, she gave me a signal with her eyes to follow her.

Once, we had been more than colleagues because we had been friends for several years, so I knew perfectly well what she meant. Kelly was also the only one who knew about my debt.

After the breakup, I had even reached out to Kelly. I had asked her to keep an eye on Simon and begged her not to let him drown in alcohol again. I had tried to protect him, even from a distance.

In the backstage dressing room, Kelly gave me a long once-over, then scoffed, "So … after leaving so decisively back then, what brings you crawling back now? Let me guess... Is it because Simon is the Payton Family heir now? That’s it, isn’t it? You think you can cling to him again."

Kelly sneered. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m marrying him soon. Do you really think he’s treating you kindly because he’s forgiven you? Don’t be ridiculous."

"You have no idea how much he hates you," she continued. "He hates that you dumped him. He hates that you’re the reason he fell into the river and lost his shot at being an athlete. He hates you with every fiber of his being."

Kelly’s words grew more venomous by the second. However, the calmer I remained, the more infuriated she became. She then laughed and said, "Do you think he still loves you? No. That man’s heart is colder than steel when it comes to you. It’s been that way for a long time. If you have any self-respect left, you’ll disappear now. Spare yourself the humiliation."

I met her glare with calm eyes and said indifferently, "Alright. I’ll leave."

Kelly froze. Her eyes were skeptical when she said, "I don’t believe you. You love him too much. You’d never give him up."

A smile curved my lips, but my eyes were cold. "I owed him a debt for leaving the way I did. However, I’ve repaid it all. The boy I once loved is gone and the man he’s become... isn’t someone I want to hold onto. So, congratulations... you’ve won."

Then I turned and walked into the makeup room without a second glance, leaving Kelly stunned and seething.

That day’s show was themed around the water element. The centerpiece of the runway was a shallow, shimmering pool. Dressed in an ornate, flowing gown and balancing precariously on fifteen-centimeter heels, I stepped confidently onto the stage.

However, as I walked out, Kelly, who was matching my step for step, leaned over and hissed just loud enough for only me to hear, "I don’t believe you’re letting go. Keep clinging to him and I’ll make sure you regret it."

My instincts flared. I instinctively widened the gap between us.

Seeing me flinch, Kelly smirked triumphantly and said, "Can you guess who Simon loves the most right now?"

The words had barely left her mouth when the heel of Kelly’s shoe suddenly snapped. She stumbled, then tilted sideways.

There was no time to react. I could only watch as Kelly dragged me into the large pool.

As I sank and submerged into the pool, Simon’s panicked roar entered my ears, "Kelly!" Through the blur of water, I saw Simon dive into the water and swim toward Kelly with all his might. At that moment, my heart filled with heartache.

Water suffocated my lungs, but when the survival instinct kicked in, it propelled me to paddle toward the shore.

Finally, I arrived at the shore with great difficulty and the security personnel who had arrived in a hurry quickly jumped into the pool and rescued me.

Maybe because I had just had an abortion, my stomach hurt like hell and the pain made my face as white as a sheet.

Meanwhile, across the pool, Simon had already carried the weak Kelly in his arms. He didn’t even spare a glance at me.

My frantic manager was the only one who sent me to the hospital.

I was wheeled into the operating room. The anesthesia kicked in fast and I slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

In the coma, I saw myself back in my university days. Simon and I were the most envied couple at that time. We would watch movies together, stroll in the park, travel around the wood and dream about each other's future.

Then the scene shifted. I was now seated in the backseat of a luxury Maybach. Outside, rain poured down in torrents as Simon knelt on the pavement, his voice hoarse and cracking as he begged me not to leave him. However, I merely cast him a cold smile before driving away, leaving him drenched and heartbroken.

The scene changed again. Simon was wrapping his arm tenderly around Kelly. His gaze looked at me coldly, as if I were nothing more than a stranger to him.

I jolted awake. The doctor told me off in a serious tone, "You were so lucky. You nearly died from severe bleeding. You just had an abortion, then fell into a pool during a fashion show. All that stress and trauma … your body can't take this much. Where are your family members? No one's come to see you."

My voice came out dry and cracked. "I don’t have any family."

The doctor gave me a sympathetic glance. He probably assumed I was a widow. After reminding me to rest and follow post-op care instructions, he stepped out.

A nurse came in not long after. She tried to chat. “You know, another girl was admitted after nearly drowning. Rumor has it she’s the Payton Family heir’s fiancée. People say Simon treats her like a treasure.”

She continued, "I used to think wealthy families were so fickle. So, I never thought the young master of the Payton Family was so romantic. He reserved an entire floor just for her treatment and even sat by her side while she got an IV. Barely left her alone for a second."

My expression did not change as I said, "Really? She must be very lucky then."

Just then the door swung open and Simon walked in. “You’re awake, Honey! Guess what I brought you?”

I looked up. He was holding a box of tea pastries and it was my favorite cakes. The same ones he used to buy whenever he tried to apologize after a fight.

He considerately adjusted my hospital bed so I could sit up, then opened the still-warm box and held a piece near my lips.

I stared at it blankly. The pastries had lost their appeal.

It was clear he held deep grudges against me, but on his face, he could still show deep love.

I felt like a puppet trapped in a cruel performance, my suffering just part of the show. Even if I died, I would just be another prop left on stage until someone decided to kick me aside.

Beneath the covers, my hands clenched into tight fists as the misery almost strangled my breath.

Simon gently touched my face while smiling at me. “You’re not mad about me saving Kelly first, are you? She can’t swim like you can, so I had to go for her. Come on, don’t be mad, okay?”

I just nodded expressionlessly.

Trying to change my mood, he softened his voice even more. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s talk about us. Have you thought about where you want to hold the wedding? What kind of dress you want? What shape of diamond you want for your ring?”

He added, "We have to plan it soon. Once your belly shows, you won’t look good in a wedding gown.”

There would be no wedding. No baby. Not anymore.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I said softly. “I’m tired. I just want to sleep.”

Simon didn’t argue. He tugged the blanket gently around my body, kissed the corner of my mouth and quietly left.

When I looked at his back as he left, my heart was as calm as a puddle of stagnant water.

How long is he planning to keep up this act? I wondered.

He had talked about marriage before, too. However, it was all just talk. I knew he was not going to marry me. Since I knew the truth, I would not stay. We had become two parallel lines that could never meet again.