I answered the phone and Ezra's furious voice erupted from the other end.

“Ariana, you signed the divorce agreement and we made everything clear yesterday. Why didn’t you show up at the civil affairs office to finalize the divorce? Are you still trying to cling to me?”

I rolled my eyes, ensuring I felt no unusual discomfort before replying, “I’ll be there soon.”

When I arrived at the civil affairs office, Ezra and Athena were already there, impatience radiating from them.

Beside them stood a woman I didn’t recognize, clinging to Ezra's arm and looking down at me with disdain.

Her contemptuous gaze spoke volumes and I couldn’t help but guess she was Ezra's first love, Aurora Smith.

Ezra’s brows were tightly furrowed, completely ignoring my pale complexion.

With an irritated snap, he said, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting? We’re here to finalize our divorce and you had to make this so unpleasant. Did you think it would be funny?”

I remained silent, but Athena interjected, “Let me be clear: my son’s only daughter-in-law will be Aurora. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go inside and finalize the divorce.”

I scoffed. “Do you think I’d be in this state if it weren’t for you all?”

Ezra felt no guilt.

Instead, he sneered, “Who are you putting on this act for? It’s just a miscarriage, right? You act like you’re on your deathbed. Did you even wear makeup to look weak, hoping to gain my sympathy?”

“Let me tell you, it’s pointless. Even if you dropped dead right now, I wouldn’t feel sad; I’d just be relieved we could skip this divorce process altogether.”

Calmly shaking my head, I replied, “Ezra, the one who’s dying isn’t me. It’s you.”

Part 7

As soon as I spoke those words, fury ignited in both Ezra and Athena.

Their faces turned crimson as they advanced toward me, looking ready to unleash their wrath.

Aurora quickly intervened, positioning herself between them.

In a sugary tone, she said, “Auntie, Ezra, can’t you see? She’s just stalling for time. If you hit her, she’ll play the victim and refuse to go through with the divorce. Don’t give her that satisfaction. Our priority is to get the divorce certificate.”

Ezra halted, a flicker of realization crossing his face. “Aurora, you’re so clever.”

With that, he roughly dragged me into the divorce office.

Since we had signed the divorce agreement the day before, today’s process went smoothly and soon, we held the divorce certificate in our hands.

Ezra inspected the certificate with glee, but when he noticed I hadn’t left yet, a hint of confusion crossed his features. “What are you still doing here? Get lost; you’re polluting my sight. Let me make it clear: now that we have the divorce certificate don’t come looking for me again. We’re done for life. Got it?”

I nodded, but before I could respond, Aurora lightly tapped Ezra on the chest. “Ezra, what nonsense are you spouting? When we get married, of course, we’ll need to invite her to witness our happiness, right? After all, if she hadn’t had the sense to step aside, how could we have gotten together so quickly?”

Ezra fell silent, his expression softening as he daydreamed about marrying Aurora.

This look only made her more smug.

She approached me, clicked her tongue twice and said, “I heard you recently had a miscarriage. You should take care of yourself. Otherwise, if you can’t find a husband or have children in the future, don’t even think about blaming Ezra.”

I turned my attention to Ezra, a smile playing on my lips. “Ezra, do you know why I suddenly changed my mind about being child-free and decided to have a baby?”

Part 8

Ezra paused, a look of confusion washing over his face. “Why?”

It was evident that both he and Athena were genuinely intrigued.

After all, I had spent years firmly advocating for a child-free lifestyle, showing little interest even in the most adorable children.

Aurora, catching wind of my question, let out a dramatic laugh. “Ezra, don’t you see? She just can’t let you go.”

“You told her two days ago that you wanted a divorce and then she announced her pregnancy right after. Do you understand what that means?”

Ezra and Athena exchanged glances, their heads shaking in bewilderment.

Aurora feigned shock. “It means she’s realized you don’t love her and that your heart belongs to someone else. I’ve seen it countless times. When women discover their husbands have moved on, they’ll often try to trap the man by getting pregnant. If you hadn’t brought up divorce, she probably would’ve waited until it was too late to terminate before revealing it.”

Ezra’s expression shifted as clarity dawned on him.

He patted his chest in relief, exclaiming, “Thank goodness! Otherwise, I would’ve been trapped by this wicked woman. If I had ended up with a child I never wanted, my life would’ve been ruined. She’s truly malevolent. Thankfully, fate is still on my side.”

Watching the trio celebrate their escape was more than I could tolerate and I erupted into laughter.

Perhaps I laughed a little too heartily as their expressions turned uneasy.

Once I composed myself, I finally spoke. “Aurora is right. I did get pregnant because of Ezra, but it wasn’t to prevent him from divorcing me. It was so he could stay alive.”

Before they could react, I retrieved a copy of Ezra’s medical results from my bag and tossed it into his hands.

“Because you’re dying and the umbilical cord blood from my child was your only chance!”

“But now, you’re as good as dead.”