Her eyes rolled around wildly, and then, as though she had come up with something, she pointed at me with a pitiful expression.

“Zoe, I know you’re angry that I posted that update. You’re mad that I’m carrying Jeremy's child, but there’s no reason for you to curse your own baby or use a fake termination report to lie!”

“If you’d really had a miscarriage, your lower belly would be flat. How could it still look so full? Misfortune shouldn’t touch innocent children. As a mother, I am deeply ashamed of you using a child to compete for affection!”

I was wearing loose hospital clothes, and my belly was wrapped in thick bandages. It did look slightly rounded, almost like I was still pregnant.

“Jeremy, don’t listen to Molly’s nonsense. The child has already…”

Before I could finish, his hand slammed across my face. The burning pain shot through me.

I looked up and met his eyes, filled with rage.

“Zoe, you’re utterly unreasonable! You’ve thrown away all sense of principle just to compete for attention! You would even curse your own child to win favor!”

“As a mother, why can’t you show even a little empathy for Molly? Must you destroy her and her unborn child to satisfy yourself?”

“How could I have not noticed how cruel you are before? Zoe, you’ve disappointed me beyond words!”

Ha! The one who should be disappointed is me.

Jeremy constantly claimed he loved me, yet a few words of Molly were enough to make him question my character.

He said I did not trust him. When had he ever truly trusted me? He knew how precious my unborn child was to me. There was no way I would joke about the baby!

“Jeremy, the child is already gone. My belly looks swollen because of the bandages on my injury…”

I was about to lift my shirt to prove it.

At that moment, Molly clutched her stomach, pretending to be weak, and leaned helplessly into Jeremy’s arms.

“Jeremy, my stomach hurts so much…”

Jeremy, usually so composed and self-assured, was thrown completely off balance. He scooped Molly up in his arms, gave me a cold, dismissive glance, muttered “unreasonable,” and carried her off to see the doctor.

Once again, I was left behind.

At that moment, my heart completely broke.

I wiped away my tears and went to the crematorium to lay my child to rest.

‘My baby, Mommy could not protect you. Go peacefully, and if fate allows, I hope one day you’ll return to me and choose me as your mother…’

After leaving the crematorium, I went to a law office to have a divorce agreement drafted. I brought the papers home, ready to get Jeremy to sign.

The moment I stepped inside, I saw Molly lounging lazily on the sofa. There was Jeremy, the man with a notorious obsession with cleanliness, sitting beside her, peeling grapes with meticulous care, and feeding them to her one by one.

Back then, seeing this would have made me furious. Yet I felt nothing now. My only thought was getting him to sign the divorce papers.

Jeremy spoke when he saw me come in.

“You’re just in time. I need to tell you something. You and Molly are both pregnant. Both carrying my children. I can’t favor one over the other, so I’ve decided to let Molly stay at home, where she can rest and take care of herself.”

Molly leaned against his shoulder, shooting me a look full of smug provocation.

“Zoe, living together isn’t just convenient for me to take care of my pregnancy. It also makes it easier for me to help Jeremy with his illness. You don’t mind, do you?”

I met her provocation with a cold smile.

“I don’t mind.”

Jeremy had been bracing himself, expecting me to resist. He had prepared a hundred excuses in his mind. He nodded with satisfaction when he saw how obedient and compliant I was.

“Good. That’s exactly how I hoped you’d think…”

Before he could enjoy that satisfaction, I threw the divorce papers onto the table and said, “Jeremy, sign this. We’re getting a divorce.”

…

“Zoe! Do you know what you’re saying?!”

He shouted in utter shock.

I had always been gentle, easy to handle.

A white lie from him and a few crocodile tears, and I would have forgiven anything.

This time, I was handing him divorce papers. He frowned, realizing this situation was slipping out of his control.

Molly’s eyes lit up when she saw the papers, but she forced a show of innocence.

“Zoe, are you mad just because I’m moving in? You didn’t have to storm off and get a divorce over it!”

“You don’t want me here? Fine, I won’t stay. I’m leaving…”

She began to cry and make her way to the door.

Jeremy rushed to stop her, massaging his throbbing temples, looking at me with a hint of complaint.

“Zoe, have you had enough? Do you really want our child to grow up without a father?”

The mention of the child made my vision red with fury.

“Jeremy! You have no right to speak of our child. You killed them with your own hands!”

His brows drew tight and his expression turned dark and stormy.

“Zoe, shut up! I won’t let you curse my child!”

“Calm down all you want, but I’m not leaving this marriage. Molly will live here whether you like it or not!”

Then, Jeremy stormed back into the room.

He slammed the door with deliberate force, expecting me to chase after him as I always had.

This time, I did not move. I handed the divorce papers directly to Molly.

“Molly, I know you’ve always wanted to push me out. As long as you get Jeremy to sign this divorce, I’ll step aside and let you have everything.”

She looked at me suspiciously and pretended to be reluctant.

“Zoe, you misunderstand me. I don’t have those intentions. My pregnancy was an accident…”

I cut her off coldly.

“There’s no need to put a show in front of me.”

A calculating coldness flashed in Molly’s eyes.

“Zoe, the position of Mrs. Lane is yours to give up. Good luck trying to take it back later!”

She took the divorce papers, swaying her hips as she walked into the room.

Not long after, she came back out, tossing the signed papers at me.

“They’re signed. Now it’s time for you to pack up and leave.”

I wanted to go immediately, but my body would not allow it after surgery.

“I’ll leave… but I’ll spend one more night here. I’ll be gone for good tomorrow morning.”

Molly smirked. It was as though she thought I was backtracking, giving me a meaningful glance.

I ignored her and went back to the room to pack my things.

Halfway through packing, Jeremy burst into my room, eyes bloodshot, slamming the door and gripping a letter tightly in his hand.

“Tell me, where did you hide Molly?!”

I frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

Jeremy slammed the letter against my face. The sharp edge of the paper cut a line across my cheek, drawing blood.

“Still playing innocent? Molly left a note! She said you couldn’t tolerate her and, while I wasn’t paying attention, you forced her away! She’s pregnant and her baby’s unstable! Do you want to kill her?!”

Suddenly, I remembered the look Molly had given me earlier, full of meaning, and everything clicked.

“Jeremy, I don’t know where Molly went. Can’t you see she’s orchestrating this herself?”

His face flushed red with rage. Without another word, he lifted his foot and kicked toward my stomach with full force.

By then, my wound split open, and blood poured down.

He acted as though he could not see it at all. Orders were shouted, and I was dragged into the cold storage. My phone was taken to prevent any contact with the outside world.

Fortunately, I was one step ahead. Before he confiscated it, I managed to send a message to a mysterious contact.

[Help me!]

…

They threw me into the cold storage like a criminal. To punish me, Jeremy had a truckload of rotten fish and shrimp brought in, dumping it all on top of me.

The stench of fish scales and decay clung to my body, bringing back memories I wanted to forget.

Back when I was younger, my family worked in the fish trade. My classmates looked down on me, mocking me as “the fish girl” and bullied me relentlessly. They would grab dead fish and slap me across the face with them, even shoving fish bones into my mouth until it bled all over.

Jeremy had seemed like an angel, saving me from their torment.

Now, he was tearing open my wounds and stabbing my heart himself for Molly.

The infection from my wound spiked my fever. My head spun, blood poured from my abdomen, and darkness closed in. Despair and helplessness wrapped around me like chains.

“Zoe!”

Before losing consciousness, I vaguely saw a figure sprinting toward me, scooping me up and holding me tightly in their arms.

…

The next day, Jeremy finally located Molly and brought her home safely.

With Molly found, much of his anger subsided, and he ordered the bodyguards to release me from the cold storage.

Molly, wiping her tears, objected, "Jeremy, Zoe drove me and my baby out into the freezing street all night. You cannot just let her go. You have to do something for us!"

Jeremy immediately called the bodyguards back.

“Don’t release her yet. Keep her in there. She needs to learn her lesson!”

Just then, Jeremy’s phone rang. It was the hospital.

As soon as he answered, the doctor’s voice came through:

“Mr. Lane, we cannot reach your wife, Miss Zoe. We’re calling you because she just had a termination procedure. Being discharged too early could leave lasting complications, and the hospital cannot be held responsible. We strongly advise her to remain hospitalized for recovery!”