On our eighth wedding anniversary, my husband, who had been diagnosed with azoospermia, suddenly had morning sickness. Then, the screen showing my photo changed. After that, it began to play 365 private photos of my husband in bed with his assistant.

While I stood there frozen, the assistant calmly took Michael Coldsworth's hand.

"I made a wish at the annual meeting," the assistant, Regina Wilde, said.

"I wish that your husband would help me have a child. Don't worry, ma'am. We're only partners in this. There are no feelings involved."

Michael looked at me with guilt in his eyes.

"Weren’t you hoping for a child too?" he said.

"Now you don’t have to go through the pain of pregnancy."

I slapped both of them on the spot.

Michael watched as his assistant ran off crying, then turned around and tried to comfort me with a soft voice.

The next day, I was attacked. A sack was thrown over my head, I was blindfolded, slapped 99 times and stabbed in the lower abdomen. I was lying there bleeding. During the emergency treatment, I heard Michael's voice through the haze.

"It's fine if Elizabeth's child can’t be saved. Regina’s baby is still safe."

"What if your wife wants a divorce after finding out?" another voice asked.

"Divorce? Where could she go? She's just an orphan."

When I came out of surgery, I saw over a hundred missed calls.

I returned one of them. The call was answered instantly and I spoke first.

"I need someone to marry me right away. Are you in?"

——

Outside the ward, I heard the doctor and Michael speaking softly, their voices drifting in and out.

"Mr. Coldsworth, the wound on Mrs. Coldsworth’s abdomen is too deep. She may never be able to conceive again."

"How is Regina? She was very emotional last night. Could that affect the baby?"

The doctor paused, surprised.

"Miss Wilde is physically healthy. Her previous surgery was successful. She's fully recovered from infertility. She’s a healthy woman now."

Michael let out a breath of relief.

"Good ... That’s good."

"Elizabeth doesn't need recovery. If she can't get pregnant again, that's ideal. I will never forget seeing my sister lying in the morgue."

He let out a cold laugh.

"Even if I didn’t have azoospermia, I would never let someone like her carry a child from the Coldsworth Family."

A tear rolled down my cheek. A voice on the phone brought me back to the moment.

"Elizabeth, were you serious just now? I’ve said so much, but you haven’t answered me."

"Do you want a classic wedding or something more modern?"

My voice was hoarse.

"Whatever you want. See you at the Town Hall in seven days."

I ended the call with the last bit of strength I had left.

The ward was warm, but I felt so cold. Just last night, I had only slapped Regina. Michael pretended to comfort me, but allowed someone to hurt me like that.

Was it really wrong to be angry when someone betrayed you? My hand moved to my flat belly. I bit down on my lip to stop a groan.

Eight years of marriage. I thought he loved me. But deep inside, he had always believed I was the one who caused his sister’s death.

No matter how many times I explained, he never believed me. If he didn’t love me and couldn’t forgive me, then I would walk away. With that thought, I tried to stand and prepare to transfer to another hospital. The farther away from them, the better.

But before I could move, the door opened.

Regina burst in, crying, with Michael right behind her, his face tight.

"If your wife doesn’t want this child to exist, then I’ll end it. I’ll have an abortion!"

Regina moved wildly, waving her hands to stop Michael from getting near her. In the chaos, she pulled out the hose from my IV.

Pain shot through my hand. Blood began to drip down.

Looking again, Michael had already wrapped his arms around Regina and was trying to calm her down.

"Don’t get an abortion. You know my condition. Your child might be my last chance to be a father."

As he spoke, he pulled a black card from his pocket and handed it to Regina.

"There’s 50 million on this card. Buy yourself a new bag. Please don’t get upset. It’s not good for the baby."

Regina gave a cold smile and threw the black card at my face.

"I don’t care about the charity of rich people like you. I’ve said it before, we are only partners for having a child. Don’t try to shame me by offering money. I have dignity."

The edge of the card scratched my cheek. Blood dripped onto the blanket. Only then did Michael seem to realize I was in the room. He frowned.

"Elizabeth, you’ve seen it yourself. Regina and I are only partners. She doesn’t want my money or my body."

"So stop being so petty. Once her child is born, you can be its mother. Isn’t that the same as having your own child?"

I tried my best to hold back, but tears still fell from my eyes. My nails dug into my palms, but even that pain felt distant. I could see the hidden pride in Regina’s eyes and Michael’s growing impatience.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, I interrupted him.

"Alright. You can have as many children as you want. I don’t care."

I had already decided to divorce Michael.

He let out a long breath and hugged Regina tighter.

"See? I told you Elizabeth is a kind person. Can you go for the prenatal checkup now?"

Regina pouted and pushed him away.

"We’re just partners. You don’t have to be so close to me."

"I’ll go by myself. You stay here with your wife."

She turned and left the room. Michael quickly followed, carefully guarding Regina’s belly, without even glancing back at me. I suddenly felt exhausted

I had left home ten years ago, met Michael ten years ago and married him eight years ago. I always knew he wanted children. However, I also knew he had azoospermia. So, when I got pregnant for the first time, I cried with joy the entire night.

I walked carefully, hoping he would go with me to the hospital. But he always said he was busy and had to travel. Still, I could never forget his cold expression.

"Elizabeth, pregnancy is survival of the fittest. If you miscarried that easily, it’s better not to have it."

At that moment, I truly believed what he said. From then on, I went to my checkups alone and took the medicine to protect the pregnancy by myself. So, I endured the nausea and quietly got out of bed at night to massage my swollen legs.

The care I had imagined receiving from him had all been given to someone else.

A few hours later, Michael sent me a rare message on WhatsApp.

[Elizabeth, you should get more rest these next few days after the miscarriage. I’ve arranged for someone to bring nutritious meals. Don’t forget to eat.]

I didn’t reply. Just like he had ignored my many messages before. The last one I sent asked what time he would come home. He never answered.

Now that I think about it, he was probably with Regina at the time. After that, I didn’t see him for several days. I only heard updates from the nurses.

Like how Regina got upset and refused to eat the nutritious meals, so Michael immediately replaced them without hesitation. Or how she gave the food she didn’t eat to the servants. One nurse said she saw Michael late at night massaging Regina’s feet himself.

I looked at the meal that had just been sent to me and lost all appetite. No wonder it was full of things I hated. They hadn’t even thought of giving it to me.

After all, it was just something Regina no longer wanted.

I asked the nurse to throw those things away for me, then lay back on the bed and fell asleep. I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping, but I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe. When I opened my eyes, I saw the bed was covered with bright, fresh roses.

My throat felt itchy and tight. I quickly covered my mouth and nose.

"Who sent these roses? Take them away!" I coughed painfully as I shouted.

Just then, Michael walked in with his assistant. His face was dark.

"Useless. Don’t you know the lady is allergic to roses? Get them out of here!"

The assistant started crying as she carried the flowers away. Michael gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. As soon as he touched my skin, which was already red and itchy from the allergy, I trembled.

"I’m sorry, Elizabeth. The assistant went to the wrong room. Are you alright now?"

The wrong room? Just then, Regina entered the ward with a pale face. She glanced at the roses still being removed and laughed coldly.

"So, the surprise you mentioned was fake. I waited the whole day for it."

"I’m sorry for disturbing your relationship."

She turned to leave.

Michael looked nervous.

"No, it was a mistake. Elizabeth is allergic to roses. I would never give them to her."

Regina's eyes turned red.

"Really?"

"Of course. If you don’t believe me, feel my heartbeat."

Michael took her hand and placed it on his chest. Then, slowly, they moved closer to each other and kissed. I got out of bed, my face swollen. I forced a smile, though it looked worse than crying

"Michael, let’s get a divorce."

When he heard that, he pushed Regina away and stared at me.

"What did you say? Say it again."

I was about to speak when Regina interrupted me. She looked pleased but wiped her lips as if it meant nothing.

"Mrs. Coldsworth, don’t get the wrong idea. I kissed Mr. Coldsworth because of hormones. It didn’t mean anything."

"Honestly, women shouldn’t be too selfish. Many women want a man like Mr. Coldsworth. But he only keeps you around. You should be grateful."

I didn’t even look at her. I just said calmly, "Didn’t your mother teach you not to interrupt people when they’re speaking? Or did you not have a mother?"

Regina’s eyes turned red immediately. Seeing this, Michael raised his hand and slapped me without thinking. It was the first time he had hit me in our eight years of marriage. He seemed to regret it right away, but still stood firm.

"Elizabeth, don’t go too far. You’re an orphan yourself. How can you say something so cruel?!"

I didn’t want to argue anymore. When I left home, my family didn’t help me at all. They even locked my records.

That was why Michael only knew me as an orphan.

But now, who was really in the wrong?

"Yes, I’m cruel, but it’s still better than getting someone pregnant before our divorce!"

"I already told you, what happened with Regina was an accident. You’re hurt and it’s hard for you to get pregnant now. Do you really want me to die without children or grandchildren?!"

Michael’s eyes were cold.

"Elizabeth, when did you become so heartless?"

My lips trembled.

"Why is it hard for me to get pregnant? Don’t you know the reason?"

Michael’s expression changed. He looked nervous, like he wanted to explain.

"Enough! Stop fighting. It’s all my fault, okay?"

Regina screamed, pushed Michael away and ran out of the room. Michael turned to glare at me.

"If anything happens to the child, I won’t forgive you."

"And don’t talk about divorce again. That trick is getting old."