Kenneth had never taken protective measures, saying it wasn’t intimate enough.

He said he only wanted to share a world with me, so he asked me to try and endure the birth control shot for his sake.

But thinking that the shot might not be fully effective, I decided to take a pregnancy test.

When I saw two red lines, I was filled with immense joy.

I was afraid of a misunderstanding, so I hurried to the hospital to get a blood test.

The moment I confirmed that I was pregnant, I couldn’t wait to tell Kenneth.

I took a taxi to the bar he frequented, hoping to surprise him.

The owner recognized me and smiled, pointing to a private room in the corner. "Mr. Smith is over there with a few friends."

I approached the room, the door slightly ajar and familiar laughter and clinking glasses could be heard from inside.

I was about to push the door open, but when I heard my name, I stopped in my tracks.

Kevin, you used students as experimental subjects, aren't you afraid of killing someone?” a strange male voice teased.

"These four years of tutoring has been worth it. When will we get to hear your student’s moans?" another voice chimed in.

My heart almost stopped and cold sweat drenched my back.

Kenneth's voice rang out, colder and more mocking than I had ever heard. "In three days, Yara will be back. I have to let her know I haven't been idle these past four years. She's allergic to birth control pills and I couldn't bear for her to suffer through childbirth, so I tested it out in advance."

He sneered, his tone full of disdain. "It's just for fun, but it seems like my student has really become addicted."

I was frozen, my entire body cold.

It turned out that his breath, filled with passion, was nothing more than a test report for another woman.

I left the bar in a daze, tears blurring my vision.

Back home, I once again submitted my IELTS application.

Kenneth didn't come back that night. The next day, I went to the hospital alone.

Seeing me by myself, the doctor hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Didn't your family come with you?"

"He has something to do," I said, forcing a smile, my hand unconsciously resting on my abdomen.

"Doctor, I’d like to consult you about an abortion."

The doctor reviewed my test results, his brows furrowing deeper. "You've been using birth control shots for a long time?"

I nodded.

"Using birth control shots can lead to hormonal imbalances and in severe cases, it could affect your future fertility," the doctor said seriously, looking at me. "You’re nearly ten weeks along now and the fetus seems stable. Honestly, you’re lucky to have gotten pregnant this time. If you have a miscarriage now, you might never be able to conceive again."

At that moment, something within me stirred. Perhaps it was a maternal instinct and I made the decision to keep the child.

That evening, Kenneth finally returned. He personally cooked several dishes.

"Nyta, you've lost weight recently," he said, looking at me with concern.

I lowered my eyes. I no longer trusted such false tenderness.

But for the sake of the child, I didn’t want to cause any trouble before leaving.

"It’s just academic pressure," I answered softly.

A gentle smile returned to his face. "Nyta, you're the most outstanding student I've ever taught. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself."

With that, he moved closer to me, pressing me against the dining table.

"Or is it that I haven't taught you enough?"

As he spoke, he leaned down to kiss me, but I turned my head to avoid it.

"I'm not feeling well today," I said.

He stopped, looking at me with a complex expression, before finally letting out a soft sigh.

That night, I curled up on the other side of the bed, one hand gently resting on my abdomen.

"Don't be afraid, baby. Mommy will protect you."

When I got up, Kenneth was already gone.

On the bedside table was a note.

[I have something urgent and left early. There’s breakfast in the fridge, remember to eat.]

But I knew that today, the woman named Yara whom he had mentioned was back in the country.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a friend request. It was Yara.

Instinctively, I felt that this "Yara" was the Yara of Kenneth.

Sure enough, after accepting her friend request, I saw her pinned post.

The date was four years ago, the same year Kenneth and I had started our relationship.

The caption read: "Kenneth will forever wait for me to return to the country and will forever love me."

I saw Kenneth's reply: Forever.

It had been a week since Kenneth had last returned and I had also received my IELTS exam results.

I could finally leave.

I opened my phone and booked a flight for three days later.

Before leaving the country, I made plans to have a meal with my best friend and told her about my decision to go abroad.

However, at the restaurant, I unexpectedly ran into Kenneth and Yara.

They were intimately wrapped in each other’s arms, clearly looking like a couple.

My friend knew about my relationship with Kenneth and immediately tried to rush over. I stopped her and she read the look in my eyes.

She finally understood why I had decided to go abroad so suddenly.

She hugged me sympathetically.

But then, Kenneth suddenly saw me. He froze for a moment.

Yara looked up, her eyes meeting mine with an expression full of smugness.

I noticed the necklace around her neck. I should have known this was the gift he had given her.

The atmosphere at the table grew colder and I could feel the tension in the air.

Yara didn't give me a chance to refuse, pulling me to sit down beside them.

"Come on, sit down, don’t be shy," she said, her voice sweet, but her eyes were sharp and cold.

The meal was awkward and tasteless. Kenneth finally spoke up, "Nyta is my most outstanding student."

Yara chuckled lightly, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "That's impressive."

Halfway through the meal, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and Yara followed me out.

She cornered me in the restroom and sneered, "I’m guessing you learned more than just English from him, didn’t you?"

I chose to ignore her, not dignifying her words with a response.

But she didn’t let it go. "No matter what you’ve learned, he only loves me." she said, her smile twisting into something cruel.

"I've been studying abroad for the past few years and all this time, Kenneth has been waiting for me to come back and marry him."

"Look, this is a photo from last year when he flew to Luxford to celebrate my birthday."

In the photo, Kenneth was holding Yara's shoulder and the two of them were standing in front of the Tower Bridge in Luxford, smiling brightly. The date on the photo was exactly my birthday last year, the day he had told me he couldn't join me because of an academic conference.

Yara walked towards me and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"You think he really likes you? Don't be so naive. Do you know why he chose you? It was just because your silhouette in front of the school bulletin board resembled mine."

A cold shiver ran down my spine and my thoughts flew back to four years ago, the moment I first met Kenneth.

I stood in front of the bulletin board, focused on the IELTS exam information.

He walked over and asked me if I wanted to study abroad. It was then that he offered to teach me.

It turned out that I was just a substitute from the very beginning.

"Do you know why he always had you use the contraceptive injection?"

Yara continued to whisper in my ear, "Because I'm allergic to both birth control pills and condoms. He didn't want me to get pregnant, so he had you try the contraceptive injection instead. After all, who knows if there will be any side effects?"

At these words, my stomach suddenly twisted and a strong wave of nausea surged up my throat.

I couldn't hold it any longer and violently vomited.

Yet Yara continued, taking out her phone, opening the album and showing it to me.

"There's also this."

The photo showed me while I was asleep, some even from private moments after lovemaking.

"What is this?"

Yara sneered, "Every time he sleeps with you, he sends the photos to our friends’ group chat and lets everyone rate them."

A chill ran through me and my stomach twisted in pain, but I still forced myself to hold on.

Yara suddenly grabbed my hand, "Nyta, I really didn't mean to come back and compete with you for Kenneth."

When Kenneth saw us pulling at each other, he rushed over and shoved me away.

He carefully checked on Yara, then looked at me with a face full of anger.

"Nyta, what are you making a scene about?"

Before I could say anything, Yara spoke in a tone full of grievance, "Kenneth, I think I twisted my ankle."

Kenneth didn’t even look at me. He just picked up Yara and rushed out.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, much stronger than before and blood poured out from between my legs.

"Help, help..." I weakly called out, my consciousness starting to fade.

In my daze, I heard hurried footsteps and panicked voices.

"Nyta! Nyta!"

In my haze, I heard the doctor’s voice. "Placental abruption, massive bleeding, surgery immediately!"

As my consciousness slipped away, there was only one thought in my mind. My baby was gone.