Katie was still hesitating when Luke burst into the room.

The moment he heard from his staff that his mother had gone to the villa, he abandoned the meeting he was in and rushed back without a second thought. It was only when he saw Kayla standing there, unharmed, that he finally let out a breath.

The next second, Stephanie threw herself into his arms. She covered her swollen, reddened cheek and cried pitifully, tears streaming down her face.

"Luke, Kayla accused me and said the baby I'm carrying is an illegitimate child. I saved her back then, and now she's trying to destroy me. She's pushing me into a corner with no way out. If that's how it's going to be, I might as well die."

She turned as if to run out, but Luke caught her arm and pulled her back.

Kayla watched the man she had loved for so many years. Even though her heart had already turned to ash, she could not stop a small flicker of hope from rising. She hoped he would finally tell the truth. That he would give her, and the child she carried, a shred of justice.

Katie stared at Luke anxiously.

"Is what Kayla said true?"

Luke's eyes flickered with hesitation, only for a moment. Then he shook his head.

"Stephanie's child is not illegitimate."

He even looked at Kayla with something close to desperation, as if begging her to understand his struggle and pain.

The disappointment tore through her chest, leaving a hollow ache as cold despair poured in without mercy.

Katie flew into a rage and slapped Kayla hard across the face.

Luke stepped forward instinctively to stop her, but Stephanie held him back.

"After what she's done, your mother needs to vent her anger. Otherwise, it'll be bad for her health," she said softly.

Katie patted Stephanie's hand with affection.

"You're such a good girl. You're a hundred times better than that wretch. And now you're carrying the Hudson family's eldest grandson. You should move in right away so Luke can take good care of you."

She then turned, glaring at Kayla through clenched teeth.

"A shameless woman like you has no right to stay here. Divorce Luke immediately and get out of the Hudson family. Now."

Stephanie obediently agreed out loud, but when no one was looking, she shot Kayla a triumphant smile.

Just as she believed she was about to step into her rightful place as the lady of the Hudson family, Luke brushed her hand aside. He pulled Kayla into his arms and spoke with unmistakable resolve.

"Kayla will not divorce me. And she will not leave the Hudson family. Unless I am dead, I will never let her leave my side."

Katie clenched her fists in anger. Stephanie's face twisted with frustration, but she held herself back and offered a compromise.

"The child I'm carrying needs a father's care too. How about this? I move into the master bedroom with Luke, and Kayla can stay in the basement. That way, she gets punished for slapping me."

Luke of course refused.

Katie slammed her hand down on the nearby table.

"If you won't even agree to this, then get that wretch out of the house!"

And so, Luke personally escorted Kayla to a cold, damp basement.

"Don't worry, Kayla. Once Mom calms down, I'll bring you back upstairs," he promised.

During those weeks in the basement, Kayla could hear Stephanie's belongings constantly being moved into the house.

Stephanie wasn't comfortable in the master bed, so Luke dismantled the custom bed Kayla had spent an entire year commissioning from a master craftsman, replacing it with a latex mattress Stephanie liked.

Stephanie was allergic to pollen, so Luke uprooted all the sunflowers Kayla had carefully nurtured and replaced them with an infinity pool she preferred.

Stephanie even converted Kayla's music room into a nursery. She smashed the piano Luke had painstakingly refinished for Kayla, then set it ablaze until it was nothing but ash.

"Soon I'll completely replace you as the lady of the Hudson family," Stephanie sneered. "As for you and your child, I'll make sure the baby is born, despised by everyone, and left to die in misery."

Only then did Kayla finally understand why Stephanie had deliberately handed her abortion appointment slip to Luke.

Stephanie wanted Kayla to watch it with her own eyes, to see her child rejected by the world and pushed toward ruin.

The moment Luke appeared, Stephanie instantly changed her tone.

"I was only trying to persuade my sister to carry the baby to term."

Luke's expression twisted into one of anguish.

"Kayla, I can't believe you're still thinking about giving up our child. I am so disappointed in you!"

Kayla didn't even want to look at him anymore.

All she wanted now was to leave Luke and go somewhere she wouldn't be disturbed.

The only question was, how could she even reach the outside world?

Kayla began to take the initiative with Luke. She would even take his hand and guide it to her belly.

"I heard that babies who grow up listening to their father tell stories become smarter," she said softly.

For the first time in ages, Kayla was no longer cold or distant. She was showing affection, even joy, about the baby. Luke was over the moon. He spent the entire day holding his wife, unwilling to let her go.

When Stephanie complained that her stomach hurt and asked Luke to stay with her, he refused without a second thought, saying he was too busy with work.

But the moment Kayla mentioned craving mac and cheese, Luke canceled his meetings, went into the kitchen himself, and cooked a full spread just for her. He even promised he would come every night to tell the baby a bedtime story.

Stephanie finally snapped.

She intercepted Kayla while she was walking in the backyard, her hatred spilling out through clenched teeth.

"You shameless wench. You stole eighteen years of my life, and now you want to steal my husband too!"

Kayla let out a cold laugh.

"First of all, you were the one who thought the Campbell family was too poor and willingly followed a trafficker just because he promised you a limited edition Barbie doll. You only came crawling back after hearing the Campbells had made it big, trying to snatch the real daughter's place. The shameless one is you, not me. Second, Luke's marriage certificate still has my name on it. I am his lawful wife."

Stephanie looked like she was on the verge of losing her mind, then a strange, twisted smile appeared on her lips.

"What do you think would happen if the two of us fell into the water at the same time? Who do you think Luke would choose?"

Kayla reacted faster than she did.

She grabbed Stephanie around the waist and dragged her straight into the pool.

"Kayla!"

Luke did not hesitate for even a second. He dove into the water after them.

Stephanie flailed helplessly at the surface, looking as though she might sink at any moment.

"Luke, I can't swim. I'm going to die!"

Luke had been swimming decisively toward Kayla, but he suddenly froze.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Stephanie clung to his shoulder. Her face was deathly pale.

"My stomach hurts so much. I can't hold on anymore. Luke, save me."

The glare of sunlight off the water made the hesitation and confusion in Luke's eyes painfully clear.

So this was the man who always swore Kayla would be his first choice. All it took was a few words from someone else, and he was already hesitating over whether to save his wife first.

So this was how it was. Even the firmest vows only held in the moment. With time, they turned into blades, cutting straight into Kayla's heart.

Driven by instinct, Luke still chose to save Kayla first.

But he only shoved her toward the edge of the pool. He didn't even help her out before rushing back to Stephanie, pulling her into his arms as if she were a priceless treasure he had almost lost forever.

Only after carrying Stephanie out of the pool, calling the family doctor, and confirming she was fine did Luke finally remember Kayla. She was still clinging to the railing with both hands, barely keeping herself from sinking.

When Kayla was pulled ashore, Stephanie was wrapped in the only cashmere blanket. She shot Kayla a smug look, watching her lips tremble blue from the cold.

A sharp wave of unease surged through Luke. He reached for his wife, wanting to drape his jacket over her shoulders, but his hand was knocked away without mercy.

"Kayla?"

"No need. I didn't die in the water, and I won't die on land either. I can walk back on my own."

Luke could sense he was on the verge of losing something precious, but Stephanie was tightly gripping his arm, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Luke, I don't blame you for saving my sister first. Really, I don't. But my stomach hurts so much. Can you take me to the hospital?"

Kayla returned alone to the basement. Only after locking the door did she pull a phone wrapped in plastic from inside her clothes.

She had stolen it when she dragged Stephanie into the pool.

In the chaos, the plastic had not been sealed properly. Fortunately, the phone still worked.

Kayla immediately dialed a number she had recited in her mind hundreds of times. After a few rings, a low male voice answered.

"Who is this?"

"It's me, Kayla. I'm willing to sell you the copyright to 'Celestial Bliss.' on one condition. You get me out of the Hudson family for good, away from Luke, as fast as possible."

The Celestial Bliss jewelry line had long been Hudson Group's flagship brand. Last year alone, sixty percent of the company's total revenue came from that series.

When they released the preview for the new collection, "Moonlit Delight, " it triggered a rush of preorders. Industry experts predicted it would become the most profitable jewelry launch of the past fifty years.

What no one knew was that the entire "Celestial Bliss" series had been designed by Kayla.

On the other end of the line, the man's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

"I'll come to Harbor City myself within the hour. Wait for me."

Once Kayla got the answer she wanted, she finally let out the breath she had been holding.

She deleted the call log, then smashed Stephanie's phone and tossed the broken pieces into the trash.

Outside the door, the family doctor was still pleading anxiously.

"Mrs. Hudson, please let me take a look at you. If Mr. Hudson asks later, I really won't know what to say."

Just as Kayla hesitated, the doctor's voice abruptly stopped.

A bad feeling crept up her spine.

The next second, the basement door was kicked open. Stephanie's biological parents, Simon Campbell and Lara, stormed in. Their faces were dark with fury, and Katie followed behind them.

The moment Kayla came into view, Lara lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat.

"You cursed little leech. You stole half of Stephanie's life, and now you even dared to push her into the water, trying to kill the child she's carrying. I'll kill you!"

In panic, Kayla grabbed the nearest plate and smashed it over the woman's head.

Backed into a corner, she shouted hoarsely, "Back then, it was you who believed some so-called fortune teller and kidnapped me from the amusement park, all because he said I was born with a 'rich destiny.' When your business started doing better, you kicked me out of the Campbell family without a second thought. I didn't steal Stephanie's life. You stole mine."

They clearly had not expected Kayla to remember what happened when she was a child, much less expose it in public.

Simon Campbell and Lara's faces turned ugly. Seeing the shard of broken porcelain clenched tightly in Kayla's hand, they didn't dare move closer. Instead, they turned their pressure on Katie.

"Madam Hudson, Stephanie is carrying the eldest grandson of your family. If you don't give us an explanation today, we'll take Stephanie to the hospital right now and have the baby aborted."

Katie was in no mood to lose her long-awaited eldest grandson. She immediately slammed a divorce agreement down in front of Kayla.

"Terminate the baby in your womb, leave with nothing, and the Hudson family might let you walk away alive."

Kayla glanced at the dozen or so bodyguards surrounding her, ready to move at a moment's notice. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. Without hesitation, she signed her name across the paper.

The family doctor looked uneasy and handed her a few pills.

"Take these first. It'll make things easier once you're on the operating table."

Kayla had long considered terminating the baby. But now that the moment had come, a hollow sadness rose in her chest. All the suffering she had endured, all the hope she had carried, had led to this child. Yet in the end, she would never meet the child.

"I said it before. I'm carrying Luke's child. Unfortunately, no one ever cared. Fine. Then I hope none of you ever regret this."

The pills went down. Soon, a searing pain shot through her lower abdomen.

The family doctor immediately called for a stretcher, ready to carry her to the sterile room for the procedure.

Halfway there, Lara suddenly lunged forward.

"She dared to push my daughter into the pool. There's no way we can let her get away with this!"

This time, Kayla had no strength left to resist. She could only watch helplessly as she was shoved into the icy water.

Cold swallowed her from all sides. It felt as though something inside her was being ripped away, leaving the water around her stained red.

Screams and shouts rang from the poolside, but amid the endless pain, Kayla felt a strange sense of release.

Before she closed her eyes, she heard the deafening roar of propellers above.

No matter the outcome, she could finally leave the Hudson family behind this time. She could leave Luke.

She could say goodbye to everything here.