I stared blankly at Jason's face, still handsome yet unfamiliar.

When I found out I was pregnant earlier today, I had wanted to tell him right away. But Olivia had stopped me, suggesting we buy some baby items first to surprise him later.

I touched my belly and tears streamed down my face.

"Please, I'm begging you. Olivia's life is in danger."

Just then, Emily Lindsey, Jason's first love, let go of his hand and gently pushed him towards me.

"You should go back soon. Family matters are more important."

But Jason firmly held Emily's hand again and, looking into her tear-filled eyes, whispered softly, "Don't worry. You've just moved to this city, and I promised to help you get settled. I can't break my word."

When he turned his gaze back to me, it was ice cold.

"Maddie, stop causing trouble. You know why I agreed to marry you, and you should understand the place Emily holds in my heart.

"I was raised by Olivia. She is my whole world. If you keep making up these stories to get me back home, Maddie, I haven't said before that I wouldn't hit a woman."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

"Fine. Call Olivia right now and see if she answers. Then you'll know if I'm lying."

Emily interjected suddenly.

"Judging whether someone's in trouble just because they don't answer their phone is really childish."

Jason stopped dialing the phone.

"An hour ago, there was a serious car accident right outside this mall. You must have heard about it. The person hit by that car was Olivia."

At my words, Emily shrank into Jason's arms, her shoulders trembling.

Jason patted her back soothingly, then turned to glare at me.

"Maddie, Emily's mental health has been fragile lately. Stop saying things that will upset her.

"We did see the accident earlier. The victim was badly injured, covered in blood. If it was my sister, I would have recognized her, wouldn't I?"

The truth was, when I saw Olivia at the hospital, she was unrecognizable, covered head-to-toe in blood.

I was completely desperate and fell to my knees on the ground.

"Jason, Olivia gave me my life. I'm begging you, please save her. The person you saw... that was Olivia."

Thinking of Olivia lying in the hospital, waiting for a blood transfusion to save her life, I couldn't stop the sobs that escaped my lips.

The commotion drew a crowd of onlookers.

"Look at this scene, how shameless. The mistress showed up while the wife is pregnant and buying baby things. I'd have slapped her already if I were the wife."

"The wife is so patient. She's pregnant and this woman comes to cause trouble. She's going to face her retribution for sure."

The onlookers whispered.

I was sitting on the ground, the focus of their judgmental whispers, while Jason said nothing.

Emily, still nestled in Jason's arms, looked up and softly asked, "I saw a set of children's toys I liked. Can we go look at them?"

Jason nodded, guiding her away.

I suddenly sprang up, blocking their path, my eyes locked on Jason's.

"Do you really have to stay with this woman today?"

"Move, Maddie. Don't test my patience," Jason barked.

Emily, putting on a pitiful face, turned to me.

"I just wanted Jason to help me buy some baby things, Maddie. Do you really have to stop us?"

As she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes.

Jason hugged her tightly in his arms and said to me angrily, "Emily recently lost her baby. She's emotionally fragile and wants to buy baby items for some comfort. If you don't step aside, don't blame me for what happens next!"

At that moment, my phone rang. It was the hospital.

"Miss Stone, we've managed to get some blood for the transfusion..."

I cried with relief.

"...but it's nowhere near enough."

A chill swept over me.

I looked up to see Jason already walking away with Emily in his arms.

A sales assistant approached them, smiling.

"Sir, ma'am, the crib you just bought won a free set of baby clothes. Please come with me to choose your preferred color."

Emily's face lit up with joy as she pulled Jason along with the assistant.

I rushed forward and grabbed Emily's arm, trying to drag her away.

"Come with me! Jason will follow. The hospital is only a mile away. You can see for yourselves what condition Olivia is in..."

"What's wrong with you!"

Jason yanked my hand away, shoving me to the ground.

My stomach hit the legs of the crib displayed nearby, and I felt an intense pain.

Pain shot through me, and I curled up, unable to make a sound.

Cold sweat drenched my hair as I lay there, gasping for air, looking up at Jason and Emily.

Jason held the trembling Emily protectively, towering over me with a look that could kill.

"Maddie, as a woman, you haven't yet felt the pain of losing a child. It's a trauma that affects both body and soul. Can't you show some compassion?

"Last time, you used Olivia to break up me and Emily. Now, you're trying the same trick. It won't work."

"Sir, ma'am, this way please."

The sales assistant guided them away.

Halfway through, Emily turned back and smirked at me, victorious.

The pain in my abdomen was excruciating as if knives were twisting inside me.

After them walking away, my heart shattered completely.

The phone rang again and I answered it with trembling hands.

"Miss Stone, if you come now, you can see her one last time..."

I staggered back to the hospital, barely able to stand. Olivia was on the brink of death.

"Olivia, it's all my fault..."

Her hands slowly slipped from mine, and she took her last breath.

My tears flowed until I was completely spent.

At dawn, I gathered the strength to start making arrangements with the funeral home, preparing for Olivia's final farewell.

That evening, I sat in the living room, hoping Jason would come home to see Olivia one last time.

I believed Olivia would have wanted that too.

But Jason never returned that night.

When the morning sun rose, I went to the maternity clinic without hesitation.

As I signed the consent forms, the doctor repeatedly assured me that the pregnancy could still be saved if I wanted to continue.

"No, that's not necessary."

Since Emily had returned, Jason had become utterly heartless towards everyone around him. Despite Olivia being just a mile away, fighting for her life, he chose to offer emotional support to his ex instead of spending even a moment to save his sister.

I no longer wanted any ties with such a man.

The procedure went smoothly.

I lay at home, waiting for Jason to return, and for my body to heal.

But he never called, not even once.

Three days passed without a word from him.

I managed Olivia's funeral arrangements despite my weakened state.

After the cremation, I wept over the urn containing her ashes.

"Olivia, don't blame me. We waited for him, but he never came. I hope in your next life, you are born into a good family. You've suffered too much in this one."

My phone buzzed, and I quickly checked it, hoping for some word from Jason. Instead, it was a video message.

The video showed Jason and Emily on a beach vacation. They held hands, laughing as they chased the waves, strolling like a couple in love across the soft sand.

[Maddie, this time, I'm determined to win Jason back.]

I felt nothing as I watched it.

My heart had gone numb.

When Jason finally returned, I was sitting in front of Olivia's portrait, lost in thought.

He had been gone for a week.

Smiling, Jason started explaining, "Maddie, I went on a trip this time. I brought you a gift..."

He approached but stopped short when he saw Olivia's black-and-white photo in my hands.

Fury washed over his face.

"Maddie, you're really losing it! I just took Emily to buy some furniture, and you stoop to this level of malice? You know Olivia means everything to me, and you went and made a funeral portrait for her as revenge?"

He grabbed the frame from my hands and hurled it to the floor with all his strength.

Olivia's photo slipped out and lay there, smiling up at the raging Jason.

I dropped to my knees, carefully picking up the photo and dusting it off, clutching it tightly to my chest.

"Do you want me to send you to a mental hospital?

"Doing this to Olivia is unforgivable! Maddie, if you hate me, don't take it out on Olivia. If you'd made a funeral portrait of me, I wouldn't be this angry."

Jason's hands tightened around my throat. I didn't resist, letting him vent his anger.

As the air left my lungs, I reached toward the side of the sofa and grabbed the cremation certificate.

I thrust the document into Jason's face.

He stared at the words above, reading them over and over in disbelief.

Finally, his grip loosened, and he collapsed onto the floor.