The moment Daniel walked away to collect the prenatal test results, the gentle expression on Emily's face vanished instantly. "I saw you a long time ago," she said coldly. "You can come out now."

Claire stepped out slowly, her expression calm and distant.

Seeing Claire remain silent, Emily stopped pretending altogether. "Are you curious why I chose this public hospital when there are so many high-end private clinics in Riverton? I wanted you to see it with your own eyes. I wanted you to see how much Daniel loves me and protects me. You've been pregnant for eight months, yet he's never accompanied you once. I'm only a little over three months along, and he personally comes with me every single time. He never leaves my side."

So from beginning to end, every bit of this had been deliberate. Emily had staged the entire encounter purely to provoke her.

Claire said nothing. She merely watched Emily's ridiculous performance with quiet indifference.

But the calmer Claire appeared, the more irritated Emily became. All the humiliation she had carefully prepared felt like punches landing in empty air.

Emily finally sneered impatiently, "So what if you have the title of Mrs. Carter? Daniel never loved you. Once I give birth to this baby, he'll divorce you immediately."

Claire finally spoke, her voice icy calm. "What's there to be proud of about stealing someone else's husband? Everything you're showing off right now is trash I already threw away."

Emily's expression stiffened instantly. "You're just jealous of me!"

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly landed on the report clenched in Claire's hand. Without hesitation, she snatched it away.

Emily skimmed through the diagnosis. The moment she saw the word "cancer," she burst into shrill laughter. "Hahaha... Claire, you're pathetic."

Clutching the report, she laughed so hard her shoulders trembled. "You have terminal cancer? God is really helping me this time. You won't live much longer anyway, so why don't you and that baby in your stomach just die together and make room for me and my child?"

That sentence completely shattered Claire's restraint.

She could endure betrayal directed at herself. But she would never tolerate anyone cursing her unborn child.

Claire raised her hand and slapped Emily across the face without hesitation.

The sharp crack echoed clearly through the hallway.

Emily's head snapped to the side from the force. A red slap mark instantly bloomed across her cheek. She froze for two seconds before her eyes quickly turned red, her body swaying weakly as if she might collapse at any moment.

At that exact moment, Daniel returned with the prenatal results. The second he saw the scene, he rushed forward immediately, shielding Emily behind him before violently yanking Claire backward.

Claire was already eight months pregnant. The force of the pull nearly sent her crashing to the floor, and a painful tightness instantly spread across her stomach.

Yet Daniel did not notice her discomfort at all. He glared at her furiously. "Claire, have you lost your mind? Emily is pregnant, and you actually hit her? How can you be this vicious?"

Emily leaned weakly against his chest, looking utterly wronged. "Daniel, it's all my fault. If Claire feels upset and wants to hit me to vent her anger, then just let her..."

Hearing that only made Daniel ache for Emily even more. He looked at Claire with icy disgust. "Did you hear her? Emily is being understanding enough already, yet you keep pushing her. Apologize to Emily right now."

Daniel's blatant favoritism and coldness finally pushed Claire past her limit. Every grievance she had suppressed for years erupted all at once.

She hurled the diagnosis report directly at him. "Daniel, open your damn eyes and look carefully! Do you really think I still have the energy to waste on you people?"

She had thought that this terminal diagnosis would at least make him look at her properly for once. She had thought it might stir even the slightest bit of concern in him.

But Daniel only looked annoyed. Without even reading it properly, he tore the report into pieces. "Claire, can you stop pulling these childish stunts? Waving around some fake medical report for sympathy? I'm sick of these tricks."

The instant the report was torn apart, Claire's eyes turned completely red. A crushing pain spread through her chest, sharp and endless.

For a brief second, guilt flickered through Daniel's heart as he looked at Claire's reddened eyes and pale, miserable state.

But the moment Emily sniffled softly in his arms, that tiny trace of sympathy disappeared instantly.

Daniel reached out and shoved Claire forward again. His voice was cold and merciless. "I'll say this one last time. Apologize to Emily."

Claire steadied herself and forced back her tears. "I won't apologize. From beginning to end, the ones who betrayed me were the two of you. I did nothing wrong."

After returning from the hospital, Claire lowered herself heavily onto the couch in the marital home, exhaustion weighing down every part of her body.

She forced herself not to dwell on what had happened at the hospital and calmly began drafting the divorce agreement.

She had already made up her mind. She would keep the child and cut the father out completely. From this moment on, neither she nor her baby would have anything to do with Daniel ever again.

This house had been their marital home after the wedding. Back then, Claire had personally handled every part of the decorating and furnishing. Every piece of furniture, every decoration in the house, had been carefully chosen by her.

Especially the master bedroom. While pregnant, she had spent countless hours arranging it little by little, happily waiting for her baby's arrival. That room held all of her hopes and expectations.

Just as she stared blankly at the divorce papers, the sound of keys turning in the front door suddenly echoed through the house.

Claire looked up. Her heart dropped instantly.

Daniel walked in first. And right beside him was Emily.

Dressed in a soft flowing dress, her slight baby bump visible beneath the fabric, Emily clung timidly to Daniel's arm as she stepped into the home that belonged to Claire and Daniel.

Claire watched the scene in silence, her eyes turning completely cold.

Daniel showed no guilt whatsoever. Instead, he sounded completely justified, even mildly accusatory. "You humiliated Emily at the hospital today. She got frightened, and she's not feeling well. I didn't have a choice, so I brought her here to stay. The house is quiet and more comfortable than a hotel. Emily will stay here for a while so I can take care of her properly."

Claire looked at the couple standing before her. Then she looked around the home she had lovingly built over five years, the home that had once carried all her hopes for their future. And now, it was about to shelter another woman and another child. It felt as though a blade was repeatedly carving through her chest, leaving her entire body numb with pain.

Claire let out a faint, humorless laugh. There was no grievance left on her face anymore, only indifference. "Whatever."

Daniel froze briefly when he heard her answer. Instinctively, he assumed Claire had finally become reasonable and stopped causing trouble.

What he did not know was that she was not compromising anymore. She simply no longer cared.

Claire did not want to remain there for another second. Even the air in the house felt suffocating. She stood up, intending to leave and finalize the divorce agreement with a lawyer.

But the moment she took a step forward, Daniel reached out and stopped her.

His brows were tightly furrowed, impatience written all over his face. "Where are you going now? Claire, can you act a little more mature? Every time we argue, you try to run away from home. It's childish and exhausting."

Claire stopped walking and slowly lifted her eyes to look at him.

At that moment, she finally understood completely. No matter how much pain she endured or how badly she had been wronged, Daniel would always believe it was her fault.

To him, his precious Emily was fragile and innocent. Everything she did had an excuse.

Meanwhile, Claire was eight months pregnant, yet the moment she showed even the slightest emotion after being hurt, she became unreasonable and troublesome in his eyes.

Neither she nor the baby she carried had ever truly mattered to him.

Claire looked at him coldly. "So now I don't even have the freedom to leave the house?"

Before Daniel could answer, Emily immediately spoke in a soft, spoiled tone. "Daniel, my feet hurt so much. I'm exhausted from walking."

That single sentence instantly stole all of Daniel's attention.

He did not spare Claire another glance. His entire focus was on Emily alone. "Good girl, I'll carry you to the bedroom so you can rest."

As soon as he finished speaking, Daniel bent down and carefully swept Emily into his arms before carrying her quickly toward the bedroom.

The sight before her was both absurd and painfully blinding. The last trace of warmth in Claire's eyes vanished completely. Without another word, she turned around, left the house, and took a cab straight to a law firm.

After reviewing the divorce agreement Claire had prepared, the lawyer quickly completed the notarization process. "Ms. Bennett, the agreement has already been notarized. Once Mr. Carter signs it, it will immediately take effect. All clauses will be legally binding, including child custody and property division."

Claire nodded softly and thanked him in a low voice.

After finishing everything, Claire returned once again to the house that no longer felt like home.

She walked toward the master bedroom. But the moment she pushed open the door, her entire body froze.

Every decoration in the room, every piece of bedding, every small ornament had originally been chosen by Claire herself in soft light colors. The space had once felt warm, gentle, and filled with all the love she had for her child.

But now, everything had been replaced.

Emily had shamelessly taken over everything Claire had prepared for her own baby.