Yvonne's POV

I was rushed into surgery for acute appendicitis.

But when I woke up in the hospital, I realized the child I was carrying was gone.

Standing nearby, Cedric Winslow’s childhood friend laughed openly. “I helped you get rid of that little bastard in your belly, sis. No need to thank me.”

I called the police on the spot and filed a report all the way up to the provincial level.

The next moment, Cedric rushed over from his company and pulled Melina Fairchild into his arms.

“That’s enough. She was just joking with you. The kid’s gone. So, be it. If you keep making such a scene, what will happen to her future?”

At that, every one of my complaints was quietly shut down.

Three days later, I was back in the hospital because of an infection.

The doctors found a used condom left inside my body.

Melina pouted innocently. “Maybe I forgot to take it out during surgery a few days ago. See? You’re fine now, aren’t you?”

Cedric warned me coldly, “Enough. Melina is still a junior doctor. Don’t be so harsh on her.”

——

I looked at Melina standing behind him, her face full of provocation, and felt nothing but bitter irony.

It was as if an invisible hand had clenched my heart, squeezing the air out of my lungs.

Fed up, I complained, “How could there be a condom in an operating room? She did it on purpose! Cedric, do you even know that child—”

Before I could finish, he cut me off impatiently.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes showed undisguised disgust and annoyance. “She’s always been mischievous since she was young. Can’t you just give in to her for once? It’s better that the child is gone anyway. She only did it because she didn’t want me to become a laughingstock. Drop this matter, Yvonne. Don’t push me too far.”

The warning in his eyes sent a chill through my entire body.

Three months ago, Melina and I were kidnapped together by his business rival.

Cedric came alone later, but he only saved her.

I was left behind in an abandoned factory and wasn’t rescued by the police until three days later.

He held me then, full of guilt as he apologized, “I’m sorry, Yvonne. Melina was kidnapped once when she was a child. I couldn’t let her be traumatized again. She’d break.”

Later, I found out I was pregnant, yet Cedric was convinced the child wasn’t his.

I even threw the paternity test in his face, but he didn’t even look at it. He only rubbed his temples like he was exhausted beyond words and said, “No matter whose child it is, I’ll raise it as my own. You didn’t need to bribe a doctor and make up something fake to lie to me.”

Tiredly sighing, he continued, “Melina already told me that you seduced those men just to survive. I don’t blame you. Just let’s not bring this up again, okay?”

I argued and confronted Melina face-to-face and told him she was lying.

But he didn’t believe me. He even thought I was deliberately embarrassing her.

A bitterness rose in my throat as I looked at Cedric deeply. “That child was yours, Cedric. I would never joke about something like this.”

He hesitated, then spoke carefully. “The child…”

Before he could continue, Melina suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me, as if she’d lost her mind, banging her head on the floor. “If you say I lied, then I lied. As long as you and Cedric stay together, that’s all that matters. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken your child without permission.”

She looked at Cedric with pitiful, tear-filled eyes and continued, “Cedric, I lied to you. She didn’t seduce anyone in there. Those people never touched her. It was all my fault. Please don’t fight anymore. I’ll resign. I’ll turn myself in. I’ll go to prison.”

Yvonne's POV

Melina cried for a long time, yet not a single tear fell.

Still, Cedric panicked. He swept Melina into his arms and comforted her gently. “This isn’t your fault. You were in surgery for hours. You’re exhausted. I’ll take you to rest. Don’t worry. I’m here. Nothing will happen to you.”

Then he turned to me, his gaze turning ice-cold. “That’s enough, Yvonne. You insist on pinning the child on me just to magnify Melina’s guilt and pressure me, aren't you? Whether that child was mine or not, it’s gone. And that’s that. If you keep stirring up trouble, Yvonne, don’t blame me for using my own methods to teach you a lesson.”

With that, he left, taking Melina with him without once looking back.

I stood there while a chill crept into my bones, until my whole body began to shake uncontrollably.

For seven years of love, Cedric had indulged me, giving me anything I asked for.

But ever since Melina returned to the country, she had almost completely replaced me.

I had just come out of surgery, but was left standing there as a punishment. Clearly, I was worth less than Melina’s fake tears.

This was the eighteenth time he had abandoned me for her.

I was done swallowing my pride.

As the anesthesia fully wore off, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor.

Gritting my teeth, I called my father. “Dad, I need some people tonight. Send me two doctors as well.”

Since he refused to deal with Melina, I would handle them myself.

That night, with my father’s backing, I uploaded all the evidence reporting Melina to the internet.

Cedric might be able to suppress things behind the scenes, but public opinion was beyond his control.

I was lying in my hospital bed when the ward door was kicked open.

Melina stormed in, fury written all over her face. “Yvonne, you bitch! What nonsense did you post online?!”

With Cedric absent, she didn’t even bother pretending anymore.

I gave a subtle look to the people behind me.

Fortunately, my father’s men had arrived quickly, and they were sharp. One glance was all it took.

Tacitly, several of them rushed forward and restrained Melina.

Yet there was no panic in her eyes. Instead, she looked at me with confidence, a provocative smile curling her lips. “Who are you trying to scare? You really think you dare touch me? If you lay a finger on me today, tomorrow I’ll have Cedric divorce you.”

Voice dripping with contempt, she sneered, “If it weren’t for Mr. Winslow refusing to let us be together back then, do you really think you could’ve married him? You were nothing but a pawn that Cedric used to declare war on his grandfather. Do you really think he ever loved you?”

My face went pale. My heart stuttered painfully, then clenched as if being torn apart.

Back when Cedric and I got together, Mr. Winslow had indeed threatened me.

Yet Cedric, who had always been filial, openly brought me to public events—no different from declaring war on his grandfather.

I had even asked him once if he regretted it.

His eyes had been complicated, filled with emotions I couldn’t understand, as though he were looking through me at someone else.

He sighed, rubbed my head, and said softly, “Yvonne, I just don’t want to regret it again. So, this time, I’ll hold on to you.”

At the time, blinded by love, I hadn’t noticed how strange that word "again" sounded.

So, this was it. He was using me to make up for the regret of missing out on Melina all those years ago.

A violent wave of nausea surged up from my stomach, nearly spilling out of my throat.

Seeing my face turn deathly pale, Melina looked satisfied. “Be smart and get lost. I’ve seen plenty of gold-digging women like you. Do you really not understand why Cedric silently allowed me to abort your child? Because a lowly woman like you was never worthy of carrying his child.”

Yvonne's POV

“Oh, right! You should thank me, too,” Melina added casually. “When you were kidnapped, Cedric was actually prepared to let you die in there. If I hadn’t been afraid someone would end up dead and told Cedric to call the police, you’d still be locked up and tortured right now.”

That last sentence burned away the last of my restraint.

Hatred surged through me like a wildfire, devouring every trace of reason.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. The pain brought me a moment of clarity.

“I’ll give you what you want,” I said calmly. “But that child was innocent. Melina, you picked the wrong person to mess with.”

I stood up and walked toward her slowly, gripping her chin between my fingers.

“Since this mouth of yours talks so well,” I said softly, “let’s sew it shut.”

For the first time, panic flashed across Melina’s face.

She struggled violently. “You wouldn’t dare! You’re nothing but an orphan. Cedric won’t let you get away with this!”

I laughed. “Right. I’m an orphan. But does that mean I’m supposed to let you bully me?”

After my father’s affair, I had convinced myself that my only family was my mother.

So, when she passed away, I considered myself an orphan.

My father was a terrible husband, but at least he was still somewhat of a father.

When I was with Cedric, he had secretly called me and told me I could use his influence so that Cedric's grandfather wouldn’t oppose our relationship.

But I had refused.

I never expected that, in the end, I would still have to rely on his power.

Not wanting to waste any more words on her, I stepped aside. The two doctors my father had sent moved forward, needle and thread in hand, and began stitching Melina’s mouth shut.

Blood soaked into her white dress.

Her heart-wrenching screams slowly faded into muffled whimpers.

I had her locked inside the operating room.

“You spent four hours operating on me,” I said coldly. “So, I’ll pay you back double.”

“Turn the air-conditioning all the way down. Don’t let her out until eight hours have passed,” I instructed the men.

Early the next morning, when I returned to our house, a message from my father’s people popped up on my phone.

[We've already finished our task, Miss. We’ll leave now.]

Then, the door opened.

Cedric hurried over and pulled me into his arms. “I told you I’d come get you. Why did you discharge yourself?”

He then carried me to the dining table and added, “I made egg drop soup, your favorite. Sip some while it’s hot. What happened this time was that Melina went too far. I’ve already scolded her. She said she knows she was wrong, so don’t hold it against her anymore.”

I listened to his lies without any expression.

Last night, Melina had been locked in an operating room. So, how could she have had the chance to talk to him, let alone be lectured?

My eyes flicked to the gift box on the coffee table. “What’s that?”

His expression stiffened, a hint of unease crossing his face. “Nothing. Just a small gift from a client.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated twice, and his childhood friends' voice messages auto-played.

"Cedric, how’s that ruby from New York? My intel wasn’t wrong, right? Melina likes it?"

"Obviously. Cedric flew overnight to the New York auction just to cheer Melina up. How could she not like it? Looks like he still can’t forget Melina."

"Idiot, wrong group."

Immediately, the three messages were deleted.

Seeing there was no way to hide it anymore, Cedric sighed and reluctantly pulled a necklace out of his pocket.

“Actually, I flew there to buy a gift for you. They’re just talking nonsense. Don’t listen to them.”

I glanced at the necklace, and bitterness flooded my mouth.

It looked more like a free add-on to the ruby, worth less than a tenth of its price.

Cedric pushed the necklace toward me, as if offering a treasure.

For a moment, I saw the twenty-year-old Cedric again.