But I couldn't say it.

No one would believe it.

He hid our secret marriage so well for seven years.

No one knew about our relationship except our family and assistants.

I used to think that he really wanted to protect me from the media, that he was a low-key, introverted and unpretentious husband.

Until five months ago, Lilian came. She was Conrad's cousin. She stood at my door with tears in her eyes and a bulging belly. She said that her boyfriend got her pregnant and ran away.

Conrad just frowned and took her in.

He personally arranged prenatal check ups, even with just a phone call, he would drop everything and run over at any time of day or night.

For Lilian, he abandoned me countless times.

When we watched a movie, he answered the phone and left, but when he came back, he said "work is important".

When we had a dinner, he said he had something urgent to do and asked me to have a dinner on my own.

Even when we were on a business trip abroad, as soon as Lilian cried out, he immediately changed the flight ticket and left me alone to return home.

He was even afraid that Lilian would have a bad reputation if she got pregnant before getting married, so he never denied it every time others misunderstood them as husband and wife when they went out.

I thought he was just kind enough to take care of his relatives and wait for the child to be born and everything would be fine.

Now, it seemed, everything was just a facade.

If it was just simple taking care of someone, how could he let the child call him "Dad"?

I stood up with my body propped up, my forehead already oozing cold sweat and my stomach throbbing violently.

Even passersby could see my discomfort, but Conrad never laid his eyes on me for even a moment.

After sending the divorce agreement to my lawyer friend, I didn't hesitate and made an appointment for an abortion the next day.

When I saw the words "Appointment successful", my heart sank.

Just one more week and I would be leaving.

This week, I had to deal the past with Conrad, including this child.

I went back home, opened the drawers in my room one by one and began packing up the traces of my life over the years.

Couple clothes, wedding photos, anniversary accessories ....

I packed and sealed all the things that belonged to "us" one by one and stuffed the things I didn't want to take away into the garbage bag.

When I was carrying the garbage downstairs, I happened to see Conrad's car parked at the door.

He was getting out of the car, holding the child in his arms and beside him was Lilian, who was holding his arm with a gentle smile.

Neighbors from the community gathered around, some taking photos and others giving gifts.

"Oh, Mr. Helderman, you're finally back. The little boy looks so much like you, you guys are simply carved from the same mold."

"Congratulations, you are so blessed!"

He did not deny their relationship, just smiled and exchanged pleasantries, with pride and indulgence in his eyes.

I walked past them expressionlessly, threw the garbage bag into the trash can and turned back to the corridor.

But before I could close the door, he suddenly caught up with me, gave me a complicated expression and lowered his head to pick something out of the trash can.

It was our wedding photo. The edges of the photo had turned yellow due to coffee stains, but we could still see what we looked like back then.

We smiled brightly and only had eyes for each other.

"Why did you throw out your wedding photos?"

His voice was not loud, but it was full of anger. "What do you mean?"

I looked at his panicked face and suppressed the emotions surging in my chest.

It was not the right time yet, I couldn't talk about divorce.

My mother-in-law, Elena Helderman, had a bad temper. If she knew we wanted a divorce, she would definitely not agree and might even threaten to commit suicide.

I wanted to cut it off cleanly and thoroughly before she noticed it.

I asked in a low voice, "Then why did you hide the newborn baby party from me today?"

"When did you decide to let that child call you "Dad"? When did you decide to be the father of someone else's child?"

I pressed on step by step, my tone unconsciously taking on a sharp edge.

Conrad frowned. He was about to speak when Lilian, with red eyes, ran up from downstairs quickly and spoke aggrievedly.

"Serena, don't blame my cousin. It's my fault. I didn't handle it well. Some people said I was immoral and shameless because I because I was pregnant with a child without a father ... and that no one recognized my child ...."

She sobbed and wiped away her tears, her voice soft and delicate.

"He said he was the father of the child at the party for me ... I didn't expect to make you unhappy. I'm sorry, Serena, please don't be angry ...."

Before I could say anything, she burst into tears, tears streaming down her face.

Conrad immediately took her into his arms and comforted her softly.

"Alright, Lilian, stop crying. Your sister-in-law is not the kind of person who cares about trivial matters."

He turned to look at me, with a slightly warning look in his eyes, hoping that I would stop pestering them.

"I didn't tell you about today's newborn baby party because I was afraid you would be too busy and delaying your work. You know, in the company, only one of us can leave."

His attitude had already explained everything.

My heart skipped a beat and I replied softly, "Hmm, I got it."

Seeing my indifferent attitude, he felt inexplicably uneasy, but he didn't feel at ease.

Since he was already used to my patience, he didn't think I would be angry with him.

He continued to blame me.

"You did something wrong when you pinched the baby today. Even if you don't like children, you can't do it. He's still a baby."

"Anyway, we won't have any children in the future and you've said before that you don't like children. Lilian's child, we can be his foster parents, so it won't hurt to be nice to him."

I felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head and the coldness spread to every part of my body.

Yeah.

I used to dislike children.

But he didn't know that I started trying to like children for him.

I just found out about my pregnancy and my first reaction was not fear but joy.

But before I could tell him the good news, he was already holding someone else's child and asking someone else's child to call him "Dad".

I chuckled quietly, feeling chilled to the bone.

I pushed his hand away and went back to the room.

I looked at the wedding ring on my hand that had been with me for seven years and slowly took it off. There was already an obvious mark on my finger.

I threw the ring out of the balcony without hesitation.

The next morning, I came to the company as usual and arranged for a new secretary to be transferred to Conrad's side, hoping to hand over the affairs.

When he first entered the office and saw the new secretary, he teased me with a contemptuous smile. "What? Are you finally desperate and seeking help?"

"I'm too tired alone," I replied.

My voice was not loud, but it carried an indescribable weariness.

He didn't take it to heart and nodded. "Okay."

I waited for a while, but he didn't show any concern.

If it were an ordinary superior or subordinate, he would still say "thank you for your hard work", but because I had a wife status, everything I did seemed to be taken for granted.

Since the year I graduated from college, I had been accompanying him in starting a business.

In order to train him to do business, his family didn't give him a penny.

He was kicked out of the conference room by the investors and I stood with him in the rain for a whole night, just to block the door of a project manager the next day.

He offended someone when he was at his low point and was surrounded. I rushed in with my high heels and pulled him to escape. I got my knee scratched by glass and I got eleven stitches.

The first funding for the company was obtained by me boldly asking my uncle, who didn't like him, to accompany me for three days and three nights.

For every contract and every battle for equity, I was always behind him, providing advice and strategies and leading the way.

I thought one day he would see my efforts.

But the fact was, he was willing to stand up for Lilian, whom he had just known for less than a year and say that he was her husband, but he never acknowledged my identity as Ms. Helderman in front of others.

Even, he never introduced me as his wife.

Even a moth flying into a flame would get tired.

During my lunch break, I had just asked for leave from the HR department to go to the hospital when I heard a small commotion at the front desk.

"Wow, what a handsome and cute little baby."

"Is he Mr. Helderman's son?"

"Ms. Helderman is so gentle!"

I froze and when I looked up, I saw Lilian walking in wearing high heels and holding her child.

She walked with two nannies and one bodyguard behind, like a hostess.

She smiled and asked, "Is Conrad in his office? I bring him food."

"Is she the CEO's wife?"

"Of course, besides her, who else could walk in so blatantly?"

The onlookers nodded one after another and no one denied it.

I stood at the door, watching the scene with my fingers clenched tightly.

But what I couldn't accept the most was that Conrad appeared at the door of the office and he didn't say a word when he heard them recognize her as his wife.

Neither admitted nor denied it.

Lilian smiled and responded, "Everyone please stop calling me that, it's too strange, just call me Lilian."

She handed the thermos box to the front desk and smiled as she distributed several bento boxes to everyone. "This is the carrot and beef soup I made myself and the egg yolk and beef floss rice balls, everyone try them."

Everyone took them while praising her for her virtuousness.

I had no expression on my face and wanted to leave.

Anyway, Conrad and I were getting divorced, so Lilian could be Ms. Helderman.

At this moment, Lilian seemed to have just seen me and walked over with a smile.

"Ms. Craivanger, I also brought you soup. I know you need to nourish your body the most, so I made it myself."

She walked towards me with the child in her arms and my alarm went off.

I declined. "Thanks for your kindness, but I don't eat carrots."

"Then you can try the soup base, Ms. Craivanger. Are you still mad at me?"

I raised my hand to push away the soup bowl in her hand, but between pushing and pulling, her hand trembled——

A whole spoonful of hot soup spilled all over the child.

"Oh my!"

The child immediately burst into tears, shrill and piercing.

I was stunned and before I could react, Lilian was already pale with fear, holding the child and stepped back a few steps, crying and screaming.

"Ms. Craivanger, it's okay if you don't like me, but why do you always target my son! Last time, at the newborn baby party, you pinched him and now you're throwing hot soup on him. Are you a human being!"

Conrad rushed over hearing the noise.

As soon as he saw Lilian's pale face and the child in her arms crying loudly, his face instantly turned gloomy.

He rushed over and raised his hand to slap me!

"Are you crazy, Serena!"

I caught off guard and got slapped in the face, causing me to fall heavily to my knees.

He lowered his head to comfort Lilian and coaxed the child gently. "It's okay, it's okay, don't cry, Daddy is here."

He didn't even glance at me.

"I never thought you were this kind of person."

He said, his tone as cold as ice, "How can you be so vicious when you can't even tolerate a child?"

I looked up at him, my lips were so pale, almost bloodless.

The pain on my face was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

"So you think I did it?"

"Who else could it be if not you? Could it be Lilian own child?!"

He didn't even bother to listen to my explanation and sentenced me directly.

The people in the company started whispering, gathering around Lilian and her son, as if I was a crazy woman causing trouble.

And as I fell to the ground, I suddenly felt a heat between my legs.

A warm liquid slowly flowed down.

"Ms. Craivanger ... what's wrong with you?"

It was the assistant who noticed something was wrong and ran over to help me up in a panic. "You're bleeding, Ms. Craivanger, don't scare me!"

I finally couldn't hold on any longer, my sight went black and I lost consciousness.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was Conrad holding Lilian and walking into the office without looking back.

The incandescent lights of the hospital were blinding. I slowly opened my eyes, no one around me, only a pungent smell of disinfectant and a heavy pain in my chest.

"Are you awake?"

It was a familiar voice. I turned around and saw my friend, Nicola Pearce, a lawyer sitting by the bed with worry in her eyes.

"Why are you here ...." My throat was dry and sore.

She handed me some water and replied in a low tone, "Your assistant answered my call and said you were in trouble, so I rushed over to see you. The doctor said you lost a lot of blood, but luckily you're fine."

I nodded lightly, but couldn't help but put my hand on my lower abdomen.

It was already flat that it looked as if life had never come there.

I closed my eyes.

This child ... I had originally planned not to have it.

But, in the end, he did not leave me based on my rational decision. Instead, he was taken away from me alive when I was off guard, in a misunderstanding and humiliation.

Nicola looked at me and remained silent for a moment before saying, "The divorce agreement has been sent to you. We can approve it in three or four more days."

"It's not too late for you to regret now," she stared at me and said word by word, "As long as you say you don't want to divorce, I can help you delay--"

"Impossible." I interrupted her.

"I've never regretted getting a divorce. I only regret why I didn't come to my senses sooner, three days, I thought it was too slow."

With these words, I lifted the blanket and stood up, my fingers cold and my steps slightly unsteady.

"Let's go!" I gritted my teeth and stood up on the edge of the bed. "Let's get the divorce done! I don't want to leave any room for it."

Nicola and I left the ward and just turned out of the corridor when we ran into a familiar tall figure.

Conrad was holding the child in his arms, with Lilian beside him.

He didn't seem to expect to meet me either. He frowned and asked coldly, "What are you doing in the hospital?"

I didn't answer.

Lilian stood behind him, shrinking like a frightened deer and whispered, "Serena, I really dare not ... I, I will stay away from Conrad in the future, please don't bully my son, okay ...."

My eyelids twitched and my heart felt empty and painful.

"I'm not here to apologize," I said hoarsely.

"I just—"

"Aren't you here to apologize?" Conrad sneered and interrupted me.

"Then what are you doing here? To see if the baby is dead or not? We have been married for seven years, how come I didn't realize you are so vicious and terrible?"

I froze, my eyes staring at him in bewildered.

"Did you know that he cried for a long time after his skin was burned? The doctor said to be careful of infection?" he said in a sharp tone.

"If he is left with any skin disease ... you can expect a divorce!"