In five years of marriage, I had had four miscarriages.

To ensure the safe birth of our fifth child, Elowen personally took care of my daily needs, attending to me 24/7.

Who would have thought that on the day I went to the hospital for delivery, we would encounter a robber? In order to save me, Elowen was stabbed ten times, yet he still held on and carried me to the hospital.

I thought I had married the right man and was deeply moved, only to hear his conversation with the lead surgeon just before I lost consciousness from shock.

"All these years, you've done everything possible to push Callista aside and make way for Maya, even forcing her into multiple pregnancies and miscarriages. And now, you've gone even further by swapping your fertilized egg with hers, making Callista unknowingly carry your and Maya's child. Isn't that too much?"

Elowen looked at me deeply and said, "Maya is the woman I love the most. But she is my sister. The only way for our child to rightfully inherit my wealth is for Callista to give birth to it. I had no other choice. As for Callista, I will compensate her with the marriage she wants..."

Tears instantly slipped from my eyes.

It turned out that Elowen didn’t take those stabs for me out of love. He did it for the child in my womb, the child that belonged to him and another woman.

The marriage I thought was filled with happiness was nothing more than a carefully calculated scheme…

***

"But Callista's body has already shown severe signs of rejection. You could have given her medication to ease the pain, but you refused out of fear that it would affect the baby's development. You forced her to endure it, causing multiple organ failures. Now, the only option left is a C-section. If she delivers naturally, she will be paralyzed from the waist down."

"No. It must be a natural birth."

"Elowen, do you even have a heart?"

Even though the lead surgeon was Elowen’s longtime friend, he was still enraged upon hearing his insistence on a natural birth.

Elowen remained indifferent, his expression unchanged and said,

"Only if Callista is paralyzed and can no longer dance will Maya’s dance career remain unthreatened. Society won’t allow us to be together and I can’t give her a normal family. This is the only way I can protect her; by removing all obstacles from her path."

"You’re insane! Callista is still your wife. She has given you everything over the years without ever asking for anything in return. Do you really want to hurt her like this?"

Elowen frowned impatiently and urged, "Enough nonsense. How I treat her is my business. If you want to blame someone, blame her for loving me too much, while I deeply love Maya. There’s no time to waste. Deliver the baby now. I need to see my child born safely."

Dr. Grove was so furious that he couldn’t say a word, yet he had no choice but to do as Elowen ordered.

I slit my eyes open just a little, looking at Elowen’s face, only to find it more unfamiliar than ever.

No wonder that when my fiancé cheated on me with Maya, the all-powerful Elowen suddenly began relentlessly pursuing me.

All that talk about secretly loving me for over a decade and begging me to marry him was nothing more than a ploy to stop me from ruining Maya’s happiness.

Another wave of contractions hit me, making my entire body tremble in pain. Before I knew it, my legs were forcibly spread apart and my most private part was completely exposed to the air.

A single tear slid down from the corner of my eye. Gathering all my strength, I grasped Elowen’s hand and pleaded in a trembling voice.

"I don’t want a natural birth… Please, let me have a C-section. I beg you… I won’t fight with Maya…"

Elowen froze for a moment, a flicker of guilt flashing through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an affectionate expression. He gently stroked my face and spoke tenderly, "Baby, are you so delirious from the pain that you’re talking nonsense? I chose a natural birth because it carries less risk than a C-section. I almost lost you just now. I can’t take that risk again."

His voice was soft and soothing, yet his tone left no room for argument.

I opened my mouth in despair, but another wave of intense contractions left me paralyzed in pain.

Seeing my suffering, a trace of pity flickered in Elowen’s eyes.

"Don’t be afraid, baby. I’ll have the doctor give you a painkiller. You’ll feel better soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dr. Grove inserted a syringe into my body, injecting all the liquid inside.

But instead of easing the pain, it only intensified. It felt as if an invisible hand was forcefully trying to rip the baby from my womb. A searing pain tore through me, as if scissors were cutting me open. The agony was so overwhelming that I blacked out, only to wake up moments later.

"Push! Push! The head is out! Keep pushing…!"

Finally, just before I completely lost consciousness, the baby was born safely, its sharp cries echoing throughout the hospital room.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Elowen immediately turn to look at the child. When he noticed that the baby’s features resembled Maya, a rare smile appeared on his face.

He didn’t spare me a single glance throughout the entire process, letting me bleed uncontrollably, my body covered in blood, urine and filth, utterly wretched and disgusting.

When I woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Instinctively, I tried to move my legs, only to realize that my lower body felt completely numb like it wasn’t even part of me.

Remembering what Dr. Grove had said in the operating room, I felt a wave of despair crash over me.

At that moment, a familiar voice drifted in from outside the door.

"Elowen, why did you insist on having me switch the painkiller for a labor-inducing drug? You knew that this particular drug would damage her internal organs and now Callista can’t even produce milk. Don’t you think this has gone too far?"

"I wanted to make sure she couldn’t produce milk. How could I let my and Maya’s child drink her milk? What if the baby developed feelings for her instead? I absolutely won’t allow that to happen."

Scalding tears slid down my cheeks as my grip on the bed’s edge tightened so much that my fingers turned white.

No wonder the so-called painkiller had only intensified the agony. It had been a labor-inducing drug all along.

I glanced down at my chest. It was dry, sagging slightly, with no sign of milk production, completely unlike a mother who had just given birth.

"Maya has already chosen a name for our daughter, Yasha. Anyway, I won’t stay long. Maya is waiting to see the baby. I’ll let Callista take a quick look before taking the child to her."

Elowen’s voice rang out again as the door swung open. He walked in, holding a newborn in his arms.

Seeing that I was already awake, Elowen gazed at me tenderly and gently placed the baby in front of me.

"Baby, you've worked so hard. Our family has welcomed another little one. Look at this tiny face, it looks so much like you. I've already decided on a name for our baby. Let's call her Yasha. It suits her perfectly."

I stared at Yasha’s face, one that resembled both Elowen and Maya but bore no trace of me. The irony was almost laughable. I had endured nine months of pregnancy, risked my life in childbirth, yet the child I brought into this world belonged to Elowen and another woman.

And my real children? The ones who should have been mine? They had all been killed by Elowen’s own hands.

Before long, he used the excuse that my body had been weakened by multiple miscarriages and couldn’t produce milk, saying the baby had to be sent to a specialized nursery for care. He promised to bring me to see her once I recovered.

I said nothing. I simply nodded numbly. This child wasn’t mine. I had no reason to keep her by my side.

Seeing the hopelessness in my expression, Elowen’s eyes flickered with a strange emotion.

I knew it was the fleeting guilt of a man whose conscience had momentarily awakened after committing a heartless act.

Not long after Elowen left, I received a friend request and I instantly recognized it was Maya because her profile picture was a photo of herself holding a small white dog.

I found the dog quite familiar and instinctively opened Elowen’s Instagram account. I discovered his profile picture was the same dog, cropped from the photo of Maya.

No wonder such a proud person like Elowen would use a dog as his profile picture for five years. It was to match with Maya’s profile picture.