###Chapter 3

I quickly smoothed my expression and turned around with a gentle look. "I wanted to tell everyone the good news about my pregnancy as soon as possible."

Cedric's brow remained furrowed, his tone carrying his usual commanding presence. "Why didn't you stay at the villa? Why did you come back alone?"

The strong scent of perfume coming from him churned my stomach, but I steadied my breathing and said softly, "The baby was kicking quite hard and I felt a bit unwell, so I came back first."

Only then did Cedric give a slight nod and casually toss his coat into my arms. "Alright. We'll have your mother come stay then."

I paused for a moment at the mention of her. My adoptive mother was a woman who, for as long as I could remember, had never given me a single warm look.

I once thought she was simply cold by nature, until my parents passed away and she took me back to the Lancasters to acknowledge my relatives. It was then that I saw her true self: how she doted on Sandra, tending to her every little hurt with tears and attentive care, serving tea and water with meticulous devotion.

That was when I knew it wasn't that she lacked love. She simply wasn't willing to spare even a shred of it for me.

And what about my "brother," William Lancaster?

The way he welcomed me "home" was by stuffing me into a dark servant's room. There was no joy of reunion in his eyes, only undisguised disgust and contempt.

"I've spent twenty-five years with Sandra. She is my only sister," he told me. "Blood relations? They mean nothing."

Even the family servants dared to mock me to my face, sneering, "She doesn't even know table manners. She's such a peasant. Look at Miss Sandra, that is true noble grace."

When Sandra and my adoptive mother eventually left after embezzling half of my parents' inheritance, the accusations against me came like an overwhelming tide. "You wicked woman! You drove Sandra away! You won't get a single penny of the Lancasters' wealth! You even kicked out the mother who raised you. You're utterly heartless!"

At that time, only Cedric stood by my side. He insisted on honoring the marriage agreement made by our parents, holding my hand and saying, "You are the true bloodline of the Lancaster family. My wife can only be you."

But last year, after Sandra had squandered the money, she officially returned. It was only now that I understood that not only did I never have a family, but even my marriage was an illusion.

As I hung up Cedric's coat, he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. His breath was so tender it made me shudder. "Darling, I want to announce our good news to the whole world on our twenty-fifth anniversary. I've prepared the grandest party for you and the baby."

Instantly, the cold, calculated words I had overheard in the bushes flashed through my mind. I suppressed the chill in my heart and forced a smile.

I reached for the divorce papers on the bedside table, flipped to the signature page and handed them to him. "Honey, I want to renovate the house, so I need you to sign for the payment."

Just as he took the pen, his phone rang.

Sandra's trembling voice came through. "Cedric, the rain is so heavy and it's so dark. I'm so scared, what should I do?"

"Don't move," he said urgently. "Send me your location. I'll be there right away!"

Cedric hurriedly signed his name on the agreement, tossed the pen aside and rushed out. From afar, he threw back a single sentence. "Sandra's place is leaking. She'll stay at our house for a few days."

He didn't even bother to ask my opinion, as if I weren't the lady of the house here.

As I've grown older, my sleep has become restless. In the middle of the night, while I was drifting in a daze, I heard a faint rustling in the hallway.

Had Cedric returned?

Immediately after, muffled gasps and whispers drifted through the crack in the door.

"Tomorrow, I'll remove her from her position at the company and give it to you. As long as I say it's for her to have a peaceful pregnancy, she'll do it obediently."

The silhouettes of two figures pressed together were cast onto the floor. The woman's voice was soft and tearful. "But I can't bear a child for you myself. The thought of having to rely on her makes my heart ache so much."

She even guided my husband's hand to press against her breast.

It was her own years of recklessness and multiple abortions that had ruined her health. Yet Cedric immediately comforted her gently, dialed a call on the spot and bought a star in her name. He even made a generous donation to the observatory, with their names engraved side by side.

Outside the door, the woman's moans became more melodic. I could only bury my face in my pillow, letting my tears quietly soak through the cloth.

Once upon a time, Cedric had done the same things for me.

On my twenty-fifth birthday, when he learned that my adoptive mother had never celebrated it, he made it up to me with twenty-five gifts, from the longevity lock of my first year to a luxury yacht for my twenty-fifth.

That man said he wanted to make up for all the warmth I had missed.

I still remember him kissing my cheek on that yacht deck, his eyes so sincere I felt I could drown in them. He whispered, "Macie, from now on, I will be your harbor. I want to give you the happiest home."

I believed him. I offered up half my life and a heart full of passion, only to find that at fifty years old, it was all nothing more than a fleeting illusion.

###Chapter 4

The next morning, just as I stepped out of the bedroom, I saw Cedric coming out of the guest room.

He carefully helped Sandra to the living room sofa and instructed the maid, his voice unusually tense. "Sandra caught a chill after standing in the rain last night. Quickly call Dr. Lane!"

Meanwhile, I hadn't slept a wink, my face ashen from morning sickness, yet he seemed oblivious.

Standing at the turn of the stairs, my eyes locked onto Sandra's. She was dressed in a thin silk nightgown that revealed her fair, dazzling legs, while her neck and collarbone were covered in suggestive red marks.

Although we are the same age, she had been so meticulously cared for and pampered that she looked barely thirty, radiating charm and elegance.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my reflection in the wall mirror. I didn't realize when my dark hair had begun to turn gray, or when wrinkles had quietly crept onto my face.

I clenched my fists and walked toward them, step by step. I said, "Cedric, I don't want to attend that party."

The man, who was busy peeling an apple for Sandra, suddenly looked grim. "This is a thoughtful gift Sandra prepared for us. Don't let her down," he replied coldly.

A thoughtful gift? Was it including the "thought" that destroyed me?

A dull pain throbbed in my chest as I muttered, "You two can go yourselves."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sandra's eyes reddened, her voice pitiful. "I know you hate me for taking the position of the Lancaster Family's daughter, but wasn't what you did to me back then enough?"

Upon hearing this, Cedric's face grew even colder.

He pulled the pitiful Sandra closer, his gaze like a knife shooting at me. "Macie, are you going to use the same old tricks again? Are you only satisfied with using those despicable methods to drive Sandra away once more?"

"I didn't … "

"Shut up!" His icy gaze pressed against my belly, each word uttered with undeniable pressure. "Tell me you will attend."

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I bit my lower lip hard. Under the weight of his stare, I finally gave a difficult nod.

His expression softened slightly at that.

When the family doctor arrived in a hurry, Cedric draped his coat over Sandra's shoulders and turned to me. "From today on, you will stay home and focus on your pregnancy. Sandra will take over your duties as my secretary. She will do a great job."

Before I could object, he had already led Sandra towards the doctor.

I sat alone in the empty living room for a long time, then remembered I had left some personal belongings at the company, so I decided to retrieve them.

When I arrived outside the CEO's office, I found the door slightly ajar. Looking inside, I saw Sandra sitting in Cedric's leather swivel chair, livestreaming on her phone.

She wore a brand-new ruby ​​headband, her smile elegant yet sorrowful. "The position of Mrs. Larkin should have always belonged to me. It was my stepsister who stole my happiness with dirty tricks. I wasn't the 'other woman,' she is."

Sandra lifted her hand to wipe away tears that didn't exist, her eyes full of melancholy. "She married Cedric only for money. As for me? I had already chosen him from a very young age."

I opened my own phone and saw her supporters flooding the screen with heart-wrenching comments. In contrast, others launched a barrage of abuse at me, even demanding I be sent to prison.

Later, Sandra shook her head tolerantly. "But she is still my sister in name, so let's just leave it be."

Her performance was enough to put Oscar-winning actresses to shame.

Just then, Cedric walked out of the private lounge. Sandra immediately ended the livestream, smiled sweetly and naturally sat down on his lap.

Watching their entangled figures, I no longer fled in panic like I had the day before. Instead, I raised my phone, aimed the camera at them and pressed the record button.

###Chapter 5

Suddenly, Cedric's sharp gaze swept over and his expression shifted in an instant. He abruptly pushed Sandra aside and strode toward me, snatching the phone from my hand.

"Password!" that man demanded, his voice low and thick with suppressed rage.

Ever since the day we started our relationship, the password to every device I owned had been the date he proposed to me.

However, I remained silent, my lips pressed firmly together.

He tried several combinations, but after they all failed, his face grew increasingly grim. "Tell me! What is the password?"

"It is the day you first told me 'I love you,'" I replied.

Cedric was stunned. The anger on his face froze, then twisted into a mixture of confusion and a desperate attempt to remember.

It was clear that he had long forgotten it completely.

Strangely, I didn't feel the disappointment I expected. I simply reached out, took my phone back and tapped the screen to unlock it.

Cedric's lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something. Still, in the end, he grabbed the phone back and roughly deleted the video.

I looked up and stared at him, asking, "Is there nothing you need to explain to me about what you and my adoptive sister were doing in there?"

Cedric's expression shifted, from guilt to anger, finally settling into a harsh tone. "It was just a joke between friends, is it worth making such a fuss about?"

A joke? Was it a joke when she sat on his lap? Was it a joke that he cheated and betrayed me over and over again?

Staring at the man I'd loved for half my life, a bitter sadness welled up inside me. Just then, my brother, William, walked in, unaware that I was behind the door.

He exclaimed, "Congratulations, my dear sister! You're finally going to have a child! I've already prepared the best gift for my future nephew, a castle. He's going to love it."

Of course, his "nephew" wasn't the one in my belly.

William draped an arm around Sandra's shoulders, looking radiant. "After all these years, that woman is finally useful for something. At least her belly … "

My heart tightened again and again.

So, it turned out that my own blood-related brother had known everything all along. Not only did he tacitly allow it, but he even cheered for them.

Noticing the strange atmosphere, William finally sensed something was wrong. He turned his head and saw me standing there. His smile instantly vanished, replaced by undisguised disgust.

"Macie, why aren't you at home resting during your pregnancy? What are you doing here, causing trouble?" he sneered.

Sandra pointed a trembling finger at me, her voice breaking. "I didn't know Macie hated me this much. She was hiding outside the door, secretly filming me. Is she trying to do something to me again?"

William's eyes turned colder. "I have never seen a woman as wicked as you. Apologize to Sandra now!"

At some point, a crowd of employees had gathered at the door, their whispers surging like a tide.

"Can't she keep a little dignity at her age? Back then, she was the one who used dirty tricks to force Sandra away," someone mocked quietly.

"Yeah, I heard it was on the very day Mr. Larkin was supposed to propose to her. Sandra was tormented by two men for a whole day and night. I don't know how she survived," another added.

"You just can't stand seeing Sandra doing well, can you?" another sharp voice interrupted, Cedric's eyes burning with rage. "Twenty-five years! Why won't you let her go?"

Those harsh accusations and contemptuous glances pinned me to the spot, leaving me nowhere to escape. I could barely breathe.

"I didn't. She was the one who orchestrated all of that." I tried to defend myself, but the surging murmurs drowned out my voice.

Cedric's face darkened even more. "Macie, do you think everyone is as shameless as you? You have no dignity, but Sandra does!"

Sandra curled up against my brother's shoulder, looking utterly pitiful as a victim. Meanwhile, I became the only clown and sinner in this whirlpool.

Then, she let out a terrified gasp, though a glint of triumph flashed in her eyes. "I'll get on my knees and beg you, okay? Please don't hurt me anymore! I'll give William and Cedric back to you, Macie."

Her knees buckled as she made a show of kneeling before me.

"Sandra!" Cedric cried out.

As he rushed to catch her, his arm slammed violently into my stomach. Caught off guard, I fell heavily to the ground, yet they did not spare me a single glance.

Cedric quickly scooped up the terrified Sandra and rushed to the hospital with her.

Suddenly, a stabbing pain shot through my lower abdomen and I felt a sudden dampness between my legs.

No, my baby!

I reached out toward Cedric in a desperate plea. "Cedric, my stomach hurts so much."

But he continued carrying the person in his arms, his figure quickly vanishing at the end of the hallway without a single backward glance.